Ellen McLain's brilliant deadpan snarking as GLaDOS and the power of SCIENCE! turn what could have been a really dry puzzler into a short, but memorable experience. Nothing is more satisfying than finally being able to finally figure out a Portal puzzle that you've been stuck on for hours, though. The payoff is the most satisfying thing ever.

Brilliant puzzles that keep death from getting too annoying, brilliant voice acting, brilliant, consistently funny script, stellar soundtrack, awesome graphics, co-op missions...you can't go wrong with Portal 2.

Don't focus on the hats. Focus on the fact that the characters are funny, lovable, and unique, the art style is beautiful in a very subtle way (I wish there was an artbook for it), the fact that you can customize the way you play as little or as much as you want...it's great for something that started out life as a mod. And now it's free!

One of the funniest, most quotable games I've ever played (it's up there with Portal and Portal 2), and totally worth getting even if you're like me and you're not exactly an ace poker player. If Telltale never makes a sequel, they'd be missing out on a huge opportunity.

A better poker game than the first, with just as solid humor, and even more...story, believe it or not. Love the custom Inventory tourneys and "story arcs" the characters will update you with every so often. And how can you say no to a game where Brock Motherfuckin' Samson & GLaDOS get to interact?

I love any universe cartoony enough to just accept a giant sentient space-gorilla has been defeated by a talking dog who wears pants (and carries a gun) and a hyperkinetic talking rabbity thing with psychic powers. Once again, Telltale writes some of the funniest games in existence, other than Valve.

The difference is, Telltale actually releases their episodic gaming content ON TIME.

Has a lot in common with the also-written-by-Eric-Wolpaw Portal series, in that it can be fiendishly difficult attimes, but is oh-so-rewarding when you finally get past THAT ONE PART you've been stuck on for the last half hour, because the payoff is always hilarious. Hands-down one of the funniest games I've ever played. An excellent mix of Tim Burton and a fantastic homage to the work of Jhonen Vasquez (especially Invader Zim). So glad it's rectifying its long-considered-a-failure fate by being a consistent high seller during every Steam sale.

A wonderfully spooky atmosphere, likable characters, and an ending that'll really make you think, with moments of humor peppered throughout. The soundtrack's fantastic, too!

I love how open-ended this game is. Work alone or work as a team? Build something complex, or stick with a simple shelter? Kill tons of chickens, cows, and pigs, or live as a vegetarian? It's all up to you. I recommend the Tekkit mod for people who want more technology to fiddle with. It's a bit complex at first, but it's totally worth it.

A nice, relaxing little dungeon crawler with beautiful music, a nice, steampunk-y art style, incredibly customizable armor and weapons, and the ability to have badass pets like a wolf, a lynx, or even a ferret. I played my first run as an Alchemist, and it was a lot of fun.

Far more addicting than a casual card game has any right to be. The VA work, graphics (for the most part), and music are much better than I expected for a game like this.

"Puzzle games are a good way to relax for five minutes, I'm not addicted at all, no," you say, casually glancing at your computer's internal clock at 3 AM, pretending you didn't just spend the last five hours just playing Peggle. And damn, if that rainbow and triumphant chorus of "Ode To Joy" isn't one of the most satisfying ways to end a level that I've seen in a long time.

Tower defense with zombies is a perfect fit. The art and music help the game to stand out, and it's surprisingly hard at points. Much better than it initially seems.

Zombies, zombies everywhere. Work together, shoot things (just not your teammates), or die. Will you be a team player or a total dick? Running through the abandoned landscapes of Pennsylvania is always fun, and there's always bound to be some funny moments whenever you play.

Everything that's awesome about the first one, now with melee weapons and two new Special Infected to learn to deal with. Trekking through the swamps and city streets of New Orleans with a different but equally entertaining foursome of survivors is great fun. It's also pretty fun going through the ported campaigns of the first one, if only to see how the challenges of the second fit into the familiarity of the original.

Killing Floor is campy. Tripwire knows and embraces this. It's good, stupid fun, and the class system adds a nice RPG element to the traditional zombie-killing FPS action.

Even when the game gets really hard, it's really hard to get mad at Bit.Trip RUNNER. The art's so unique and the music's so catchy that you're constantly going in for just one more round.

Imagine, if you will, The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords with a dash more RPG/dungeon crawler elements and a vaguely Steampunk-esque art design. It's not a mindblowing game, but hey, it's free (and there's not much push to buy what isn't free until later levels), runs well, looks good, and can by played on both PC and Mac. And the Spiral Sallet you can earn for Team Fortress 2 looks pretty sweet.

I keep going back to Cardinal Quest whenever I need some time off to relax. It's surprisingly effective-- roguelikes always have that feel for me, I dunno. It's a simple little pixellated game with randomly-generated skills, and there's a bit of strategy in there because you have a really limited inventory and only five slots in which to equip the myriad skills you can come across. It might make a really good gateway for younger gamers who haven't experienced that old-school kind of gaming experience yet.

Like BIT.TRIP Runner, the game can be incredibly difficult, but is also incredibly fun, and it's something you don't want to put down. Being the brainchild of Newgrounds veterans, it's everything you'd expect from their best and brightest-- slick, thick-lined animation, deranged-but-hilarious humor, and inventive gameplay. Not for the easily offended, but if you're not, it's a hell of a lot of fun.

The customization is mindblowing, and The Sims still has the best damn character creator of any game I've ever played-- even moreso with user-submitted items and Internet integration. The downside? The game lags frequently, glitches on a regular basis, and a lot of the coolest items in the website's shop are only able to be purchased with real money. Still, despite those flaws, I keep coming back. I can't explain it, but I'll never get tired of micromanaging the lives of the Sims I've created.

I loved this game. Still do. It had this grandiose, epic feel to it, beautiful music, and beautiful (for the time) graphics, and I remember spending hours upon hours in the story mode, hunting through the dungeon just so I could unlock friggin' Reptile, because he was the only character I hadn't managed to track down yet. To this day, my siblings and I still make "Epic Church Battle" jokes because of Soulcalibur II. It's still one of those few games we could all actually agree on.

Arguably the game that got me into gaming-- my sister told me about this cartoon on Kids WB! about a kid and his pet rodent who fought these two other kids and their pet cat, and the rodent had electrical powers. Once I found out it was based on a game, the rest was history!

Despite having a Happiness meter in a lot of the later Pokemon games, this was one of the few times it really factored into the plot, which is what I feel some of the later Pokemon games lack-- I always kind of like when the 'Mons themselves take an active role in the plot. Besides, wasn't Pikachu's tinny little voice and constant hopping around just so gosh-darn adorable?

I've heard several people credit Diamond & Pearl for getting them back into Pokemon after a long absence, and I share the same story. Really good music, some really cool 'Mon designs, and a lot of customization, which is always what I loved the most about Pokemon. Just an all-around improvement and a solid entry in the Pokemon franchise.

Probably my favorite core Pokemon game gameplay-wise so far. I loved being able to have my Pokemon follow me around again, the addition of the Third Gen 'Mons was a welcome surprise bonus, and I really liked the addition of the Pokewalker. Between all those Pokewalker events, I now have that army of Pikachu and Pichu I always wanted as a kid. Hell yeah.

A game meant to be played every once in awhile when you have five minutes to spare, but can easily eat up hours of your attention before you even realize it. The game won me over with its bizarre, often hilarious humor, brilliant melding of art styles, awesome music, and addictive nature. Probably my favorite of the franchise.

I think the touch controls were a little too simplistic (if a character teaches you a specific move, expect to be using it for every game they throw at you), but it's still surprisingly challenging, and a lot of fun. Also, this is the one with "Ashley's Song" in it. How can you refuse?