Best of 2011

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 on 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 this year. I mean I bought stuff like ITSP and Pixeljunk Shooter 2 but I never actually played them. \

Also some props to the ones that didn't make the cut: Mortal Kombat 9, Skyrim, L.A. Noire and Shadows of the Damned. I still love you!

List items

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  1. Deus Ex: Human Revolution

  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 fun bosses and the genuinely interesting story, it feels like something specifically tailored to my tastes and sensibilities. I love this game. Hell, I went as far as renaming my wifi network to Sarif Industries!

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  2. Batman: Arkham City

  It's Batman. Punching a shark. In the face. 'Nuff said.

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  3. inFamous 2

  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 are 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!

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  4. Gears of War 3

  This game really came out of left field for me. I've had a lukewarm reception to the previous two, 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 Horde,

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  5. Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception

  Uncharted 3 is better than Uncharted 2. It just is. Not only 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!

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  6. Portal 2

  I don't like Valve games. There's just something about them that feels... empty. 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.

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  7. Dark Souls

  It's cause I hate myself.

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  8. Battlefield 3

  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. The MP is so fun, so crazy, so... Battlefield!

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  9. Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine

  Need more WAAAGH!

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  10. Dragon Age II

  I have a love/hate relationship with DA2. I want it to be better, oh god I want it to be better! 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!