2011 is just about over.
It started off strong with titles like Dead Space 2, Portal 2, and L.A. Noire, contained a drought of games in the summer except for the great XBLA titles, and finished strong in the fall with Gears of War 3, Uncharted 3, Skyrim, Assassin's Creed, Saints Row: The Third, Batman Arkham City, and many, many more.
This year was all about sequels, indie hits, and a small amount of original titles, plus the Return of Rayman and a new dashboard for Xbox 360, and more details of the next consoles set to arrive in the next few years.
Call of Duty Shattered records once again, but has some good competition in the EA shooter Battlefield 3.
2011 was full of great games and many that I still want to play. In my opinion, here are the games that I saw as the best:
Best Playstation 3 Exclusive game
The Nominees-Uncharted 3, Resistance 3, inFamous 2, Killzone 3, LittleBigPlanet 2
And the winner is....Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception!!
Taking everything they've done with the previous two games in this series, Naughty Dog has crafted an amazing game that has successfully pleased the critics and their die hard fans. A recent update to the shooting was made based solely on player's feedback, showing that Naughty Dog cares about their fans and consumers. With many epic scenes and set pieces, Uncharted 3 shows how much better sequels can get.
Runner-Up
-inFamous 2-
Sucker Punch crafted a new hero with Cole Mcgrath, and changed him a bit until many voiced their opinions about his new look. After making him more like the original Cole, Sucker Punch finished and released inFamous 2 and gave players more of the combat that made the original game so fun as well as new powers for Cole to use. Also included was a mission creator so players could make their own types of minigames to create and share.
Best Xbox 360 Exclusive Game
The Nominees-Gears of War 3, Forza 4,Halo Anniversary
And the Winner is...Gears of War 3!!
Epic Games concluded the Gears Trilogy in a good way, one that satisfied fans and also set up a great multiplayer system to ensure players would be coming back long after the credits had rolled. With Beast, Horde, Arcade mode, and multiplayer, Gears of War 3 is the complete package and continues to entertain with it's DLC arrivals. A must have for Xbox players.
Runner-UP
-Halo Anniversary-
Bungie bid farewell to Halo, and Microsoft and 343 Industries are now in charge of the popular franchise. During E3 of this year, we were shown a glimpse of the future with Halo 4, but also a nice surprise with Halo Anniversary. With the ability to switch between old and new visuals, new secrets with the terminals, skulls to change Halo CE's gameplay, and maps remade in the Halo Reach engine, Anniversary has plenty of gaming to do and all for $39. As we wait for Halo 4, why not see how it all began?
Best Downloadable Game
The Nominees-Bastion,ilomilo, Stacking, Resident Evil 4 HD, Crysis
And the winner is....Bastion!!
"Kid's trying to think of words that truly explain how awesome Bastion is. The narration in the game really impressed him, as well as the action and rpg elements. Can't forget the visuals as well, so colorful and distinct. Kid says everyone must play Bastion, for it was the best downloadable game of 2011."
Thanks Mr. Narrator! Bastion truly was the best arcade and downloadable game I played. Supergiant games made a awesome game.
Runner-UP
-Crysis-
Crysis 2 was a great game, but I never got to play the original, so when it came to Games on Demand for $20, I just had to check it out. The story is pretty good, but the combat and visuals are what really stand out in this game. With a more open environment to play in like Far Cry, Crysis allows you to play in a few different ways. If you don't have a high-end PC, you can finally run Crysis with a simple download on your console.
Best "Bang for your Buck" Award
The Nominees- Skyrim, Modern Warfare 3, LittleBigPlanet 2, Resident Evil 4 HD
And the Winner is...The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim!!
Once you're done with the brief introduction to Skyrim, you're free to do whatever you want. You could explore the land, complete quests, or join a guild and experience a great plotline. No matter what you do, you'll have hours upon hours of fun. Skyrim has so much gameplay in it's one disc. If you want plenty of content and more for $60, Skyrim is your best bet.
Runner-UP
-Resident Evil 4 HD-
For $20 you could once again play through this Capcom classic. It didn't really matter how times you've played through it, Resident Evil 4 offers a high amount of replayability and allows you to keep all your weapons and outfits into the next playthrough. RE4 HD also includes Mercenaries, Separate Ways and Assignment Ada, giving you more to do after you experience the story.
Best Improved Sequel
The Nominees- Gears of War 3, Saints Row: The Third, Uncharted 3, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Dead Space 2, Batman Arkham City
And the winner is...Deus Ex: Human Revolution!!
Deus Ex: Invisible war was still fun to play, but it changed much of what the original game established. Human Revolution is nowhere near the non-linearity of the first two games, but it does still offer you a chance to explore. What is does best though is get you attached to the main character Adam Jensen as he strives to protect those he cares about while understanding the changes he must face when he gets augmented. With great action, visual style and music, Human Revolution really immersed you into the game. It may have came years after the previous versions, but you can how the time was spent to improve what people loved.
Runner-UP
-Gears of War 3-
Gears 3 finally added four player co-op, something players have always wanted, as well as making multiplayer a bit more approachable. While I still get killed left and right, it's nice to know that I'll still be progressing my stats for medals and experience. Gears 3 seems for like a game for hardcore and casual players so that everyone can have a good time no matter what mode they play in.
Co-op Game of the year
The Nominees- Dead Island, Gears of War 3, Saints Row: The Third, Portal 2, Halo Anniversary
And the Winner is....Portal 2!!
As fun as Portal is by yourself, it's even funner with a friend. With the ability to solve puzzles with two awesome characters in Atlas & P-Body, you also got to be watched and ridiculed by GLaDOS. Who wouldn't want that in a co-op game?
Runner-UP
-Dead Island-
An open world game with Zombies, 4 players co-op, the ability to give items was something that players couldn't pass up. Dead Island is better with friends, and it proved to be a great game. It didn't recreate the tone of the trailer, but it did prove that a new zombie co-op game could compete with the big dogs like Resident Evil 5 and Left 4 Dead.
Best/Weirdest game
(Catherine)
A game about self-respect and infidelity that had interesting gameplay, Catherine was one that didn't sell too well, but those that played it were happy that they did.
Best Demo This Year is Rayman Origins
Demos that I have really enjoyed usually do a few things: Get me more interested in the game, provide a chance to see how it plays, and makes me want to play the full version.
Rayman Origins demo successfully did all these things.
It not only provides fun gameplay for a younger audience, it also give older and core gamers a challenging new platformer. Rayman has always been popular, and I hope for people will check out this new game. The demo really made me more interested, so try it out and maybe the full version will become apart of your collection.
Hardest Game of the Year goes to Dark Souls!
Dark Souls doesn't surprise you with it's difficulty. From the beginning, you know you're in for a hard time, but this is part of the game's charm. If you've played Demon Souls, you'll be better prepared, but this game is far from a walk in the park. Those who complain about newer games being too easy should definitely try out Dark Souls.
Hardest 360 Achievement of The Year
"Seriously 3.0" (Gears of War 3)
An achievement so hard, I'm pretty sure no one has even done it yet. Not only do you have to get to level 100, you also have to gain Onyx medals for pretty much everything there is to do in gears. Seriously 3.0 isn't about kills anymore, it's about being the best and testing your skills as a COG.
Greatest Gaming Moment this Year
"The Ending Sequence of Portal 2" (Portal 2)
I'll try not to spoil this, but the ending part of Portal 2 is one of the coolest gaming moments ever. This was my reaction:
"What the? Can I do that? Really? Whoa!! Wow! How is that...Man Valve is awesome!!"
AND NOW FOR THE GAME OF THE YEAR:
The Nominees-Uncharted 3,Gears of War 3,Rayman Origins,Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Portal 2, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Batman Arkham City
And The Winner is... Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim!!!!
This was an extremely tough choice for me. 2011 had so many high quality games, but Bethesda's latest game is incredibly good. With so much to do and see, and the ability to level up skills by simply performing them, you're given freedom like no other game can offer. Skyrim proves singleplayer games are not dead and will never be.
Runner-Up
-Batman Arkham City-
Arkham Asylum was a previous game of the year, and Arkham City is a top quality game as well. It tweaked the great combat, added more characters from the Batman lore, and introduced a bigger environment to play in. Playing as Catwoman was fun, but being Batman is was makes this game so good. You truly become batman for about 10+ hours and Rocksteady has officially broken the sucky batman game curse.
Once again these are the awards and games I have chosen. Many games of 2011 deserve a look and although I didn't put them all on here, there are plenty out there other than the ones I included. 2011 was a huge year for games and 2012 should be awesome as well. Congrats to the Developers and Publishers for having their games released, Happy Holidays, and Here's to a great year of gaming in 2012!!!
