Game of the year 2007. For me anyway. The trailer above is all from in-game graphics, nothing pre-rendered, and it really is that intense and generally awesome. Even the fact that you can’t drive vehicles like Battlefield 2142 doesn’t detract from it’s playability. This is a game that will live on in multiplayer circles even longer than Counter Strike has.

They’ve fine tuned everything from how your weapons handle to the way you move to make it truly immersive, so you come out of the game feeling like you’ve been a marine fighting for your life and your squadmates’ for a few hours. Most of the environment is physics-based, so a grenade going off in a house will knock the paintings off the wall of another room, and the sound and visuals fit together tightly to deliver a true cinematic gaming experience with none of the usual crates ‘o health or ammo boxes to remind you that it’s just an approximation of reality. This game feels real, and while some people say that’s a bad thing, those of us looking for some intense escapism will come away happy

My only complaints are:

• Short single player campaign, but it doesn’t outstay it’s welcome, just like Portal.
• Paper blowing around in the wind looks really fake, but you only notice that when their aren’t grenades landing at your feet and bullets ricocheting off nearby walls, which isn’t often.
• Not being able to open doors. Seriously, I know this makes it easy on the AI singleplayer, because they’d get confused if you barreled on ahead by yourself, but it’s incredibly frustrating to stand at a door trying to wiggle the doorknob and shoot the lock off in anger only for an AI squaddie to come along and open the door for you with a nonchalant flourish. Rather let me open the door and get blown to shit by a claymore or a rabid russian with a shotgun, then I’ll know to let my squadmate to open it next time.

Armadillo Run is a physics game where you get to build Rube Goldberg contraptions to try and maneuver the armadillo to an exit portal. A simple premise, but it allows hours of gameplay with many different solutions to the same problem using ropes, metal poles and sheets, elastics, rubber, rockets, pulleys, etc. If you liked The Incredible Machine series, you’ll be completely addicted to Armadillo Run. This game is almost as much fun as Portal but with more longevity, and you’ll be getting an education in physics and structural engineering without realising it. The game is only $20, so go support innovative indie developers now! Try Armadillo Run demo for free.

Portal is one of those rare games that blow your expectations away. When you first start the game you’re thinking “oh yay, another first-person shooter” but then you’re given a device that can open up a portal in any wall and a set of fiendishly difficult puzzles involving physics, timing, and some heavy lateral thinking, and you’re in for at least four hours of glorious entertainment. Add to this the great black humour from the genius of the Half-life creators, and even your significant other will end up watching you play in rapt amazement. It’s that good. Now, enough yakking, I can’t put this game into words, go get it now from your local shop or get it off Steam like I did and you can thank me later.

3h30 of gameplay is a bit short, but it fits the story perfectly, so it’s not really a negative. Hell, I can’t think of any reason not to play this game.
p.s. Yes, yes, I know the month is almost over, but I’m trying to cover myself in case Assassin’s Creed turns out to be as awesome as these videos show.