Call it our favorite moment in a console’s lifecycle: that point where it’s no longer a “next-gen” system but is instead a mature piece of hardware that developers have finally wrapped their heads around. Such is the case with the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Both are at the top of their games, and both have delivered some great gaming experiences in 2011. Meanwhile, the PC had a strong showing, with a meaty selection of exclusive and multisystem releases. And the nascent Nintendo 3DS is just starting to come into its own, with at least one game making the cut for 2011’s top games to buy, and several others that were just below the cutoff point.
2011 was indeed a great year to be a gamer. Here’s our buyer’s guide of the top must-own games from the calendar year. Have you played them all?
Portal 2 is not only the sequel to our choice for the best game of all
time, it’s a sequel that improves on that choice in every imaginable
way, including a longer campaign, more memorable characters and the
addition of cooperative play. To describe the elements that truly make
Portal 2 an unforgettable experience, however, would require spoilers
that might ruin that experience. If you haven’t played it yet, stop
reading this and go do so immediately.
Read the Portal 2 review
Watch Portal 2 videos
View Portal 2 screenshots
How do you improve on the greatest superhero game of all time? Throw in
more heroes, more villains, more powers and a more epic setting, then
miraculously manage to connect all those pieces with writing that’s as
good as – or better than – most comic books, movies and TV shows based
on the same character. If you’re a fan of Batman, this is a dream come
true. If you’re not, you’re about to be.
Read the Batman: Arkham City review
Watch Batman: Arkham City videos
View Batman: Arkham City screenshots
Size matters. Sure, you could probably conquer Skyrim in about 10 hours
if you stuck only to the game’s main quests, but you’d be missing the
point. The massive RPG’s real attraction is everything on the side –
hundreds of hours of optional (but worthwhile) adventuring, exploring,
crafting, hunting and dungeon diving outside the central storyline.
Skyrim is an incredibly ambitious title that raises the bar for
open-world experiences and will keep you busy for a very, very long
time.
Read the The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim review
Watch The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim videos
View The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim screenshots
A
perfectly balanced mix of innovation and classic Zelda gameplay, Skyward Sword
truly lives up to the Zelda legacy of excellence and offers the most variety of
any Zelda game to date. Its swordplay and puzzles are some of the best in the
series, and seeing Link and Zelda's first story chronologically is a treat for
longtime fans.
Read The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword review
Watch The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword videos
View The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword screenshots
Don’t think that The Witcher 2 is just another fantasy RPG. Truly a
labor of love, this amazing sequel fortifies the foundations laid down
by a flawed classic and creates a brilliant masterpiece. Visceral
combat, dizzying player customization and a truly immersive story all
come together to create one of the best role-playing experiences of the
year.
Read the Witcher 2 review
Watch Witcher 2 videos
View Witcher 2 screenshots
To say that 2000’s Deus Ex changed the face of gaming might sound
hyperbolic – if it weren’t true. Fortunately for modern gamers, this
latest entry in the series lives up to those impossibly high standards.
Human Revolution is an intelligent, challenging and Blade
Runner-beautiful vision of the future, with gameplay that’s customizable
enough to qualify as both 100% shooter and 100% stealth. Which genre
you experience is completely up to you.
Read the Deus Ex: Human Revolution review
Watch Deus Ex: Human Revolution videos
View Deus Ex: Human Revolution screenshots
Uncharted 3 is the PS3’s premier action title. It has slick, relentless
combat, fun and imaginative puzzles, absolutely beautiful visuals, and
impressive multiplayer. It’s full of nearly nonstop big cliffhanger
set-pieces amongst amazingly detailed environments, from bright Yemeni
markets to vast underground dungeons filled with ancient machinery and
cool optical illusions. Nathan Drake and his cronies are some of
gaming’s most likeable heroes, proving that Hollywood doesn’t have a
monopoly on blockbuster excitement in a story-driven medium.
Read the Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception review
Watch Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception videos
View Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception screenshots
If you’re looking for a new kind of shooter, look elsewhere. Modern
Warfare 3 succeeds by doing more – much more – of what’s always worked
spectacularly for the series. The campaign is still an unapologetically
unrealistic roller-coaster ride through blockbuster-movie setpieces
across the globe. The multiplayer is still addictively simple and
pulse-poundingly immediate, but with enough new modes and features to
keep you busy until the next Modern Warfare releases. We still can’t get
enough.
Read the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 review
Watch Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 videos
View Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 screenshots
Super Mario 3D Land is everything we want from a Mario game. With
fantastic use of the 3DS’s 3D capabilities and some clever nods to the
franchise’s history, the game is certainly a release worthy of the
character’s legacy. It expertly builds on franchise history, has tons of
clever ideas, and stands tall in the realm of 3D platformers,
especially compared to the paltry library of games the 3DS currently
has.
Read the Super Mario Land 3D review
Watch Super Mario Land 3D videos
View Super Mario Land 3D screenshots
Dark Souls is an anomaly – a thoroughly modern 3D game whose old-school
mechanics and philosophy gleefully reject every modern gaming
convention. The brutal difficulty and complete lack of hand-holding take
you back to the era when games were made to challenge, and beating them
was all the reward you needed. For those who “get” it, Dark Souls is
undoubtedly one of the year's best.
Read the Dark Souls review
Watch Dark Souls videos
View Dark Souls screenshots
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