Game of the Year Awards 2010

Best PC Game
Starcraft 2

Starcraft 2 successfully takes the winning gameplay from the original and crafts a wonderfully presented new package. Varied missions and some fantastic unit design make it a must-own strategy title. Multiplayer once again proves to be incredibly popular and well balanced.







Runners-up:
Civilization 5
Mass Effect 2
Stalker: Call of Pripyat

Best Playstation 3 Game
Heavy Rain

When players say that Heavy Rain is a unique experience, they really mean it. Featuring a complex, multi-character and multi-ending story arc, along with unique gameplay and amazing technical character modeling, makes this the best PS3 title this year.







Runners-up:
God of War 3
Gran Turismo 5
Darksiders

Best Xbox 360 Game
Mass Effect 2

A Cinematic role playing game where you save the universe? It plays as great as it sounds. Players can also benefit when using a save game from the first title. No matter how you play it, good or evil, ME2 is a superb game.








Runners-up:
Call of Duty: Black Ops
Alan Wake
Halo Reach

Worst Game Everyone Played
Dead Rising 2

While Dead Rising 2 takes steps forward for the franchise that trademarked creative zombie killing, a variety of issues made this an average title. Given poor AI, frustrating boss fights and unlikeable characters, this isn't the great title that many people were expecting.







Runners-up:
Fable 3
Splinter Cell: Conviction
Call of Duty: Black Ops

Best Game No-one Played
Amnesia: The Dark Descent

Another successful game by developers Frictional Games, although it sold enough copies to keep them going for another game, it should have sold a boat load more. Superb horror and originality make Amnesia most worthy of the best game not enough people experienced.







Runners-up:
Darksiders
Costume Quest
Bayonetta

Most Improved Sequel
Red Dead Redemption

Red Dead Revolver was a mildly received game back in the day and one that many people wouldn’t have considered to be sequel-worthy, especially by a triple-A studio like Rockstar. Following in the footsteps and the formula of Grand Theft Auto 4, Red Dead Redemption greatly surpasses the quality of its predecessor and ups the ante on what we can expect from Rockstar and the genre in the future.




Runners-up:
Assassin's Creed 2
Just Cause 2
Mass Effect 2

Worst Sequel
Crackdown 2

While the original was an addictive bit of arcade-style action mixed with Grand Theft Auto open-world goodness - bugs, control issues, and the unusual fluctuations in difficulty all hindered the less-than-stellar sequel.








Runners-up:
Lost Planet 2
Command & Conquer 4
Gothic 4

Best New IP
Heavy Rain

Likely the most original video game experience this year, Heavy Rain is an ambitious project that put alot on the line for Quantic Dream. Thankfully, the risk paid off with both the critics and PS3 player audiences. If the progression from Indigo Prophecy to Heavy Rain is any indication, the next project in this series will be one to remember.





Runners-up:
Darksiders
Amnesia: The Dark Descent
Metro 2033

Most Surprisingly Good Game
Darksiders

Taking many ideas from similar games, this action adventure title is not only beautifully presented, but almost perfectly paced between all the sword swinging action and clever puzzles. Let’s not forget the single player is of good length and rarely manages to be repetitive.







Runners-up:
Just Cause 2
NBA 2k11
Prince of Persia: Forgotten Sands

Most Disappointing Game
Splinter Cell: Conviction

Splinter Cell Conviction turned stealth into action, subtlety into explosions, and patience into mark and execute automatic kills. Many things that made the series a leader in the genre have vanished but we really hope they will be back.








Runners-up:
Command & Conquer 4
Alan Wake
Elemental: War of Magic

Worst Game Overall
Elemental: War of Magic

Probably the most broken retail title this year, Elemental featured a non-working multiplayer and a magnitude of issues out of the box. Sure, a few weeks and patches later some issues were solved, but this is still our worst game of the year.








Runners-up:
APB
Aliens vs Predator
Gothic 4