Normally the Game of the Year is a tough decision to make. A number of titles will be competing for the top of the list and what ends up getting selected can change based on a number of criteria. I am relieved to say that this year there was no such dilemma. The moment I finished Uncharted 2 I crowned it as my Game of the Year and nothing released in the interim has changed my mind. Amazing in every way a videogame can be, I cannot think of a single thing it could do better.

Ranking games 2, 3, and 4 was the real difficult part of this list for me. To be honest you could swap the order of these games to any other combination and I would find reasons to agree with the result. It's funny that Dragon Age ends up taking #2 for though because I have more problems with this game than I do any other game on this list. It can be mercilessly unforgiving at times and the decisions you make can turn the game into just a gigantic clusterfuck of a nightmare to play through(believe me, I screwed some things up that made me just want to uninstall the game and never go back). But the story and the characters and all the little things about the world kept drawing me back. Despite all the things I would change about the game's combat system, the quest to vanquish the Darkspawn is one of the richest and most rewarding in recent RPG history.

Don't really have a lot to say about this one that hasn't been said before. The pre-release trailers for the game looked good, they gave me hope that the game would turn out well. But right up until I played the demo, I was still skeptical. I mean, its a comic book game, how could it really turn out? Apparently it can turn out well enough to take the #3 spot on my list for top games of 2009.

So much to love about this game. The gameplay is amazing, running, jumping, climbing, shooting, using and switching between powers. Everything is just pitch perfect in my opinion. The side quests got more than a little redundant as the game progressed but that did little to dampen my enthusiasm for jumping into Cole's shoes and electrocuting dudes. Oh and don't forget the story which nicely sets up a much anticipated sequel and ends with one of the BEST twists in recent game memory. Sure Ive seen variations on that twist before, but damn if it didn't better for inFamous than pretty much anywhere else. Also, count me as one of the people disappointed by the ousting of the actor who voiced Cole. Thought he did great work and will be sad to have someone else in the role.

This game really came out and shocked me with just how much better it was than the original. While I still find myself getting a little frustrated with the controls on occasion, and the climbing can sometimes be a little imprecise, everything about this game feels that much more streamlined from the first game. Playing as Ezio on his quest for revenge was a high point of my videogaming year and I eagerly await the next installment of the franchise, though with trepidation as I just don't see the controls and combat holding up well with the direction the story is going.

Can't think of much to say about this game really. Great gameplay, batshit insane single player campaign that pretty much throws anything resembling coherence out the window, and addictive, if occasionally frustrating, multiplayer.

Had I played the story campaign alone, this game probably would not have made this list at all. But I was lucky enough to play through the entire story with a friend online in 2 marathon sessions. Really made this game unforgettable and a ton of fun. I hope that multiplayer like this becomes a far more common occurrence because it just adds so much value to the experience.

If only Gearbox hadnt just blatantly lied to everyone by claiming that the PC version would be the best version of the game this may have placed higher on my list. Really fun gameplay, shooting, and looting that I sank hour upon hour into and kept coming back for more. The fact that it was obviously a console developed shooter half assedly ported to the PC really shows though and did a lot to dampen my initial enthusiasm for the game.

Such a beautiful game. The level design, the art, the lighting, the colors, the music... I could go on about how much I enjoyed playing this game but I really think you should play it and let the game speak for itself. Had a ton of fun playing through this game and can definitely see myself going back to it every now and then in the future.

Torchlight is my first foray into the dungeon crawling, loot focused action RPG genre and, man, this game has me hooked. My biggest complaint is that the game doesn't last very long but the infinite dungeon unlocked after the main story has had me coming back in the eternal search for better loot. Can't wait to get in and see what people come up with using the developer's kit and am looking forward to trying it out a bit myself. Torchlight was a huge surprise for me, as it I think it was for a lot of people considering the story behind the development, and I'm eagerly looking forward to more from Runic games in the future.