It's Adam's turn to look back over the year and pick his top 5 games, starting at No. 5 with...

5) Scribblenauts (Nintendo DS)
UK release: October 2009

OK yes it may be flawed, but it's flawed genius. The gameplay mechanic employed here has the potential to revolutionise the way we play certain games and I applaud its innovation whole heartedly.

Sure due to the imprecise control method the puzzle solving aspects in certain levels can prove frustrating, and certain objects can be used in many ways over and over again to solve the obstacles you face, but the real genius of the game is in its sandbox area, much like GTA. Yes you read that right, I just compared Scribblenauts to Grand Theft Auto.

One of the pure joys of the GTA series is the feeling of freedom and exploration it empowers the player with, the option to just say “be damned with the plot of this game, I’m going off and doing my own thing!” is a wonder that I’ve indulged in more than I should. Due to this freedom I have forsaken main story never even come close to completing a GTA game. The GTA sandbox world proves far more interesting to me, and the same is here with cutesy lil old Scribblensuts.

Seeing what wild and wonderful creatures Scribblenauts has in its inventory is a joy, and pitting them against each other in a duel to the death even more so, can anything defeat the mighty shark? This dude is so bad it doesn’t even need water to survive and will kick the ass of some ropey old dinosaur or hard-nosed assassin everyday of the week and twice on Sunday... maybe they need a bigger boat?

Bottom line: If you don’t like Scribblenauts I feel for you because you lack the greatest gift of all... imagination.

4) Borderlands (Multi)
UK release: October 2009

A sleeper hit for sure. A simple yet highly effective mind meld of RPG (role playing game) and FPS (first person shooter), it’s the glorious love child of Fallout 3 and Left 4 Dead.

Borderlands doesn’t bother with heavy handed story telling or any of that character development rubbish, instead it focuses its sights on pick up and play fun that can last 5 mins or 5 hours!

You wander around a Fallout-esque post apocalyptic world, dressed in a comic book style that wouldn’t look out of place in 2000 A.D. You receive your typical fetch and carry RPG type quests which you then carry outFPS style, shooting and looting your way to the next level upgrade and slowly progressing along the main plotline enjoying the humour and pop culture awareness as you go.

Knowing nods to movies such as Mad Max, Star Wars and even Indiana Jones you might expect, but for the eagle eyed there’s also plenty of smiles to be raised with tips of the hat of Pulp Fiction, Back to the Future, Die Hard and even Monty Python and the Holy Grail!

Borderlands truly is one hellava holy hand grenade of a game!

3) Dragon Age: Origins (Multi)
UK release: October 2009

Face it, this is Mass Effect in Medieval times and it’s great. Sure Dragon Age can take a little time to warm up but the rewards are there to be reaped for those who suffer through the treacle like opening hours of this RPG that has been so many, many years in the making.

Whilst not being overly complicated in terms of game play, Dragon Age’s strength is in its story-telling and character development. Truly, one player's experience will not be the same as anothers, yet you’ll share similarities that will make you rue your decision to slay that evil blood mage earlier in the story, or that night you thought “what the hell” and slept with one of your travelling companions.

Knowingly using aspects from such past greats such as Knights of the Old Republic, Oblivion, Jade Empire and the aforementioned Mass Effect, Dragon Age melds them into an immersive world akin to Lord of the Rings where no choice is simple and the repercussions of your decisions will ripple throughout time effecting you, your party and the world you endeavour to save.

Dragon Age is great but heed these' ye olde words of wisdom' should you wish to embark on the journey: 'Patience is a virtue, all good things come to those who wait and Dwarves are crap and nobody likes them because they smell.'

2) Batman: Arkham Asylum (Multi)
UK release: September 2009

Sleeper hit? I dunno about that, it’s Batman, EVERYBODY loves Batman these days so the fact the Dark Knight's game sold nearly as many units its latest movie did tickets isn’t a massive surprise to me. The fact that this game parallels the greatness of The Dark Knight movie, does.

We’ve harked on enough about how amazed we were that this game is good elsewhere but I’ll say that what impressed me as much as the greatness of the game was the way that the rich world of Batman was faithfully brought to life. This title has some of the best voice work ever in a video game, the gothic world of The Dark Knight is reproduced in mesmerising art work throughout and the musical score is as atmospheric as anything Danny Elfman has ever created for the movies.

For me, the greatest achievement in Arkham Asylum is that they gave us THE REAL BATMAN.... 100 gamer points to the developers! Yes for once Batman, the world’s greatest detective, did some detecting! OK so it wasn’t Professor Layton-equse conundrums and Bats still had to kick plenty of ass, but for once the main strength of this wonderfully rich character was portrayed on screen... the Bat Brain!

Kudos to all involved in making as close to a Batman graphic novel come as has yet been realised (yes I very much include The Dark Knight movie in that statement). Although a note for the evitable sequel... Please get the shark repellent out on those boss battles!

1) Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 (Wii)
UK release: June 2009

This is a golf video game where you play golf.

Now that statement above will needless have many going “Duh!” I mean what did you expect from this title some kind of Leisure Suit Larry style romp? Well maybe for Woods 11... but Larry-esque wisecracks aside when I loaded up Tiger Woods 10 I expected to play a video play where I play golf, not to actually PLAY GOLF! Yes this game with the Wii Remote (and even more so with Wii Motion plus) will actually let you play golf, or as good to golf as you’ll get in the comfort of your own home, and it is amazing.

You swing the Wii Remote just as you would a real club, and everything reacts on-screen as you would expect. Fear not though if, like me, you are not blessed with best golf game on the Links, the usual mind boggling array of options we expect from EA sports titles will let you customise every and any aspect of the game ensuring a satisfying and enjoyable experience for players of all skill levels.

If you enjoy golf and own a Wii, you must have this. If you play video games, love a bit of golf but don’t own a Wii then get one written down in big fat marker pen at the top of your list to Mr Claus. Because this IS golf!

Never before has EA Sports well known slogan of “it’s in the game” been so apt, this game is a hole in one... ‘Must resist urge to use obvious Tiger Woods sex pun’