Something went wrong. Try again later

Box3ru13

This user has not updated recently.

814 83 8 6
Forum Posts Wiki Points Following Followers

GOTY 2011

I am constantly late to the BBQ. Life has picked up and I am left with less and less free time and money to seek out all the games I want to play. I actually spent a majority of my time "catching up" on games from 2010 that I didn't get to.

Vanquish, Alpha Protocol, FF13, Need 4 Speed Hot Pursuit, etc, are all titles that I managed to finally play and beat during this year. But I still have Dragon Age Origins Awakening, 3D Dot Game Heroes and a slew of PC titles that I can only dream of completing.

Naturally my 2011 list is going to be lacking some titles that if I had played I know for certain would be here but with three days left in the year I don't see myself getting to any of them.

Thus Skyrim, Skyward Sword, Uncharted 3, Dark Souls, Gears of War 3, Saints Row 3 and many other Holiday releases are just not included because I didn't have a chance. Considering that alone that is six games that could be on this list lets you know the amount of titles I just don't have time for.

List items

  • Portal 2 is a stunning achievement. The Orange Box upon release was packed so full of awesome content that it would've been easy to forgive Valve for releasing a game that doesn't quite cut it.

    Thankfully that didn't happen but despite Portal's great humor and clever puzzle design it was still an experience that could be completed in an afternoon if you were dedicated.

    Enter Portal 2, a game that is so good it is difficult to imagine how Valve will raise the stakes in a sequel. The interactions between Glados and Wheatley are so damn funny that you just wish you could stop playing and sit and listen to their back-and-forth.

    That's not even mentioning Cave Johnson and his wonderful commentary on all matters science and Aperture. I didn't encounter a more enjoyable single player experience all year.

    There is a coop mode that I hear is also pretty damn good but I've played barely any of it. Despite this it isn't difficult to call Portal 2 my Game of the Year and easily one of the best games of this generation.

  • If I had a nickel for every time some crazy, over-the-top mayhem happened while playing Battlefield 3. I don't know how many nickels I would have but it would be a proverbial shit-ton.

    This game can very well consume you're soul if you aren't careful. The amount of time I've sunk into multi-player rivals time some people have put into Skyrim on multiple playthroughs.

    The single-player does end up being a little flat with a "me too" and "been there, done that" feel but it is serviceable. The coop missions are better and manage to be a neat distraction but as with previous Battlefields it is all about the Multiplayer.

    Jets, Helicopters, Tanks oh my! The destruction is still top notch and everything from sniping to capturing flags is fun and rewarding. On top of the still excellent and standard-setting sound design and BF3 illustrates why it is the best multi-player game this year and one fine FPS in a market over-saturated with them.

  • I love Deus Ex. I consider it one of the best games of all time and worthy of all the praise it gets. I even enjoyed the second one despite it being what many people think is some abomination.

    I've been following Human Revolution closely and upon its release was delighted to hear that it was not only an excellent title but one fit to bear the Deus Ex name.

    It is not perfect by any means but the characters, setting, and augmentations made available present such a wide range of options that almost anyone can find a play style they enjoy.

    Truly one of the year's best.

  • Sucker Punch really raised the bar with the first InFamous. Despite coming out around the same time as Prototype it became clear that InFamous was something really special.

    InFamous 2 is more InFamous which is not a bad thing. The New Marais setting is much more colorful and vibrant than Empire City and the new "heroes" you meet are more interesting and fleshed out than the previous ones.

    Navigation around the city is still a blast and with new abilities added to make it even more so, InFamous 2 shines bright despite some difficulty gripes and camera that gets a little wonky at the wrong time.

  • Dead Space was one of my favorite titles in 2008. I fell in love with all things Dead Space related in quick order. The atmosphere EA Redwood established was scary, tense and believable.

    Dead Space 2 manages to do so capture what made Dead Space so special. More crazy enemies, cool space weaponry, and unsettling scenery and audio.

    It also benefits from having some of the best set pieces this generation and deserves all the praise in the world for managing to take a sleeper hit and iterate on it so well. The added multi-player isn't shabby either joining the ranks of Assassins Creed and Uncharted as games that have managed to take single player only games and add a good multi-player component

  • 2009's Killzone 2 was quite the accomplishment. It delivered stunning graphics that at the time was unsurpassed (excluding Crysis) and unlike its predecessor was polished and actually fun.

    Flash forward two years and Guerilla Games brought more us more Killzone. Not a bad thing by any means. But it didn't have the same impact that it did back in 2009. The Multiplayer (for better or worse) aped some stuff from other popular online shooters. The weighty-ness of the controls was also gone (again for better or worse) but the suite of options and excellent map design still make Killzone 3 one of the best online multiplayer shooters on the market and the campaign isn't half bad either if you ignore some of the melodrama.

  • While I enjoy top down shooters as much as the next person I can't say that I really love them but there is something special about Jamestown. The shooting is rewarding, the ships are unique, and the special attacks are varied and devastating.

    The narrative constructed around the crazy premise of the colonization of Mars by Spain and England is cute if ultimately a weak justification for the setting and enemies.

    With plenty of unlockables, challenge rooms, and leaderboards Jamestown despite being only $10 is packed with content that is engaging after you've completed the five story missions. Multiple difficulties and four ships to choose from also add to the replay value.

    After playing some four-player coop with the developers of Jamestown for 10 minutes I pulled out my wallet and handed a crisp Jefferson. Its that good.

  • Zipper took the reins back from Slant Six after a poorly received entry in Confrontation.

    However Zipper had the impossible task of making a game that will bring in newcomers in the heavily contested shooter genre while pleasing long time hardcore fans.

    As someone who hasn't played a SOCOM game since the original I was interested to see how this one turned out. Unfortunately the "Great PSN crash of 2011" happened to derail the online launch of this title. But once you were able to log on, the round based classic SOCOM still held up and the "modern" take on the modes (respawns) was perfect for newbies and those wanting less downtime between killing.

    All in all, a good entry for the SOCOM franchise.

  • Lets be honest for a second. Anything past MK3 has been anything but amazing. A couple of the PS2-era titles were okay and Shaolin Monks was pretty cool for a beat 'em up. But MK vs. DC was awful and after SF4 came out and did right by everyone (sans overpriced costumes for download) it was hard to imagine Mortal Kombat getting its groove back.

    But like Stella MK9 is absolutely fantastic. As someone who grew up with Mortal Kombat it has always been my favorite fighting franchise and Ed Boon and Co. finally did right by everyone. The move back to 2D was very much needed and the amount of fighters and krazy kontent included in this title reflect the labor of love this project must have been for Netherealm, it shows.

  • As someone who enjoyed Red Dead Redemption I was looking forward to what Rockstar and Team Bondi had in store with LA Noire. The facial animations and expressions are second to none. The detective work isn't half bad either with a helpful hint system in place to prevent people from getting too stuck but still requiring the player to try and deduce the correct answer.

    It is a shame that the action isn't really that great and the overarching story doesn't fit well especially compared to the short narratives told via the actual cases.

    It is also unfortunate that the entire situation at Team Bondi was so rotten as well as it leaves a rather ugly and distracting black eye from what could have and should have been this year's Red Dead or GTA.
Load Comments