2010 has been one of the best years for gaming ever. In terms of the sheer number of AAA games that have been released so far, I feel like we’ve already had a holiday season and we haven’t even hit November. Therefore you shouldn’t be blamed for missing a few titles along the way that you want to pick up at a later date. Sure some of the  supposedly AAA games that have come out this year have fallen flat in the eyes of many people, however some of the lesser known games, to some people, have shined when  nobody thought they would. In the right group of people these games were the AAA games that were bigger than Final Fantasy, Halo: Reach and God of War.

Anyway, I feel as though i may have rambled. Here are the greatest games of 2010 that you probably haven’t played.

Alan Wake has had a troubled time. It was constantly delayed to the point where, until it was on store shelves I didn’t think it was really being released. Sort of like Gran Turismo 5. Then Microsoft sends it out to die and die it has. It was released within a week of Red Dead Redemption. Any enthusiastic gamer knows that you don’t release your game anywhere near a Rockstar game. No matter how good it is it will almost always be over looked for the aforementioned Rockstar game.

Naturally, I wasn’t paying attention to Alan Wake along with most of the gaming world I only had eyes for Red Dead Redemption. Even though I didn’t have any interest in playing the game. After roughly two weeks of the games being on store shelves Red Dead Redemption was like gold dust and I picked Alan Wake out of the bargain bin. 50% off less than a month after release. This is where I fell in love.

The game is magnificent. I do not like any type of horror video game, I couldn’t even finish Bioshock, I don’t think I made it half way. Yet this game is fabulous. It has the perfect mix of survival horror and all out video game action. Even if you can’t find it in a bargain bin for 50% off then at the very least rent the game. I completed it in near enough one sitting. Albeit I was sat for quite a while yet I still feel that the purchase of the game was completely warranted even if it was just for one sitting. I know people who have put 50+ hours into the game *cough* Deschain *cough*. It is truly worth, at the very least, renting.

If you do decide to rent the game or buy it then let me know. I have a spare code for the first add on pack. If you want it then just send me a message on twitter. @360cookie.

Pokemon, I love Pokemon. I collected the cards when I was younger, I have been playing the games since I was 9 years old and I got the original Pokemon silver with my Christmas money. I have grown up with the games more than any other. I even bought the original DS on launch day so I could play the next Pokemon. Although I sold it very disappointed because there wasn’t a true Pokemon game released in the three years that I owned it. Then came Soul Silver early this year. I had bypassed Diamond and Pearl but there wasn’t anyway that I could miss the remakes of the games I loved so much. So I bought a DSi in order to play Soul Silver and I have loved every minute I have put into that game. I am still playing the game to this day and bought the strategy guide just two weeks ago, so I could catch all the Pokemon. It is my game of the year for this year so far and the reason I am writing about it right now is in order to try and convince people to at least try it. I know too many people that think the game is just for kids and so despite the fact that the games together are some of the best selling games this year it seems like nobody has played them.

I will put it quite simply. The Pokemon games are the best RPG games that I have ever played. They are true RPGs unlike the pseudo RPGs like Mass Effect 2 that are released today. If you like RPGs then I implore you to try these games. They can be as casual or hardcore as you like. If you just want to beat some trainers then you can and you will have fun doing so however if you want to get in depth and EV train your Pokemon, to make them the strongest they can be, you can.

The Pokemon games have been seen as children’s games for too long. Play them and you will see that they are just as good as any RPG on the Xbox 360, PS3 or PC.

Ahh Harry Potter, how I love this franchise. I think I should provide a little disclosure before I start on Lego Harry Potter just in case I come across as a fanboy. I adore the Harry Potter series. I have bought all the books twice, lined up at midnight for them, read each book a minimum of ten times, bought all the movies at least twice on three different formats and played all the games. As you may be able to guess describing me as excited for Lego Harry Potter Years 1-4 would be an understatement. I have enjoyed almost all of the Lego games to date and the Harry Potter franchise is a natural fit with what the Lego games do. The typical humour of the Lego games fits perfectly in the world of Harry Potter. Even as the films (which the game seems to be slightly more based upon) get darker the jokes are just as good. There is a particularly good joke at the end of Goblet of Fire which if you play the game you should be on the lookout for.

The game itself is, in my opinion, the best Lego game to date. This game feels like a culmination of everything the Lego games have done right over the last five or six years. While playing in two player split screen your character won’t die if the person your playing with runs off. Instead there is an intuitive split screen system that splits the screen as and when it is needed. The game also feels more fleshed out than previous Lego games. Each story feels like it’s own game rather than it’s own section. I am confident that each year could have been released as a standalone game albeit not at full retail price.

If you have played any of the Lego games and even remotely enjoyed them you should try this game. If you like the Harry Potter series you should try this game. If you like both then you are crazy if you haven’t already completed the game multiple times. Since I don’t know anybody who really despises either franchise you NEED to play Lego Harry Potter.

If you have any other suggestions for games that are great but have been overlooked this year then please let me know in the comments or on twitter @360cookie.

Written by: Cookie Writer