2011 So Far - Number 1 - inFamous 2 9/10

And so we arrive to our number one pick so far of 2011...inFamous 2.  The Sony exclusive has only been out a matter of weeks but that's long enough to tantalise our tastebuds and leave us wanting more.  Our two editors' express their love for inFamous 2 and why it fought off such strong competition in the first half of the year and can it stave off the big hitters coming this winter to land game of the year?

Craig John Shields: Obviously I reviewed the game so I'll try not to retread old ground but I loved inFamous 2. I enjoyed the original but the sequel improved on the first so much that it moved the franchise from good to great. The setting of New Marais and the development of Cole's and Zeike's relationship really stood out to me and appealed to me more than just on a gameplay level.

If I had to play only one game from the first half of the year it would undoubtedly be inFamous 2, there's just so much to do and even if your feeling lazy jumping off the highest point and slamming into the ground never gets old.

It has a massive task on it's hand if it's to win game of the year with Skyrim, Assassin's Creed Revelations and it's own PS3 rival Uncharted 3, but it certainly has it's place amoung 2011's greatest.

Alex Sodhi: Well what more can we say about Infamous 2? I was late to the franchise in the first place, I enjoyed Infamous 1 although it did take me a while to get used to. The idea of being a super hero with electrical powers sounds amazing without even needing to play the game! Unlike in many games, you are not held back by anything really, you can pretty much go anywhere you want to go, do anything you want to do.

Being able to chose between two different stories, based on the actions you take in the game is very cool. You feel like you just get a bit more for your money than just the standerd story. Infamous 2 is a deserving winner for the first half of the year. As Craig mentioned, will it be able to take on the likes of some of the huge games coming out this fall? It will be a challenge but only time will tell.

2011 So Far - Number 3 - Mortal Kombat 8.5/10

There's no doubting that the Mortal Kombat theme tune from the movies is one of the best soundtracks to have ever existed and perhaps if it was included in the game we may have scored it higher (probably not) but despite that injustice the Mortal Kombat reboot was a shock to us all, after poor games of the last few years.

Armageddon and Dark Alliance have been vanished to bargain bins and we've lovingly taken the new Mortal Kombat into our hearts and through our bowels to a gruesome fatality. All the characters you loved from the old Arcade games are here along with fatalities, babalities and so much more. Mortal Kombat packed in the modes to keep us busy from standard Ladder Mode to Story and of course the aptly named Challenge Tower which can take a good chunk of your time.

A lot of publishers would be wise to take a good look at what Neatherrealm and Warner Bros have done with Mortal Kombat. The fat has been stripped off from the lacklustre games of recent years it has been taken right back to basics with a lick of HD paint and it works wonders because of it.

Mortal Kombat is a great fighting game and will keep you entertained for hours, it's certainly our front runner for fighting game of the year and also enjoys third spot on our game of 2011..so far.

BY CRAIG JOHN SHIELDS

2011 So Far - Number 5 - L.A. Noire 8/10

We start our countdown with listing Rockstar's 'third column' in their franchise hit list behind the GTA and Red Dead series L.A Noire. The ambitious project brought together by Team Bondi used real actors to give the player a brand new way of interacting with characters. While the game itself has so far proved less popular sales wise than there other two franchises. Rockstar are quietly pleased with the result with talk of a sequel high up the agenda.

While we fell in love with the accurately re-created 1940's Los Angeles and the Truth, Doubt, Lie detective system it fell short to becoming a true great due to some of the repetitive nature of the cases and some plot holes in the story.

There is no doubt L.A Noire is a game to be remembered in history more for what it tried to accomplish rather than what it did, but hopefully the guys at Team Bondi can build upon solid foundations and a rather enjoyable game and that's why it makes our top 5 games of 2011...so far.

BY CRAIG JOHN SHIELDS