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Skyrim

1. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
   
It’s almost unfair to compare other games to Skyrim, a behemoth of a test in which you can invest 50 hours and still feel like you’re only scratching the surface of what it offers. Skyrim stands not only as a benchmark for how much can be accomplished by a single video game but also how endless the potential is.

2. Portal 2
   
Portal 2 seems like a simple puzzle game. Its only real gameplay mechanic is the ability to shoot two exit/entrance portals into the various surfaces of a room, but an entire universe is built around this. A brilliantly written and hilarious plot guides the action along, there are impossibly inventive puzzles around each corner and the two-player, co-operative mode is fantastic.

3. L.A. Noire
   
I don’t think anyone could’ve predicted that some of the best gaming moments of 2011 would come from methodical crime scene investigation and witness interrogation, but L.A. Noire revels in its inclusion of all of the usual tropes of crime procedurals.

4. Dark Souls
   
Not only does this brutally difficult RPG leave you stranded in an open world with little clue what to do, it takes pleasure in killing you for every mistake you make, turning the game into a seemingly hopeless bid for survival.

5. Deus Ex: Human Revolution
   
No games have added choice to gameplay more successfully than Human Revolution, a fantastic reboot of the classic Deus Ex franchise which gives you so many options in how to play the game that it’s possible to go through it without killing a single enemy.

6. Rayman Origins
   
It wasn’t just the charming simplicity of Rayman Origins which made it such a delight to play — the layers of depth and complexity hidden underneath the sheen which propelled it to greatness. 

7. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
   
A flawed Zelda game is still better than most games that operate perfectly so it’s no surprise that Skyward Sword still delivers even with its uneven design, its highest highs providing some of the best moments in gaming of this and of any year.

8. Crysis 2
   
The best shooter of the year wasn’t Call of Duty or Battlefield but this sci-fi epic which lets you stomp around New York City in an insanely powerful robot suit, kicking cars into aliens and cloaking yourself with invisibility.

9. Mortal Kombat
   
The Mortal Kombat games seemed to be doomed to spend the rest of their existence wallowing in irrelevance, so what a shock this revitalization of the series turned out to be. A weirdly nostalgic and endearing ode to the cheesy 2D fighters we grew up with.

10. Batman: Arkham City
   
Despite not living up to the lofty expectations set up by it’s predecessor, Arkham City still stands as one of the best superhero games of all time, one that once again lets you bask in the joy that is playing as a hero as unbelievably cool as Batman.
 
   
Mel Stefaniuk is a writer who can tell the difference between Mario and Sonic.