My Top 10 Games of 2011
It's been a while since I posted, but I thought this should go up. We are at work still on our secret project. Hopefully things will move a little faster this year.
10. F.E.A.R. 3
My favorite FPS of the year. Steals the spot from Crysis 2 because I hated the later mission in C2, fighting the aliens was more frustrating than fun and killed an otherwise excellent game. Fear 3 is second most overlooked or unfairly criticized game of the year in my opinion (see #3 for the most). For me this is actually the best entry in the series, surpassing the flaws of the first games while maintaining what made them great. Which was the unique slow time combat and smart AI. Excellent single player combat with much more variety than past games and other FPS's, great co-op and a unique, varied and superb multiplayer. Also the ability to replay the whole game as the brother (or play as him in co-op), with different skills including the ability to possess enemies and you really have 2 games in one. Add to the mix the fact that the missions are separated into chapters that encourage repeat play for improved performance and you have a game that really suits my tastes.
9. Dead Island
I am an RPG fan (as this list will attest). I am also a big fan of Zombie games. So when you take Fallout and breed it with Left 4 Dead you have immediately gotten my interest. While the game was a bit rough around the edges in places and the later area's less interesting than the early ones (due to being too confined), the fact remains that this game is superb in single and co-op and above all the best zombie game of the year. Also nailing first person melee combat with the "analogue controls" is quite a feat, even if they had it turned off by default and had it hid away in the options.
8. LA Noire
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| I stole this from IGN ;) |
In reverse order with comment:-
10. F.E.A.R. 3
My favorite FPS of the year. Steals the spot from Crysis 2 because I hated the later mission in C2, fighting the aliens was more frustrating than fun and killed an otherwise excellent game. Fear 3 is second most overlooked or unfairly criticized game of the year in my opinion (see #3 for the most). For me this is actually the best entry in the series, surpassing the flaws of the first games while maintaining what made them great. Which was the unique slow time combat and smart AI. Excellent single player combat with much more variety than past games and other FPS's, great co-op and a unique, varied and superb multiplayer. Also the ability to replay the whole game as the brother (or play as him in co-op), with different skills including the ability to possess enemies and you really have 2 games in one. Add to the mix the fact that the missions are separated into chapters that encourage repeat play for improved performance and you have a game that really suits my tastes.
9. Dead Island
I am an RPG fan (as this list will attest). I am also a big fan of Zombie games. So when you take Fallout and breed it with Left 4 Dead you have immediately gotten my interest. While the game was a bit rough around the edges in places and the later area's less interesting than the early ones (due to being too confined), the fact remains that this game is superb in single and co-op and above all the best zombie game of the year. Also nailing first person melee combat with the "analogue controls" is quite a feat, even if they had it turned off by default and had it hid away in the options.
8. LA Noire
After the facial animations of this game every other game seems stiff and unrealistic. I love me an adventure game and am partial to a good procedural. While the post homicide missions trial off a little, the game is such a unique experience that it really stands out as a truly great game. And one I know I will return to over the years.
7. Driver: San Francisco
Finally reflections rewards the patience of fans of the original game and delivers a worthy sequel. The car handling is dead on perfect for me and recreates classic car chase movies with ease. The bizarre body hopping storyline actually adds to the game with a great new mechanic that is so out of left field that it is shocking that it works while not betraying the series roots at the same time. I am however disappointed that the original Survival Mode did not make the cut, and that the Film Director mode is a little janky and limited when compared to the first game.
6. Dark Souls
Intensely punishing and immensely rewarding. A game I could play for years. A perfect blend of Zelda-like exploration and sublime combat. My only complaint is that I simply don't have the time to play it to the degree it deserves, and that it does require a little more grinding than I would like.
5. Saints Row the Third
What the hell is this doing on my list? A dark horse! While I was fond of the first game as the first open world GTA-like game on next gen consoles. I never played more than an hour of the second and my patience with the series' sophomoric humour was pretty much worn thin. However my disappointment at how dry the world of GTAIV had become, and by extension the lack of zany fun of GTA 3 and Vice City in that game did lead me to want to give SR3 a shot. And boy am I glad that I did because this game is INSANE. The humour that just did not quite work in the last games is spot on here. Everything is taken to such and extreme and is so self aware that it works. The whole game is turned up to 11 from start to finish (not that I have had time to finish it yet). It is quite honestly the most fun I have had playing an open world "GTA-like" game since Vice City. Funny as hell and crazy as shit. Playing it is almost like dropping acid, you can barely believe what is happening on screen moment to moment. And like I said, so self aware and self depricating that it is brilliant. To quote the game "Ultra-post-modernism... I LOVE IT!".
4. Deus Ex: Human Revolution
The closest thing to come out this year to the greatest game ever made, Mass Effect 2 (unless you count the release of Mass Effect 2 on PS3). I love the art style of DE, the combat is spot on and the stealth is as good as any stealth game I can think of. The openness with which you can approach any given situation is brilliant. My biggest problems with DEHR are the areas where it falls short of Mass Effect 2. The lack of real character development, the lack of any feeling of connection with other characters, the very limited effect your choices actually have on the world, the boss battles were just not good and the different endings boiling down the a simple selection of 5 choices is very disappointing. But all those issue's (besides the boss battles and final choice) are not so much large faults of the game as they are area's where it fails to equal the quality of Mass Effect 2. Everything else about the game is better than other games and more suited to my tastes. And the simple fact is that I had more fun playing this game than all but 3 other games this year.
3. Dragon Age 2
This one bares mixed feelings for me. In many ways Dragon Age 2 is inferior to its predecessor. The scope of the story is much smaller, the reusing of the same areas over and over is almost unforgivable and overall in comparison to the first game it feels kinda rushed. All reasons this game took a lot of flak in the press. However I feel like concentrating on its flaws does a great disservice to how much is great about this game. To start with in true Bioware fashion the characters are so incredibly charming that I just loved every second of the 70+ hours I spent playing this game. Also the combat is massively improved over the first game. Nobody does relationships like Bioware, and by the end of the game I was completely smitten by Merrill the naive blood magic using Elf. The games narrator, Varric the dwarf with a knack for storytelling and exaggeration is one of the greatest video game characters of all time. The superb way Bioware develops character relationships with dialogue meant that by the end of the game I really felt a kinship with these characters. Really felt like I knew them and cared for them. Even more so than the first Dragon Age and possibly more so than Mass Effect 2 too. And all flaws aside, that is a massive achievement.
7. Driver: San Francisco
Finally reflections rewards the patience of fans of the original game and delivers a worthy sequel. The car handling is dead on perfect for me and recreates classic car chase movies with ease. The bizarre body hopping storyline actually adds to the game with a great new mechanic that is so out of left field that it is shocking that it works while not betraying the series roots at the same time. I am however disappointed that the original Survival Mode did not make the cut, and that the Film Director mode is a little janky and limited when compared to the first game.
6. Dark Souls
Intensely punishing and immensely rewarding. A game I could play for years. A perfect blend of Zelda-like exploration and sublime combat. My only complaint is that I simply don't have the time to play it to the degree it deserves, and that it does require a little more grinding than I would like.
5. Saints Row the Third
What the hell is this doing on my list? A dark horse! While I was fond of the first game as the first open world GTA-like game on next gen consoles. I never played more than an hour of the second and my patience with the series' sophomoric humour was pretty much worn thin. However my disappointment at how dry the world of GTAIV had become, and by extension the lack of zany fun of GTA 3 and Vice City in that game did lead me to want to give SR3 a shot. And boy am I glad that I did because this game is INSANE. The humour that just did not quite work in the last games is spot on here. Everything is taken to such and extreme and is so self aware that it works. The whole game is turned up to 11 from start to finish (not that I have had time to finish it yet). It is quite honestly the most fun I have had playing an open world "GTA-like" game since Vice City. Funny as hell and crazy as shit. Playing it is almost like dropping acid, you can barely believe what is happening on screen moment to moment. And like I said, so self aware and self depricating that it is brilliant. To quote the game "Ultra-post-modernism... I LOVE IT!".
4. Deus Ex: Human Revolution
The closest thing to come out this year to the greatest game ever made, Mass Effect 2 (unless you count the release of Mass Effect 2 on PS3). I love the art style of DE, the combat is spot on and the stealth is as good as any stealth game I can think of. The openness with which you can approach any given situation is brilliant. My biggest problems with DEHR are the areas where it falls short of Mass Effect 2. The lack of real character development, the lack of any feeling of connection with other characters, the very limited effect your choices actually have on the world, the boss battles were just not good and the different endings boiling down the a simple selection of 5 choices is very disappointing. But all those issue's (besides the boss battles and final choice) are not so much large faults of the game as they are area's where it fails to equal the quality of Mass Effect 2. Everything else about the game is better than other games and more suited to my tastes. And the simple fact is that I had more fun playing this game than all but 3 other games this year.
3. Dragon Age 2
This one bares mixed feelings for me. In many ways Dragon Age 2 is inferior to its predecessor. The scope of the story is much smaller, the reusing of the same areas over and over is almost unforgivable and overall in comparison to the first game it feels kinda rushed. All reasons this game took a lot of flak in the press. However I feel like concentrating on its flaws does a great disservice to how much is great about this game. To start with in true Bioware fashion the characters are so incredibly charming that I just loved every second of the 70+ hours I spent playing this game. Also the combat is massively improved over the first game. Nobody does relationships like Bioware, and by the end of the game I was completely smitten by Merrill the naive blood magic using Elf. The games narrator, Varric the dwarf with a knack for storytelling and exaggeration is one of the greatest video game characters of all time. The superb way Bioware develops character relationships with dialogue meant that by the end of the game I really felt a kinship with these characters. Really felt like I knew them and cared for them. Even more so than the first Dragon Age and possibly more so than Mass Effect 2 too. And all flaws aside, that is a massive achievement.
2. Portal 2
Sheer and utter brilliance in every aspect. The funniest game of the year, the smartest game of the year and the most unique game of the year. I love a good puzzle game, but there are so few truly great ones. Portal 2 is not only a great puzzle game, but a great action game, a great story driven sci-fi game and a great co-op game to boot. The impeccable voice acting from Steve Merchant, J. K. Simmons and Ellen McLain really is the icing that completes this cake (pun intended). Also I would go as far as to say this is the ONLY "perfect" game on my list. It simply has no flaws at all. None.
1. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Immense in scale, sublime in execution. No other game transports you to another world and then lets you just do what you want. You can get lost in the world of Skyrim for weeks. Every nook and cranny is so lovingly modeled that exploring is a zen like experience. Or it would be were the world not filled with horrible things that want to kill you. The combat while not perfect is vastly improved over past entries and good enough to really enjoy the character build you create. The way the game has been designed so that it gently nudges you towards the good stuff that you may have missed in ways that are so seamless and the strings are so invisible that it feels like magic. Every "side" quest is as well crafted as any other games "main quests" And I put those in quotation marks because Skyrim is not a game about completing the main quest and doing some side quests along the way. It is a true & RPG you create a characters and the LIVE in this world. What are considered "main" and what is "side" quests is irrelevant. They are just experiences for you character to have in this world. So much so that when the "main" quest ends the game continues just the same way it does when you complete a "side" quest. You simply don't play Skyrim to "complete" it, you play it to experience it.
I should also note that while Mass Effect 2 came out for PS3 in 2011 I felt that it should not be included in my list as it was a 2010 360 release. But needless to say if I did include it, it would be number 1 by a long shot.
That list again.
Goldeneye Reloaded
Back to the Future: The Game
Dead Rising 2: Off the Record
Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon
Games of 2011 that might deserve to be on my list but I never actually played. Hopefully I will get to most of them in 2012. These are written in order of how much I want to play them
The Witcher 2
Shadows of the Damned
Amnesia: The Dark Descent
Uncharted 3
Gears of War 3
Resistance 3
Catherine
Rage
Orc’s Must Die
Warhammer: Space Marine
Batman Arkham City
Dead Space 2
Bulletstorm
1. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Immense in scale, sublime in execution. No other game transports you to another world and then lets you just do what you want. You can get lost in the world of Skyrim for weeks. Every nook and cranny is so lovingly modeled that exploring is a zen like experience. Or it would be were the world not filled with horrible things that want to kill you. The combat while not perfect is vastly improved over past entries and good enough to really enjoy the character build you create. The way the game has been designed so that it gently nudges you towards the good stuff that you may have missed in ways that are so seamless and the strings are so invisible that it feels like magic. Every "side" quest is as well crafted as any other games "main quests" And I put those in quotation marks because Skyrim is not a game about completing the main quest and doing some side quests along the way. It is a true & RPG you create a characters and the LIVE in this world. What are considered "main" and what is "side" quests is irrelevant. They are just experiences for you character to have in this world. So much so that when the "main" quest ends the game continues just the same way it does when you complete a "side" quest. You simply don't play Skyrim to "complete" it, you play it to experience it.
I should also note that while Mass Effect 2 came out for PS3 in 2011 I felt that it should not be included in my list as it was a 2010 360 release. But needless to say if I did include it, it would be number 1 by a long shot.
That list again.
- Skyrim
- Portal 2
- Dragon Age 2
- Deus Ex Human Revolution
- Saints Row the Third
- Dark Souls
- Driver SF
- LA Noire
- Dead Island
- Fear 3
Goldeneye Reloaded
Back to the Future: The Game
Dead Rising 2: Off the Record
Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon
Games of 2011 that might deserve to be on my list but I never actually played. Hopefully I will get to most of them in 2012. These are written in order of how much I want to play them
The Witcher 2
Shadows of the Damned
Amnesia: The Dark Descent
Uncharted 3
Gears of War 3
Resistance 3
Catherine
Rage
Orc’s Must Die
Warhammer: Space Marine
Batman Arkham City
Dead Space 2
Bulletstorm
posted by Lee Swain at
11:51 am
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