Your personal video games of the year

[The Mask of Norro]

1. Assassin's Creed II

- By far the best game of the decade in my opinion. It was a perfect sequel to the first, it developed both the story of the Assassins and the Templars as well as Desmond and his companions' own seamlessly... I couldn't have asked for a better follow-up to such a great game in the first one. Plus, it's the first game I've played on the PS3 where I honestly had fun and didn't feel like I was grinding in order to get Platinum with it. Platinum's easy enough to obtain-- somewhat frustrating at times, but when you get it down it's fairly simple for most of the trophies. I easily fell in love with this game.

2. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

- The campaign mode, though short, might have been one of the more chilling games I've played in ages. Seeing such a realistic depiction of our country under attack, from the suburbs of America to the White House itself, was ultimately surreal and something I think they'll be struggling to top the next time out. However, where it shines the most is where all of its predecessors shined: multiplayer. The introduction of new gaming mode classics like Capture the Flag were nice touches, but what I honestly love is how much the game tries to get every player involved. Even the worst player on the team at least gets some kind-of accolade, encouraging them to do better the next time. This was something I appreciated the first time I put the game in and got slaughtered right off >_>

3. New Super Mario Bros. Wii

- This was a platformer's dream, truth be told, and if you love the classic side-scrolling Mario then you just might fall in love with this game all the same. A flawless sequel to the series, pulling elements from Super Mario World and Super Mario Bros. 3 in particular, NSMBW was my top pick for Game of the Year for the Wii by far. I grew up on the classic Mario Bros. games, and so this game not only brought me back, but made it immensely fun with other people playing at the same time. Being able to work together or sabotage each other was a great in-game element, I have to say. The difficulty wasn't the highest, though at times the level designs will more than make up for that by forcing you into difficult traps and situations that more than make up for the easy boss battles. Plus, as the point has always been with the Mario games, seeing how quickly you can blast through the level is always a fun and exciting challenge.

4. Brütal Legend

- Easily THE most metal game in all creation. Brütal Legend is a game I'm still playing through, but thus far I've enjoyed it a lot and, while some elements of the game drag slightly, I have to say that I'm loving the blending of different game elements together. The story's been excellent so far, and honestly the sheer graphical brilliance of the landscapes is what gets to me with this game. Tim Schaeffer poured his whole imagination into this game, into the landscapes and the monsters and so much more... it's really impressive, honestly. The interactions between the characters have been hilarious and, while the whole of the side-quest experience reminds me greatly of the first Assassin's Creed, I have to say I've enjoyed those so far too. Then again, I enjoyed the side-quests in the original Assassin's Creed, so hey.

5. UFC Undisputed 2009

- The game that, in my opinion, showed that MMA fighting COULD be realistically brought to the home console without taking anything away from the experience of the sport itself. The challenge in every match was unparalleled, you really felt like you had to adopt a different strategy going into any match against a different opponent, and furthermore, you learned how easy it is to grow to hate Frank Mir. Seriously, I pour all of my stats into sub defense and the bastard still taps me like nobody's business, it's bloody unfair. Nonetheless, I never realized just how much satisfaction can be gained from fighting into a mount and beating away at someone's face until their mouthpiece falls out, nor did I realize how much more fun it was to keep punching away after the fact.

I honestly didn't get the chance to fully play through a lot of games in 2009. I've tried and sampled many-- Spirit Tracks, Scribblenauts, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Street Fighter IV, Resident Evil 5, inFamous, Prototype and several more... all games that seemed, to me, to be a lot of fun and games that I would love to try to play in full. Likewise, there were games I'd heard of but didn't get to try despite wanting to badly-- Borderlands, Left 4 Dead 2, Dragon's Age: Origins... hell, you guys get the idea, the list honestly goes on.

2009, in my opinion, was a hell of a year for gamers... a year that's going to be hard to top for some time still to come. Still, hopefully with 2010, we can make as best an effort as possible.

[The Kraig]

Dragon Age: Origins.

By far. If you liked KOTOR and games of that sort (epic RPG story, lots of dialogue and choices, great characters, excellent soundtrack, customisable weapons/armour/etc) then get this game. I rate this above Mass Effect in BioWare's game library. Mass Effect 2 will have a hard job beating it. I spent over 100 hours playing Dragon Age - it's addictive and so immersive.

I should mention MW2, Borderlands, WWE SvR 2010 and Halo ODST as they were also very good games and have kept me happy and entertained for hours this year.

I forgot to mention Left 4 Dead 2 and Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 - both good games which I have spent hours on.