1. Minecraft
It could be argued that Minecraft was a 2010 release,
but it just came out of beta in November, so we're putting it on the list;
anyway, it's so great, it should be on the list every year.
2. Portal 2
Never mind the ingenious permutations of bouncing momentum,
gravity and light required to progress through this game. Portal 2's biggest surprise came from experiencing how developer Valve left the cool,
minimalist remove of its predecessor behind for a messier, more emotionally
textured path. Where the first Portal delivered an antagonist for the ages in bitchy AI GLaDOS, the
follow-up peels back the layers of her computational psyche and shows us how
she got that way.
3. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
You could call it serendipitous that Nintendo delivered one of the best-ever entries in this beloved adventure franchise during The Legend of Zelda's 25th anniversary year. But nothing in this intricately built escapade happened by chance. Skyward Sword evolves the series' trademark elements by letting you inject some individual style into how Link achieves his goals and by extruding more of the game's puzzlelike environments into the larger world.
4. Uncharted 3
When it comes to storytelling, Uncharted series developer
Naughty Dog likes to peer into history's cracks and tease out conspiracies. In Uncharted 3, they involve T.E. Lawrence, better known as
Lawrence of Arabia, the Rub' al Khali desert and the legendary lost city Iram
of the Pillars.
5. Batman: Arkham City
We thought 2009's Arkham Asylum was the best Batman video game that could ever be made — it was a
moody, assured outing that let players skulk, brawl and detect among the hero's
craziest enemies. Amazingly, developer Rocksteady's second effort with the
Gotham Guardian tops that game in almost every way.
Each white-knuckle fight sequence and spot-on character moment is
evidence that the British gamemakers have soaked up every available reservoir
of Batman lore. What they've squeezed out ranks among the best Dark Knight
material that any medium — film, comic, television — has yet offered.
6. Bastion
Created in a small San Jose, Calif., house by indie game studio
Supergiant Games, Bastion ushered players into a
bluesy science-fantasy fable in which a world lies
fractured by a civilization's poor choices. Typical role-playing tropes like
leveling up weapons and adding party members were transformed into achingly
personal milestones, thanks to gravel-voiced narrations that reacted in real
time to how you played.
7. Skyrim
Take one part George R.R. Martin, two parts Beowulf, mix with Grand Theft
Auto's open-world, go-anywhere angle, and out pops Skyrim, a fantasy role-playing game that's definitely
not a kite-surfing sim. Want to help someone kick a nasty drug habit? Who's
supplying the drugs? Skyrim invites you to find
out and to craft your own story on your own terms in a world more
breathtakingly realized than any before it. If you want a glimpse into gaming's
crystal ball, you'll want to check this out.
8. Dark Souls
Dark Souls could well be the hardest (and most rewarding)
video game you'll ever play: a grueling action-adventure about a hero who
storms through gloomily lit castles and caverns, smashing, skewering and
sometimes setting alight enemies who, upon dying, relinquish souls. Call it
gaming on tenterhooks, an improbably satisfying experience drizzled in dread —
a return to form for gamers who relish playing on tightropes, net-free, wrapped
in a gorgeous, alien ax-murdering otherworld.
9. Sword & Sworcery
Easily the most beautiful mobile game of the year — maybe the most
beautiful game of the year, period — Sword &
Sworcery (personally, I like to pronounce that extra w) is a slowed-down, chilled-out, highly self-aware
D&D-type fantasy adventure set to an ambient track of sublime mellowness. Just
groove on the spacey vibe and the smart writing and the post-Impressionist
gorgeousness of the world — if Georges Seurat made a fantasy RPG, it would be Sword &
Sworcery.
10. Battlefield 3
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