Alan Wake named Time's game of the year

Alan Wake needs a sequel

@0m39AX, I can't speak for Alan Wake's story as I haven't played it. But Red Dead Redemption, while cliché, had an evolving story. Every new chapter changed the way your character was standing in the world and how he was viewed by others. ME2 missed this. If you break ME2 down into its parts then you see an opening mission, 2 main story missions and a final mission. This makes up for perhaps 20% of the game. Other 80% is recruitment and loyality missions. Some of these have interesting side stories but most of them are too shallow or short to have any meaning. For me the original Mass Effect was a much better game that had me engaged in the story and the universe, ME2 did not. I'm hoping (and expecting) that ME3 will be better. It seems ME2's only reason to excist is to turn it into a trilogy. In terms of what it added to tho story, it wasnt anything more then an expansion pack or a novel could add. Not worthy of a full game imo. I think some critics feel the same way.

Just for the record: for the reasons I've mentioned earlier, I really don't understand why ME2 got so downed in Game of the Year Awards out there, specially in comparison to RDR.

The gameplay of Alan Wake lacks a little more fulfillment. RDR is quite deep and has fun gameplay, but to me it's not really that different from GTA, wich I've played for more than 65 hours. Therefore RDR haven't really catched my attention for more than 4 hours, or even impressed me that much.But from all the nominated, ME 2 is still the game that would make me buy a console or pc, if I haven't got any. It's the best game I've played so far in current generation. Mass Effect 1 was really, really good. ME2 is simply amazing. It has so many possibilities within it, it's rich, deep, complex and breathtaking. It has all the qualities that makes a sci-fi story to be just great: it's innovative and visionary, yet plausible. The gameplay is so tight that it could be merely a third-person shooter, alone. And as for the complex and meaningful relationships you may have with some of your crew, it's better than any I've seen and played before. I mean, you start to really care 'bout the people and the universe within the game. ME2 is highly immersive in all of its characteristics, more than Alan Wake and any other on that list(well, I couldn't really tell 'bout Angry Birds and Starcraft, but I don't suppose they could be better than ME2 if not in some isolated aspect).

With exception of Angry Birds and Starcraft 2, all the other ones I've played on 360, and I must say that Alan Wake has its qualities, altough it's clearly based on narrative(wich may not be the very essential point in gaming, if there's one) and its dark, obscure atmosphere.

I hope see it on PC

all xbox games? wonder how much m$ paid time to put a first party game in the #1 slot? (by 1st party i mean microsoft game studios publishing)

@ Yams1980 And yet here we all are arguing about it haha. Alan wake was good. Not number 1 though. And the fact Black Ops wasn't on there and Angry Birds was is retarded. Whether or not you like Reach or Black Ops you cannot argue with the production values of that game. And I hate to say it but if your really gonna argue its more of the same then your ridiculously hypocritical. Cause Reach really isnt that new.

This list is FUBAR.

Well deserved if you ask me. Reach didn't deserve fourth at all though, it's not a bad game but no fourth place winner of 2010, Mario should of held that spot. Mass Effect 2 is WAY to low too.

I think people have to remember that Alan Wake is like playing a book. So calling it linear is a bit silly. That's the point. Instead of reading a book you are playing it. It wasn't my favorite game but I do recognize it's innovation. I thought the combat was boring but everything else was engaging. Thank god a FPS didn't win. That would be a real outrage.

I'm actually really glad that Alan Wake won, personally I thought it was awesome. The over-publicised and (in my personal view) pertty boring Red Dead was an old game re-hash and not even better than GTA4 for that matter. Mass Effect 2 was so brilliant and deserved to be higher on that list. The COD games are simply run of the mill. Well done Remedy... by the way, the first DLC "Signal" was an absolute cracker :o)

This is why you shouldn't read magazines.

Alan Wake really is a great game and you should all be ashamed if you haven't played it.

@ lithus I actually do play a few competitve FPS, but don't FPS fall in the same bracket of cliche? How many times have we "stopped terrorism" in our FPS? How many "virtual wars" have we fought? How many times have we fought off an alien invasion? Aren't games nowadays,in general, cliche? And then you ask where Black Ops is? Yeah, the CoD franchise is a cash cow but you forget my friend, not all people are going to place a game on their list just because every other publication is riding the franchise like a cheap 2 dollar hooker.

mass effect 2 on place 10 ??? well FU time

Alan Wake is a really cool game and it didn't get much love form Gamespots's Best of 2010 awards, Its really neat to see it pulling all the stops here. Kudos to Bungie on Halo Reach as well.

@Sir_Breadington: Whoa ho! Watch out, Breadington is a party animal with that "wack ops" gag! Seriously man?! What are you 75 years old? I played AW and the extra episode and I'm sorry to say it's way too repetitive and cliche'. Once you played one chapter, you've played them all. The eery story telling with a flash lite is better left at the summer camp fire.............................I think you don't play Black Op's cause you can't handle online competitive FPS's. @VPS3gamer890 I said it. Grow up.

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alan wake deserves to be in the spotlight it is a great game that deserves to be regonised more

TIME lol, i dont think anyone is interested in a top 10 game list from them

good list lulz@ all the people butt hurt "their" game didnt rank

@kimraa and what would you consider to be a "serious gaming site"? And dont you dare say IGN.

@lithus you would ask where Black Ops is. -____- Wack Ops isn't all that great.It's only bread and butter is it's multiplayer. Another CoD fanboy disappointed= a happy me. We tend to forget that these are peoples opinions. I don't agree with it either, but you don't see me crying about it. I'm glad to see Alan Wake get mentioned. IN the slew of AAA games that were released this year, it's quite easy for us as gamers, to overlook gems such as Alan Wake.

Alan Wake was definitely not good enough to be the game of year.

alan wake's a great game and all, the story is really engaging, but it does get reallly really repetitive. great game, not a masterpiece by any means

umm hello? Where's CoD:Black Op's? Largest grossing game since...ever! Meh, never liked Time anyway. Just another Left Wing, Anti-American publication for hypocritical hippies. @EXODYS ahhh I remember the days when it was the consoles that had to wait for the PC ports. No more. Dude, do yourself a favor and pick up a console like the 360. It'll pay for itself with all those upgrades you won't have to get for the PC just to play a game. (or have to buy a whole new rig)

Remedy sure knows how to make a good game, now please release it PC already ;)

Alan Wake huh? might have to give this one a look since all the signs keep telling me to :P

It's as if Wired magazine lists its top cars of the year. Nobody really takes it seriously.

Though I can't say I really agree with TIME's list, I'm glad to see Alan Wake get some love. It is a great game; a bit repetitive, but epic storytelling, and the lighting engine is truly incredible.

Ummm...no. I actually didn't know that Time covered games at all, but it's always nice to have new confirmation of what we already knew: that this publication is hopelessly outdated and irrelevant. I liked Alan Wake, but top game of the year? Only if you're ranking them based on product placement.

Who reads TIME to know about games anyway? So basically, who cares?

xbox biased?.................i am cool with that.

I'm glad SSF4 made the list. Congrats to Alan Wake. Also nice to see a publication with a different point of view.

although TIME has nothing to do with gaming (being a jack of all trades and master of non) but one must say ALAN WAKE is a great contender for the GOTY .....

Haha Time doesnt have a clue when it comes to games. This is the same magazine who put Star Wars The Force Unleashed at no.7 at their 2008 list, and games like MGS4 wasnt even on it. Alan Wake is a good game, but not a single serious gaming site in the whole world will even consider giving it their 2010 Game of the Year award.

Let's see. Time-Warner probably owns a stake in Microsoft Sync and Energizer and all the other product placements in that game and wanted some more eyeballs. Alan Wake was good but I'm enjoying Red Dead Redemption way more.

@Kratos_Kills That's the idea; it was only a joke ;)

not sure how Mass Effect 2 wasn't higher. Great storytelling and gameplay with alot of depth and originality. Perhaps it was too engrossing for casual gaming I suppose but I'm happy Reach didn't make it into the top three. It was a good game and all but honestly, its been done four times before. It was starting to feel like Halo would become the new Madden

Alan Wake was good. It wasn't game of the year, in my opinion. It was very good, though. The rest of Time's list is quality. I always enjoy these game of the year lists from non-gaming publications. It's nice to know what normal people think.

In case you haven't noticed, TIME works a bit differently to gamespot. For instance TIME will be less inclined to pick a game that was good for its gameplay than one with more substance (storytelling, dialogue, character depth etc.). So while people at gamespot will work a bit more like maximo by saying "BC2 is far better it has great gameplay and that's what really matters in this sort of game." They're both right really, it just comes down to how you judge.

It's funny, AW probably wouldn't have even made my top 5 but I still think it's sort of an inspired choice. Good job, and a great game.

@Cloud-Zehro Keep in mind the game that was released on 360 was not Meat Boy, the flash game. The game released was Super Meat Boy, very much a sequel, very much an improvement, and in no way a flash game.

this is madness. Time obviously know nothign about games. Alan Wake was good but not brilliant and definitely not the best of 2010. For me that would be Battlefield 2. Pure bliss

Amazing game. I loved it...but number 1?

Time isn't a magazine, it's a pamphlet! Better yet, it's liberal toilet paper, just like their choice! I was reading most reviews for this game, and few gave it 8 out of 10. I guess along with Time's idiotic choice of Zuckerman (Facebook) too, they continue to take that long spiral swirl to the bottom of the cesspool.

I'm impressed ALan Wake is their choice. It could have been easy to pick a call of duty game or Halo Reach as number one... for them to choose Alan Wake say a bit about their willingness to think outside the box. Limbo also on that list as well shows Time is giving the indie developers their props. I've played all these but street fighters. While it isn't necessairly my list of top games I think it is a strong list.

Alan Wake was very good but goty ? no. MassEffect 2 for me.

I don't know about game of the year, but this was one AWESOME game.