This may sound like a cop out since I’m choosing one of the biggest game launches of the year for the Xbox 360, but honestly, Halo: Reach delivered for me in so many ways. First, it was the swan song for Bungie that lets them go off and do something not-Halo — which I’m interested in — and it also told a story I already knew the ending to in a way that actually made me care.

The events surrounding the fall of Reach were really well-established in dialog of the previous Halo games and the published novel, but I found Noble Team’s conflict a lot more relatable than the superhero Master Chief was by the end of Halo 3.  From a gameplay standard, Halo: Reach dared to push things a bit with the space missions, which I also enjoyed more than I expected.

Multiplayer is the bread and butter of the Halo community and the marginal updates to this game mode were nice. The addition and enhancements of Firefight mode are still the best fun I’ve had playing Halo since the 10-year-old crowd took over the game scene, spouting pointless obscenities, years ago. Sure, the average maturity level of the online Halo player is still about 12, but in Firefight I can manage to ignore them.

Phil Hornshaw’s two cents: Simply adding a decent sprinting ability makes this one of the year’s best shooters. I’ve been waiting for a way to escape sniper 12-year-olds for almost a decade.

Quite simply, Metro 2033 is the most immersive gaming experience I had this year. I’ve written this year about the importance of world-building in games in reference to open-world titles like Red Dead Redemption and Fallout, but the same thought applies here; the world of Moscow’s metro system — and the bombed-out city above — as constructed by 4A is as breathtaking as it is unforgettable.

But where Metro 2033 really makes its mark is in its story progression. As I made my way through the tunnels and became more aware of the desperate situation befalling my fellow humans, I couldn’t help but feel as if I were taking part in an epic and impossible journey to save the world — even though the scope of the story never extends beyond Moscow.

The first-person shooter genre is special because it literally puts you in the head of the protagonist. Few games have ever done that — truly done that — as well as Metro 2033 does.

Shut up, Call of Duty. This is the most fun I’ve had playing a first-person shooter all year. Everything else felt like a beautifully polished door knob — we’ve seen it before, everywhere. But now it’s shinier.

And honestly, Cabela’s Dangerous Hunts 2011 doesn’t do anything different, either. In fact, it’s kind of a parody of first-person shooters, even if it doesn’t realize it. It’s unintentionally hilarious. You’re in the woods with your buddies, and you’re lookin’ to take down some game. You main goal is to hunt and kill animals in the woods, and enjoy it. You’d envision there’s a trip to a steak house lodge planned after the killing sesh, which you never get to.

My favorite character is the main guy leading your crew. He is a mix between Solid Snake, Anthony Hopkins in the movie The Edge, and your hunting grandpa. He has a glass eye, and he doesn’t care.

You basically walk around in the snow and shoot at wolves, deer, mountain lions and bears that walk in front of your gun. The gameplay is actually faster than you’d expect. Wolves charge mercilessly in packs. It’s crazy.

One good/bad touch is, there are these slow-motion x-ray vision quick time events. Beasts hurl themselves at you in slo-mo, and you can see their insides (for no explained reason. You just have that super power at that time). So you have to shoot their heart for a “heartshot,” or their head for a “headshot.”

My point is, the whole thing is a ridiculous riot. It’s a game you can play drunk with a friend and have the best time ever. It doesn’t demand a lot of you. It is simply a gift, and one you can enjoy with a non-gamer friend. It definitely has that power: non-gamers will go ape-sh*t for this. Guaranteed. Final note: Phil Owen approves of the Cabela series, and his enjoyment of playing games while drinking is well documented.

I’ve always loved the Battlefield series, but Battlefield 2 and 2142 dwindled my interest a bit with heavy focus on vehicles.  Bad Company 2 hitting PC this year was a godsend, especially for those of us who aren’t fans of Call of Duty’s multiplayer frenzy.

The Battlefield games have always had great balance, interesting maps, and solid mechanics, a legacy that Bad Company 2 carries on on well.  It offers several games modes, including the popular Rush as well as classic Conquest, the mode that made Battlefield famous. All of this is powered by the Frostbite engine, which lets you destroy trees, walls, buildings, and more.  There’s nothing quite like the feeling on causing a building to fall down on your enemy.

Everyone wants multiplayer progression these days, and BC2 delivers that as well, offering 50 levels and a pile of unlocks.  These unlocks aren’t overly powerful, which helps preserve the game balance, but they do reward you for time spent and good play.  You can also work toward collecting all the medals and ribbons for online accomplishments.

The singleplayer campaign is short and a bit disappointing, but the multiplayer is just so good that it doesn’t matter.  To make things even better, DICE is set to roll out a brand new Vietnam-based expansion that should bring even more people into their online world.

Without question, Bad Company 2 set the bar for multiplayer shooters in 2010, and nothing else even got close.  It’s easily my favorite shooter of the year.