Curtailing the year to just ten top games is our annual act of brutality. If it seems unfair, hostile and without victory, it's because we spent much of 2011 sweating and squirming in the crushing grip of Dark Souls. Sooner or later you become addicted to no-win scenarios.

While our ten favorite games could easily be joined by yet another ten, we're wary of extinguishing potency so soon after "infinity" became a major selling point. Bloated in-game clocks, labyrinthine dungeons and quests without end dominated our attempts to underline a year of quality. Nobody ever has time to play everything, and in 2011 you might not have had time to play a quarter of Skyrim.

We're leaping into a year's glut of excellent games, then, fully cognizant of the blind spots that can't be avoided when the staff is human and bound to predictable chronology. That's why, until we've hired a set of hard-working, temporally immune androids, you'll see each writer's personal picks too. Rather than changing the format of our end-of-year summary, we'll continue adjusting the mindset with which you read it. Starting now and continuing over the next few days, you'll see a snapshot of what Joystiq -- both the website and the people behind it -- played, loved and nearly espoused in 2011.

And that, we think, is a pretty nice way of preparing you for the inevitable, outrageous omission of your favorite game.

Nintendo, Electronic Arts and Sony Electronics have apparently followed the example of Microsoft and the Business Software Alliance, and have removed their corporate monikers from the list of supporters for the increasingly unpopular Stop Online Piracy Act. None of the three companies have commented on why they reversed their position on the controversial bill, but we imagine its because endorsing it makes the internet pretty angry with you. When asked, EA corporate told Joystiq this afternoon, "EA never expressed a position for or against SOPA." Sony and Nintendo had yet to respond as of publishing.

Note that not all of Sony's miscellaneous branches have rescinded their support, as Sony/ATV Music Publishing, Sony Music Entertainment and Sony Music Nashville still appear on the list. Also, the Entertainment Software Association is still shown as a supporter -- an organization which the aforementioned publishers (among others) belong to. Whether the group will remain on an endorsement list which exactly zero of its members appear on remains to be seen.

This year's great platformer nobody bought, Rayman Origins, is just one of the alluring items on sale in GameStop's new year sale. Now you can fix that by totally buying Rayman: Origins for $30. Just a suggestion!

If you're looking to upgrade that crummy launch unit or finally see what this "next gen" is all about, GameStop is also offering a pretty sweet Xbox 360 package. A 250GB Xbox 360 S without Kinect will net shoppers a $75 gift card. If you want Kinect, GameStop has knocked off $20, bringing it down to $129.99.

This GameStop sale lasts until January 3, so you'll need to act relatively quickly. For the full weekly ad, hit up the source link below.

Two games hit the eShop today, and they both seem worthwhile! Terry Cavanagh's devious puzzle platformer, VVVVVV, is now playable on the go, courtesy of Nicalis. Bionic Commando is also made portable, courtesy of ... the Game Boy version Capcom made years ago.

On DSiWare you can get Cake Ninja, though you'd probably hate yourself for buying such an outright Fruit Ninja clone. Get it only if you're lacking a conscience, much like its developers.

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Who has time for words anymore? You're too busy for those, so why not relive 2011's biggest games in the time it takes you to drink a cup of coffee?

Heavy Rain asks us "How far would you go to save someone you love?" Few games bother with this sort of question because the answer is intensely personal. Most games would rather task you with saving the world than with rocking a baby to sleep or patching up a failed relationship. This intransigence on the part of developers to create idiosyncratic stories that resonate with the individual is holding the medium back.

Why should gaming's prime inspiration be Michael Bay instead of David Lynch, David Mamet, Paul Thomas Anderson, or even Mel Brooks? An interactive medium like this has the potential to tell complex stories in ways that are sublime, irreverent, and evocative.

Gaming could explore the human condition by interfacing with the player like books, movies, and TV never could. Instead, we do battle with rogue Russian nationalists, storm Normandy for the 47th time, or fight off an alien invasion. I can't relate to any of this.

I'm tired of saving the world, and the industry is belatedly coming to the same realization. My favorite games of 2011, L.A. Noire and Catherine, spent generous time on character development, with highly personal stories that resonate with the individual.

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