[Samuel.]

Just cos.



1. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
Perfect in just about every way. The blend of combat, climbing and puzzles couldn't have been much better balanced; the game play tops just about anything I've played because of it. But then it's the characters and their interactions that take it to another level. A gorgeous game, and the closest thing gaming has to a big budget action blockbuster. I don't play through games multiple times, yet Uncharted 2 has dragged me back 5 times, and I'm just beginning to get urges of another play through. I'm not convinced I'll ever play an action adventure as enjoyable or as well executed as Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. It's set the bar so high, even Naughty Dog themselves couldn't reach it.

2. Mass Effect 2
You can't ask for much more from a sequel, taking what's great from its predecessor, and rebuilding everything around that to create something on a whole nother level. The story may not be as strong, but they do a lot more with universe that was established in the first Mass Effect, and the game play aspects are miles ahead of the originals clunkiness. The cast of characters is fantastic, introducing the likes of Mordin and Legion, while bringing back everybody you had grown to care about from the first. Really they couldn't have done a much better job of making you feel like the universe's biggest badass with Commander Shephard, and still allowing that character to be unique and represent the Shephard every individual wanted to play.

3. Fallout 3
By far my favourite open world to explore in a video game. It wasn't just the sheer amount of locations to find, but the atmosphere, the authenticity of the post-apocalyptic wastelands that Bethesda had created, being so immersive, that made the hundred odd hour journey around that map a joy. Add in some of the most satisfying RPG mechanics, and you've got an incredible experience.

4. Gears of War
The first game to blow me away of the generation. What a way to show off the 360’s capabilities. So many great memories with Gears. I played through the campaign with my best friend at the time, and it was brilliant. The tight corridors, the heavy atmosphere, the intensity to the fights; Gears never did them quite as well as it did in the first game. And the multiplayer was hella fun too. Nothing could top the Gridlock map.

5. Dragon Age: Origins
A brilliant throw back RPG to an era of role playing games that has been lost for a couple of generations. I spent over 100 hours with my Elvish archer, Eruestan, and I can’t remember enjoying a class as much as in Origins. Loved the dreary dark atmosphere in the medieval, high fantasy setting. Everything you’d expect from a top BioWare game was here. And the expansion Awakening was almost as good. I pray one day Origins gets a true sequel.

6. Uncharted 3
I’ll start off by saying, it’s not as good as Uncharted 2. Single player wise anyway. But its big epic moments were on par with, if not better than, anything from the second game. It’s the multiplayer where I really fell in love with Uncharted 3 though. Forget your Call of Duty’s or your Battlefield’s, for me this is the best multiplayer shooter of the generation.

7. Borderlands
Few things in video games top the thrill of opening up a weapons box to find a new unique randomly generated weapon sitting there waiting to be used to wreck havoc. Not to mention the vending machines. Loot is done brilliantly in Borderlands. It plays great as well; the shooting is incredibly satisfying, and the RPG aspects only add to the carnage. I just wish more people I knew played the game for co-op purposes, but I still had a hell of a time with randomers. So close to being the perfect co-op FPS. The DLC was also superb.

8. Saints Row: The Third
I don’t do GTA-style games. They bore me to death. So when another Saints Row game came along I didn’t think for a second I’d even bother playing it. Word of mouth spread and I finally decided to check it out. Good thing I did. The game is downright outrageous, in all the right ways. It completely embraces the art form. It sticks a middle finger up to all those games trying to go for gritty realism. Saints Row the Third is purely about fun, and it’s executed in the most creative way. The game is hilarious, the use of music is better than in any other game I’ve played, and it has so many ridiculous, memorable moments, it puts everything the GTA series has ever tried to do to shame.

9. Mass Effect
Coming from the developers of one of my favourite RPGs, KotOR, I was hyped about Mass Effect from the day it was announced. Gameplay-wise it may have been lacking, but everything else was spot on. BioWare had created a brilliant sci-fi universe, a mixture of Star Trek and Star Wars, one of the best stories of the generation, and choices that really felt like they made an impact.

10. Enslaved: Odyssey to the West
The closest thing to Uncharted, and it actually eclipses it in a few ways; the characters most importantly. Trip and Monkey may be my favourite duo from any game, and Pigsy is brilliant in his own right. The way they delicately build the relationships has rarely been done so well in games before. The combat and climbing are fun, but it’s the characters that really shine through. And a pretty good story on top of that. It’s a shame it sold so poorly. Pigsy’s Perfect 10 is some of the best DLC I’ve come across as well.

11. SSX
12. Fable II
13. Journey
14. Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter
15. Catherine
16. InFamous
17. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
18. LittleBigPlanet
19. Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing
20. WWE All Stars