Here are the 15 games released this year that hit me in all the right places.
NOTE: Here is a quick list of my 2011 games of 2012, or games I will get to eventually: Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Skyrim, Hard Reset, Dead Island, Serious Sam 3, Trenched/Iron Brigade
My second trip through the cavernous bowels of the Apature Science building was just as magical as the first, the only difference was that it took longer. Between the amazing single player game filled with classic characters, and the challenging split-screen Co-Op, I must have played through the game five times on launch week alone. A masterpiece in every sense of the word.
Having been a fan of Saints Row from the release of the original game back in 2006, I've heard a lot of flack from just about everyone about how stupid and unnecessary it is. This year, the team at Volition proved to everyone what I've known all along by throwing the rulebook in a dumpster and then ordering a tactical airstrike on its location. This is the ultimate open world playground, and the logical evolution of the fun parts of the GTA franchise. The fact that it manages to include references to pro wrestling, Tron, old Atari games, and the only good use of autotune I can think of is just icing on the cake. Simply put, you should really play Saints Row.
For some reason, Dead Space 2 grabbed me in ways the first one never did. The elements were still there. The story was gripping, the gameplay was challenging, and watching those space aliens crawl around after cutting their limbs off was still quite enjoyable. Maybe it was just the natural refinement of a sequel that perfected the great game of old, or maybe it was the removal of those awful asteroids segments. Either way, this was the first AAA game of the year, and I still wish I had more levels to finish.
This year was the year I got a gaming PC, and no game exemplifies what I've been missing more than Dungeons of Dredmor. A simple rougelike with a great user interface and the craziest set of weapons and abilities I've ever seen in this type of game, Dredmor sucked me in more than a game has in a long time. I spent hours of time venturing around, experimenting with abilities, drinking fountains and potions at my own risk, and laughing at all the atmospheric touches the UI allowed for. Then I hit at monster zoo and struggled for my life against a unstoppable force. I probably played less of this game than any other on this list, but that will definitely change in the future, as long as I can find ten hour periods to play it in.
WWE 12 was billed as an evolution of the franchise, but in many ways it's the same old Smackdown vs Raw everyone has been playing for years. However, the WWE has never been more interesting than it is now, and it shows in the great roster for this year's installment. WWE Universe returns and evolves in smart ways that allows me to live in a time where the Alliance won the Invasion instead of Vince McMahon. For that alone, the game is easily the best wrestling game to come out in years.
As many others have stated before, Gears 3 is one of the few games to have a legitimate ending in a long while, and it's a fitting close to one of this generation's defining franchises. The roadie run and gun shooting that has made the series so popular only improves with every installment, and the campaign has taken leaps and bounds when it comes to actually telling a story. Those macho dudes aren't just the same guys from Army of Two anymore, they're well defined characters, and you'll care about all of them by the end.
They've finally done it. After years of Werehogs, and Guns, and Sonic's friends, and bestiality, and magic swords, and unwelcome changes in perspectives, and horrible pinball games, and even a fake sequel to the original series, Sonic Team has delivered on their promise to bring back Sonic the Hedgehog. It's probably too late for anyone to care, but Sonic Generations is a great game filled with all the stuff you used to love about Sonic and almost none of the downsides. They even managed to make a few decent Sonic Adventure levels, which is a hard task indeed. It'll take more than this to give me faith in future projects, but Sonic Team at least has my appreciation for one last amazing run through Green Hill Zone.
Despite their recent troubles in the land of the dinosaurs, Telltale is usually a reliable and excellent developer, bringing back the adventure games of old for a new generation all on their own. So when I heard that they were hard at work on a BTTF game, I realized that a trip to Hill Valley in the DeLorean was just the adventure game I always wanted. Filled with just enough references to the films to satisfy any fan, but still containing all the interesting scenarios that let it stand on its own, Telltale's Back to the Future is the perfect companion piece to the movies, and a must play for anyone who finds themselves stuck in the 80s.
Another long suffering franchise, you have to admire the people behind Mortal Kombat for continuing to produce fighting games long after the genre had died. They were not of the quality of the old MK, but they were decent. But, just as fighting games have returned to prominence, so too has the Mortal Kombat of old, complete with excessive fatalities, 2D gameplay, and all the crazy secrets from the arcade. It seems like MK was always ahead of its time back in the arcade days, and in 2011 we can enjoy the game on its own merits instead of liking it because of its "controversy". It's good to know there was always a good foundation under all that.
It seems like years ago that Pokemon Black and White came out, but that probably has more to do with the way I play Pokemon games. I obsess over them until I beat them, then I forget about them. Of course, it might also have to do with the fact that Black and White was a huge step above the last generation, and it's hard to believe that they came out on the same console. A complete and well needed graphic redesign, online features that are convenient and accessible, and well designed new monsters made this another great entry in the series. Now if only Nintendo would make one of these that I could play on my TV. The 10 year old in me is still waiting.
Orcs Must Die! is one of the many attempts by game designers to make tower defense into something interesting for more action oriented gamers, and it's one of the more well polished attempts. The fact that it is primarily a third person shooter helps greatly, even if that might put it in a whole new category together. Whatever it is, it's great fun to fire madly into a horde of charging orcs as traps go off around you, and that's what really counts in the end.
A few years ago, THQ tried to start a second WWE series to complement Smackdown, called Legends of Wreslemania and featuring the stars of the past. It had a lot of good ideas, but ultimately failed to pull in wrestling fans due to strange presentation and a badly overhauled gameplay system that didn't feel realistic enough when compared to Smackdown. This year, THQ learned from the past and gave the WWE Universe the arcade wrestling game they had been waiting for. A huge roster of fighters from the past and today (including a steady stream of DLC) fight in a cartoonish arena where they flip fifty feet in the air to perform a finisher. The game got stale after a while, but it is a great starting point, and I look forward to future installments.
LA Noire is a technically impressive game, and that will ultimately be its legacy. Which is a shame, because beyond the technical splendor, Noire is a excellent story driven adventure game that feels like a GTA game, and more games could learn from its example. Lets hope so anyway, since Team Bondi wont be making a sequel anytime soon.
My second rougelike on the list, and I didn't even know about the genre at the beginning of this year. Funny. Anyway, Binding of Isaac is a insanely twisted game about a small naked child that must escape from his religious mom's basement to fight both his mom and Satan. It takes a certain kind of humor to enjoy the game, but if it sounds like your kind of thing, put it on your radar. The various random power-ups alone will have you playing for hours.
