Shawn's Top 10 Games of 2011
Although 2011 definitely qualifies as a great year for games, it doesn’t quite stand out as much for me as the last couple of years. It may be the most consistent one though. Aside from a slow patch in August, there was almost always something new coming out I was interested in playing, no matter the time of year. That being said, I did originally have 23 games that I would feel perfectly ok putting on this list and it was certainly not easy narrowing them down to just 10. Charts were made, formulas were used and hours of sleep were lost, but I think I have my final list. I better anyway, because clearly I published this shit.
Oh and let’s get this out of the way right now – you’re going to notice some pretty clear omissions here. Namely Dark Souls and yes, Skyrim. There’s a simple answer why – despite owning both, I haven’t sank enough time into either to form a full opinion. Both seem great though ok? So we’re cool then? Awesome.
Onward!
10. You Don’t Know Jack
YDKJ was one of those rare titles where I purposely spaced out my playing time because I didn’t want to be in a situation where I had no more You Don’t Know Jack to play. We would play a couple of episodes each night and it was glorious. Solid and unique trivia, mixed with great presentation and legitimately funny jokes, made for one of the most enjoyable experiences I’ve had in gaming this year.
9. Ghost Trick Phantom Detective
This came out the first week of January and I played through it from start to finish that same week. It’s nearly a year later and I haven’t come close to forgetting that experience. Ghost Trick has a great story, memorable characters, unique game play and one of the best soundtracks of the year. Sadly this is one of the only standout DS games for me this year, but oh man is it ever a good one.
8. Catherine
Catherine seemed to be pretty divisive but I loved it. Playing through the entire game in only two sittings (and immediately starting a new game upon finishing) I was drawn into the strange world that Catherine offers. While the story and characters were definitely a highlight, I also enjoyed the surprisingly addicting puzzle game play. You’ll learn more about liquor than you thought possible and you get to run away from a giant demon baby monster. Catherine is unique, memorable, and an experience I’m eager to return to.
7. Mortal Kombat
Every so often I convince myself I’m going to get back into fighting games and it never happens. Super Street Fighter IV almost did it, Marvel vs Capcom 3 came even closer, but I would always lose interest after a couple of weeks. I played Mortal Kombat obsessively for almost two months. And a lot of that was just the single player content! Fast, fluid and fun as all hell, Mortal Kombat is a great return to form for the series. Also Freddy Kruegar!
6. Batman Arkham City
I really don’t even know what to say here. Are you surprised that the sequel to Arkham Asylum is really fucking good? Taking those mechanics and placing them into an open-world environment works terrifically and the already fantastic combat system is somehow improved upon even further. I may have a few qualms with the story as a whole but oh my gooooooood that ending right?!
5. The Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword
Despite an introduction that can only be described as tortuously slow, Skyward Sword does eventually open up and becomes the best Zelda experience I’ve had since Wind Waker. The motion controls work well and I felt helped enhance the level design as it allowed for more creative puzzles and obstacles. This is also the first time I’ve been legitimately interested in the story of a Zelda game in a real long time. A terrific swan song for the Wii, at least until Rhythm Heaven comes out and takes the Wii to even further unimagined heights of joy.
4. Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception
How do you top the best game I played in 2009 and one of the best adventure games ever made? Turns out, you kinda don’t. Don’t get me wrong; Uncharted 3 is still great, as you can obviously see by its placement here. But come on, Uncharted 2 is a damn hard act to follow and while this entry managed to match it in nearly every way, I never felt it surpassed it. Still just a god damn terrific game though.
3. LA Noire
There seems to be a significant amount of hate towards the game but fuck it whatever, I loved it. You have to remember one thing – I love crime games so much that I play through every single CSI game that is released. That tells you just how bad I need a detective game fix. If I get enjoyment out of those then I’m sure you can imagine how fantastic I found LA Noire. Yes I have issues here and there (why are you suddenly so angry Cole?!) but I was drawn into this world something fierce, devouring every piece of DLC and was still ready for more.
2. Saint’s Row The Third
I did literally everything there is to do in this game. I have 100% completion; every achievement and I bought a season pass so I can get each and every piece of DLC they throw out there. Needless to say, I am a fan. Saint’s Row The Third is only concerned with one thing – making sure you have a whole ton of fucking fun. And I did. I really really did. It’s not concerned with realism in the slightest and completely embraces it’s video game-ness. It’s also consistently hilarious from start to finish, it’s humour only being outmatched by one other title this year….
1. Portal 2
I debated for at least 6 minutes whether Portal 2 or Saint’s Row The Third deserved the top spot and I just couldn’t justify not giving it to Portal 2. It’s such a perfect package all around, I really can’t think of a single fault. This is one of maybe 5 games ever where I finished it, watched the credits roll, and then immediately fired up a new game and started playing through it again. Portal 2 is a goddamn masterpiece, plain and simple.
So there we have it! Trust me that was not easy to do. I was going to do a Honourable Mentions section here at the end but it would be longer than the damn article. Let’s simply all agree that a lot of great games came out this year. 2012 is already shaping up as well, with anticipated releases like GTAV (I think anyway) and Bioshock Infinite, not to mention the release of two new systems – the Vita and the Wii U. I’m psyched are you psyched?! I’m psyched.
