It seemed unlikely that Naughty Dog could develop an even better game than the original Uncharted, but the studio did so with flying colors. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves was a virtually ideal sequel: it continued all the great traditions that Uncharted began and also implemented a full suite of multiplayer options. To call it a “must-buy” is an understatement.

2. Assassin’s Creed II
Publisher: Ubisoft
Developer: Ubisoft Montreal
Platform: Xbox 360 , PS3 , PC

While the first Assassin’s Creed was met with mixed reviews, critics and gamers alike are unanimous when it comes to the sequel: Assassin’s Creed 2 is an immensely entertaining open world adventure. Ubisoft paid careful attention to detail when creating this renaissance Italy killground, resulting in one of the biggest and most enthralling games of the year.

3. Batman: Arkham Asylum
Publisher: Eidos Interactive
Developer: Rocksteady Studios
Platform: Xbox 360 , PS3 , PC

Take Batman, toss in some awesome fight mechanics, a sprinkle of stealth, a mature tale, and all the voices you loved from the animated series – you get Batman: Arkham Asylum. You didn’t get to drive the Batmobile, but you did get to take it to the Joker, Poison Ivy, and run around Arkham before delving into the game’s hard-hitting challenge rooms.

4. Borderlands
Publisher: 2K Games
Developer: Gearbox Software
Platform: Xbox 360 , PS3 , PC

Gearbox took its expertise with first-person shooters and blended it with Diablo-style loot mechanics to deliver a product comparable to few others. Though it certainly has flaws, the huge diversity of weapons to find, enemies to kill, and methods of upgrading each of the four character classes keep the experience interesting the whole way through… and then through again if you choose to max out character levels. Borderlands is easy to get into and tough to stop playing, especially if you’ve got some friends around to invite into your game.

5. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Publisher: Activision
Developer: Infinity Ward
Platform: Xbox 360 , PS3 , PC

The Call of Duty: Modern Warfare series had all the right pieces to set the bar once again for the FPS genre. Mixing a short (but sweet) single player campaign with one of the strongest multiplayer offerings out there Infinity Ward once again proved why the COD name has not only stood up against worthy competitors, but also the test of time.

6. Street Fighter IV
Publisher: Capcom
Developer: Capcom
Platform: Xbox 360 , PS3 , PC

Lifting elements from its classic fighting formula and mixing in just enough new mechanics to make a game that felt complete and new, Capcom managed to revitalize its biggest fighting franchise while still appealing to those who’d been away since the days of Street Fighter II arcade machines. With a great cast of characters, diverse move sets, and gorgeous graphics, it’s one of the very best fighting games of the modern era.

7. Shadow Complex
Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios
Developer: Chair Entertainment
Platform: XBLA

With Shadow Complex, Chair Entertainment finally pushed the Xbox Live Arcade in the direction we all hoped it would go. A new, beautiful, hardcore game at a relatively low price? And it’s downloadable? Sign us up twice. If this is one of gaming’s future paths, we welcome it.

8. Killzone 2
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Developer: Guerrilla Games
Platform: PS3

Killzone 2 surpassed the hype of its visuals with an action packed cinematic invasion tale on the devastated planet of Helghan. From start to finish, the shooter pitted players against an extremely intelligent enemy that tactically fought to the death to repel you from their homeworld.

9. FIFA Soccer 10
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: EA Canada
Platform: Xbox 360 , PS3 , Wii , PC

This beautiful game has never been more beautiful, and it’s certainly never been as convincingly portrayed as it has in EA Sports’ FIFA 10. This is football told with glorious fidelity and served with unparalleled control, and not only does it eclipse its traditional rival Pro Evolution Soccer – it also makes a case for being one of the all-time great sports games.

10. New Super Mario Bros. Wii
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo EAD Tokyo
Platform: Wii

Playing a Super Mario game is a comforting experience indeed. Nintendo knew exactly what it was doing when it created the Wii side-scrolling platformer: revisit the past 8 and 16-bit designs without overwhelming the emerging casual gamer, all the while retaining all the clever and creative elements that made the property so successful with the hardcore. Oh, and include multiplayer support so that observers and be participants. Well played, Nintendo. Well played.

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There’s a reason legions of fans put another Knights of the Old Republic game at the top of their dream wishlists. The original from BioWare is magnificent in every sense of the word. An epic storyline, fantastic characters, and two drastically different ways to play (Light or Dark) made this one RPG for the ages.

 

 

2. Call of Duty
Publisher: Activision
Developer: Infinity Ward
Platform: PC

Launching one of the greatest and most successful of all World War 2 shooter franchises, the original Call of Duty combined a high level of authenticity, great visual presentation, and powerful scripted elements to put players in the midst of the War. Best of all, you got to feel like you were part of a battle and not just some lone super soldier.

 

3. Price of Persia: The Sands of Time
Publisher: Ubisoft
Developer: Ubisoft Montreal
Platform: GameCube , PC , PS2 , Xbox

Prince of Persia went from deviously clever platformer to rollicking 3D adventure with a then-fresh time reversal mechanic that let you undo mistakes. Sands of Time lead to a rebirth for the series, which is about to be revisited in this years Forgotten Sands. Hopefully, lightning will indeed strike twice.

 

 

4. Viewtiful Joe
Publisher: Capcom
Developer: Capcom Production Studio 4
Platform: GameCube

Capcom’s Viewtiful Joe took a side-scrolling action platformer and injected so much personality and originality into the mix that it immediately captured a legion of fans. The blend of cell-shaded comic book aesthetic and time-warping beat-em-up remains challenging, hugely entertaining – and most importantly, incredible fun.

 

5. WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgames!
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo R&D1
Platform: GBA

Wario’s always been the bad boy of the Nintendo bunch, but this extremely creative Game Boy Advance game gave him a new role at the company: a helmer of experimental videogame experiences. Wario Ware isn’t much more than a string of quick-fire challenges that require nothing more than a single D-pad or button push, but playing them, one after the other while the pace increases, offered up something we hadn’t ever seen before.

6. Rainbow Six 3
Publisher: Ubisoft
Developer: Ubisoft Montreal
Platform: PC , Xbox

Like him or not, Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six franchise spawned some of the best tactical first-person shooting available. Rainbow Shield was no exception; the blend of then-topical oil control and terrorism was blended with (on the original Xbox) Xbox LIVE multiplayer and outstanding Unreal Engine 2.0 visuals.

 

 

7. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo
Platform: GameCube

Many Zelda fans freaked when Miyamoto introduced the new toon-shaded Link for GameCube (especially after that 2000 “realistic” Link peek), but such petty grievances were blasted aside by yet another epic, engaging adventure that kept the Zelda batting average better than any game franchise in history.

 

 

 

8. Jak II
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Developer: Naughty Dog Software
Platform: PS2

How do you break the mold of the platformer genre? In Jak II, you take the game’s tone much darker, subjecting the main character to torture and unleashing him on a quest for revenge. Adding new vehicles, weapons and abilities, Jak II was a vast improvement over the original.

 

 

 

9. Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow
Publisher: Konami
Developer: Konami TYO
Platform: GBA

Before Aria of Sorrow, Castlevania was primarily a platformer with gothic tendencies. With this handheld reworking though, Konami switched up the formula adding exploration and RPG elements best known from Nintendo’s Metroid series. It’s spawned numerous sequels in the same vein but this vast, beautiful whip-cracking adventure is still an absolute highlight.

 
10. Panzer Dragoon Orta
Publisher: SEGA
Developer: Smilebit
Platform: Xbox

Let’s be honest. We all loved this Xbox title because – in lieu of a Neverending Story game – this was the closest we’d get to flying about on the back of a Luck Dragon. Oh sure, the art direction was fantastic and the gameplay was fast and frenetic, but still… Luck Dragon. More

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