Welcome, faithful readers, to the first annual Duality Game of the Year Award ceremony. These awards are prestigious and filled with laud. I expect them to become legendary and widely respected any day now.

Careers will be affirmed, hearts will be broken, and most importantly you’ll find out which of this last year’s games were worth your money.

I will only be handing out one award this year, and that will be the award for The Ultimate Best Game for PC This Year Period award. There are several contenders for this enviable title, but there will only be one winner.

Dragon Age: Origins

If you read my epic review of DA:O, you know how I feel about this game. It’s fantastic. Gripping, multi-layered story; fully realized characters you actually care about; rich, deep, immersive backstory … I really can’t say enough.

DA:O is easily the best RPG to come out this year. Come to think of it, it’s easily the best that has come out in a few years. Bioware has their blockbuster game creation system down to a fine science. The best part is their focus on story; above all the other excellent elements the game brings together, the story reigns supreme. It’s a beautiful thing for this critic to behold.

Also beautiful to behold is the emphasis Bioware put on the PC version of this game. With better graphics, a more advanced camera, and a user interface fully optimized for a mouse and keyboard setup, it is encouraging to see a developer place such importance on a PC game these days.

Batman: Arkham Asylum

I’ll join with the general chorus of reviewers and agree that this is by far the best superhero game to come out pretty much ever. The game captures the feel of the latest two Batman movies perfectly, and at the same time draws inspiration from the truckloads of comics that star the caped crusader.

While the story doesn’t match up to Dragon Age’s, it serves its purpose well and is treated with enough importance that it doesn’t feel like random events stringing the gameplay together. Polished with excellent voice acting and delivery, you really feel like the star of a Hollywood blockbuster.

What really lands Arkham Asylum in the running for a game of the year is its rock solid gameplay. A beat ’em up to end all beat ’em ups, the game features an unmatched combat system that manages to paradox together intuitiveness and complexity, beauty and viciousness. Couple that with an extremely entertaining stealth system, a belt-load of gadgets, and the chance to punch The Joker in the face repeatedly, and you have an award-winning combination.

Left 4 Dead 2

Valve’s follow up to last year’s multiplayer zombiefest was not met with universal enthusiasm; however, despite the fact that it kind of feels like a cash-in, the game is technically excellent and expands on the theme of the original game nicely.

The game’s AI director still runs the show, ensuring that no two games are ever exactly the same, but it’s been improved for this showing. New enemies, new weapons, new maps; sounds like a solid multiplayer sequel to me.

And with Valve’s legendary faithfulness to its fan base, you can rest assured that this game will stay fresh for years to come via updates and DLC.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare 2

I’ll be honest … I’m admitting this to the running only because I know it’s a technically impressive game. An extremely tight design, adrenaline laced story, co-op and legendary multiplayer all fall into the mixing pot and emerge as the highest grossing entertainment release since Monopoly.

However. I remain steadfast in my semi-defendable dislike of this game. And anyway, Infinity Ward really gave PC users the short end of the stick on this one, with a severely crippled multiplayer, arguably the most anticipated part of the game.

Warhammer 40k: Dawn of War II

You really can’t say enough about Relic. Like Valve, Blizzard and a few other devs, it seems that all they do is sit up in their posh offices and churn out ridiculously good games.

The Dawn of War series is no exception. The original games are hands down the most fun you’ll have sticking a chainsword through a space ork anytime, anywhere. And while the sequel is a bit of a different beast, focusing more on strategic control of a small squad than on map-spanning bloodbaths, it follows in the tradition of excellence.

Taking control of a squadron of Blood Raven Space Marines, you’ll battle to save several planets from being overrun by the insatiable Tyrannids. The fun here is definitely in the role-playing elements; you’ll level up your squad as you progress, find new gear and learn new ways to decimate your foes.

And the final verdict is…

Batman: Arkham Asylum!

This was a tough pick, particularly between Arkham Asylum and Dragon Age. Dawn of War II is a great game, but ultimately its weak story sets it on a lower rung than the other games here. Left 4 Dead 2 is extremely well done, but I can’t justify giving such an incredibly awesome award to a game that feels almost exactly like its prequel. And I just finished burning several copies of Modern Warfare 2, so I couldn’t really give that one the award …

Ultimately, it came down to entertainment value. While Dragon Age sports the better story and is undeniably more epic, Batman wins out in gameplay and just plain fun-ness. It’s a fantastic game, and while it is brutally violent it doesn’t dabble in a lot of the sexual content that Dragon Age does. Batman: Arkham Asylum wins the award. If a representative from developer Rocksteady wants to swing by my house, I’ll give them a dollar. But I won’t hold it against them if they can’t make it — they’ll be awfully busy partying when they find out they won.

Every game on this list is excellent and deserves your hard-earned dollars. Get out and buy them before all the games that Modern Warfare 2 scared into next year eat up all your time.

Jerod Jarvis is an independent gaming journalist and founder of Duality Games. He maintains gaming columns for The Washington Times Communities and for The Outpost. When not blogging madly about games, he freelances for the Spokesman-Review in his hometown of Spokane, Washington and attends school at Whitworth University. Check out his presence on Facebook and Twitter to stay up on Duality Games updates and the inside scoop on the gaming news you care about.