The pick for our 2010 Game of the Year is Rockstar Games Red Dead Redemption. Developed by Rockstar’s San Diego studio, Redemption is a riveting tale of a former outlaw drawn back into a world of corruption in order to save his family. The game fully-immersed players into protagonist John Marston’s Old West life, featuring open-world gameplay a la Grand Theft Auto 4 and third-person shooter mechanics, both on horseback and off. With a wide array of characters to meet and quests to complete, Red Dead Redemption turned even the most cynical gamers into fanboys.

Not content with the base game alone, Rockstar Games has released several expansion packs, including the zombie-filled ‘Undead Nightmare’ pack, which have all been very well-received.

2010 GOTY Runners-Up: Mass Effect 2, StarCraft II.