1. Portal 2
You can’t possibly be surprised, can you? Portal 2 is not only the sequel to our choice for the very best game of all time – all time! – it’s a sequel that irrefutably improves on that choice in every imaginable way. Some upgrades are obvious, like the longer campaign, the fancier gadgets and the addition of cooperative play. What back-of-the-box bullet points like those can’t tell you, of course, are that the longer campaign still feels as perfectly paced as the original, that the fancier gadgets work as effortlessly and ingeniously as the portal gun or that the co-op is somehow both totally separate from the main game and yet equally compelling and satisfying.
To describe the elements that truly make Portal 2 an unforgettable experience, however, would require spoilers that might ruin that experience. What do we risk saying about GLaDOS, other than that you will fear – but also pity and understand – the infamous villain more than ever by the end? Or about Wheatley, besides the fact that he is surely gaming’s greatest-voiced sidekick? Or about the haunting history of Aperture, the tie-ins with an epic Valve universe and the crazy clever Easter eggs? These are all the things that make Portal 2 so special, and also the things every player should discover on his or her own.
In other words, if you haven’t played Portal 2 yet, stop reading this and go do so immediately. We won’t stoke controversy by declaring it the new best game of all time or anything, but we feel pretty damn comfortable declaring it the best game of 2011 so far, and likely of 2011 period.
2. The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings
We gushed about the Witcher 2 not only because it’s just fundamentally an amazing game, but it occupies a unique niche in gaming: it’s a hardcore PC-only RPG set in a bleak, morally corrupt (and ambiguous) world. It doesn’t feel like any other game - even if it does have faults, its strengths shine through so greatly that it blows us away. In no other game will you encounter truly difficult moral decisions that have far-reaching consequences so huge you may just react emotionally when you realize what you’ve done – good or bad, although it’s never black and white.
Let’s also not forget that (if you have a beefy PC) the Witcher 2 is utterly stunning to look at. It may just be one of the best-looking games we’ve ever seen, but it’s more than just crisp textures – it’s the game’s world that is filled with imaginative details that bring it to life and make it feel like a real place occupied by real people with real problems, and this in turn makes it a world you really, really want to take the time to explore and appreciate. It’s a place filled with interesting and complex characters as well as bizarre and gruesome monsters, and the danger around every corner ensures it’s frequently exciting even if it can be frustrating in its total refusal to hold your hand. Besides, what are you, a baby? Figure out how the combat system works yourself! It’s more rewarding to work through it anyway
3. Dead Space 2
The original Dead Space was a grippingly tense sci-fi spin on the survival horror genre, yet it was only a modest hit, which is why many were worried about the prospect of a sequel. Logic and history dictates that any changes would only hurt the franchise, turning off longtime fans while failing to gain any new players. Instead the transformation between the first and second games was exploding with improvements for the series and made the original title seem lacking in retrospect.
The most important update was the added depth to protagonist Isaac Clarke. He went from silent cypher to a character with thoughts, feelings, motivations, and (of course) fears. His journey through the ruined city of The Sprawl is all about him coming to terms with happened to him in the first game, and you watch him grow and change as you simultaneously hack the limbs off hundreds of necromorphs. This welcome bit of character exploration was supported by brilliantly eerie levels like the day care, breathtaking set-pieces like the tram crash, and some of the grossest things that have ever happened to eyes in a game. Dead Space 2 not only proved the original wasn’t a fluke, but that it was just getting warmed up.
4. Pokémon Black and White
Even if you don't particularly like RPGs, Pokemon Black/White would still be a smart choice if you had to pick only one game to play for the rest of your life just for the sheer amount of content it contains. With over 600 Pokemon to choose from, each with so many ways to train and customize that two Pokemon are almost never exactly alike, you would have a difficult time exploring all the possibilities within your lifetime.
Beyond the incredibly deep battle and training mechanics we've come to expect from Pokemon, Black/White has raised the bar for online functionality in a Nintendo game – not only do you get the standard trading and battling (which includes a friends list for people you know, plus match-making for finding strangers to play with), but you also get battle rankings, online leaderboards and video chat. And even if you never take it online, the staggering amount of post-game quests and exploration means you still won't run out of things to do. B&W looks and sounds amazing too – it's a showcase for how gorgeous sprite graphics can be, and the soundtrack is lovely and meticulously detailed.
5. Bulletstorm
It’s probably fair to say that nobody saw Bulletstorm coming. Of course, Epic’s involvement got us interested, but People Can Fly? The guys best known for that big pile of old-school madness Pain Killer? Truly Bulletstorm was an unknown quantity, and many were dubious of its wise-cracking balls-out excesses from the start. They said it looked too unsophisticated for modern tastes. They said the humor was unintelligent. They said the whole thing was one big stupid joke too far. But they were wrong. Oh so delightfully wrong.
Bulletstorm, you see, is a deeply clever, intricate design masquerading as a big dumb action game. Far beyond simply emulating the “Kill ‘em all!” maelstroms of Doom and its ilk, Bulletstorm re-taught us a more important lesson from the pre-Call-of-Duty days of FPS. Namely meaningful player input in the cause of mastering one’s environment. Bulletstorm’s insanely imaginative weapon-set and its multi-layered combo potential re-empowered players to kill their own way, giving us back the ability to creatively express ourselves on a mammoth scale, using a million different shades of gore. Fun, laugh-out-loud funny, and with immense replay value thanks to its score-attack Echoes mode, Bulletstorm has as immediate an appeal as any shooter around, but the finesse and depth to keep the most technically calculating, second-shaving point-chaser or speed-runner happy for months.
6. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D
This shouldn’t come as a surprise. A masterfully remade version of one of the most celebrated and best-selling adventures our medium has ever seen? Of course it’s going to be in this article. And even though this remake of a 1998 game bumps something genuinely new off the list, we can’t imagine there’s much dissent. Everything that made Ocarina memorable back then is still relevant today, making this a perfect introduction to the series for newcomers, as well as a misty eyed love letter to those who sprinted home from school to ride across the Hyrulian countryside way back in 1998.
As you can see, the most drastic changes are visual; gone are the vague and fuzzy graphics of the N64 original, now replaced with sharp, updated models and crisp textures that make previously amorphous areas crystal clear. Animation is improved too, giving Link a more realistic trot and detailed facial expressions. Best of all, the cumbersome inventory system that made equipping and un-equipping items a chore is replaced with an entire touch screen on the 3DS, offering quick and easy access to all of Link’s wonderful gadgets. In short, everything that could have been improved has been, and there’s no good reason to sit this one out. If you played the N64 one to death, this is still worth the money. If you’ve never played Ocarina at all, then this is without a doubt the version you need to own. Either way, you really should be playing this.
7. L.A. Noire
cyberheartz’s review
In the month or so since its release, L.A. Noire has become pretty divisive, even in our own offices. On the one hand, the game is smartly written, visually fascinating and unlike anything else on the market. On the other, some find its system of evidence and interrogation too rigid and confusing, and its action tends to favor “dramatic” outcomes instead of, say, simply letting players catch up with fleeing perps. It’s not perfect, and it’s not for everyone.
So why’s it on this list? Ambition, for starters. At its core, Noire is a linear detective story that tells you when to investigate, when to shoot and when to ask questions, but it isn’t content to stop there, and lavishes an incredible amount of detail and personality on its freely explorable re-creation of 1940s Los Angeles. Its story pulls no punches, and is immensely compelling as a result, with memorable characters whose motion-captured faces turned out surprisingly easy on the eyes.
What’s almost more interesting, however, is the way Noire makes failure an option. Missed clues and flubbed questions can and will affect the flow of each case, but the story continues, regardless. Infuriating to some, this nonetheless is an incentive to replay cases, hunt for things you missed, and see new sides of the story that you maybe didn’t know were there. Again, there’s really nothing else quite like Noire out there, and few games this year have stuck in our minds quite as much
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