After getting together to pick our official 2010 iPad and iPhone game of the year, we also had our writers compile lists of their personal favorites from the last year, and their reasons why.

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It's been an absolutely astounding year for iOS gaming, and trying to whittle down all of the amazing releases and compile lists for our year end coverage has been a near impossible job to say the least. Some games are bound to slip through the cracks, and what it really boils down to, though, is that we are blessed with far too many great games to account for them all, which is great for everyone.

Having to come up with my own list of favorites for 2010 was again a gargantuan task. While there's nothing quite like a game that caters perfectly to the touch screen or tilt control capabilities of iOS devices, I'm a traditional gamer at heart, and I've come to accept virtual controls as they give me traditional gaming experiences on my platform of choice. I like having some of my favorite game genres and franchises on my iPhone, even if it takes a bit of shoehorning to fit with the lack of buttons.

I think this list reflects that quite a bit. While this isn't a definitive list of all my favorite games from this past year, it is a selection of titles that stood out to me, and the ones I kept coming back to throughout 2010 and will continue to play into the future.

Game Dev Story, $3.99 - [Lite] - [Review] - [Forum Thread] - This was the surprise hit of the year for me. I was expecting the worst after checking out the screens in iTunes, but I decided to give the game a chance. After literally playing the game until 7 in the morning, I knew that it was something special. Every aspect is rough around the edges except the gameplay, which proves that that is what really matters, and I hope to see this series evolve in future iterations.

STREET FIGHTER IV, $4.99 - [Review] - [Forum Thread] - Virtual buttons and games that require highly precise controls don't really mix, but somehow SFIV on iPhone manages to pull it off pretty well. As a big Street Fighter fan for most of my life, I appreciate having it with me at all times should I fancy a quick brawl. There's a decent amount of single player content, and the local multiplayer is fun when I run into an iPhone owning buddy.

CHAOS RINGS, $8.99 - [iPad] - [Review] - [Forum Thread] - I rarely am able to get into a beefy RPG, but I gobbled up Chaos Rings from beginning to end. What I loved about it is that it takes all the elements of a traditional JRPG and rearranges them in a way that is mobile-friendly. Actually, with its huge focus on battling and light story elements, it felt more like an action-RPG. The battling was fun, the story and characters were interesting, and Chaos Rings was one RPG that fit nicely into my busy lifestyle.

Solomon's Keep, Free - [Lite] - [Review] - [Forum Thread] - This was another surprise hit to me, a dual-stick shooter that blended elements of dungeon crawling, RPG, and rogue. There are tons of items and loot to collect, and many different magic skill combinations to explore. The game is short enough to allow for multiple playthroughs and building different variations of characters, but not too short as to not feel substantial. Plus it's randomly generated each time, so it's a different experience each time you play.

Godville, Free - [Review] - [Forum Thread] - It's hard to call this a game, but it's also hard to not acknowledge the ridiculous amount of time I spend in this app. Godville is basically a text-based RPG that plays itself, with you acting as a God overlooking the process with minimal interaction. It's hard to explain the appeal of Godville, but it's full of humorous dialogue, the content is community-driven, and it's just plain fun to check in on my little hero to see what he's been up to.

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2, $1.99 - [Review] - [Forum Thread] - There isn't much to say about this title except that it's Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 on your iPhone. No fancy frills or enhancements, just the same brilliant game that I spent countless hours with on Playstation a decade ago. The thought of the highly precise controls of the THPS series and virtual buttons sounds like a disaster, but surprisingly this version is highly playable. I absolutely love having THPS2 with me at all times, and had a blast replaying through this classic all these years later.

Pix'n Love Rush, $0.99 - [iPad] - [Review] - [Forum Thread] - I love platforming games, and I love retro, and Pix'n Love Rush combines the two beautifully. It's not always easy to get involved in a platform game with structured levels when you're gaming on the go, and Pix'n Love Rush remedies this by delivering bite-sized portions of levels in randomized, Warioware-like fashion. Coupled with awesome retro themes that mimic classic gaming systems and high score chasing through Game Center, and this is a title that I've continually come back to since its release.

While our iPhone game of the year took tons of deliberation, the iPad game was far more clear cut. Since the device's release, we've yet to really see much in the way of killer iPad-exclusive content. Most developers instead have somewhat understandably have chosen to use the iPhone and iPod touch as their target platforms, then either eventually release a universal update or a completely separate "HD" version of the game. 2D Boy really knocked it out of the park in releasing an iPad-exclusive version of their hit indie PC/Mac/Wii game World of Goo [$9.99]

We really couldn't say enough good things about it in our review, as adding a multitouch interface to the game enhanced overall gameplay more than I could ever have imagined. On the PC/Mac, you built up huge towers of goo balls utilizing the mouse pointer, which seems to be impossible to go back to after being able to hold a single goo ball with each finger while panning the camera around with the other hand.

If you own an iPad, this is a game you need to have. If you've played World of Goo on another platform, it's still worth playing through again just because of how much better of an experience it is on the iPad.

Runner Up: Plants vs. Zombies

We had a great time with Popcap's Plants vs. Zombies [$2.99] for the iPhone, but we thought the game was substantially better when played on the iPad with Plants vs. Zombies HD [$6.99]. Very similar to World of Goo, we enjoyed Plants vs. Zombies a ton playing on our computers, but with the multitouch screen of the iPad, the game turns in to something else entirely.

Plants vs. Zombies is an incredibly casual tower defense game that's easy enough for people who have never played a tower defense style game to get in to with any more explanation than the tutorial offers, yet deep enough for even hardcore players to get in to. Progressing further in to the game unlocks additional seeds to use to plant your defenses, and the seeds you choose offer a surprising amount of variation to the game and it's balanced well enough that you can generally focus on using the seeds you like instead of using the seeds that are the "best".

This is a game that everyone with an iPad needs to own, and it's available on so many platforms, if you haven't yet you really need to try Plants vs. Zombies on something.

After months (years?) of rumors, Apple finally released the iPad in 2010. iPad gaming hasn't quite taken off as quickly as on the iPhone/iPod, but here's a cross section of some of the best iPad games of 2010. If you just opened an iPad for Christmas, here are some games to look at.

World of Goo HD, $4.99 - [Review] - [Forum Thread] - World of Goo is a game about creating towers and bridges with stretchy pieces of goo. It becomes much more than that though as you progress, which is one of the most fascinating and rewarding things about this natural-feeling, and beautifully directed puzzler. It's truly one of the best games ever released on the iPad.

Plants vs. Zombies HD, $0.99 - [Review] - [Forum Thread] - Developer PopCap Games manages to splice in whimsy on top of a satisfying mix of careful tower selection and defense. In Plants vs. Zombies HD, you are the lone protector of a backyard who must put up seed spitting plants and other abominations in order to beat back an advancing zombie hord. The towers are diverse, the amount of options are incredible, and the hours of entertainment provided are incalculable.

Osmos for iPad, $4.99 - [Review] - [Forum Thread] - Osmos for iPad is a beautiful and relaxing game in which you, essentially, take a big bubble and make it steadily grow bigger and bigger. A great soundtrack eases tension and the simple play lends itself to a good, calm time.

Corpse Craft, Free - [Review] - [Forum Thread] - Corpse Craft is a fun and rewarding match-3 title with an interesting tower defense twist that has you using turning matched blocks into building materials for your reanimated soldiers. The game's greatest accomplishment though is its balance between character and mechanics. The brilliantly grim art direction and narrative doesn't detract from the gameplay, nor was development time seemingly sacrificed for the inclusion of the brilliant universe Corpse Craft is based in.

Monkey Island Tales 1 HD, $2.99 - [Review] - [Forum Thread] - The Tales of Monkey Island series was fantastic on the PC and Mac and developer Telltale Games successfully ported over that experience to the iPad. Rich in humour, character, puzzles, and reverence to its forerunners, this is the ultimate adventure game for Monkey Island fans. It's also pretty good as a standalone point-and-click adventure game.

Puzzle Agent HD, $2.99 - [Review] - [Forum Thread] - Puzzle Agent HD is a non-traditional point-and-click adventure title featuring the grim art of Graham Annable. It has a few technical problems, but the puzzles and the narrative are deeply involving and worth your time.

Yoot Tower, $7.99 - [Review] - [Forum Thread] - A lazy bit of shorthand that we use to describe Yoot Tower is "SimCity in the sky." In the game, you construct a tower out of the living spaces like offices, condos, hotel rooms, and even restaurants. As you progress, you'll need to start paying attention to the stress levels of the people who have a financial stake in your tower, while also attempting to keep the tower growing to floor 100. It's fun, complex, and most all, pretty rewarding. Talk about a time sucker for the ages.

Cut the Rope HD, $3.99 - [Review] - [Forum Thread] - Cut the Rope HD is a straight port of its other iPhone brethren, but it just feels so right on the iPad, which boasts a larger screen area to cut the rope holding the precious candy so it can sail into the adorable Om Nom's mouth.

Across Age â„¢ HD, $4.99 - [Review] - [Forum Thread] - Across Age HD is the closest you'll get to a Zelda on the iPad. And, really, that's selling it short. On top of the traditional dungeon-based play, Across Age HD offers rewarding hack-and-slash combat, a neat time travel mechanic, and decent controls.

Fruit Ninja HD, $2.99 - [Lite- [Review] - [Forum Thread] - Fruit Ninja HD is essentially just a bigger version of its iPhone cousin wherein you chop up fruit for points. It's a simple game that requires simple gestures, but there's just something about it that has kept us playing for hours and hours.

CHAOS RINGS for iPad, $11.99 - [Review] - [Forum Thread] - Chaos Rings for iPad is a creative take on the traditional JRPG. Developer Square Enix forgoes the usual narrative in favor of a shorter, much more focused journey that has teams of gender-confused people taking on monsters and then each other in a contest to win immortality. A deep battle system, a great hi-def look, and fun, bite-sized adventures make this a must-have.

Cubed Rally Racer, $0.99 - [Lite / iPad] - [Review] - [Forum Thread] - A wonderful homage to isometric racing games, Cubed Rally Racer is completely randomized, so you'll never play the same track twice. Similarly, if a particular track is too difficult, you can simply generate a new one to play. The iPad version features split screen single-device multiplayer which is a ton of fun.