I played a lot of games this year.... A lot of fucking games. Even so, there's still some huge releases I couldn't cram in, which is why you won't see Dead Space 2, SR3, The Witcher 2 (waiting on the 360 version), MW3, Rayman Origins, Red Faction: Armageddon, LBP2, and the MGS and Ico/SOTC HD Collections here. Still, it's been a great year and this has been excruciating to pick only 10 games. Also I really dropped the ball when it came to XBLA/PSN games. I mean I bought stuff like ITSP, Might and Magic and Pixeljunk Shooter 2 but I never actually played them.
But before we start, there's 2 special categories:
Biggest Disappointment of the Year:
. What the fuck Guerrilla? Seriously what the fuck? How do you go from KZ2, the greatest FPS of this generation, to that steaming pile of shit you call a sequel? Not only did you completely fuck up the campaign, but you also boned the MP with the new spawn system.
2011's 2010 GOTY:
I picked this up in March and oh boy! I've probably put in over 300 hours already. Not only is this game incredibly addicting, but the sheer amount of options is staggering. I can easily see myself playing for another 300 hours without the slightest hint of boredom showing up.
It's not often that I feel like a game was made just for me. Be it the amazing art direction, the polished stealth gameplay, the cool weapons, the fun bosses and the genuinely interesting story, it feels like something specifically tailored to my tastes and sensibilities. I stayed up for 3 days straight until I finished it because I couldn't put the controller down. I love this game. Hell, I even renamed my wifi network to Sarif Industries!
By far my favorite open-world game. The powers are just a joy to use and moving around the city can inspire an euphoria-like effect in me. A marked improvement in every area from Infamous 1, I literally bashed a PS3 with a hammer to get my disk back because I wanted to play more. Collecting blast shards has never been more fun!
This game really came out of left field for me. I've had a lukewarm reception to the previous two (too much dudebro), so I almost didn't pick it up (thanks for pushing me to get it Afro, you magnificent bastard!) but I'm really glad I did. Not only was the campaign really fucking good, but the multiplayer and Horde 2.0 are an absolute blast! My only regret is that I haven't had the time to play more of it online.
Uncharted 3 is better than Uncharted 2. It just is. Not only did Naughty Dog take all the criticisms from the previous game to heart, but the multiplayer has recieved a complete overhaul. So you may ask, why not put it higher? Sadly it came out at a really bad time for me so I just haven't had the chance to play as much of it as I'd like. Also the aiming thing soured my experience a bit. Still, this game has the best flashback in any game ever and don't you forget it!
I don't like Valve games. There's just something about them that feels... empty. Soulless. Barren. Well, at least that's what I thought until I played Portal 2. While I enjoyed the first one, I wasn't in love with it, but this one is so much bigger and better. And you know what, it's goddamn hilarious. This one is for my man, Cave Johnson.
I liked Bad Company. I liked Bad Company 2 even more. So consider me shocked when I booted BF3's campaign and found it to be... awful. No, it honestly is the worst FPS SP I've played this year and I finished Homefront. The scripting, the level design, the AI, it's complete shit! I'll go as far as saying that I hate the SP. Which is what makes the MP shines even more, because it's the sole reason why this game is on my list. It's just so fun, so crazy, so... Battlefield!
I didn't particularly care for the first Crysis. It had some fundamental gameplay issues I just couldn't look past. So I was pleasantly surprised when I started C2. The suit powers were fun to use, the combat scenarios were compelling and the story was presented in a nice way. The pretty graphics didn't hurt either. The shooting mechanics still need a bit of tweaking, but it was still an enjoyable romp through New York.
I have a love/hate relationship with DA2. I want it to be better, oh god I want it to be better so bad! And it wouldn't take much really, just a couple of new dungeon maps and a different ending. But as much as I hate to admit it, I still enjoyed my time with it. The new artstyle and combat are much appreciated changes and the dialogue trees are still as fun as they ever were in DAO. I put in 65 hours in the game and all it's DLC and I still want more!
