The fact that Game Freak dared to remove all the old pokémons from the main story line and replace them with 156 new ones is only one of the reasons for the series feeling fresher than ever. Pokémon Black and White is the most entertaining game yet, and is a must-buy for all Nintendo DS owners.

CD Projekt has with The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings ruined all other games in the genre. With graphics from the future and gameplay from space, they have made this century's best RPG. BioWare has been ousted from the throne and will have to work very hard to reclaim it once again.

Tetsuya Takahashi and Monolith Soft finally manage to deliver on the promises and visions underlying the earlier games sharing the Xeno-name, and the result rivals even the team members earlier works at SquareSoft. This is the finest japanese roleplaying game crafted for a home console this generation and will become a measuring stick against which other games are held up and scrutinized again in the future.

Dark Souls is the girl you had a crush on in high school. The one that really enjoyed teasing you, making fun of you or punishing you. But you couldn't help being drawn to her. And even when she was as mean as she could be, you still loved her. You knew in your heart of hearts that the torture was her way of saying she loved you. As harsh and unforgiving as Dark Souls can be to casual players, the pleasure and gratification received from completing seemingly impossible tasks are still off the scale. Bigger, harsher and even more atmospheric than Demon's Souls, this is an immersive and immense experience.

Rocksteady Studios surprised us all back in 2009 by delivering one of the best games that year with Batman: Arkham Asylum. This year they show us that they are a force to be reckoned with when Batman: Arkham City more than lives up to expectations; it surpasses them in what is a very strong contender for Game of the Year 2011. No multiplayer? Who gives a bats a**?

The best game for Kinect just got better. Dance Central 2 improves on practically every feature in the original, and adds a much-needed two player mode, a must for everyone who likes to have fun.

HAL Laboratory have developed an adventure with amazing puzzles, exporations, unlockables and bonuses. Everyone with a Nintendo DS ought to own this game.

Super Mario 3D Land is a perfect blend between the new and the old. It's a near perfect piece of Nintendo entertainment and the best game in the series since the masterpiece Super Mario 64.

Journey isn't a game - it's an experience. The few hours that this complete gem contains are completely breathtaking, and cement Thatgamecompany's status as visionaries.

FEZ uses the entire history of video games as a background for the gameplay. Wherever you go, you will instinctively know what to do. All you have left is to be mesmerized by the adventure and solve countless of impressively clever puzzles.

I'm going to go as far as to say that Popcap Games have created a nearly perfect puzzle game and for 800 Microsoft Points, there's no reason not to invest in Zuma's Revenge.

Firaxis has made an absolutely wonderful modernization of a classic strategy game. The deep and evolving gameplay is among the best I've experienced in a game like this, along with the fact that everything feels extremely polished and crafted with a a great deal of love for both the genre and the original game.

It's hard to find negative things to write about Forza Horizon. It certainly is a different experience compared to Forza Motorsport 4, but that doesn't mean it's not as good. The spotless presentation and the enormous amount of things to do makes this one of the finest racing games I've ever played.

How do you improve something that's already close to perfection? With surgical precision would be the response from Atlus. Persona 4: The Golden adds a few new story lines and characters while still maintaining the charm and balance of the original PlayStation 2 release. Easily one of the finest role-playing games of any hardware generation.

A fantastic city simulation that meets all expectations. So perfectly balanced it makes it easy to pick up and enjoy, but proves to be very difficult to master. Funny, addictive and with great options for both co-operative and competitive online play - Sim City is a clear candidate for Game of the Year.

Bioshock Infinite is a magical experience on every level. Despite a few glitches and a couple of issues with pacing in the later parts, this game is already a clear candidate for game of the year.

Killzone 3 promises a lot, but manages to live up to almost most of them. The Move implementation is at the top of it's class, and the multiplayer experience is deep and rewarding. A triumph for the series and gaming technology as a whole.

The PlayStation 3 version of Mass Effect 2 contains all the great adventues as its PC and Xbox 360 counterparts, together with all the extra DLC goodies. Newcomers to the series and PS3 owners can look forward to an excellent rpg with thrilling shooter elements.

Dead Space 2 starts off with a lot of similarities with the original, but soon finds its own identity and raises the bar for sequels everywhere. A very well-polished space adventure.

Ghost Trick consists of an impressively well written story told in an amazing way, combined with entertaining puzzles that will give your brain a workout. Even though it could be a tad more challenging and lacks the rewarding feeling you get when figuring something out in the Ace Attorney games, this is still an experience you don't want to miss.

Battlefield Bad Company Vietnam breathes new life in a game that already felt alive. It delivers a very memorable gaming experience, and is well worth the money.

Tactics Ogre: Let us Cling Together is a work of pure love, and widely surpasses the original from 16 years ago. Old fans of the game or of Final Fantasy Tactics will have a blast, but newcomers ought to be aware that this isn't a simple game, but rather a demanding piece of excellence.

Creative Assembly is flirting with a new audience with its totaly new and fresh multiplayer component and a streamlined overhaul of the Total War series. But underneath the polished surface lies the Total War we know and love and Shogun 2 has not lost the depth and complexity that has been established over the last ten years.

For single player matches the 3DS version is even better than its console counterpart, and the online fuctionality is impressingly solid. And despite all the similarities with its older brother the combo shortcuts, accessibility and Street Pass makes this a perfect choice for a dose of Street Fighter. And the 3D is an excellent bonus in itself.

An absolutly gorgeous game with more to it than a pretty face. The compelling and focused single-player campaign, with its multitude of options, together with a fully fledged multiplayer component makes Crysis 2 one of the most complete first person shooters on the market right now. The AI may have some flaws and the minor graphic glitches tarnish the surface somewhat, but not in any serious way.

The original Portal was a delicious dessert in the five-course meal that was The Orange Box. Portal 2 is a much more meaty affair altogether and incorporates humor, great puzzling and a wonderful co-op mode while still being true to the original.

Adding Ikarugas colour matching mechanics to a Metroidvania-esque game was a stroke of genius, and feels so intuitive that we're almost shocked that it hasn't been done before. Estetically beautiful, Outland contains smart level design, tight controls and excellent online coop. Don't miss out on this game!

Team Bondi and Rockstar delivers a new kind of story telling. Brutal, mind numbing action has taken a backseat and the atmosphere, story and L.A. itself is driving this car. The different gameplay components in L.A. Noire may be a little repetitive after 10-15 hours play but mix everything in a blender and you get an experience not seen in many years. "No multiplayer?" you may say. I say multiplayer-shmultiplayer, this is a story to be enjoyed and taken in as on an individual basis.