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The Top 7... Games that make us feel like geniuses

Who says too much gaming will dumb you down? These brain-bending experiences prove otherwise

Words: on January 31, 2011
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67 comments

  • cart00n - February 1, 2011 11:19 a.m.

    Assassin's Creed made me feel smart, especially figuring out the hidden tombs. The environmental puzzles in Enslaved were pretty clever, too - just wish there were more of them (woulda liked driving that shiny bike, too - dlc?). BG&E made me feel smart because of the story, it was the first truly mature game I'd ever played - I mean TRULY mature, not "look at all the blood!" & "BOOBIES!" mature (tho' I loves me some o' that, too!). And, trust me, as someone who's spent a lot of time in therapy and reading psychology books, Psychonauts is actually pretty accurate in its terminology - even if it's presented in a totally fantastical way. Just adding those...

  • Rhymenocerous - February 1, 2011 10:52 a.m.

    Broken Sword.

  • grayguwapo - February 1, 2011 9:07 a.m.

    That formula for Pokemon kinda gave me a headache... but don't forget the Final Fantasy series (or most other JRPG's) where similarly you have to know and calculate how each an every item affects your stats... Good article!

  • AshLynx - February 1, 2011 8:46 a.m.

    Man, I just love pokemon! Coming up with good strategies for teams that complement each other definitely makes me feel smart, especially if they work to any degree, getting the EV and IV stuff....ugh, well that's mostly annoying, IV (at least through gen 4) requires stupid amounts of luck.

  • jmcgrotty - February 1, 2011 8:30 a.m.

    While I think this has already been said, point-and-click games don't take a lot of work. They take a lot of patience to try each combination until you find what they are looking for. I love them, and they are easily more entertaining than 97.3% of the other games every made, but they are mostly repetition. The rubber chicken in the tree in Kings Quest 7 still gets on my nerves. And GammaGames, yes, you are a genious.

  • Cyber6x - February 1, 2011 7:12 a.m.

    Phoenix Wright? That game made me feel so smart whenever I cracked a case that was tough.

  • AlpineGuy - February 1, 2011 6:20 a.m.

    Nice list, Charlie! I can actually vouch that I kept up with, as well as challenged, all the theories of my college's Objectivist Club by only using my knowledge of BioShock. I'm actually kinda disappointed that playing one game made me qualified to find faults in an entire club's line of reasoning. The Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney games always made me feel purty smart, although it definitely falls under the "adventure game rules' kind of smart.

  • GhoulxScout13 - February 1, 2011 4:49 a.m.

    I'm glad to see that the reason Braid was added was due to the gameplay itself and not because of the pretentious story associated with it.

  • GameManiac - February 1, 2011 3:27 a.m.

    Pokemon, Portal, and the Professor... It's my three-P of intelligence.

  • ChrisAntistaLikesLittleBoys - February 1, 2011 3:18 a.m.

    No Zelda? Some of those dungeons are mind bending

  • Thequestion 121 - February 1, 2011 3:17 a.m.

    Sweet article.

  • shawksta - February 1, 2011 3:14 a.m.

    Exactly with pokemon, Behind its kiddy looks that everyone loves, lies the most intense strategizing in ANY Multiplayer RPG. The Hardcore Players(not Kids) really take it serious and what with wifi, tournaments and so on. Black and White did everyone a favore by giving us a random option in Wifi rather than JUST your friends

  • Headshot10101 - February 1, 2011 2:35 a.m.

    I love you Charlie! Also I totally agree with number one. Thank you for this wonderful Top Seven Article.

  • MrSuitMan - February 1, 2011 2:29 a.m.

    Funny thing about Pokemon actually. I recently wrote an essay a couple months back in my Junior 3AP English class on Pokemon. Got a 94.

  • ObliqueZombie - February 1, 2011 2:21 a.m.

    I love me a good, short puzzle game as much as I love me an endless RPG or addictive shooter. Playing such brain-bending games is the biggest refresher I could ever ask for, and prepares me mentally for a lot of things, whether in other games or real-life situations. Also, where's Ilomilo? Was that not a favorite, or was it too new? Personally, I thought Ilomilo challenged me in ways Portal could never. Plus, their concept is VERY similar to Portal's. Overall, this list is amazing, and I DO feel like a genius discussing the plot, characterizations, and overall message or motives in BioShock and Dead Space!

  • FriendlyFire - February 1, 2011 2:18 a.m.

    I'm surprised no RTS made the list. They might be the most complicated genre out there in terms of mental and physical abilities, requiring incredible precision combined with extremely sharp thought and strategic perspective. The simple fact Starcraft became a *national sport* without actually starting to be repetitive should be a testament to this. However, and despite the fact it's not actually out yet, I would've actually given a mention to Achron. A sci-fi RTS (if a little bland in its traditional elements) that blends time travel seamlessly? That's so mind-bending it's not even funny. The physics behind it, the possibilities (send units in the past to fight with themselves, plot an attack in a different past so that your enemy doesn't notice it until it's too late, build units in the future so that you can support yourself in the past, etc.) make my head explode every time I think about them.

  • mastersword369 - February 1, 2011 2:10 a.m.

    I think Half Life 2 deserves a spot just for the fact that it's puzzles are solved not by video games logic, but how ou would actually solve it.

  • GamesRadarCharlieBarratt - February 1, 2011 1:39 a.m.

    @BlackTeam13 If you need more point-and-click from me, simply follow the first Want More link!

  • FrozenImplosion - February 1, 2011 1:38 a.m.

    I love almost every game on this list, and I do feel smarter playing them hehe. Bioshock also had some sections where you could be sneaky or strategic so you could argue that somewhat as well. Also I quite enjoyed finding out how pokeballs worked!! I always figured it was just like a random thing sort of like a roulette wheel. haha the first word of the recaptcha thing is "knowledge"

  • GammaGames - February 1, 2011 1:13 a.m.

    How did I know Portal would be on this list? Oh yeah, I'm a genious!

Showing 21-40 of 67 comments

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