We're a little over halfway through the 2010 calendar and we have seen a slew of top shelf games released and we haven't even hit the holiday rush yet. So let's look back at some of the best games of 2010 -- and some of these you may even find on the bargain bin rack. Fickle lot, us gamers. This article is a round table discussion amongst our regular contributors, and as always, opinions started flying left and right. We really do like each other. It's like one big family throw down.

William Abner, Editor in Chief:

My top 5 include in no particular order:

Metro 2033

One of the most overlooked games of the year, Metro 2033 infuriated me for the first two hours, and then I completely fell in love with its gritty backdrop, interesting and well told story, and a world where ammo is treated like gold. If you missed this gem when it came out, it’s already in the bargain bin. The best $40 you will spend all year.

Out of the Park Baseball 2011

This text based baseball game just keeps chugging along. I run an online league so I play this game nearly every single day. If you’re a baseball stat head, it’s a required purchase.

Mass Effect 2

I have never been as big a fan of this series as others, but I enjoyed Mass Effect 2 enough to play it twice start to finish. I rarely do that. I still don’t think this is Bioware at its best, but ME2 provided enough meat to satisfy my need for a Sci-Fi action-rpg.

BioShock 2

Likely my current GOTY, BioShock 2 exceeded all expectation, mainly because I was leery of this game right up to release. 2K Marin proved me wrong – and them some.

Dawn of War II: Chaos Rising

I have to get some flavor of Warhammer in this list and Chaos Rising is a worthy addition to the Dawn of War franchise. I’m still no fan of the silly boss fights but the addition of Chaos goes a long, long way. This barely edged out Darksiders.

Jeff McAllister, Sr. Editor:

Bayonetta

Bayonetta had one of the oddest takes on a main character for a game ever. The glasses wearing witch that uses her hair as her clothing, and aside from the guns in her hands and the guns on her feet, her hair was also used as a weapon. The game had over the top action, over the top dialogue and was an all around mind boggling action title that made no apologies at all for its wackiness.

Mario Galaxy 2

Although not a whole lot changed in the gameplay from Mario Galaxy one, not much needed to. Mario Galaxy 2 was a fun romp from beginning to end with some returning powers like the Bee and Boo suit to new powers like the Rock Mushroom and the Cloud Suit. Sure it’s another Mario title for the Wii, but it’s what Nintendo does best.

Red Dead Redemption

One of the few western genre titles ever released, players take the role of John Marston – a reformed outlaw that travels across the States and Mexico to bring some former friends to justice. While the fantastic voice acting is on par with RockStar’s previous titles, the story is also appealing enough to keep you interested through the 40 or so hours of gameplay – right up to the phenomenal ending.

Heavy Rain

From Quantic Dream, the creators of one of my favourite games – Indigo Prophecy - Heavy Rain takes what Indigo Prophecy was and takes it up a notch. How Heavy Rain is controlled, by using nothing but walking movement and a series of Quick Time Events to make your actions and progress the story, is something totally different than any game from any other company. The story did have some holes in it bigger than Lard Lad’s Donut, but the mystery title still accomplished what it set out to do.

Bad Company 2

Sure the Single player of Bad Company 2 wasn’t all that spectacular, especially considering it never made a peep about what happened at the end of the first game, it’s not the singleplayer gameplay why it’s on my list. The multiplayer of Bad Co. 2 was and still is a great time and for those that wanted environmental destruction and a bigger battleground than other modernish warfaring games didn’t have, it is a great alternative – and for many – an all around better experience.