A word of warning I sadly hardly played any games this year. So making this list was extremely difficult so I went with my gut and not with what I wasted my time in or else Duke Nukem Forever would have gotten on this list.

10. Marvel Vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds: In a year where I feel my multiplayer encounters have been limited I have to say Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 got me out of my shell. I always have been a fan of Marvel vs. Capcom 2 on the original Xbox and never got into online on the rerelease on Xbox Live Arcade. I bought the special edition of this hoping that my single player fun from 2 would transfer over. It did not at all. I have not touched any single player beyond learning moves. It took a few months but one day SnakeX and Dr.Gumaer (members of Noobtoob) were looking for players and I said lets go. I instantly fell in love with fighting with my friends. I also found my main, Wesker. I don’t know what it is about Wesker but he hits all the nerves in my head to make a fantastic character for me. I do not own the release of Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom. Though for a budget price hopefully it will get me back into fight.

9. Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective: While I have barely touched the adventures of Sissel and Missle, I can say this game is slowly getting its hooks in me. From a surprisingly well executed art style on a system on the way out to great dialogue as to be expected from the creator of the Ace Attorney series. What I didn’t expect was much in the terms in gameplay which actually takes thought in a combination of The Haunting: Starring Polterguy and any great point and click adventure. This is definitely one to pick up as it was missed by many this year and hopefully the iOS version will come to America soon.

8. Bastion: Slowly but surely sinking my teeth into this after release I do find something intriguing about it. While I might not have reached the supposedly great finale yet, the narrator is a great addition. I remember when the game first came out being surprised by it and switching controllers with a friend eager for my chance.

7. Saints Row The Third: Never playing a Saints Row I was hoping that the marketing of how insane this game was going to be translated into fun as well. So far so good I have been highly enjoying it and was surprised by how quick they decided to get things started unlike GTA IV. In the first ten minutes I’m robbing a bank in the first half hour I’m free falling out a plane while being attacked the plane I just free falled out of. In the first hour I’m taking down the entire military in the city. Its definitely a nice change in pace and the great level of comedy which doesn’t go too ridiculous too quickly really helps.

6. Outland: Outland is a pearl in a growing sea of indie platformers. It uses Ikaruga’s original techniques to much better use. The boss battles are quick and really hearken back to what made boss battles of the past so much fun. Oh and the entire game is co-op and plays some what differently with a second player.

5. Dead Island: Despite the huge bugs that have slowed me down from playing the game after release, Dead Island is a brilliant take on the growing idea that Borderlands started. If you think this game is supposed to strike heavy emotion like the trailer implied just die once. Not much in the way of loss huh? So why does Dead Island make my list because once the game was in a working state driving in a truck full of people taking down zombies at 60 miles per hour is an exhilarating feeling. Co-op heightens this game but it doesn’t fall down face first without it. It handles a genre of game in a time period we rarely see combined well and makes you think that maybe more zombie games are not a bad thing.

4. Toy Soldiers: Cold War: This is tower defense at its best. With tons of enemies, bosses and vehicles and a cheeky sense of humor for the 80′s. TS: Cold War out classes its predecessor in many ways and offers many ways of combos and score attacks to keep you coming back after the lengthy campaign. Combine that with fairly entertaining mutiplayer and you have my favorite Xbox Live Arcade game this year.

3. L.A. Noire: Cole Phelps journey is a fascinating one and one of my favorites of this year. I am after all a huge adventure game fan and this is what if a Police Quest was done on today’s big budget set in the 1940′s for extra style. While not much of a direct game this interactive adventure has enough great story moments to keep you wanting for more.

2. Batman: Arkham City: Batman where do I start? The question I ask myself now is the one I was unsure of at the beginning of the game when I had a huge world open up in front of me. With enough content and by that I mean actually fun content to last you for a long time Batman spits in the face of multiplayer for every AAA Game concepts and has the decency to follow it up. While their are some lacking parts here or there they are the only little issues that stop this from being my game of the year

1. Portal 2: This game is absolutely fantastic. To say this game is absolutely fantastic is a lie. These games put in a single package with free DLC in less then 6 months time is absolutely fantastic. Be it the stellar single player or the crazy cooperative this game has what I want from games. Great story, Great gameplay and a great package overall. If you haven’t played Portal 2 worrying it will ruin your thoughts about portal 1 let me give you a hand in co-op.