Through streams of repetitive and boring products stretched all over the year, if you search enough, you will find small 'artifacts' which can be used to define the video games as a form of modern art. There are few titles to fulfill all the conditions to enter in this category, but Machinarium is one of them.

There is more than meets the eye about being a dictator in a Caribbean republic, and those willing to experiment this flamboyant universe delivered by Kalypso are in for a big surprise. Tropico 3 is much more than a casual city simulator, adding an exciting political layer on an otherwise excellent strategy game. Amazing graphics and alluring sound effects sugarcoat a demanding gameplay, that has enough depth to make it the best choice for players who can appreciate a top quality title.

NCsoft attempts to combine the more dynamic and action driven Western market MMORPG elements with the more artistic, visually appealing and progression oriented Oriental elements in Aion: The Tower of Eternity. Early numbers tell us many people all over the world enjoy this highly polished MMO, but there are some that find it unappealing just because some of those elements were used. And unfortunately, I find myself amongst them.

Dreamkiller is a fine example how a brilliant idea can be utterly shattered, and an otherwise intriguing concept is lost, amidst trivial monster shooting. Instead of capitalizing on the appealing idea, Aspyr delivers a mediocre FPS, with clumsy gameplay and a shallow story that sinks into near irrelevance.

Are you brutal?! Are you metal? Headbanging is your daily routine? You pay homage to the gods of heavy metal? If you have answered with 'yes' to all these questions then you have to play Brutal Legend, an action/strategy game that will fulfill your expectations as a metal music fan and will give you the chance to meet some of your metal gods. If you have answered with 'no', you should not leave, because this game offers enough hack'n'slash moments in an open-world environment to make you scream for pleasure.

With Bohemia Interactive departing and taking on an ambition project, very similar to Operation Flashpoint, Codemasters rose to the challenge by delivering a competent installment to this praised franchise. The result is a title that captures the very fragrance that made the original game so popular and a bit more accessible to the general public, without cutting down on the key features that defines it.

Risen is the spiritual successor of Gothic, and is in many ways just like it. It can be extremely rewarding if you develop your character long enough and invest a lot of time in it, but it can also be extremely frustrating if you are just starting and try to find that RPG freedom of exploration, even if you can go everywhere in theory.

It's tough to beat the competition and cruise your way up to the top, but staying there for consecutive years is even harder. 2K Sports did an excellent job by grabbing the first place with its NBA franchise, and as far as I'm concerned NBA 2K10 has all the needed traits to retain the crown as the best basketball simulator of 2009.

A good concept is a major element to be taken into consideration by developers who want to create a new game. But its only existence in the process of creation is not enough to guarantee the success of that game. Darkest of Days is a good example of a failed product which features a good story plot and concept but lacks of any intriguing gameplay premise or smart level design. In order to reach its spark of cleverness, you have to take a ride in one of the most boring and repetitive virtual journeys of this year.

Order of War might not bring a great deal of innovation into the RTS genre, but on the other hand it exceeds pretty much every expectation one would have about these rather familiar concepts. Driven by its competent and addictive gameplay, this title benefits of a gorgeous cinematic mode that further increases the fun factor.