Rather than post a top 10 list of games that came out this year, I felt I should post the best games that I played for the first time this year. There are a few older games I finally got around to and thought were amazing and there are still a few from this year (Halo: Reach and AC: Brotherhood) that I have here but have yet to play. A lot of games I played came from sales I saw at the time, which had a lot to do with what games I had.
 
So with all that in mind, let's begin!
 
#10 Project Gotham Racing 4 - I've wanted to play this game for quite a while and so early on in the year I picked it up for $8 or so. I'm happy it did as everything about it felt fresh, even this year. The varied objectives to progress, the graphics and the driving provide a rewarding experience that's still great fun today.  
 
#9 Dawn of War 2 - Again, I had interest in playing this for quite a while, especially after hearing stories on the Idle Thumbs podcast. I'm not good at RTS games, but playing this cooperatively made it very easy to grasp and fun to play. I've also put more hours into the Last Stand mode than I like to think about. I would love for them to expand that idea further in future iterations.
 
#8 Magic The Gathering: Duels of the Planeswalkers - Funny enough, I never thought I would own this game when I did. I also never thought I would have over 50 hours playing it. Thanks a ton to Driadon for gifting it out of the blue. Yes, it has flaws like the inability to customize the entire decks, but it still captured the feeling I had as a kid in middle school playing with my friends during lunch.

#7 Starcraft II - I was in the beta for the game for a while and during that period I was anally abused repeatedly, to the point where I vowed to never buy the game. Well, then more and more people started clamoring about it, including friends of mine who don't play too many games. The talk didn't stop which led to my eventual purchase. I was relentless in trying to learn at least a way to win a game as a result. Things eventually clicked and though I don't see myself ever going past bronze/silver, I've had loads of fun in the process. I still have most of the campaign to play as well, so I'm excited to continue into the new year.
 
#6 Battlefield Bad Company 2/Vietnam - It had been a long since a Battlefield game came out on PC, so I was extremely excited for this one. Fortunately it delivered in what I wanted which was explosions everywhere causing ditches and buildings to collapse while gunning with my brohos. I now have over 100 hours clocked in the vanilla game, and the Vietnam expansion has kept things fresh by switching between the two. The game also sparked one of the dumbest things ever with jim_dandy. 

#5 Red Dead Redemption - I love this game. The scope of the world and all of the ambient challenges hooked me nonstop. However, because I wasn't able to finish the story over the summer, I never really made progress thereafter. Mostly because my limited play sessions consisted of doing the challenges. I'm starting to get spoiled on the story almost everywhere so I've been doing strictly story missions this break and hopefully I'll finish it soon.
 
#4 F1 2010 - This is one of the most rewarding driving models I have ever experienced. It had a rough release as there were a ton of bugs, including ones that made the career mode basically unplayable. However, the actual driving is what matters and they nailed the cars in every way. The feel, the sound, the speed, everything. This game was also the first time I had ever attempted to organize an online league of any sort (this happened on NeoGAF). A 9 race season with the maximum 12 players online. It was easily the most fun I had online, maybe ever,  and I can't wait for our 2nd season. I should note that Codemasters did release a patch which fixed a handful of the bigger bugs so the career mode is worth playing now too.
 
#3 Max Payne 2 - This was actually the first game I played this year, as a result of steam's holiday sale 2009. I paid $2.50 for it and it ended up being one of the best single players I've played. The main draw for me was just how dark everything about it was, and not in a campy way. It was something I had never seen before and I adored it. I think everyone should play it at some point, it definitely holds up.

#2 Batman: Arkham Asylum - I'll preface this by saying this is the game I finished most recently. Another pick up from a steam sale, I can't believe I was ever doubted buying it before. This is a solid game all the way through. The gameplay varies when it needs to which kept me hooked. I found myself getting close to the end and having to stop as I wanted to save every last bit as long as I could before it was over. Incredible game, can't wait for the next one now.
 
#1 Mass Effect 2 - I can't help it. The Mass Effect universe is probably my favorite thing from this generation of consoles. Though the overall story was underwhelming and essentially the same as the first game, the characters that you are surrounded with this time around are such vast improvements that it outweighs any fault I found with the game. Mass Effect 3 is my most anticipated game, I just hope BioWare is a bit more creative in how it finishes.
 
Thanks for reading everyone, what a fucking year for gaming. :)