The shows wrapped up, everyone's exhausted and this year's crop of games have all made their appearance. All that's left is to highlight some of my favourite games from E3, so here is the top ten games that got my excitement running high. I'll be limiting my list to games that we saw gameplay from.

10. Dragon Age: Origins

Spiritual successor to Baldur's Gate? Where do I sign up. Ever since BioWare revealed this project I have been slowly building in anticipation, and with each new bit of info I get more and more impatient to play the damn thing.  

9. Assassin's Creed 2 

Assassin's Creed had its flaws, most significantly repetitive quests, but the dev team seems to have listened to these complaints to build a better experience this time round. All through the demo the team stressed "diversity", showing a number of new and interesting ways to do the age old task of killing a dude. 

8. Shadow Complex

When Cliffy B was rolled out this year I let out a groan. I was expecting some boring announcement about Gears that I just wouldn't have cared about, instead I got a very fresh and entertaining side scrolling shooter that took the best elements of games like Metroid to provide something very, very promising. 

7. Final Fantasy XIII

Sure we've seen it all before, but the demo shown at the MS conference still had me salivating. I'm sure most people didn't feel like this, after all I'm a huge Finat Fantasy nut so any footage at all will make me happy.  

6. Project Natal

Yes I'm putting this on my list even though I said "games", but Natal was one of the true stars of MS's press conference. It blew away the wii-mote with its potential, and if that potential is lived up to then I expect some incredible games to surface. 

5. TMNT: Turtles In Time Re-shelled

One of my favourite SNES games was Turtles in Time and, even though I would have preferred an HD version of the original sprites, Re-shelled looks to rekindle that love on the 360. With the original's simple idea taken and slightly altered I know I'll be getting a new experience, and I can not wait.

4. Castlevania: Lords of Shadow

Yes, we only saw a trailer. Yes, there isn't much to go on at the moment but come on, it's Castlevania and it looks amazing. The trailer looked like it was showing off a lot of gameplay, and what was there looked like it would stick true to Castlevania themes whilst also taking a new approach. Plus, who doesn't love Patrick Stewart.

3. Alan Wake

Finally, Remedy's psychological thriller made a physical appearance. Popping up at the conference with an intriguing demo, Alan Wake looks like it takes a more action orientated route than I thought, something that certainly increased my anticipation.  

2. Mass Effect 2

Is there any need to explain? The original Mass Effect was a stunning blend of action and RPG, with the stronger elements addmitedly being the conversation system and story. However, this year BioWare have taken huge leaps forward in the combat sections of ME2, with new location specific damage and a silky smooth framerate. It looks better in every way. 

1. SplinterCell: Conviction 

This demo was, quite simply, badass. There's no way around it, Sam Fisher is Jack Bauer, John McClane and Jason Bourne all rolled into one. The new mark and execute mechanic makes the player feel like a secret agent god toying with lives, and the projector technology offers an awesome way of presenting key story elements or objectives. Finally everything about Sam's environment and his movement has been augmented, different routes and strategies making choice a key componenent of Sam's latest installment.