The best games of 2011, at least by my judgement.
As 2011 was violently run down by the monster that is time, I found myself reflecting on the video games I picked up over the past year. Although my library didn’t grow as extensively as it has in past years I still spent money on more games than I figured I would beginning the year. Here is my list of the top games I played, mixed in with a few of the disappointments I suffered as well. This isn’t definitive, 2011 had an incredible amount of games released, and I missed a great deal of them. My gamer card should be revoked, but until it is I will create lists!
Pokemon Black/White
I’m sure the cool kids are screaming in pain that I’d even mention this. But I’ll put my justifications up first, you don’t have to agree, but you should give it a fair shot. 350 hours logged in on the cartridge alone. That isn’t counting the time I spent managing the online portion of the game. This game is the most complete Pokemon to date with daily quests, a completely external world where you can gain access to more in-game items and catch exclusive creatures, this game easily hits my top ten.
Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D
This title speaks for itself, one of the most renowned Zelda games of all time, remastered in beautiful 3D and put on a handheld. This game gave 3DS owners a reason to be proud, and aside from some time killed playing Pilot Wings, and a few hours of Lego Star Wars, there wasn’t a whole lot going for early adopters of Nintendo’s handheld.
Skylanders: A Spyro Adventure
This might be one of the best games you’ll never play. It’s a touch childish and involves collecting action figures, but it’s the beginning of a new genre. This is the first game that attaches action figures and collecting to video games successfully. The Bakugan games made a vague attempt at it the year before, but Skylanders got it right. I find myself disliking Activision enough to loathe giving them credit, but this title is solid. Gauntlet meets Pokemon meets family fun, bundled with tons of unlockables, reasons to replay, and multiplayer. You scoff now but this game is flat out stellar.
Batman: Arkham City
This might be the best game I played all year. It ties with Gears of War 3 (to be mentioned next) for the best damn story I’ve ever played through. A game takes a lot to make me drop my jaw at the end, and even more for me to ignore life, blow off papers, and forget about my wife. Arkham Asylum, however, did all three in a single week. If I could have a video game do-over, it would be beefing up my limited knowledge of Batman before playing. Even with what little I know of the Dark Knight, this game should win an award for absolute incredible writing, polished game play, and perfect execution.
Gears of War 3
As mentioned earlier this game ties for best story hands down. This final piece of the Gears trilogy frames the tragedy of Serra so perfectly I’d be amiss not to mention it. If you haven’t played the Gears Trilogy your new years resolution should revolve around getting that done. If you haven’t gone back and played through Gears 1 and 2 after finishing 3, the light shed on the series makes it an entirely new experience. Gears of War is perfect writing coupled with incredible game play and visuals. If you missed this, find a way to fix it. Sell blood, a kidney, whatever it takes, but Gears is a must from 2011.
Little Big Planet 2
Cake guns, computer chips, race cars, and too much cuteness. Little Big Planet holds a special place in my heart and the sequel last June did not disappoint. You can pick it up now at bargain basement prices packed with extra content, this is another game that you won’t regret spending the money on, like it’s predecessor it is pure fun.
Portal 2
Escaping from a pissed off Glados who’s had years to rebuild the testing center while you rested, can easily be the most fun I’ve had on a PC in years. Portal 2 takes what could be a very dull repetition of the first game, and uses hilarious twists and turns to create an awesome story, and a unique experience. Buy this game, you won’t regret it.
Now that I’ve discussed the best games I played last year, I’d like to cover a few, well one disappointment I was forced to suffer.
Rage
This game wins my story fail award of 2011. I loved every second of RAGE, I ate it up. Day in and day out I blasted through hordes of mutants, and bandits, finding esater eggs left around the world by I/D. Soft. And then, as if I had sinned against the game, it was suddenly over. 2 minute cut scene, minimal resolution and bang… the end. No epic boss, no giant serenade, no listening to a lengthy story of conspiracy and me being some form of meddling kid, just the end. Some may see that as artistic and exciting I saw it as heartbreaking. The game built me up so beautifully I was ready to know everything about the mutants. I wanted to know why the authority decided to betray the human race, instead I got a general inclination that everything would be ok and a pat on the back via achievements. Is it the worst ending i’ve ever experienced? Absolutely not, but it was definitely the most deflating.
Super Mario 3D Land:
This choice may cause the gaming universe to writhe and scream, but hear me out. I had so much excitement built up for 3D Land and it was good. It wasn’t a bad game, it simply didn’t live up to the expectations I had for it. The levels seemed out of order, the worlds had no theme. I didn’t want a repeat of previous Mario’s, I simply wanted some form of organization. There was no big world, or ice world, there was simply an ice level here and there, or a level with giant Goomba’s Maybe I got too excited, the pre-play event I attended in September got me so amped for 3D Land, and finishing the game felt so-so. I enjoyed playing through it, I just didn’t get the pleasure out of it I expected.
How about you lovely internet folk? What are your best/worst games of 2011? Which game broke your spirit, and which one changed your life? I wanna know, I need more stuff to play until the PSP Vita launches.