OK, it is now Next Year where I reside, so time for a wee quiz:

GOTY 2009?
Mine...AC2.

D(Disappointment)OTY?
MW2 - too short, not enough "God" missions, implausible story.

GOTD(Decade)?
Half-Life 2. First FPS that gave me a sense of immersion and atmosphere. I could almost feel the Sun on my face in City 17.

Remember, it has been a huge 10 years and games have come far, so think hard before answering.
Also, no arguing aboot relative game merits. Each choice is yours alone.

I pretty much fully agree with you. AC2 is definitely GOTY for me. MW2 is such a good game, very well made and very nice to look at. The story mode is just horrendously short.

[EphelDuath666]

ok, so i heard a few of you people going on about The Saboteur, so yesterday i decided to pick it up before going to work and finally got a chance to play it last night.

fuck me, that game is good its the first game in a while where i actually felt a sense of hatred for the bad guys. usually in most games, i just feel indifferent to whoever the "evil force" may be, but this game has made me a very happy nazi killer

fully agree...this game totally dragged me into the nazi killin' bizness. I was actually crazy enough to do every single freeplay target. Only need to spend a few more thousand contraband and then I'll have all 45 achievements. And it doesn't happen often that I really 'want' all achievements and won't stop till I got em all. But it was just soooo much fun to climb up every building in that game, no matter how high it was..whether it's the Eifel Tower or even a HUGE Ferris wheel. And you really can climb up each building. And it's fun to get better and better in this game, blowing up several tarkets at once without raising any alarm. It's just fun.

so yes, as much as most people, especially the press, would not understand this but my personal game of the year is:
The Saboteur

my personal disappointment of the year is:
Left 4 Dead 2
I don't know why but I only played it for a few days and it really got boring fast. I played the first one to death and the fact that the second one got boring so quickly must mean that there wasn't enough new stuff in this game after all. Friends of mine who I played that game with feel the same way. Left 4 Dead 2 would have been a great Left 4 Dead 1...but as a sequel...meh. So I hope Valve will just put a bit more effort into the next Left 4 Dead game.

a few more disappointments of 2009:
MW2's horribly short campaign. Resident Evil 5 turns RE into Gears of War with zombies. How little 2K cares of its German Borderlands customers. Still no Episiode 3, WTF?? Spending money for Shellshock 2...I mean, seriously...WTF was I thinking?

and my personal game of the decade

Mass Effect: The Half-life Fallout 23

what, you never heard of that game? Well, then screw you!

Just saw a video for a game called "Brink" that comes out later this year. It looks like a mash up of Mirror's Edge (the freedom of movement) Fallout 3 (dystopian style setting, Bethesda publishing it and all obviously gave them some kind of input into the game) and Borderlands. I guess the game can be played single player or online, and it turns into an MMO style game when online. Check it out if you get a chance.

I don't think I could pick a game of the decade. Games that really stuck out in my mind over the past 10 years though:

Half Life 2
Halo
Gears of War
Fallout 3
Doom 3
Crackdown
GTA3 - GTAIV
Guitar Hero
Left 4 Dead

Team Fortress Classic doesn't technically count as it was originally released in 1999, but I'm going to give it an honourable mention for amount of playtime it gave me over the past decade. Hell of a lot better than TF2 in my opinion (I'm not saying that it's necessarily a better game than TF2, it's just that a lot of the things I loved most about TFC are gone in TF2: Medic's infection ability, spy's feign death ability, possibly the engineer's detonate dispenser feature but I'm not sure if that's in TF2 or not).

Games that really stuck out in my mind over the past 10 years though:

KOTOR 1&2
Mass Effect
Jade Empire
Neverwinter Nights 2
The Fable games
Modern Warfare 1 and maybe 2
Warcraft 3
Oblivion
Fallout 3
HL2

I may have forgotten something but... that's about it. Not long til ME2 now. Gives.

[Octillus]

Games that really stuck out in my mind over the past 10 years though:

KOTOR 1&2
Mass Effect
Jade Empire
Neverwinter Nights 2
The Fable games
Modern Warfare 1 and maybe 2
Warcraft 3
Oblivion
Fallout 3
HL2

I may have forgotten something but... that's about it. Not long til ME2 now. Gives.

I like your taste in games sir, and I'd like to subscribe to your newsletter.

I don't think I could pick a game of the decade. Games that really stuck out in my mind over the past 10 years though:

Yeah, I wont try to pick "game of the decade" either, I didn't play them all after all. Here are mine favourites anyway:

S.T.A.L.K.E.R Shadow of Chernobyl - with myriad of its flaws still my favourite game, for brilliant atmosphere, impression the game's world isn't revolving around you and modding community making game better. I could go for hours how I love this game. Most recent episode is pretty awesome as well (GOTY 2009 for me ).

Far Cry - first one, for excellent open maps and replayablity

Crysis - bit less open than FC, but still great fun, Crytek FTW

Penumbra (Overture/Black Plague) - most unnerving game ever with excellent physics puzzles and gesture based interface

The Witcher - deep story, moral dilemmas and witty dialogues (at least in original language version), almost as good as books it's based on.

Fallout 3 - style and beautiful world to explore

Half Life 2 - for having very own character and believable world

I loved early Call of Duty games - running forward triggering scripts gets old fast though, especially after tasting a bit more open games. Still, some bits are really unforgettable (Pointe du Hoc in COD2!)

I forgot about S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Definitely up there with one of the most impressive games with incredible immersion. The atmosphere cant be beat, it just cant.

Played Modern Warfare 2 a bit with my brother and with Orl recently, and I have concluded that I shall never ever ever enjoy first person shooters and should therefore give up trying to like them.

The Saboteur is still feckin brilliant.

Game of the Decade goes to Fallout 3.

Glad we're in 2010 cos there's far more games out this year that I actually have an interest in than last year! First to anticipate is Dante's Inferno, thankfully I also have Assassin's Creed II to tide me till then as well as le Saboteur, but according to my brother it is quite devastatingly short and easy. We shall have to see...

Played Modern Warfare 2 a bit with my brother and with Orl recently, and I have concluded that I shall never ever ever enjoy first person shooters and should therefore give up trying to like them.

The Saboteur is still feckin brilliant.

Game of the Decade goes to Fallout 3.

Glad we're in 2010 cos there's far more games out this year that I actually have an interest in than last year! First to anticipate is Dante's Inferno, thankfully I also have Assassin's Creed II to tide me till then as well as le Saboteur, but according to my brother it is quite devastatingly short and easy. We shall have to see...

Personal opinion, if you want a game like Dante's Inferno just wait for God of War 3. Dante's is like a direct copy of GoW with Greek Mythology removed and Christianity taking its place. No chain blades, instead you get a Scythe and there is a "moral choice" system. Honestly, play the demo and make a decision for yourself. I think God of War 3 is going to make it look bad.

Played Modern Warfare 2 a bit with my brother and with Orl recently, and I have concluded that I shall never ever ever enjoy first person shooters and should therefore give up trying to like them.

The Saboteur is still feckin brilliant.

Game of the Decade goes to Fallout 3.

Glad we're in 2010 cos there's far more games out this year that I actually have an interest in than last year! First to anticipate is Dante's Inferno, thankfully I also have Assassin's Creed II to tide me till then as well as le Saboteur, but according to my brother it is quite devastatingly short and easy. We shall have to see...

Personal opinion, if you want a game like Dante's Inferno just wait for God of War 3. Dante's is like a direct copy of GoW with Greek Mythology removed and Christianity taking its place. No chain blades, instead you get a Scythe and there is a "moral choice" system. Honestly, play the demo and make a decision for yourself. I think God of War 3 is going to make it look bad.

I agree, it is extremely God of Waresque. But by the same hand, I really enjoyed the demo, and I like how they've presented the characters.

That, and I haven't got a PS3. So fuck you, God of War. Fuck you and your single platformery.

So I hope Valve will just put a bit more effort into the next Left 4 Dead game.

Please, no. They need to move on to new things.

So I hope Valve will just put a bit more effort into the next Left 4 Dead game.

Please, no. They need to move on to new things.

No, they actually need to finish something they started in 2004. Then they can move on to new things.

[EphelDuath666]

how about all of that...how about them releasing Episode 3, take some time to actually make a real and much, much, much improved L4D sequel (L4D2 doesn't count for me), they can take as much time as they need for that PLUS create something new somewhere in between. After all, Episode 3 should be sort of almost done already, no?

I'm currently playing Gears of War 1 on Insane difficulty on my own. It's less difficult than I thought. But it's still lotsa fun!

So I hope Valve will just put a bit more effort into the next Left 4 Dead game.

Please, no. They need to move on to new things.

No, they actually need to finish something they started in 2004. Then they can move on to new things.

?? Episode 2 was released in October 2007. Unless you mean the Half Life 2 story arc. Moving onto other things probably has very little to do with the game not being out yet, as it's common for game development companies to have more than one team.