Top Ten 2011
A solid year for games, with several titles that will be added to my all time favorites. Here's hoping next year will be as good.
List items
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A fantastic open world, beautiful graphics, and a completely immersive experience, I haven't played or enjoyed a game more this year.
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Incredible face-capturing brings extra realism to a gritty, well-told detective tale. The developer solved the problem of merging adventure and action, with intelligent use of dynamic conversations.
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My favorite fighting game in recent years, MK9 is accessible enough to play with almost anyone, and deep enough to produce tight, tense matches where the strategy and combos fly fast and furious.
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The Total War series reduces its geographical and historical scope with a return to the premise that began it. Smaller maps and time frames mean tighter action and strategy with a focus on family dynamics, general and agent use that remains rewarding and challenging by turns.
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A powerfully effective experience, this game stays in your memory for days and weeks at a time. I am currently on hiatus from this game until I forgive it for what happened at the end of the last play session.
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A strong balance of elements secured by powerful, haunting story, well-told and with plenty of mystery. At every juncture where they could have limited the player's options, the developers chose to expand them.
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Great multiplayer and a solid single player campaign make it an extremely worthwhile product. The multiplayer particularly is always entertaining and provides many opportunities for brutal carnage.
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Fantastic cooperative play and a story that, while not drawing on the strengths of the original Portal, defines its own place in the mythos of video game narrative.
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Quick, quirky fun that entertains in bursts or across longer sessions, this game fills the need for old-school twitch shooting and overlays it with an amusing premise.
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Enjoyable and engrossing, the best massively multiplayer experience in years, the game defines itself by its strengths, and its weaknesses are no weaker than its competitors'.
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