Release, bought or played?
Don't really have a fave game outright, although I will shortlist a couple.
Note: These are games that I have played that were released in 2010, so don't be bitching if a potentially good game like ME:2 or SC2 didn't make the list because I have yet to play them. D:
PCCivilization V - After Civ IV, Sid had a lot to do to make this game as good. Although no particular part got a major overhaul, small changes to a majority of the game made for (for the most part) a much more open and approachable game than Civ IV was. The move from square to hexagon tiles made for more natural borders and landscapes and a much more simpler interface made it more appealing to players new with the franchise. One thing that really did annoy me about this game was the custerfuck you can get with military units you wished to move in bulk when they were close together; that and city states - what was the point, seriously...?
Minecraft - Do I really need to point out how good this game is...?
Sam and Max, Season 3: The Devil's Playhouse - TF2 Hat or not, this was a really good series of games. The storyline was good, the puzzles were difficult and the finale was really something - much better than Monkey Island's 5 parter but it's a shame most people will recall this game because of the TF2 hats.
DSAce Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth - I was worried when I first heard about the Apollo Justice game for the new AA release as Phoenix Wright had made the series so popular although Capcom did make a brave decision and a solid storyline and some good character development made the game a decent release. Anyway, as a quick spin-off for the main series this Miles Edgeworth game was made. I must admit, the game had quite a new fun direction; taking place outside the courtroom as you take on the initial investigation to five cases, all of which are more knitted together to form a larger storyline than the previous games. The final Phoenix Wright game's story, Trials and Tribulations, probably takes the biscuit for a storyline; this one had a good strong one as well which kept me interested. One thing that it could've done was probably more challenging use of the "Logic" mode where you piece bits of information together to create new information or evidence to use in your case.
Pokemon HeartGold/SoulSilver - It would seem Nintendo like the idea of remaking the older games for the new generations. I grew up with Pokemon Silver through my early High School years and really did enjoy the game. Was devastated when the the game began having cartridge battery issues, which plagued a number of Silver/Gold cartridges. Released with then generation IV games, Pearl/Diamond/Platinum, SS/HG are quite a fun and expansive remakes of their predecessors although the only thing holding it back was probably the geeky (and probably pointless) Pokewalker; granted I used it a couple of times (to get a pre-Kanto Pikachu) but still. The world was just how I remembered it from my first experience as well, although the world didn't feel as lively and variant as Sinnoh did in Diamond/Pearl/Platinum. Out of all the Pokemon main stream releases, this has got to be the strongest one Game Freak have released so far.
Honourary mentions:- Football Manager 2011: Much better than 2010 and I can finally have personal chats with those Spreadsheets the game likes me to think are players. I swear a couple of times it tricked me into thinking they were real people...
- NHL '11: Always enjoyed these games more than the FIFA series, mainly because whatever seems to be release in either this or the Maidden EA series gets implemented in their other games. The new physics engine, as opposed to the old animation based engine, felt a lot better and made for a more realistic experience than the previous releases.
- Poker Night at the Inventory: What looked like a simple poker game was brought to life with TellTale trademark humour and their ability to put a character in a new setting (e.g. the Heavy) very well.
- Tropico 3: A nice solid RTS, would recommend buying during a sale - really not worth £20.
...but DON'T buy these:- Anything to do with the Kinect...
- M.U.D TV
- TrackMania Wii - Because you can get a decent free version that'll run on most PCs for free.