9. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (PS3)
The original was good, but didn't even make it onto my list. The sequel on the other hand took everything that made the original good, subtracted the crap and added an extra layer of awesome! Everything in this game just clicked and it acheived everything I want from a story-driven third-person action adventure game. It combined the platforming and puzzles elements of Tomb Raider with the shooting and cover system of Gears but also added a more strategic stealth element to the game rather than relying on the constant spawning of enemies in the original. Not particularly original you might say, but extremely ambitious and very difficult to pull off with the amount of polish they acheived.
I haven't even mentioned the amazing set-pieces that are quite simply mind-blowing. Gun-fights in a collapsing building, platforming on bombarded debris and an amazing combination of platforming and shooting for the train section. These were all aided with some clever physics, amazing visuals and some of the most beautiful vistas I've ever seen in video games. The views on the mountains and at the top of the hotel are truly amazing. The co-op and multiplayer are also very good fun and works very well, although the single-player is really what makes it for me.
Uncharted 3 came out this year a little too late to be included, but to be honest, I'm not sure it would have made it into the top 25. Uncharted 2 is where I felt they got the balance, story and polish just right. Lastly, it's set in Nepal for a large portion of the game, and as I'm Nepali by descent, it holds a special place in my heart :P
