Nathan Drake and sidekick Chloe shoot to kill in PlayStation 3's exciting action-adventure romp, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves.

It's been a bit of an odd year for video games, with a long roster of above-average releases but nothing that really blew the collective socks off gamers as a whole.

It didn't help that some of 2009's most anticipated titles got tripped up by delays and won't land in our hands until 2010.

If there was one game that stood out above the rest it was the PlayStation 3 blockbuster Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, a gorgeously slick, exciting and funny action-adventure romp that once again cast players as modern-day fortune hunter Nathan Drake, this time in search of Marco Polo's lost fleet. Expertly paced, visually stunning and with the best script and voice cast we've yet experienced in a game (plus insanely addictive online multiplayer modes), it stands out as the best game of 2009.

While Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 smashed video game sales records, we were slightly more impressed by Batman: Arkham Asylum, the first genuinely good Batman video game in, well, ever. With beautiful visuals, an innovative combat system and a storyline that drew heavily from Batman lore, it stuck in our minds longer than Modern Warfare 2's intensely cinematic but short and by-the-numbers single player campaign.

Two Canadian-made games made it into our top five of 2009 -- Ubisoft Montreal's Assassin's Creed II, a deep, rich sequel to 2007's solid but flawed original; and Edmonton-based BioWare Corp's Dragon Age: Origins, an old-school fantasy role-playing epic that hearkened back to BioWare's roots, and played directly to the studio's storytelling strengths.

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, the best handheld game of the year, popped up on both the Nintendo DS and PSP, offering a slightly retro take on the franchise that worked surprisingly well in the portable format. It's also one of the scant few Mature-rated games available on Nintendo's handheld.

We included DJ Hero in the top 10 over rival music game (and critical darling) The Beatles: Rock Band because DJ Hero tried something different, giving players a new and novel turntable controller to master rather than revisiting the now-standard plastic guitar and drums. And because we still think the idea of band-specific versions of music games are an annoying cash grab.

Rounding out this year's top 10 are two very different role-playing games -- Borderlands, a post-apocalyptic adventure with a unique cel-shaded style, and the frequently funny and surprisingly deep Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story for the Nintendo DS -- followed by the PS3 exclusive shooter Killzone 2, which deserves kudos for its amazing visuals and an especially strong multiplayer component.

Next year is poised to be a significant one for games, with potential blockbusters hitting early and often (starting with BioWare's Mass Effect 2 and Ubisoft Montreal's Splinter Cell Conviction in January and February, respectively), and the introduction of new motion-based controllers for both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, as Sony and Microsoft look to steal some of Nintendo's arm-waving thunder.

All in all it looks like 2010 will definitely blow our aforementioned socks off. Until then, we'll happily spend more time with Nathan Drake.

Video Games of the year

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (PS3)

Batman: Arkham Asylum (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)

Assassin's Creed II (Xbox 360, PS3)

Dragon Age: Origins (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars (Nintendo DS, PSP)

DJ Hero (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii)

Borderlands (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)

Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story (Nintendo DS)

Killzone 2 (PS3)