Eurogamer's Game of the Year 2010

"Shepard, you could have been useful."

Kristan Reed is a former editor of Eurogamer. This year he reviewed over 300 mobile and download games and still found time to give the wonderful Pac-Man Championship Edition DX a worthy 10/10.

"Having spent an entire week replaying the original Mass Effect (thanks, save-game eater), completing every mission, every god-damned Mako mission, every side quest, and both DLC packs, I fully expected Mass Effect 2 to be something akin to gaming's second coming. What could possibly go wrong? They'd sorted out the combat, got rid of the stupid Mako missions, streamlined the structure, removed the confused wandering and even taken out the annoying lifts.

"For me though, somewhere along the line BioWare removed a chunk of the game's soul. I'd grown to love the overheating weapon system. I liked the intricacy of the locations. I liked having a real choice over my party's weapon loadout.

"Somehow this didn't feel like Mass Effect anymore, but something closer to a linear corridor shooter. To compound matters, the vast majority of the missions felt run of the mill. There was the odd notable exception, but for much of the time this was wholly forgettable stop-and-pop fodder. I certainly feel like I enjoyed it while I was playing it, but I have very little recollection of what actually happened in most of it.

"And who thought that the new planet mining system was a good idea? Goodness knows how many hours of my life were lost to that. And for what? To make sure none of my party died at the end of the game? Well, job done, I guess, but by the end of my 40 hours with the game, it felt like two steps forward, two steps back. While the best bits of Mass Effect 2 were easily among the most entertaining moments of the year, it felt like one of those sprawling double concept albums from the 1970s that only makes sense when you're high."

"We are the harbinger of your perfection."

Dan Whitehead has written for Eurogamer for nearly five years and contributed over 350 reviews in that time. This year he rolled the dice on Fallout: New Vegas and took Disney Epic Mickey among many others.

"I really wish I could play Mass Effect 2 again, but I can't. Not for any practical reason but because Shepard - my Shepard - has already had that adventure, and it just feels wrong to rewind and do it over again. I have friends who have played it through multiple times, and have created a brand new Shepard every time. I can't do that. My Shepard is canon, my decisions are his, and they're now written in stone. I know it's weird and doesn't make much sense, but that's how much I loved BioWare's peerless world-building. There's only one Shepard, he's the same guy I played through the first game with, and he'll be the guy I'll control through Mass Effect 3 next year.

"Of course, it's worth setting aside a big slice of praise pie for the way BioWare overhauled the rather creaky original game, streamlined it and built up its gameplay muscle without ever quite letting go of the RPG thread at its heart. But for me it's the characters that drew me in, and the world they inhabit. That's why I was so thrilled by the good DLC, like Lair of the Shadow Broker, and so disappointed by the weaker stuff. It's a chance to slip back into that universe for a few more hours before putting Shepard back in stasis until the next game.

"So while I'm very conscious of the fact that I'm denying myself the chance to revisit one of the best games of this generation, I kind of like the fact that there's a game that I'm so emotionally invested in that I'd rather abstain than risk diluting its narrative power."

"This body does not matter. The flesh is a machine."

Tom Bramwell has been editor of Eurogamer for three years. This year he reviewed Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, Call of Duty: Black Ops and a few others - including Mass Effect 2.

"One of the privileges of editing the site and being the only guy stupid enough to do any work over the Christmas holiday is that I can give myself the last word on our game of the year. And one of the reasons it's delightful to see Mass Effect 2 come out on top is that despite having had the first word on it in our January review and another go-round with it earlier this week, it's a game that supports no end of dissection and tribute.

"Everyone applauds the resonance of Commander Shepard's decision-making, of course, which will eventually ripple out across three massive games, and the Mass Effect universe is generally celebrated for its wonderful depth and air of mystery. But another thing I particularly enjoy is the tangibility of Shepard's accomplishments amidst the dense nest of military and political machinations through which he has to manoeuvre his volatile crew.

"At times, Mass Effect 2 may be no less guilty of driving you along a conveyor belt of explosions and loud noises than Call of Duty: Black Ops - a game where the intrigue is literally shouted into your face from the first minute onward - but it is much better at disguising this illusion. When Shepard convinces somebody to do something, he just as often sells you on the decision in the process - thanks in no small part to the voice work of Shepard actors Mark Meer and Jennifer Hale, whose epic contributions stand out even in a cast that glitters almost as brightly as the stars twinkling outside the Normandy's portholes.

"Other RPGs have built us up from amnesia and sun-soaked castaways to defenders of the universe, and in this respect Mass Effect 2 can't exactly claim any special quality or inspirational breakthrough - but it's a testament to BioWare's superb craft that something so controlled and so deliberately polished can still feel so empowering from start to finish, and that shouldn't be overlooked.

"All that, and it still boasts the clunkiest flirting in all the galaxy. You can take the geek out of his robe and wizard's hat... And with Mass Effect 3 primed for next Christmas, can BioWare do the unthinkable and make it two games of the year in a row? We can't wait to find out."