Here it is, my top 10 games of the year:

10. Dark Souls

Playing Dark Souls is like doing your school work. Its frustrating, time consuming, and makes you think about all the other fun things you could be doing instead. But once you are finished you feel an amazing sense of accomplishment and are able to look back on what you have done with pride. I played Demon's Souls and enjoyed it immensely, mostly because I used a guide through most of the game. Coming into Dark Souls, I challenged myself to adventure through its world without any guide at all and that made the experience even more rewarding.

At first I thought that Dark Souls was easier than Demon's Souls. You always have health potions with you that get refilled, and when you are dead or "hollow" you still have full health! I raced through the first few hours of the game laughing at how everyone claimed it was so much harder than Demon's Souls. Then I ran into a curse that cut my health in half, an open world that left me confused about where to go, fake walls, and a murdered fire keeper leaving me unable to refuel my flasks. In a game where knowing where to go means finding the enemies that take a reasonable amount of hits to kill, it was easy to get frustrated and annoyed. But in the end, the feeling of accomplishment you get from killing a boss, or finding your way through a poisonous bog is like nothing else you can find in any other game.

 While I did run into some disappointments, such as the boss weapons you can craft being worse than just an upgraded lightening spear, and the servers constantly disconnecting me from other players, I still love Dark Souls. It demands patience, exploration, and lots of thought, which is something the majority of video games today don't require at all. I was very happy to see this game get such good praise and attention because it deserves it.

9. Dead Island

Dead Island was such a nice surprise. I doubted this game from the moment it was announced, thinking that it would be a bad Left 4 Dead clone with no original gameplay. And while the gameplay technically isn't original, Dead Island stands out among a plethora of zombie games because of its open-world and its creation of the best first-person melee combat I have ever played.

 The feeling of adventure and survival, all tied into a nice loot system really propelled Dead Island forward. Running around a demolished world, scavenging for weapons and bashing zombies over the head with up to 3 of your friends is insanely fun. The weapon crafting was also marvelous. There has been nothing more satisfying in a game then smashing a zombie with an electrified baseball bat that then sends the zombie flying twenty feet into the air. I was really pleased that the game's focus was primarily on melee, with guns taking a backseat to the amazing weapon mods and well developed combat.

 While it had its bugs, and the story was pretty much non-existent, Dead Island was the zombie game and the co-op experience I had been waiting for.

8. LA Noire

Of all the games I played this year, LA Noire gave me the most mixed feelings. When I beat the game, I couldn't even decide how much I liked it or if I even liked it at all. But after taking some time to think about the story, the characters, and what the game had accomplished, I was more than happy to have played it.

 Team Bondi took a lot of risks in making this game and I'm happy to say most of them paid off. The adventure style gameplay was very fun and gave me fond memories of Indigo Prophecy and Heavy Rain. The open world was really detailed and looked amazing, and I was happy to see that there was not 500 side quests. The focus on the main story was exactly what this game needed and it was executed fairly well. Besides a very long, drawn out stretch in the middle of the game (mainly homicide desk) the story was told in an extremely original and exciting way. The plot twits were very surprising and the ending brought all the characters together in a very emotional and thought-provoking scene. At first I thought "Wait...this is how it ends?" But after sitting on my couch thinking about the story and all that had happened, I wanted this to be turned into a movie.  

 Of course the game had its flaws and while the driving and shooting was often hit or miss (mostly miss) LA Noire did a lot of things that other developers seem to be afraid to do. Less action, and more story focused exploration made this game great.

7. Bastion

Bastion is the perfect downloadable game. For $15, I do not think you can find a better experience. It has a better story, better gameplay, and better music than most $60 games out there do. As you travel around the world, with its walls and floor being raised as you move, its hard to not be impressed. The dynamic narration was used perfectly, and I found myself sitting in awe when Rucks said "The kid just rages for awhile" as I preceded to smash every box instead of progressing to the next area.

Not only is the narration amazing, but the gameplay is addictive and challenging. Also, I had never heard of Darren Korb before this, but goddamn can that guy make music.  This game have the best soundtrack I've ever heard, and I consider it to be one of the best albums that I listened to this year. Put all this together with an emotional ending, and Bastion is just a joy to play. I hope Superginat games gets the chance to make $60, huge budget game one day, because what they did with bastion is just phenomenal.

6. Star Wars: The Old Republic

 For years I awaited Bioware's announcement of Kotor 3. When I heard they were making a Star Wars mmo instead I felt a mix of excitement and disappointment. While I have always wanted to play a Star Wars mmo (I was to busy playing WoW to get into Galaxies) I knew that my chance to play another Star Wars story driven masterpiece might have been lost for good. Surprisingly, The Old Republic is all about story, and the story is actually good. Playing as a Sith Sorcerer, I torture, kill, and betray anyone who stands in my way to power. The choice system is really, really fun. I have never played a villain on my first play through of any RPG, but The Old Republic has made being evil so appealing I couldn't resist.

Not only is the story amazing, but the combat, while similar to WoW, is extremely fast paced. Instead of pulling 1 npc at a time, you are pulling 3 or 4. Instances only take 30 minutes and can be run as many times as you want. The crafting system is addictive and convenient and the loot is much more varied than I thought it would be. Yes, it is mostly another WoW clone, but it has story, interesting quest lines, fast paced combat, and oh yeah, its Star Wars. I couldn't have asked for a better game and I can tell I'm going to be addicted to this one for a while. (I did not nominate it for any of my awards because I felt I hadn't played enough of the game to fairly compare it to all the other games I played. Also, it is extremely difficult to judge most aspects of an mmo compared to other types of games.)

5. Dead Space 2

I really liked Dead Space, but when Dead Space 2 came out I thought "eh, more of the same. Not that interesting." I waited to play the game until just a few months ago, and damn, was I wrong. Dead Space 2 does not fuck around. You are thrown immediately into the action and are blasting necromorphs to pieces in no time. This game has some of the craziest and most thrilling action scenes I've ever seen. The level of presentation is insanely better than in the original. The balance between quietly walking the halls, to jump scares, to full on explosions and insane fire fights was near perfect. The new enemy additions were creepy and gave the gameplay a bit more variety and the shooting and weapons were still top notch.

The gore was also outstanding, horrifying, and just plain nuts. Necromorph children that you can slice up with a saw blade? Exploding necromorph babies? Insane death scenes of Clarke getting torn limb from limb? Check, check, and check. Not to mention it had by far the most cringe inducing scene ever that made me say "Are you fucking kidding me!?" as I squinted my eyes and barely looked at the screen (not to spoil anything, its near the end and it involves an eye). That moment will be stuck in my mind forever as one of the craziest things I've ever seen in a game. Throw in a few awesome, funny references to the first game, and an interesting story, and this is one hell of a game. I didn't touch the multiplayer because honestly, this game didn't need it. It is the best over the shoulder shooter I've played since Resident Evil 4.

4. The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings

Upon beating The Witcher 2 all I could think was, "Holy shit, it is nice to play a game where your choices actually make a dramatic difference." At the end of the first chapter, you have to make a choice that will completely change the setting, the quests, and the story for the rest of the game. All the choices in the game are difficult as they are not 'Good' or 'Evil'. The game presents a lot of moral choices that take some time to think about. What's crazy though is, sometimes the game gives you no time! During some of the major decisions, a timer pops up, forcing you to choose quickly. I liked the pressure, it forced me to go with my gut.

 Not only are the choices awesome, but the combat is extremely varied, the crafting and potion-making is addicting and useful, and most importantly the game looks amazing. Easily the best looking game I have ever played. While the story fell flat for me in the end, as it definitely seemed to be made for the Polish audience that has read all the books (that makes sense though) I still loved every second of this game because it puts you in a fantasy world where the humans are the main focus (and sometimes the real monsters) of the story. Racism and poverty are in abundance, and the main character Geralt is someone who must also face hatred and racism. He is not a loved man in the world of Temeria, even though he is a legend. Anyway, if you love RPGs this is a must play.

3. Portal 2

It just goes to show you what an amazing year of games this has been when Portal 2 is not my game of the year. I was pissed when this game was announced, because while I enjoyed Portal I really just wanted Half Life 3. But damn, am I glad they made this game. Valve found the perfect balance between not to easy and not to difficult with the puzzles. I got stuck for no longer than 20 minutes on any puzzle, and that only happened a few times. Everything felt smart and well crafted.

 But honestly where this game shines is in the writing, the voice acting, and the characters. Wheatley, Cave Johnson, and Glados were such an amazing combination. The story came together really well, and I absolutely loved the Half Life Black Mesa references, and their was a really cool easter egg. Even if you are not a fan of puzzle games I really think you should give Portal 2 a chance. You won't regret it.

2. Batman Arkham City

 The perfect Batman game has been made. One of my video game dreams has been to fly around Gotham, fighting criminals as the caped crusader. Now that dream has come true. The improvements on Asylum were perfect, and while I will admit the amount of Riddler stuff was daunting, and the story dropped off in the middle, the gameplay and the ending make this game great. The combat system is better than ever, all my favorite villains were present (Hell yeah Mr Freeze!) and I even enjoyed playing as Catwoman. I thought her play style was a lot different than Batman's and it was refreshing to have some varied gameplay.

 The side missions were also fun and really seemed to set up the next game. Also, as I wrote before, the ending is phenomenal. It is one of my all time favorite endings, and Batman delivers one of my all time favorite lines. Rocksteady nailed it. Unfortunately, this now has me worried about the future of Batman in video games. How can they make the next Arkham game better than this, and how can anyone ever make a better Batman game ever again? I have no idea.

1. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

After playing countless RPGs I always run into the same problem. Why, if I use magic can't I use a two-handed weapon? Why if I choose a melee class, can I not cast healing spells? Why is there not a game where I can do whatever I want at all times!? Skyrim is that game. My character casts gigantic explosive fireballs, freezes time, and wears light armor that I enchanted with magic regen. Sometimes I pull out a one handed sword and cut up my enemies. That right there alone has to make this my Game of The Year. Oh yeah, and you can force sprint, call down a dragon to fight for you, call down a lightening storm, summon an undead chicken, buy a house and decorate it however you want, become a werewolf, and get a giant to fight a dragon.

There is so much to do and so much to see after 60 hours I have only finished the Mage's College and I'm half way through the Dark brotherhood. And both are awesome. The game does a wonderful job of giving you the best rewards you could possibly imagine (I was so happy with the reward for finishing the Mage's college). Not to mention the visual mods you can add make the game look stunning (get the post-process injector, and the realistic water and fire mods). And I love how Bethesda gives you the ability to give yourself infinite gold, flight, god mode, and every weapon and item in the game. When I finish all the content, All the perks will be mine! I am so impressed by this game, and I can't wait to see the DLC they come out with. GAME OF THE YEAR!

So thats it, thank you for reading!