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You Have Probably Played The Game Of The Year
It's July, which means we're halfway through 2010. With six months left to go, discussions about the Game of the Year may seem premature, especially since the holiday season always has some great titles to contribute. However, thanks to the Great Delay Epidemic of 2009, the first half of this year was unusually packed with awesome games...and one of them is probably the Game of the Year.
When it comes time to choose Game Informer's top game of 2010, I have no idea which way things are going to go. The race is far from over...there are still lots of good games coming out later this year. Still, I can't help but marvel at how many sweet games have already come out. Here's a brief look at the standouts. (Warning: the following list is definitely colored by my own opinions about the games' relative awesomeness – so if your favorite isn't on here, you and I like different stuff. Also, I may have forgotten a few things.)
What's Already Out
Bayonetta
Darksiders
Mass Effect 2
BioShock 2
Ace Attorney Investigations
Heavy Rain
The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom
Mega Man 10
Battlefield: Bad Company 2
Final Fantasy XIII
That One Good Baseball Game
Pokémon: HeartGold and SoulSilver
God of War III
Dragon Age Origins: Awakening
Just Cause 2
3D Dot Game Heroes
Skate 3
Lost Planet 2
Split Second: Velocity
Alan Wake
Super Mario Galaxy 2
ModNation Racers
Red Dead Redemption
Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker
Transformers: War for Cybertron
Deadly Premonition (Okay, this one doesn't really belong in such lauded company, but I loved it anyway)
Now, those aren't all necessarily GOTY contenders, but I'd be surprised if most of them didn't make our Top 50 at the end of the year. So, what do we have left to look forward to?
What's Left 
Crackdown 2
Limbo
Starcraft II
Mafia II
Metroid Other M
Valkyria Chronicles II
Halo: Reach
Epic Mickey
Civilization V
God of War: Ghost of Sparta
Dead Rising 2
Fallout: New Vegas
The Force Unleashed II
Fable III
Gran Turismo 5
Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood
Call of Duty: Black Ops
LittleBigPlanet 2
So, there's still a lot to be excited about, but the first half of the year certainly seems denser with cool games than the second. Anyway, that's one of the things I've been thinking about lately. I'm still pumped up for the holiday season, but I don't see anything in that line-up that is guaranteed to knock games like Mass Effect 2, God of War III, or Heavy Rain off of my short list of GOTY contenders. Regardless, it's a beautiful time to be a gamer.
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