Favorite Games of 2011 Part 5: The Final Four (plus 1)

It's finally finished. The last games worth mentioning that were released in 2011, an amazing year for gaming. I originally had said that there would be four final mentions but due to some thought, I decided to mention another game in the mix. It would have been a shame to omit it since it is well, pretty darn awesome.

It all comes down to this - the final four five!


Portal 2 - The near perfect blend of first person puzzle gameplay with a tightly woven story, memorable characters, superb dialog and and expansion on the mythos and backstory of the world of Portal. Portal 2 did something most thought impossible, take the award winning formula of the first Portal and make it better in nearly every way.

Portal 2 was also noticeable for having an insanely fun and innovative co-op experience along with usual selection of challenge maps to go back and twist your brain after you finish the main game. For those who say that Portal 2 is the closest that games can come to perfection, they speak with little hyperbole. Portal 2 is an achievement, and original and engrossing title that stands out from the crowd and is accessible by all. If you missed it, you must play it. You will not regret it.

Dark Souls - "Prepare to die" said its famous tagline. They were not joking. There are very few times you actually spend being alive in Dark Souls, as you are constantly struggling for your own survival against enemies that can destroy you in one blow and environments that treat careless explores with brutal and frequent death. Left with little explanation or tutiorial: Dark Souls drops you in a harsh and dangerous world with very few safe havens and next to no one to offer you a helping hand.

This is where the beauty of Dark Souls begins to come in. You slowly begin to feel your way around the world. Death begins frequently and harshly but with every death, every misstep comes a new lesson learned. A new survival technique to add to the long list of how to survive in the world of Dark Souls.

Soon you're gathering materials to build more powerful weapons. You're making your way to and killing bosses. You may get involved in a few duels. You may even win a few. All this comes after hours of struggle. A fitting reward for surviving for a few hours. However all of this is short lived as soon, new enemies areas and bosses await your challenge. The cycle begins again. You will die all over again.

That is Dark Souls. A game about struggle, reward, and struggle all over again. The very facets that make it such an amazing game.

Rayman Origins - Coming out of nowhere and continually wowing me with its amazingly animated and fluid visuals: Rayman Origins was the platformer that I was hoping would come with generation of console. An ingenious and well designed platformer game combined with some of the most fluid 2D visuals seen this generation. Rayman was an amazing platforming experience, a true return to its roots and a game that went criminally under looked around release.

I cannot stress just how much me talking about the game and watching video/viewing screenshots does not do this game justice. It is beautiful, possibly the most beautiful playing and most beautiful looking game this year. If even a fraction of you loves platfomers or yearns for something a little different (think Earthworm Jim), run out and buy this game now!

Saint's Row: The Third - By all logic, I should loathe this game. It's a sexist, overblown violent adolescent fantasy that exist within a world  where women exist to be ogled and sexually abused. Guns and weapons exist to cause maximum destruction and chaos to law enforcement and rival gangs. Civilians are nothing more than liability and the story is a throw away story that seems like it came from a few choice words: crazy vehicles, big guns, sexy women, toilet humor, dick jokes.

And I loved it.

Saint's Row the Third makes no apologies for being crass, but what it does so well is be extremely playable and fun. From flying jets to sniping enemies to launching drone missiles to delivering punches, Saint's Row the Third has incredibly intuitive controls that handle any task you throw at it remarkably well. Besides the sublime controls, the missions were incredibly fun and always filled with a wide range of variety. Going beyond the simple 'kill this person' or destroy this vehicle' missions seen in many similar titles, Saint's Row The Third has you sniping from helicopters, battling zombies, driving with tigers and getting into naked gun fights. Each mission was unique and memorable. There was never an instance where I was ever bored by a lack of variety.

Finally, the amount of customization was insane. Nearly everything in the game could to some extent, be customized. Your character, your vehicle, your gang members, your abilities even your gang logo could be customized.

Saint's Row The Third is a game about giving you control. Giving you the power, making you feel powerful. The Kanye West song "Power" has never been in a more appropriately used in a video game. You are the big bad villain that you have fought so many times before. You have the coolest weapons, the coolest cars and a gang of followers who will fight and die alongside you as you commit crime after notorious crime. This game is the ultimate ego trip.

Batman: Arkham City - If you would have told me that in the year 2011, one of the very best games of the year would be a superhero game that is a sequel to an also excellent superhero game from 2009, I would have laughed in your face. All the more reason playing is believing and witnessing what may be one of the best superhero games ever made, one of the best Batman games ever made and really, one of the best action/adventures ever made.

Everything about Arkham City is near perfection. That is high praise considering that its prequel Arkham Asylum was also a near perfect adventure with its smooth and responsive fighting and stealth mechanics. Tons of hidden items to find and baddies from Batman's most famous rogue gallery ready to go toe-to-toe with the Bats.

Arkham City took everything that worked with Asylum, gave Batman an open world with tons of side missions and hidden items to find, brought in nearly every major and minor villain in the Batman universe and on top of that, had rock solid voice acting and writing. Arkham City was a like the best of Batman: The Animated Series come to life with some moody visuals and dark storyline ripped from Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight film series.

It was everything that a superhero game, a Batman game should be and ended up something much more: a fine action/adventure title that gives plenty of incentive to play through a twisting story and plenty of bonus missions and objectives to have you stick around in Arkham City for a long time afterwards.

For a a majority of the fall, I was Batman. After playing this game, you can be too.

It's been a great year for games. The ones that I have listed were only a small selection of the other excellent titles that were released and I simply did not have the time of the funds to play. 2012 is already looking to be another great year so find your favorites, have fun and game on!


Note: There were games that I wanted to play but due to time and funds, I hope to pick up and play throughout this year. Those games were:

Driver: San Francisco
Dirt 3
Bastion
F1 2011
Bastion
Jurassic Park the Game
Back to the Future: The Game
The King of Fighters XIII
Mortal Kombat
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Kirby: Return to Dreamland

Favorite Games of 2011 Part 4: The More Popular Titles

We're getting closer to the finishing point! A great year with great games deserves mention, no matter how obscure or how big they were, if I enjoyed them to some extent, I'll try to list them! I may have chosen some less popular titles over the last few days but these titles should be ones that anyone who gamed in 2011 should recognize...

Deus Ex: Human Revolution - They did it. I can't believe they did it. They took one of my favorite PC FPS/RPG hybrids, made a modern day sequel that makes no attempt to dumb down the content or gameplay and manages to craft a compelling stealth/FPS/hacking/exploration/story driven cyberpunk adventure that excelled in all departments. It's not very often we see such an intelligent and reflective story wrapped up with sublime third and first person gameplay. For fans of the original or those looking for a well made single player adventure, do not miss that chance to play this. Only the lackluster bosses could bring this title down (and even then, not by much).

L.A. Noire - The story of L.A. Noire's creation may be just as infamous as the game's many criminals from shoddy work ethics to unfinished elements in the game. Despite the outside drama, the end product was something that seemed more than an open world game and more than just a adventure title. It was a game that used the aesthetics of the decade, from music to buildings to dialog and combined that with a metric ton of film noir and pulp detective novel references and you have a game that was pretty much made with someone like me in mind. This game gets recognition mainly for the the tech that went into making it (which was excellent) along with the excellent voice acting, but for me, its the aesthetics, the labyrinth story, and the excellent characters and the amazing dynamic soundtrack that grabbed my attention. L.A. Noire was every great detective and noir piece of entertainment rolled into a game and pressed onto disk. That alone is reason enough to deserve mention and recognition.

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword - It's not the best Wii title of all time. It's not the best Zelda title of all time. It's not even the best Nintendo title of all time. Despite early word of mouth saying that Skyward Sword would be the best Zelda of all time, I can safely and confidently say that it is not. However that matters little since Skyward Sword was without a doubt one of the strongest Wii titles in 2011 and and equally compelling adventure that had me engrossed across its entire 90 hour campaign. 

In a weird sort of twist, the gameplay was what was the least compelling to me in this case. The motion plus controls were actually not as reliable as the less advanced but more responsive Twilight Princess controls. However everything else from the cell shaded graphics to the wonderful soundtrack to the memorable environments and dungeons stood out as beautiful examples of design in games. This game looked like a painting in motion and whether I was in the darkest dungeon or the blue filled Syloft City, every angle, ever building and every character was a work of art.

The most important thing that stood out most to me in this game was the story. By taking the timeline (as vague and cryptic as it is) back to the beginning we get to see a different angle of characters than we have grown to known them over the years. I would do no justice by saying anything to give the story away but I will say that despite being mute, I ended up caring for these characters so much that I would end up playing for hours on end, just to know what would happen next and the fate of certain characters. Out of all the Zelda's this one felt the most personal.

Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception - The suave Nathan Drake continues his adventures as this modern day Indiana Jones takes on one of his most personal and dangerous adventures yet. When I first heard this description, I rolled my eyes, knowing that his last adventure was both personal and dangerous (as well as awesome) but both the PR and early hype were right. The story of Drake's Deception goes back to Drake's past as well as dealing with his current personal issues while he traverses the world and prevents another crazed organization from releasing and ancient evil on the world. 

I was never a huge fan of the Uncharted stories, I thought they were simple popcorn flick plots that fit the gameplay very well. The characters are what made the games for me and from the little banter that happens between Drake and his friends during gameplay or the excellently voiced cutscenes, its the human factor that made me a fan of the games and the latest in the series is no exception. Drake's comebacks are as witty as ever and while his interaction may have been cut back with some characters, the most important people in his are given extra time in the spotlight and we finally get to see just how much Drake relies on his friends and how much he means to them too.

Finally, the gameplay and level design for the game are once again, excellent. Combining cinematic camera angles and scenarios with some rock solid movement and shooting gameplay, the amount of crazy situations you get yourself into in this game is staggering. Coming at you fast and frantic, you'll escape one death defying scenario only to find yourself in another. The game, once it gets going rarely lets up and keeps going until the end.  If there is a flaw to be found, its perhaps the pacing is too fast, that when the story and exposition come back into play, it comes across as sudden and jar you out of the story. In retrospect I felt that Among Thieves did a better job with pacing, but this is pretty minor when you consider how excellent the rest of the game is. 

Naughty Dog has crafted a fine adventure that successfully blends cinematic moments with well made gameplay. There are moments where I felt that the cinematic angle took over too much and I was left watching or feeling like that I my participation didn't really matter in relation to the gameplay which was occurring  However, once again that's nitpicking. Drake's Deception is another excellent title in the excellent Uncharted series, a series that I hope continues to grow and become a franchise that is cherished and remembered many years from now.*

*note: I played the multiplayer modes of Uncharted 3. While they were well made and featured some good level design, I did not spend long enough to warrant a full opinion. To no fault of the game's, I tend to get bored with most multiplayer modes easily. 

That's all for now. I went a little short this time in order for the final four titles of 2011 to be an even four. If you've been reading, I hope you enjoy my choices and have had as much fun with these titles as I have. 

Favorite Games of 2011 Part 3

It's part 3 of my daily installment of highlighting the most notable games (to me) of 2011. There will be a few more posts highlighting the games that I felt deserved some recognition this year. I'm also going to try to keep my descriptions a little shorter. As someone once told me "to the point, quickly".

So here we go, part 3!

Super Mario 3D Land - The reason to buy a 3DS. There, I said it. After a somewhat sketchy launch with a lackluster title line up, it would take the famous red plumber to set things right.

3D land features some of the most beautiful graphics on the 3DS, an incredibly simple, yet inventive way to use the 3D by extending the background and horizon rather than throw objects in your face, combined with some rock solid controls, plenty of worlds to explore and the charming Mario atmosphere that oozes through every pore. Buy a 3DS. Buy Super Mario Land 3D. Thank me in cash later.

Guardian Heroes/ Daytona USA - Two of the most notable games to be released on the Sega Saturn back in the day were re-released on XBLA this fall with improved graphics, new extras and new gameplay modes. It was a nostalgia overload with the branching paths and combo based fighting control scheme for Guardian Heroes and the arcade racing from Daytona. Both were still insanely polished and fun to play with the addition of online play to make an already sweet deal even sweeter. Everything about these ports were fantastic and with the release of Radiant Silvergun on the XBLA earlier this year, my yearning for more Saturn titles to be re-released grows daily. Please Sega, please release more!

Warhammer 40K; Space Marine - Released around the same time a certain other third person shooter was release, Warhammer stood out by combining both third person shooting and third person hack and slash gameplay together that allowed you to seamlessly switch between the two. This played well to a decent length campaign with an intriguing story and extensive background of the 40K universe. I knew next to nothing about Warhammer before playing this, but by the end, I was making it a habit to catch up on nearly a decade's worth of lore. On top of an excellent single player campaign, the multiplayer was also a great deal of fun as you customize your own space marine and do battle with rivals online. 

It may have not been the best third person game of the year, but it was most definitely one of the most fun third person action titles of the year. Besides, any game that has me spending time catching up on the game's lore for hours on end has to stand for something right? 

Stacking - A charming adventure title from the developer of Psychonauts and Grim Fandango. You play as Charlie, the smallest doll in the family as you travel to different words and use the ability to leap into larger dolls in order to solve puzzles and progress through the stages as you try to rescue your family from a fate of servitude to the evil Baron. 

Everything about this game, both in terms of gameplay and art direction is absolutely delightful and exudes an aura of comfort and warmth. Maybe its from the storybook like tale of a poor lad trying to save his family, or maybe its that each of the environments resemble a diorama for toys from the 1920's? No matter what it is, its a game that is wonderfully crafted, and a joy to play through. Sit back, press start and enjoy. There are not many games that I would ever consider relaxing, but this is one of the very few. 

Marvel vs. Capcom 3/Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 - Sure, a new version of the game came out before the year even finished. Sure, Capcom felt that they could charge money for costumes that should have been on the disk. Sure Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 could have most likely been a DLC add-on rather than another $40 game. Despite all of these issues, I still played both versions to death both solo and with friends and had fun every second I was doing so.

There was no other fighting game this year that came close to the sheer chaotic and frenetic fighting gameplay as Marvel vs. Capcom 3. Taking up where Marvel vs. Capcom 2 left off, Capcom's brightest square off against Marvel's all stars as they go head to head in a crazy, combo based gameplay. This game is a game for all fighting fans, from button mashers to the frame counting pros, everyone has a from of competition in here and whether you play online or on a single screen, the pure camaraderie of playing an well made fighting game with your friends is something that is sorely missing from most game in this age. 

Sure its a flawed game (the online isn't perfect, the learning curve is fairly steep, a unsubstantial single player) but if you can get past those issues, you're left with a responsive and fun fighter with enough recognizable and unique playing characters for all types of players. Mortal Kombat may have had the best single player (and is an excellent game in its own right) but no other fighter captivated me and my friends more than this game. I spent hundreds of hours learning the ins and outs of the game while getting my butt handed to me, and would gladly spend a hundred more. 

Plus you just can't beat the crazy and diverse cast of fighters. Phoenix Wright, Nemesis (from Resident Evil: Nemesis) and Rocket Raccoon (think a raccoon, now add guns) on the same team? Rock!

Well folks, as always that's five done for today. We're getting pretty close to the end so if you're reading or interested, stay tuned!

Favorite Games of 2011 part 2: The Shooters

Here is the second part of my favorite titles of 2011. This time, I'm going to go with a theme for this post and list my 5 favorite FPS's of this year. I'm usually a pretty big FPS fan, but as the years have gone on and the genre has become more popular, the games have seemingly become more conforming and by the numbers. Being one that crave something new and original, these were the FPS's that wowed me in 2011. The choice might not be what you think and I'm sure most people would disagree. However, all of the choices were fun, enjoyable romps that in one way or another stood out and made themselves unique among the crowd.

So without further ado...

Killzone 3 - Killzone 3 attempted to be the opposite from its prequel Killzone 2. The overly serious story was replaced by a cheesy, gung ho action movie parody. The weight and heft of movement and weapons was replaced by a light, almost CoD like feel of movement. Despite all of the changes, I can honestly say that I really enjoyed my time with Killzone 3 and its fantastic multiplayer offering.

While I enjoyed the single player significantly less that both previous installments, it was still a fun and diverse, if short play through that did a decent job wrapping up the series (with an unexpected and grim ending). The new enemies were artistically diverse (from predator-like stealth troopers to giant mechanical tigers), the weapons were fun and felt deadly and the level designs fantastic with some equally fantastic art design.

The multiplayer was also a lot of fun to spend some time with, with easy pick and up and play mechanics and some well designed maps making nearly any type of play (run and gun, long range) possible. Killzone 3 also added a perk like system similar to the killstreak system from the Call of Duty series, only this time with mechanical drones and futuristic gun turrets. It may have cribbed from CoD, but it took the basics, applied that to the already rock solid Killzone shooting mechanics, and made it a ton of fun to play. It was a simpler, sci fi themed CoD shooter, but that was just fine with me.

Bulletstorm- While everyone was talking about that "other" Epic Game that came out this year, I got my first person jollies with the early year release of Bulletstorm. A frantic shooter that combined all the elements of old school shooters (crazy, destructive weapons, enemies who charged straight at you, massive bosses, middle school humor) and combined that with some modern gee wiz visuals (the character models and massive, colorful environments look beautiful, a far departure from the browns and grays seen in modern shooters) easy and intuitive controls and a focus on the single player campaign over some tacked on multiplayer (it has a multiplayer mode, it just wasn't very good).

In the age of linear hallways, shooting gallery enemies and a strong focus on multiplayer gameplay, Bulletstorm provided a crass, crude and sadistically satisfying way to destroy enemies and get rewarded for doing it. The many ways to kill your foes was made even cooler with the addition of some cool weapons and even cooler gadgets (freeze time, kick enemies, grapple them and send them flying)

It's potty mouth protagonists may have come off as trying too hard, but some genuinely funny dialog and some of the most draw dropping action sequences seen this generation made this a game that stayed fresh in my mind long after it came out.

All that and it had a slide button. As in you could slide around the battlefield, straight into enemies, and send them flying back. Every game that allows you to shoot and slide has been awesome so far (Vanquish, Bulletstorm, Crysis 2) There needs to be more sliding in games. Sliding is the new take cover behind a pillar.

Crysis 2 - A controversial choice since many fans felt that it felt inferior to the original. Like my experience with Dragon Age II, this was my first time playing a title in the Crysis series so my experiences and expectations were limited to this game only.

Crysis 2 was a beautiful game, despite being linear (although nowhere near as linear as the CoD series), the massive scale of a war torn New York City with the brilliant option of keeping you on ground level so the buildings towered over you, gave an incredible sense of scale isolation. No civilians, no crowded streets, just you versus some angry aliens and an elite paramilitary force. Despite being billed as a PC series, the game looked remarkable on console and still was extremely playable with no signs of tearing, lag or other issues.

The gameplay was just as spectacular with your nanosuit and its two different modes (stealth, and strength)n provided a slew of options to take on a variety of enemies and environments. The weapons customization system was also an incredible change of pace then the vanilla weapons found in most FPS's. It was a little irritating that the infamous two weapon limit was still in place here, but the sheer variety of on-the-fly customization for weapons (scopes, silencers and laser sights could be attached at anytime for any occasion) more than made up for it.

If that wasn't enough, even the multiplayer was a lot fun to play with some well designed maps and the ability to use all the abilities of your nanosuit against your other foes. Crysis 2 also was the first FPS (to my knowledge) to use the dog tags of your fallen enemies as a points reward system. This was months before Modern Warfare 3 used this idea in their own game.

Crysis 2 was a ton of fun. Like Dragon Age, I plan on playing the previous installments one day and may have a vastly different opinion of the game, but as of now, taken as it is, Crysis 2 is a fantastic FPS adventure worth playing through.

Battlefield 3 - Next to Modern Warfare 3, this was probably the biggest FPS release of the year. Despite the hype and despite some disappointment with the game (single player and co-op were the textbook definition of mediocre) the multiplayer was a ton of fun to play under certain circumstances.

Playing with friends was the most ideal way to play of course is with friends. Communication is key in this game and your enjoyment will significantly drop if you either a.) refuse to communicate or b.) play with random players. This isn't run and gun, this is an FPS requiring you to use your brain just as much as your gun. Add in some great maps for all game types, vehicles and unlockable weapons and you have a shooter that keeps you coming back for more, and with the exception of Team Fortress 2, one of the best team based FPS's on the market.

Duke Nukem Forever - The choice that will probably make most people go "huh?", DNF ended up on many different lists as one for the worst games released in 2911, if not of all time. While nothing I have to say about the game can be considered good, the fact that this game proved to be a train wreck in motion, the gaming equal of a b movie. A game that took design choices from the mid 90's and modern games, mixed them together and got something awful tasting out of it. The character himself was also and awful parody of everything crude and cheesy of the 90's. His macho bravado, general disregard towards women of all sorts (including making a rape joke during the most inappropriate time, but then again is there ever an appropriate time to make a rape joke?), and sheer focus on simply kicking ass, damn to those who get in his way.

We're not even to the graphics yet, which are average to poor at best, the clunky two weapon limit woefully out of place in a old school shooter, the propitiously long load times and laggy multiplayer.

However despite all of these flaws, a part of me still enjoyed this game in some incredibly perverse way. The sheer awfulness of it was enough to keep me playing until the end. Despite the flaws there was a lot of enjoyment I took out of the levels and environments. The levels actually were fun to navigate in and usually had some gimmick that made it stand out from most FPS levels (shrinking, vehicle levels). Everything else though, was mediocre to awful.

DNF isn't my favorite FPS of the year, it won't win any awards for quality, but it still was a game worth mentioning and deserving to be on this list. It's an example of too many hands spoiling the broth, switching between teams and staff will most likely equal something disjointed and that sometimes, you simply cannot go back to your glory days.

DNF is a giant, fiery, horrible car crash. However, just like a car crash, we find it impossible to not stare at its destructive spectacle lying in front of us. And out of morbid prevision and curiosity, we cannot look away.

That's all for now folks, the most notable shooters of 2011. Check in next time as this blog continues the remaining most notable of 2011!

Favorite games of 2011 Part 1

It's a new year. Time for new goals, new adventures and new games. 2011 was a banner year for games as some excellent titles (both original and sequel) were released for nearly every major console. It's most likely very accurate to say that every console a saw a high profile and high quality release during the 2011. Every type of gamer had a title that they most likely enjoyed.

While most publications and sites do a top ten GOTY every year, since this is my own blog I want to do something different. I want to mention games that to me, were incredible experiences, that despite budget, platform or release date, were titles that in one way or another made me take notice. Some of the choices will seem obvious and some you may have never guessed. I also will be listing more than ten choices. In such a fantastic year of gaming, narrowing the list to ten seems very limiting as all of the games I will mention deserve some sort of credit and recognition (and its also my blog, so if you don't like it...tough). Also, each title will have a link to a video showing gameplay, so if my words don't quite cut it, the videos included should give a good idea how the game plays. I will also be doing 5 a day until I reach my final game, so for all of those who are interested, keep checking for updates!

Here they are, in no particular order and with a brief explanation of why they were chosen:

Kirby Mass Attack - Despite not being as popular as Nintendo's other triple A titles, the Kirby series has always been somewhat of an anomaly. Kirby titles always seem to be the games that Nintendo takes the most risks on, the titles where something new and different can be tried without worrying about alienating a huge audience.

Mass Attack was no different. Taking the concept of a Kirby platformer and adding a bit of strategy and micromanagement gameplay into the mix provided a fun and challenging handheld experience that requires a bit more input than simply walking right. The touch controls were spot on, the graphics colorful and the music light, poppy and delightful. A wonderful swan song for a handheld that may be on the way out soon...

inFamous 2 - I was a huge fan of the first inFamous. Open world gameplay, fantastic powers to learn, a true good and evil branching system that accurately reflected your major choices and an epic comic lore inspired story made for a fantastic (and original) super hero and open world title. The second in the series is no slouch in any of the previous title's game related elements, in fact improving on the original in nearly every way. More interesting powers? Yes. An interesting and diverse open world to explore with plenty of hidden items to discover? yes. An improved good/evil system that drastically altered the story and the finale based on your choices? Yes.

inFamous delivered on all fronts and provided a fantastic sequel to an already fantastic original. Fans of comic books, open world games or just well made action adventures in general could do no wrong by picking this title up. When combined with the continued support by the community and the recent release of the DLC add on "Festival of Blood", the reasons not to pick up this title become less and less.

Crimson Alliance - Hack and slash titles seemed to make a big comeback this year with the release of several quality titles and the hype for Diablo III beginning to reach fever pitch.  During the summer months, Crimson Alliance was released for the 360 Live arcade. Deceivingly simple at first (as all hack and slashers seem to be), the joy for this title came from its sheer simplicity and ease of play for anyone of any skill level. Featuring only three classes and dungeons that were relatively short (but provided a slew of hidden loot and weapons. Add in the fact that each character could be purchased separately, and you have a Diablo-lite hack and slash, but something that is very fun, easy to pick up and play, and does not require a large cash investment. A very fun game, whether single player or with friends.

Cthulhu Saves the World - A old school style JRPG that features the god of madness as the hero? You betcha. Cthulhu Saves the World was a lovingly crafted tribute to the JRPGs of old, with its sprite based graphics, simple turn based gameplay and witty dialog among your party. The entire time I played the game, I was grinning like an idiot, feverishly wanting to press forward if not to hear the next joke being cracked or witty dialog being exchanged. Between the high profile RPGs of 2011, this was a simple and enjoyable gem to play.

Dragon Age II - Many gamers and fans were unhappy with Dragon Age II, saying that it was a simplified hack and slash with choices that didn't really matter, a limited world to explore, lackluster story and shallow customization. As a new comer to the series, I can honestly say that I wasn't entirely versed in the lore of Dragon Age, nor did I know about the previous events that transpired. What I was left with was a fun RPG that seemed to carry a more intimate and personal story than most RPG's. Instead of saving the world I was tasked with simply making my way in the world. I was set to carve out my own legacy. It was a rags to riches story set in a world of elves and magic. The gameplay was fun, the characters very likable and the DLC (including one featuring Felicia Day) was also just as much fun. My opinion may change when I finally go back to play Origins, but as of right now, Dragon Age II was a lot of fun to play and an RPG that kept me busy for the spring months.

That's enough for today! Check back in tomorrow for another notable 5 from 2011.









 

Top 10 GOTY for 2010

2010 was a great year for gaming as the entire year had a near consistent stream of high quality titles on all consoles. It was truly a great year and very difficult to pick and play through all of them to pick my 10 favorites. Alas, I did and without farther ado, here is my pick for the top 10 of 2010.

10. Transformers: War for Cybertron: I'm a Transformers fan, I'm also a fan of well made shooters with good game mechanics. WfC took the third person shooter and injected its own unique mechanic of transforming on the fly and becoming a fully adaptable robotic weapon of mass destruction. Combine with some truly epic bosses and stages, you've got a winner in any shooter of Transformers fan's book.

9. Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker: Best PSP game ever? Possibly. Peace Walker took the game play of Guns of the Patriots and infused it with the addictive Pokemon like "Gotta Catch em All" mentality of recruiting soldiers from Portable Ops. The result is a portable title with a ton of great action, a sharp story and characters, and a never ending list of soldiers to recruit, missions to beat, items to find, and boss battles to fight. Peace Walker rarely left my PSP, and will probably remain there for a long time into 2011.

8. Goldeneye 007: It was a return to from for this Wii FPS based on the original N64 title. Combining levels and characters based on the original, but infusing it with slick controls and game play, made this a great FPS for the Wii and a fun way to relive some golden memories (no pun intended) with friends whether its online or with its split screen multiplayer. It was quite a trip to play through the singleplayer mode and see the old levels and characters remade for 2010. One of the most enjoyable shooter's I've played all year, in a year of a ton of enjoyable shooters.

7. Heavy Rain: Much more than Indigo Prophecy 2.0, Heavy Rain made for some of the most tense and cinematic moments of the year. With multiple outcomes and encouragement for more than one play-through, Heavy Rain was completely engrossing from beginning to end and showed some serious innovations in the hybrid between gaming and interactive storytelling.

6.(TIE) Halo Reach/Call of Duty Black Ops: Bungie's final Halo title was a monster. A fun and epic campaign, a option ladened multiplayer, and a fully customizable firefight mode made this one of the best games I played this year. Even now I still jump in every now and then to frag some space marines. A ton of fun to play and feels much more like a change than the play it safe Halo 3. For Black Ops, Treyarch re-balance the multiplayer to reply less on killstreaks and more on player kills, they crafted an engrossing single player campaign with a ton of twists and turns and a slew of customization for your online avatar, a full feature zombies mode with past American presidents, and even top down shooter. Treyarch did what the fans wanted, and gave them even more.

5. Vanquish: Like Transformers, Vanquish took the third person shooter and turned it on its head with a fast paced shooter with some huge boss battles and a cheesy, over the top story lines about Russians and their robot army taking over a space station and using the sun as a doomsday weapon. Your suit in Vanquish still stands as one of the coolest things in modern video games. You can jet boost into cover and into enemies, slow down time, and even level up your weapons for more powerful guns. It's fast, it's furious, it's fun as hell. Gears of War 3 officially has its new measuring stick.

4. Battlefield: Bad Company 2/Vietnam: BC2 was my FPS of the year and with good reason. Not only does game play focus on team based multiplayer rather than frag everyone game play, but the amount of weapons and gadgets you can unlock is staggering. If that's not enough, the Vietnam expansion added even more maps, guns, and vehicles. Even better, VIP members and even some late adopters can get all of the maps and modes for on $14.99, with the Vietnam expansion also only costing $14.99. Keep in mind that most multiplayer maps cost about this much just for 1 map pack. That's a whole lot of shooting for your buck.

3. God of War III: A satisfying way to close the trilogy, GoW III had some of most epic boss battles ever, along with draw dropping set pieces and the trade mark combo combat system. Everything about this game was epic and huge, a fitting end to a larger than life video game trilogy.

2.(TIE) Sin and Punishment: Star Successor/Super Mario Galaxy 2/Donkey Kong Country Returns: It was an amazing year for the Nintendo Wii and it was very difficult to choose between these three Wii titles so, I ended up making them a tie. All three have brought fantastic game play and excellent controls. Sin and Punishment was a white knuckled shoot em up from the wizards at Treasure. Featuring some of the coolest bosses this year, it was a difficult but very fun and rewarding shooter. Super Mario Galaxy 2 featured all of the great features of the original, but this time, makes the levels even more creative and fun to play with great graphics and the addition of Yoshi makes this a great sequel. Donkey Kong Country Returns is a great return to the DKC's of old and features some excellent and wildly creative side scrolling levels. All three were amazing experiences to play, and proof to all the naysayers that the Wii isn't up to par with other consoles in terms of games.

1. Mass Effect 2: No other game was more fun to play, more addicting to play, more engrossing, and more awe inspiring than Mass Effect 2. From the refined game play to the epic tale of recruiting the galaxy's biggest badasses, to huge and well thought world the characters inhabit. Even the beginning of the game still stands for me as one of the most shocking openings I've ever played and when combined with your save game choices from Mass Effect 1, makes this an entirely personal story as well that no two people will play completely alike. Mass Effect 2 is a modern masterpiece and I absolutely cannot wait for the final chapter.

So that's it, it was hard but that's my picks for 2010. It was a great year for gaming, and I hope that this year proves to be just as awesome. Keep in gaming!

Runners up (close, but not close enough):

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: The Videogame: Probably the best movie video game this year... or the last several years.

Red Dead Redemption: Could have been in the list but have not finished it yet, very much like what I've played so far.

Kirby's Epic Yarn: Also dangerously close to making the list, but got slightly edged out by the equally excellent competition.

Persona 3 Portable: An excellent portable version of Persona 3. What more do you need to know? Still too similar to the original to make it though.

My Preliminary Game of the Year

Since I don't really have any other place to put them here's a list of my nominations for GOTY. No explanation or detailed write up, just a list of games which I think were fantastic experiences this year.

Note: Only games that I was able to play can be nominated so if some big titles aren't mentioned, odds are that I didn't get the chance to play.

In no specific order:

God of War III PS3

Heavy Rain PS3

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Multi

Transformers: War for Cybertron Multi

Vanquish Multi

Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker PSP

Halo Reach 360

Call of Duty: Black Ops Multi

Scott Pilgrim vs the World: The Game Multi

And that's it for now, short and sweet. I hope to add more notable titles to the list later on and will also finally pick some winners out of the pile.