I did a lot of video game related things in 2009 - I hosted my own community radio show about games, I’ve written reviews of games for this site and, naturally, I've played quite a lot of games, many of which I've enjoyed. So compiling this list of games was tough, having to remember what I’ve played and deciding which disparate experience was better. Time has passed, coffee was brewed, Science™ was unleashed, but finally I’ve locked down my personal favourite games of the year.

Before the inevitable “Why isn’t <so and so> in this list” thoughts pop up, let me reiterate that is an entirely personal list, incorporating my gaming tastes and excluding any games which I haven’t had the chance to play, including critical darlings Uncharted 2: Among Thieves and Batman: Arkham Asylum.

So having said that, let’s get started with the first part of News Hit's Top Ten Games of 2009.

Platform: Xbox 360
Developer: Chair Entertainment
Publisher: Epic Games

There are a lot of derivative elements in this side-scrolling shooter. It borrows its ‘discover new weapons to unlock new areas’ mechanic from Super Metroid, a helicopter boss from every game released in 2009, a gritty industrial setting from every game released in the last decade and voice actor Nolan North from every game released in the world ever (or so it would seem). In spite this wholesale sourcing – or, dare I say, because of it - Shadow Complex is a great experience.

The story is wafer-thin, the shooting is decent, but it’s the aforementioned Super Metroid mechanic which makes this game worth playing through. Multiple times. Exploration is heavily encouraged through the weapon and skill unlocks, which render previously unreachable areas suddenly accessible. And then there’s the world map, which taunts you with the locations of weapon packs and other collectibles. You can’t help but explore every corner of the map and collect each and every single item. This is all dressed up with production values that exceed anything we’ve seen from any downloadable-only title.

It doesn’t merely wear its Super Metroid and Castlevania inspirations on its sleeve as much as it writes them on its forehead and on the dead horse it’s flogging you with. But this isn’t a bad thing - if you’re going to borrow from a game, you might as well borrow from the best.

Platform: Flash/iPhone
Developer/Publisher: Semi-Secret Software

This is gaming at its most efficient. There’s only one button – Jump. There are only six colours – all of them monochromatic. There is only one goal – run and jump over the city rooftops. It may sound extremely basic, but this is a game I have kept coming back to over and over again as I try (over and over again) to run further and further.

It’s the little things that keep me playing this game: there’s the simple jumping mechanic which approaches that ‘easy to learn, hard to master’ status; there’s the driving electro music that underscores your inevitable death; there’s the alien invasion going on in the background that gives your escape purpose. And then there’s the fact that it’s free to play in your web browser.

It may sound threadbare, but it’s this simplicity that makes Canabalt such an easy game to keep coming back to. Impressive considering this game was made in the space of a week.

Like I said, efficient.

Platform: Xbox 360
Developer/Publisher: Twisted Pixel
News Hit review of 'Splosion Man

Like Canabalt, ‘Splosion Man’s controls are incredibly simple: use the control stick to move and any other button to ‘splode. It's up to you to use the control stick and ‘splode button to navigate the obstacles blocking your progress to whatever is past the right of the screen.

However, this game can get incredibly complicated. Its levels are peppered with death pits, baddies and lots of jumpi- sorry, ‘sploding puzzles that require precise timing to avoid death (something which will come often). But in the uncommon moments when you’re not dying, the sense of momentum as you fly across whole rooms in a single ‘splode and bounce around through the Rube Goldberg-esque level design is just plain ol' giddy, reminiscent of the barely controlled speed last seen in the classic Sonic the Hedgehog games.

It also comes with a sense of humour straight out of the most tawdry and meme-heavy Internet forum you can think of. Thankfully there’s no Lolcats or Lemon Party (NB. Do NOT look up that last one) but there’s an immature charm to be had in this game, from the abuse of apostrophes to the pork-chop spewing corpses of ‘sploded scientists to the childish Arnie-quoting protagonist.

And if all this wasn’t enough, ‘Splosion Man also has Everybody Loves Donuts. Really, how can you resist all this?

Platform: Xbox 360, PS3, PC
Developer: Gearbox Software
Publisher: 2K Games

First Person Shooters and Role Playing Games – two genres many developers have tried to combine with little success. 2008’s Fallout 3 tried valiantly but dropped the ball when it came to the shooting. The year before that, Bioshock delivered a half-decent shooter but was lacking in the character progression.

Borderlands is the most recent game to attempt this feat and is the most successful take on the FPSRPG this side of Deus Ex. As a shooter, it possesses the expected level of action, providing a satisfyingly visceral feel. However, it’s when you introduce the RPG elements where the game becomes rather devious. It borrows heavily from the likes of World of Warcraft, partly in the way you go around accepting quests from exclamation points, but mostly in the relentless assault on your pleasure centres. There’s character progression and skills to learn, there’s in-game challenges on top of the perceivably easy achievements/trophies and then there’s the loot.

The game promises “bazillions of guns” and it comes darn close to delivering on this. You’ll frequently run into new guns, each with their own unique stats, allowing you to do ordinary things like inflict extra damage or lower the amount of recoil, or extraordinary things like shooting out exploding bullets or even rockets. From a shotgun. Extraordinary.

It’s precisely this drive for better and rarer loot and character progression, alongside the 4 player co-op, that makes Borderlands such a compelling game.

Platform: Xbox 360, PS3, PC
Developer: Infinity Ward
Publisher: Activision
News Hit's review of Modern Warfare 2

I may have sounded down on Modern Warfare 2 in my review for the game: yes, the story tries too hard to hurl more and more bombshell moments at players; yes, it’s impossible to get in a lag-free Australian multiplayer match; and yes, it does feel somewhat sterile and soulless compared to its stellar predecessor. However, underneath all of these flaws, the MW engine is still the best FPS engine in modern day gaming, and it gets put to good use yet again.

To put it simply, almost everything that made Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare such an essential experience is included in this game: the silky smooth graphics, the pinpoint controls, the fantastically meaty gunplay, the metaphorically and literally rewarding multiplayer mode. Though the story got too caught up in its own bombast, it still has an odd charm that only a hypothetical bastard lovechild of Michael Bay and M. Night Shyamalan could possess.

Modern Warfare 2 may not have blown my mind like the first one did, but it definitely stands on its own two feet as a solid first person shooter, delivering a consistently exciting experience which, to this day, remains unrivalled.

That completes the first half of this list. Visit News Hit on Wednesday for the second part of News Hit's 'Top 10 Games of 2009'*

*Unless Don comes up with some really really weird choices for his top games, in which case we'll rename it 'Don's - and only Don's - Top Games of 2009 and in no way reflective of News Hit's opinions' - ED