Who's up? Who's down? We rate the year's biggest Xbox stars from top to bottom on marketability, media buzz, and our own naked bias.

1) Commander Shepard

At the center of perhaps the most anticipated game of 2010, Mass Effect star Commander Shepard already looks poised to have his name on several year-end lists. The double-disc Mass Effect 2 is through-the-roof awesome (OXM rating: 9.5). Plus, how could Shepard fail when he or she has (presumably) your striking good looks?

2) Big Daddy

Sure, BioShock 2’s Subject Delta never actually appeared in the fi rst game. But as the prototype of Rapture’s iconic drill-wielder, and the hero of this heroic follow-up, he’s Big Money. Exploring the underwater dreamland through the lens of a vintage steel helmet is only part of BioShock 2’s charms.

3) Batman

Who had a better 2009 than Batman? First, The Dark Knight nets Oscar gold. Then, Arkham Asylum comes out of nowhere and proves itself the ultimate Batman game, selling over a million 360 copies in the process. And the game’s version of the Caped Crusader is even more badass than Christian Bale’s frog-in-the-throat version. Bring on Arkham 2!

4) Max Payne

Absent for seven years with only a bad Mark Wahlberg (sans Funky Bunch) impersonation to show for it, the original bullet-time badass — headliner of two namesake games — plans his return this year. Since his last outing, he’s lost his job (and hair), is battling the bottle, and has moved to South America. No, this game is not based on the life of “rapper” Joaquin Phoenix.

5) Sam Fisher

Overhauled by Ubisoft, stealth-meister Sam Fisher is making his long-awaited return to Xbox after three years on ice with the Xbox 360–exclusive Splinter Cell: Conviction. This fifth chapter in the Splinter Cell saga tells a tale of espionage and revenge in a revamped style. And while Sam may be late to the "beards are back" trend, we're just stoked to see him again.

6) Alan Wake

Who the hell is Alan Wake? We’re finally going to find out when the psychothriller of the same name — announced way back in 2005 — ships later this year. With roots in everything from cultclassic TV show Twin Peaks to Stephen King, it looks plenty gripping, and its protagonist ranks high for keeping us intrigued the entire time.

7) Bayonetta

We gave recent release Bayonetta a 9.0, calling its female lead “one of the most versatile action heroes ever to crack skulls in a videogame.” Yeah, that’s right. With her magic dark hair, long legs, and glasses, the witchy Bayonetta has the look of an ass-kicking librarian. We have high hopes to see more of her in 2010. 

8) Master Chief

The green, black, and gold god of the Halo series moves more units than Jay-Z and has become an Xbox icon. The mere mention of a new Halo installment, due later this year, sends fans scrambling for their wallets. Hurting Master Chief in our rankings? His longawaited film debut can’t quite get off the ground.

9) Predator

Aside from our high hopes for this year’s Aliens vs. Predator game, Australia’s ever-reliable Office of Film and Literature Classification almost banned the title before its release for violent content. The fact that your in-game Predator can rip heads off Marines — with their spines still attached — earns this dreadlocked freak a hot spot.

10) War

Why is this lone horseman of the apocalypse on our list? Look no further than his spectacular debut in January’s Darksiders. The apocalyptic actioner (OXM rating: 8.5) let you bash skeletons and skewer mythical creatures with gory flair, and we fully expect it to explode into a full-blown series in the ’10s.

11) Prince of Persia

Jake Gyllenhaal is starring as the lead in the upcoming film Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, and a new game, The Forgotten Sands — rumored to be a return to form — is on the way. If that doesn’t put the Prince at the forefront of gaming, then maybe he really should slap “Fresh” in front of his name.

12) Green Day

How do you follow The Beatles? That’s the question Harmonix faced after the success of the Fab Five’s Rock Band. Apparently, the answer is with Green Day: Rock Band, which has many a game pundit chattering. Playing 1994’s Dookie and 2004’s American Idiot sounds fun. Everything the veteran punk trio released in between? We’ll see.

13) Marcus Fenix

True, the hardheaded Gears of War hero is still popular, and anything resembling a 2010 release date for a new Gears game would be a megaton event. Working against Fenix is that, while we suspect something is definitely in the works, there’s little chance it’s coming out this year. Prove us wrong, Epic!

14) Legos

Okay, seriously, Lego folk, we need some time apart. It’s not you; it’s us…we just feel like we’re reliving the same game constantly. What began as a fun novelty quickly transformed into Lego versions of our favorite titles appearing on a seemingly weekly basis. Please take a break after Lego Harry Potter; we don’t need Lego Halo to become a reality.

15) Tony Hawk

While it's tempting to give Hawk props for taking a risk with the skateboard-controller experiment in Tony Hawk: Ride, the game was a failure of such epic proportions (OXM ration: 5.0), we can't help but recall that old saying about there being too much of a good thing.

16) Tiger Woods

No one — and we mean no one — suffered a bigger image catastrophe of late than the once-squeaky-clean golf maestro who went from being the face of sports to an out-of-control womanizer. At press time, he was still on his self-imposed hiatus from the links, which makes us wonder: If Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 is released, will he even be in it?