In collating the top ten of everything in 2010 (excluding the top ten recursive jokes about top ten lists), Time has picked some of its favorite video games from the last twelve months. Among the top ten are science fiction stalwarts Halo: Reach and Mass Effect 2, the elegant and creepy Limbo, and iPhone finch fling-em-up, Angry Birds (which just makes it in, having launched at the very end of 2009).

Time's top choice is Remedy Entertainment's Alan Wake, which is praised by writer Evan Narcisse for its mature craft and metaphoric gameplay. "Its mix of meta-awareness and Hitchcockian suspense make Alan Wake a unique and fun experiment and one of the best games of the year."

Alan Wake's devoted fans are likely to agree: Time couldn't have picked a better game, and the game couldn't have picked a worse time.