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Bringing an anime twist to the world of one-on-one fighting, Blazblue: Calamity Trigger is an outstanding game, one of the best of the year, and owes a great deal to its charming and imaginative art style.
Nobody takes on big bad stuffs in quite the way Kratos manages to. There's nothing in all of ancient Greece that this revenge-thirsty Spartan won't taken on, including Titans, Helios and even Zeuss himself.
The game that would have been great simply as Grand Theft Auto in the Wild West is somehow much much more, with an excellent story, perfectly polished action and a terrific adventure to follow with John Marston.
Following on from the success of Bayonetta, with creative influence from Shinji Mikami, Vanquish is one of the most intense, action-packed shooters of the year, and it's an absolute joy to play.
Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1
Though sadly not a complete game, Episode 1 of Sonic 4 features classic 2-D Sonic gameplay, with blistering speed and snazzy HD visuals. It's an addictive little game, and the best platformer of 2010.
Though initially more linear than its famous predecessors, Final Fantasy XIII is a superb RPG that provides a brilliant story to enjoy for fans of the genre. The more you give to the game, the more you get back.
Though it's easy to fault Gran Turismo 5 for niggles like B Spec mode, the core gameplay makes this iteration of GT the best racer in a generation. With superb handling, brilliant car models and loads of great tracks, it's unbeatable.
Providing an entertaining, anime-style take on the fighting genre, BlazBlue combines fluid control, over-the-top moves and dazzling colours to create a fighting game like no other, and a brilliant one too.
Pac-Man: Championship Edition DX
The PSN is host to a whole range of classic games, upgraded for the HD era. One of the most impressive returns to the gaming world is this addictive Championship Edition of Pac-Man, with blistering pace and arcade thrills.
Somehow managing to outdo Final Fantasy, Red Dead Redemption provides an unrivalled atmospheric soundtrack, with several pieces of music that set the game apart from all the competition.
There's something undeniably brilliant about the atmospheric effects implemented in the city of Rapture. Some of the weapon effects aren't quite at the same standard, but Rapture will always draw you in.
This award suits RPGs perfectly, which allow time to build a complete cast of interesting people. Final Fantasy XIII succeeds completely, with characters that gamers will become truly attached to by the end of the game.
Despite the increasing power and resources of American developers, Square Enix has still managed to create a game that has no visual equal in 2010. The beautiful Final Fantasy XIII has superb environments and incredible character models.
Skate 3, despite EA's misguided activation code usage, provides an excellent online experience, due to the careful combination of cooperative and competitive event types. Being able to tour the city with friends, outdoing eachother's moves, is superb.
Final Fantasy XIII is quite a linear experience for the first 25 hours, but this is a great opportunity for the story to unfold. Simply sitting back and enjoying the ride allows you to experience 2010's greatest gaming story, before crafting your own way after that.
Though the Red Dead Redemption cast is consistently very good, it's John Marston himself that singlehandedly makes this game one of the best this year, and a clear favourite for voicework. This non-Nolan North lead produces a terrific performance in the Wild West.
Despite being a game that insists on one player at a time, Peggle is tremendously addictive and instantly accessible. Friends and family can easily get involved with the fire-and-forget gameplay, and laugh together as things go very right, or very wrong.
Pac-Man: Championship Edition DX
Though far more simplistic than the likes of DeathSpank, Pac-Man provides unrivalled arcade thrills. As a cheaper, downloadable title, it's hard to beat the short bursts of entertainment Pac-Man provides, even with epic RPG awesomeness from DeathSpank.
For any gamer keen to explore, to uncover new things, to try new strategies, Enslaved will come as a crushing disappointment. Unless you're content to follow every on-screen prompt and guide, you will be punished relentlessly. It's like being supervised by Daleks.
Handing over from Demon's Souls, last year's winner, Final Fantasy continues the reign of epic RPGs on the Playstation 3. Though it isn't a game that suits everyone, here at MeteorStorm, it's the best game of the year by a clear margin, and thoroughly enjoyable.
Take part in one of gaming's least enjoyable movie conversions, with a few T-600s and some bad, bad robots.
Sometimes the simplest ideas work best, with Cubixx returning to its arcade roots
Set aside futuristic tools and take control of nature itself in From Dust.
Prepare yourself for another hundred hours of incredible RPG adventure with Skyrim.
Taking on some football action from last year's FIFA offering, can EA outdo Pro Evo?
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Makarov
Revenge is like a ghost... It takes over every man it touches... Its thirst cannot be quenched... Until the last man standing has fallen...
