Top 10 Games Of 2010

Whilst attempting to nail in order the ten best games I played in 2010 I realised that, for somebody who attempts, albeit sporadically, to maintain a videogames blog, I hadn't actually played that many videogames this year, or indeed enough to believe that my top 10 as it stands below would be no different were I to have enough time enough to experience everything I had wanted. Time for a deep breath, then - these are the games I actually purchased within the last twelve months, and can see sitting on my shelf (or nestled on various hard drives), but that I haven't actually got around to starting:

Gran Turismo 5 ("we might even get to play Gran Turismo 5" was the last, somewhat ironic, line from my 10 Games for 2010, part two feature way back in the first week of January)
Vanquish
Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days (I'm pretty sure this wouldn't have got anywhere near my top 10, but still)
Pac-Man Championship Edition DX
Joe Danger
Sonic The Hedgehog 4: Episode One
Sin & Punishment 2: Successor Of The Skies
Medal Of Honor
Metroid: Other M
Final Fantasy XIII
Blur
Mass Effect 2 (yes, I know this instantly invalidates the actual top 10)

(Disclaimer: I don't like to skip between games, and prefer exhausting each to completion one at a time, as opposed to grabbing successive hours on multiple titles).

This is without including any of the myriad titles which I would have liked to have found time to buy, let alone play. So the likes of Enslaved, Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit, Castlevania: Lords Of Shadow and Fallout: New Vegas can console themselves with the knowledge that, although Moon Witch Cartridge couldn't find time for them, plenty of other more important blogs and websites would have.

So this then is a list of my Top 10 games of the year; feel free to question why your favourite isn't there, but you probably already know the answer:

10. Halo: Reach
9. Split/Second: Velocity
8. God Of War 3 (review)
7. Heavy Rain
6. Chime

5. Rock Band 3 (review)
4. Limbo (review)
3. Super Mario Galaxy 2
2. Bayonetta
1. Red Dead Redemption (review)

I'll be covering some of the games here with a few retrospective articles over the next few weeks, whilst trying to make a dent in that aforementioned pile of unplayed gems.

Also, honorable mentions go out to: GoldenEye 007 (a reasonably successful attempt at excavating the memories of my gaming youth), BioShock 2 (Rapture here was still the star of the show), Dead Rising 2 (here's a review), Alan Wake (did many things wonderfully, but ultimately felt compromised) and Super Street Fighter 4 (even though I'm still rubbish).

Happy new year!