Some would contest that zombies are a means to the end of portraying guilt free murder and if there is one game out there that takes that sadistic desire to an absurd level it's Dead Rising 2. The central premise for this game is the unabashed, thinking outside the box zombie killing. From the dependable spiked bat to the nonsensical freeze gun, Dead Rising 2 rewards creativity through its weapon creation system. Dead RIsing 2 is the best zombie game this year because of its hyper-serious parody of zombie media and the depth it allows in zombie massacring.
Runners up - Call of Duty: Black Ops, Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare
The Castlevania franchise is synonymous with the tripartite game design of explore, upgrade, then backtrack. In recent years the brand has suffered some major confusion as it has lazily shifted away from the old adventure roots. Castlevania: Lords of Shadow violently yanks the franchise into the action genre that it has been gingerly toeing towards. While retaining the upgrade aspect, the backtracking has been almost completely done away with in an effort to convey a more cohesive cinematic story experience. Castlevania: Lords of Shadow apes other popular third person character action games very effectively while looking just as good as the competitors. It also delivers a story with gravity and an ending with the greatest twist in years.
Runners up - Kirby’s Epic Yarn, Pac-Man CE DX
Texas hold'em, Liar's dice, and Blackjack can be enjoyed in real life or from the comfort of home on a free to play website but what happens when you want to do a little gambling but don't want to quit playing your video game? Red Dead Redemption has an answer for that: simply don't. Those three games can be played against npc's or friends online when a little respite from the wild, wild west is needed. Plus, cheating and shooting up the table is pretty enjoyable.
Runners up - Dead Rising 2, Fallout: New Vegas
Millions of people can't be wrong. Call of Duty: Black Ops is par for the franchise course and par for Call of Duty games is pretty damn high (or low (golf)). Even though it didn't make the huge leap that its predecessor did, Black Ops made enough improvements on a tried and true design to keep it feeling fresh. Being able to appeal to new comers and have enough depth for returning players make this a truly remarkable competitive game.
Runners up - Assassin’s Creed 2: Brotherhood, StarCraft 2
The most addicting, approachable, and intelligent mobile game this year is Alchemy for Android. The simple combination puzzles range from pop-culture to ancient mythology to chemistry to play on words. Alchemy for Android is easy to pick up and play for a few minutes or for a few hours of intense element combining. Even though it lacks a few features that would improve the quality there is still so much to enjoy about this game. Updates are regular that increase the combinations and even paying the few bucks for the undo feature is worth it. Alchemy for Android is fantastic for all ages and for any amount of time.
Runners up - Fruit Ninja, Game Dev Story
Teased in the loading screen of its predecessor, Mass Effect 3 has been formally announced for 2011 and even though that's just a year after second game, it's not soon enough. Little has been disclosed about the story for Mass Effect 3 but connecting the dots suggests a final battle starring Shepard against the Reapers on Earth. Probably more alien boning too.
Runners up - Gear of War 3, Metal Gear Solid: Rising
The grand space opera strikes back. All criticism for control, menu, and pacing issues from the first game have been addressed and done so impeccably in Mass Effect 2. Commander Shepard is back to kick more gallatic ass via solid shooter mechanics this time. RPG elements have been streamlined for simplicity and the revenge mission lights a fire under the story to make sure it never lulls. It was also very impressive to see decisions from the first game carry into the second in meaningful (or sometimes just spam mail) ways. Mass Effect 2 is a massive improvement from the first game in the series but the most notable quality is the characters. Mass Effect 2 is chock-full with memorable characters that are much more than superficial bad-asses. The characters have internal struggles and conflicts with one another that leads to intense mediation moments. Playing as both commander and counselor puts all parts of the story into the player's hands. This leads to much more memorable moments and impactful decisions because of the bond that has been formed between player and characters. Mass Effect 2 is the best game of 2010 because of that connection between player and game and the lasting memory it leaves.
Runners up - Assassins Creed 2 Brotherhood, Bayonetta, Red Dead Redemption, Transformers: War for Cybertron
Boss Barrel's Game of the Year 2010: A-Side