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Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light
She has been with us for a while now, but we have never seen Lara from this angle! Utilising an isometric viewpoint, Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light takes all the best aspects from the Tomb Raider series and places them in a brand new adventure made for two. Lara joins a Mayan warrior to thwart the plans of an evil god after he is awoken from his eternal slumber. Teamwork is essential to progress through the levels - from covering each other’s back to complimenting each other’s abilities to cross a chasm. Admirably, the single player is done similar justice and does not feel compromised with the lack of a partner. The combination of fast-paced action and brain boggling puzzles make this a surprisingly good entry into Lara’s repertoire. The teamwork required to traverse the well-designed levels makes this one of the best co-op experiences to be had this year.
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Dead Nation
Elevating downloadable titles to a new league of graphical fidelity, developers Housemarque have managed to take the basics from Super Stardust and transfer them into a top-down zombie shooter. Rather than being caught up in a meaningful story, Dead Nation is all about smashing through hordes of zombies and spectacular lighting effects, helped along by a healthy dosage of machine gun fire. Mowing down the undead hasn't been this fun in a while.
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DeathSpank
DeathSpank enchanted the gaming world with its lighthearted humour, wacky quests and pure, unadulterated fun. Everywhere you turn, the game delivers uniquely artistic graphics that really make it stand out of the pack. A sheer love of the comedic keeps Deathspank feeling fresh all the way through.
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Super Meat Boy
Boasting a perfectly tuned control system and a retroactive passion for gaming, Super Meat Boy is pure fun that is riddled with subtle humour, a love for all that is indie games and a glorious chiptune soundtrack. As absurd as it is with a monocle-wearing foetus for a villain, this is a seriously tough game that will install an addictive sense of achievement and joy with each completed level. Super Meat Boy is fast and furious fun, yet smooth and perfectly balanced. With a seemingly endless supply of levels you can constantly challenge your ability to navigate the army of buzz saws that stand between Meat Boy and his lover Bandage Girl. It has to be said; slapping your meat never felt so good!
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Limbo
Take a small, lonely boy in a silhouetted world full of juvenile nightmares and vacant beings and you have envisaged Limbo. The eerie atmosphere and minimalist style serves as a canvas for players to discover deeper meanings behind the game and more. The game provokes the most profound questions around humanity, death and enlightenment. It does all of this without saying a word. This is a game that plays like a perfectly tuned instrument, but to master it you will need patience and an appreciation of its beauty. Often being cited as art, Limbo has already left an impression and will undoubtedly affect all those who play it for years to come.
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Runners-Up
Pac-Man Championship Edition DX
Nobody thought it was possible to improve upon the classic Pac-Man gameplay, and then Pac-Man Championship Edition DX came around. The ladder system will keep you striving for the perfect score.
Angry Birds HD
What concept, catapulting birds to tumble objects. While the original game was released in 2009, the 2010 HD version is so masterfully built that it transcends the orginal by a mile or two.
VVVVVV
VVVVVV's addictive and challenging gameplay do a great job at making you forget it looks like it was created in 1988. Fun!
Shantae: Risky's Revenge
If you long back to the good old 2D platforming days, look no further. Shantae: Risky's Revenge is a quirky but fun game that just oozes that retro feeling.