Also, for the record, last year saw me playing on my XBox 360, PC, and to a lesser extent, my Wii. Don’t expect me to include any PS3 or DS titles as I don’t own these platforms. So, without further ado, here we go….

Also rans:

These are in no particular order, but are the games that almost made the top 5, but not quite!

Team Fortress 2 – yes I know it’s old, but it’s still masses of fun. I discovered this one night whilst online with Dan from Is There Food. We had gotten bored of running round Liberty City and so thought we’d give this a try. And it was a bit of a revelation, defined by the moment I saw myself running into the room to try and steal my team’s flag. That spy caught fire very quickly!

Braid – one of the surprises of the year for me. I didn’t know much about it until I tried the demo, and then immediately bought the full title. Brilliant idea, fantastically implemented, and really gives you some of those moments of complete enjoyment when you finally work out a puzzle.

Banjo Kazooie Nuts & Bolts – like Marmite, you either loved or hated this game. Personally I think it’s superb. Take a franchise of days past and re-invent it. It would have been so easy just to release another platformer, but the new game mechanics and numerous ways to complete a level really give the player freedom. Superb fun.

GTA IV – appearing in virtually every game of the year list I’ve seen. Very gritty, good story and great fun shooting people while racing through the city on a moped!

Lost Odyssey – the only JRPG I managed to play last year (despite there being 2 more on my shelf), but what a game it is. Beautiful looks, good writing (as you’d expect) and very good turn-based combat. Definitely look at this if you’re a fan of the genre.

So now to the Top 5:

5. Fable 2 – I was never a big fan of the original, but Fable 2 was very enjoyable (I say that but I’m only about 25% done with it!). A great look with vistas that look like they go on for miles, simple but fun combat, great quests to keep you running round, and lets not forget the trusty dog as your guide. What’s next from Lionhead?

4. Fallout 3 – again one that I’ve only scratched the surface with, but that I know I’m going to get massive enjoyment from. Leaving the vault at the start of the game gives you a real feeling of seeing a world for the first time. Then stumble across abandoned and ruined towns on the way to your first quests, get ambushed by bandits, then feel the satisfaction as you loot their dead bodies. Brilliant fun, and one I can’t wait to get back to.

3. Prince of Persia – one of the few games I managed to get all the way through in the last 12 months. Yes the combat was simple, and no you couldn’t die, but that doesn’t make it a bad game. The aim of re-inventing the series has been well and truly met, and with an ending that leaves the door wide-open (it couldn’t be more open in fact) for a sequel, I look forward to the next instalment in the series.

2. Warhammer Online – now this one even surprised me. As someone who has played through nearly 60 levels of World of Warcraft, I was very pleasantly surprised by WAR. Public quests were a great introduction, and the Realm vs. Realm combat really gives you a feeling of living with the bigger battle that’s going on. I think it’s telling for me that when I do get time to play an MMO now, it’s always WAR that I fire up, and WAR hasn’t had a look in since my WAR account became active. Superb, and I look forward to many, many more enjoyable hours here.

So that leaves me with my number 1 for the year. A surprise to some (least of all me) given that, up until about 2 weeks before this title was released, I wasn’t even going to buy it! So, drum roll please….

1. Left 4 Dead – the most fun you can have on an XBox 360 with 3 friends. What a superb title that really shows other games how to do suspense. Couple that with the AI Director for the game, and no 2 encounters are ever the same. The tension as you see the swarm round a corner, and know that you’ve not got much health or ammo, but you can see the safe house. It has to be experienced to be believed. This is the only game I have ever (yes, ever) played that has had me cheering and grinning from ear to ear when you finally manage to be evacuated from a level. Absolutely stunning game, and one that I always look forward to playing. This will be in my collection for a long time to come.

So what think you, dear reader? Any that I’ve missed? Any that have made my list that you thought were complete twoddle? Leave me a comment, or better still, write your own list and let me see it….