What a year 2010 was for gaming. For me, it had probably the most exciting release schedule I've seen in recent years across the three main platforms and my shelves have been positively bursting with top titles waiting to be played.

Red Dead Redemption was a real highlight - an epic story that combined perfectly with an atmospheric western world. But what about God of War III, Gran Turismo 5, Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit, Fallout: New Vegas, Split/Second, Blur, Mass Effect 2, Battlefield: Bad Company 2, Bayonetta, Halo: Reach... the list goes on and on and on.

How on earth could the 2011 improve on this lot? In time honoured tradition, Megabits is picking some upcoming titles to keep an eye on. Last year, me and Ibwib placed a small wager on which of our personal picks would see most success... if you haven't seen our respective choices, you can take a look here and here. Suffice to say, I'm still eating humble pie as I lost by some margin: three of my picks didn't dominate the charts quite as I expected, while the other two didn't even make an appearance!

Fingers crossed that my choices for 2011 will bring me some sweet revenge...

There are plenty of games that look pretty exciting in the coming months and will no doubt top many of your wish lists. Portal 2, Crysis 2, Mass Effect 3, Red Faction: Armageddon, Duke Nukem Forever, Bulletstorm, Dead Space 2 and Killzone 3 all look fantastic - but here are my Top 5:

LA Noire
I've said it before and I'll say it again, Rockstar is an absolutley amazing publisher. GTA IV and Red Dead Redemption are among my favourite games of recent years and I've no doubt that LA Noire promises the same hugely addictive qualities, awesome presentation and great storylines. This is my most anticipated title of 2011 by a mile. This detective thriller is set in the late 1940s and will be the first game to make use of MotionScan technology - capturing every nuance of real actors' emotions and movement to make the game ultra realistic.

Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception
Can Naughty Dog do it again with the third instalment of Uncharted and make it one of the greatest games that Sony's PS3 has ever seen? You wouldn't bet against it, would you? Our protagonist Nathan Drake will visit a host of new locations in search of the lost city of Ubar. Expect his trademark wit, array of weapons and his usual cohorts to make an appearance.

Batman: Arkham City
Who said comic book characters couldn't successfully star in video games? Batman overcame all the odds with the acclaimed Arkham Asylum, and the game swept to the top of the charts. Dark, brooding and atmospheric, the caper crusader makes his comeback this year - taking on a whole new cast of bad guys as he heads to the bright lights of the big city.

Infamous 2
Sucker Punch and Cole make a welcome return to the PS3 in this superpowered sequel. Empire City is wrecked and our hero chases "The Beast" to a whole new environment called New Marais to find a scientist capable of ridding the world of its evil. Expect more electric gameplay, enhanced graphics over the 2009 original and plenty of destruction!

Gears of War 3
Marcus Fenix and his team return for the third game in the series, which promises to be even bigger and better than before. Not only will Delta Squad and the Locust Horde return for this outing, but this time a new force called the Lambent join the battle. This is gonna be epic for Xbox 360 owners! The question is, will it be bigger than Halo: Reach?

It's perhaps a little disappointing that the majority of them appear to be sequels rather than new IPs but who are we to judge? It still makes for a fantastic year ahead and means I'd better get saving!

Expect Ibwib to post his top tips soon. Happy New Year!