William Abner, Editor in Chief: No game will make you feel physically fatigued quite like Prototype. I really enjoyed the first third of that game. Then it started to make me feel like I was in way over my head.

Dave VanDyk, Staff Writer: Prototype did a pretty good job of sending a lot of crap your way. My problem with the game was that I ended up feeling guilty if I didn't complete as many of the side-jobs as possible before proceeding with the main campaign, which ended up making the thing pretty tedious after awhile. I hope nobody objects if I jump in on the action here:

5. Killzone 2 -- Just 'cause I liked hiding behind stuff using the game's fancy first-person cover system, and occasionally poking my head out to land a headshot with that cool-ass infinite ammo handgun. Yup.

4. Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood -- I never really got into the whole "western" genre all that much, which made my subsequent journey to try and re-watch as many of those movies as I could (starting with the third Back to the Future movie, mind you) all the more incredible after playing this game. Top-notch voice acting, addictive gameplay, fantastic graphics, and a pretty darned good plot all came together for one of the best single player experiences I've engaged in this year. My cowboy hat really goes off to the development team for putting together such a solid cinematic experience.

3. Men of War -- Terrible voice acting, awkward controls, and missions in need of such intense micro-management that they're likely to drive you insane really aren't the ingredients you'd expect out of a winning game. And yet, I keep coming back to this somewhat overlooked classic for one key reason: Co-op play! Given how the game consistently gives you ways to break outside of the normal confines of scripting, hijack an enemy tank, fix it up, and go ravage the countryside with your best of friends, it really is one of the most entertaining RTS games I've ever played. The fact that you really need close friends to get the full experience does somewhat dampen things though.

2. The Chronicles of Riddick - Assault on Dark Athena -- Okay, so my second choice is also a remake of sorts, but that shouldn't make it any less deserving of mention. I was of the impression that the original Riddick game didn't really need any kind of graphical facelift, so seeing it actually get one was quite surprising. Sure, the HDR effects were a bit overdone in places, but having a chance to rock out with Vin Diesel again really got my blood pumping. The new campaign wasn't half-bad either.

1. Secret of Monkey Island: SE -- This goes for both the remake and new game release. Mere words can scarcely describe how inexplicably awesome it is to suddenly find developers going back and reviving some of my favorite franchises. It's given me such a sense of jubilation that I've spent the last few weeks zooming off to work with Monkey Island 3's "A Pirate I Was Meant to Be" blaring from the speakers of my Trans Am. What's even more amazing is that these new releases are actually 'good' - the Tales of Monkey Island game seems to have the humor factor down pat, and it was refreshing to have a chance to replay the original Monkey Island game with fancy graphics and voice acting. Now if they'll just do Crusader: No Remorse / No Regret...

Secret of Monkey Island: SE

William Abner, Editor in Chief: I still need to play Bound in Blood and Resident Evil 5 -- just haven't had time outside of the work schedule. Maybe I'll cover the PC edition in September. Brandon told me I am too old to enjoy Prototype. He may be right. I just wasn't a fan of that game's design. OK my tops so far:

5. Blood Bowl -- I gave this a B- review, which either says something about my review grading skills or the ho-hum first half of 2009. Maybe both. But I am such a fanboy of the boardgame that I am looking past all of its pretty obvious failings and enjoying the multiplayer league matches a great deal. If this game had solid CPU AI it would be number one.

4. Out of the Park Baseball 10 -- This text based sim has been around a long time now, but it's still utterly addictive particularly if you play in a multiplayer league.

3. Dawn of War II -- I don't play this much anymore because I'm not a real time strategy multiplayer maven outside of review testing purposes; I prefer to play solo and after the campaign was over so was my time with DoW II. But I had a blast playing the campaign while it lasted.

2. Madden 10 -- I have been a very tough critic of Madden for over a decade now, but this version despite some issues is far and away the best version of Madden to date. A real turning point for this franchise.

1. Red Faction: Guerrilla -- I just like how things blow up. But I also like the feeling of playing an insurgent; the combination of stealth and raw power I find very appealing. If anyone who has made a top 5 list hasn't played RFG -- get it. It's end of the year award worthy. Bang Bang Mason's Silver Hammer!

Red Faction: Guerrilla