Your Top 50 Games: 2011 Discussion Thread

[Runa216]

35 - Portal (PS3, PC, 360)

the very definition of 'short but sweet'. Sure, the game only lasted about 2-4 hours depending on how good you were, but those few hours are likely to be some of the most fun hours you've spent on a videogame in the last decade or so. The mechanics were fresh, the puzzles were deliciously challenging without being frustrating, and GlaDOS will go down in history as one of the most beautifully malicious videogame characters in history. Over this last generation, my attention span has suffered; some games I never beat and I never return to the same game twice, but I've played portal through about a dozen times, giving it something in common with my favorites from the SNES era, and that alone is something special.

34 - Left 4 Dead 2 (PC, 360)

While Left 4 Dead gave us a great idea in a simple game, LEft 4 Dead 2 refined that idea to a needlepoint. or a mirror shine. I don't care, this game is great! A lot of people complain about the lack of content, but even just the campaign alone is about 5-7 hours long if you string the 5 levels together as they were intented, plus there's a bunch of other modes and free DLC (if you're lucky enough to have it on PC) to keep you busy. Not to mention there are more weapons, more abilities, more enemies, and better level design. This is how you do a sequel, and like the Portal Series, it's one of the few designed with replay value in mind, and it's one of the few I can pick up and play any time for an hour or two and be done with it. Valve knows how to give a game replay value.