God of War III

War. War never changes. But gaming does. Space marines, modern warfare... it's a far cry from the animals and plumbers of yesteryear. So we thought it would be fun to reimagine five modern games as title screens on classic gaming consoles. But this isn't a quick Photoshop job. No, this is a fully animated title sequence video, complete with audio. We're doing a new one every day this week, each on a different retro platform. Today's is God of War, reimagined as a Commodore 64 title screen.

A good boss battle is like a fine wine. Refined, elegant in its execution and quite likely to kill you fourteen times on the spin. Wait, scratch that last one. Unusually, 2010 has seen a string of games with bosses that not only didn't suck, but actually proved to be some of the biggest highlights of their titles. So if you're keen to go back and reminisce about fighting feral tigers in casinos or popping a deity’s eyeballs like juicy grapes, keep on a reading...

Never mind Red Dead Redemption, Mass Effect 2 and Bayonetta. There's no point crowing about how great a game is on your console when your fanboy mates can play the same thing on their 'enemy' machine. But who had the best exclusive on their WiiStation 360 this past year? Well, there's no need to argue about it any more as we've decided for you. This is the definitive list of 'what's best', so feel free to memorise it and then sound intellectual while drunk and/or crazy on sugar and artificial additives over the Christmas holidays.

Looking for categories like Best PSP Driving Game? Greatest Achievement in Control Layout, Artistic? Eastern European Developer Most Worth Watching in 2011? Then our end-of-year awards might not be for you.

GamesRadar's Platinum Chalices are different. We're not interested in checking off a massively tedious list of genres, platforms and technical subdivisions… we'd much rather focus on the stuff that makes this hobby, you know, fun. And reward whichever games delivered the most of that stuff.

So if you're looking for the best fan service, most satisfying gore or greatest achievement in old-school kickassery in 2010, you've definitely come to the right celebration. Let's get it started…

Some games need sex to get their message across. After all, what would Leisure Suit Larry be without its sperm rhythm action games or the bits where you have to get into the undergarments of college students? Some titles, though, just stick in some irrational intercourse for the hell of it.

Whether its taking time out on a bloody quest for vengeance to get saucy with a god or shagging an alien sidekick because he’s been romantic enough to buy a cheap bottle of hooch, all the games inside seemingly thought they’d benefit from a bit of shoehorned sexy time. 

Kevin Butler: We love you, man. The totally real, definitely not make believe VP of Sony's surprisingly brilliant ad campaign over the last couple of years has captured the hearts and minds of gamers everywhere. So in tribute to the man, the myth, the legend that is KB, here are all of his awesome videos in one handy place.

Oh, and just to counter all this one-sided Sony love and free advertising we're giving the company; Bill Gates is an attractive, virile man.

Alright, so obviously having your games displayed in native 1080p doesn't matter like, say, remembering never to cross the streams if you and a friend ever find yourselves firing proton packs. Still, there's a little pixel whore inside all of us who demands attention, wants to be bought nice things and always desires that slightly higher resolution in her games.

She died a little having to play the sub HD Halo 3, Modern Warfare 2 and Alan Wake, then wept for joy when she realised she could play Full Auto 2: Battlelines and Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer in 1080p. But with the news that 3D PS3 games will only be able to run at 720p and below, games outputting at the magic snowboarding number may soon become an endangered species. The question is, do you care?

2010 is special. Normally, when we choose the best games from the first half of the year, we're taking time to recognize and celebrate stuff that will be forgotten by December. Take a look at 2009's winner, for example, and then check how many Platinum Chalices that title received just a few months later. From number one… to only one mention.

This Top 7, however, could easily serve as a blueprint for our eventual end-of-year awards. Six of the games received "10/10" from GamesRadar, and total countdown combined, almost 150 perfect scores from the industry as a whole. What follows, then, aren't merely the best of 2010 so far. Judging by their quality and by the rest of the release calendar, these might be the best of 2010 – period.

So that's it, then. After six years the epic Lost comes to an end in pretty disappointing style. If you've yet to see the finale, just take comfort that it doesn't end up all being a dream of the dog. Still, the fairly crushing finale got us thinking about equally epic games that ended on a disappointing whimper. And all the titles inside are either guilty of rubbish, anti climactic endings or deeply underwhelming last levels/ bosses.