Games I've Played in 2011
Note that this is not a list of 2011 releases I've played, but just a list of the games I've played extensively in 2011. Feel free to hit me up with links to your own, if you got 'em and care enough to post 'em.
List items
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1. Heavy Rain
I deeply enjoyed this adventure game. It holds up alongside Full Throttle, Grim Fandango, and my favorite Sierra classics with plenty of aplomb, and should definitely age better.
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2. Portal 2
I picked up Portal 2 at a steep discount with the mindset that I didn't want to pay full price for a shiny puzzle game. Had I known how much fun I'd have with Portal 2, I'd have bought it on day 1 at full price, no questions asked. Simply put, it's a superb game with some damn funny moments.
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3. Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 Portable
It's a highly enjoyable RPG. I'm not a big fan of the dungeons, but the RPG elements are fantastic and it should prove to be highly replayable.
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4. Back to the Future
Telltale has carved a niche for being THE adventure game company of the last few years, and their solid, fun work continues. The voice acting is shockingly good, and while the puzzles are sometimes a little simplistic, i hits a nice note between nostalgic and entertaining.
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5. Halo: Reach
Although I completed the campaign last fall, I didn't get into Reach's multiplayer until this spring, and wow, is it good.
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6. Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time
The Ratchet and Clank games scratch my platforming/action itch with plenty of style and humor. Although the changes made to the game are fairly incremental, the designers still manage to cram enough into the game to make it well worth the while. And besides, the formula is pretty damn solid, so I certainly can't blame 'em for not messing with it.
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7. Bulletstorm
I get the complaints leveled at Bulletstorm, and I just don't care about any of that. I fully embrace its ridiculous, juvenile humor. Definitely one of my favorite first-person shooters. "Come lick on the salty taint of doom" will forever be one of my favorite quotes.
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8. Mafia II
Mafia 2 was a pleasant surprise. I went into it knowing very little about the game and came out the other end a pretty happy camper. It's a bit flawed and could have either done more with its open world elements or gone without them. But the story is great, the characters fun, and the shooting sequences are a blast.
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9. Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds
I've come to realize I'm never going to be competitive in fighting games again, but thanks to the recent fighting game resurgence, I can certainly enjoy gettin the crap kicked out of me. CvM3 is a fantastic game. A bit bare-bones, but still, the game is a heck of a lot of fun and has a ton of charm to its cartoonish visuals and smooth animations.
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10. StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty
Starcraft 2's campaign is sheer genius. It takes some traditional elements and combines them into great level design, fun scenarios, and some great choices in between missions. By letting the player pick and choose missions with rewards for each one, it adds quite a bit to the replay value of the campaign. I'm already thinking up strategies for my next playthrough (I'm going straight for the siege tanks), and I'm really looking forward to playing it some more against the AI in some skirmish modes. Without a doubt, it's the best RTS I've played, and one of the best PC games I've ever seen. Really excited about the sequels.
Oh, and if you're one of those people who turns their nose up because you think the game was chopped up to push more copies, you're insane. By splitting the story into three parts, it allows for a much, much deeper story. Believe me when I say this is one hell of a long game for the genre, and has a ton of replay value even if you're not into the Starcraft multiplayer scene.
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11. L.A. Noire
L.A. Noire is a mixed bag forme. I love the detective gameplay and interrogations. I'm not much of a fan of the rest of it. The best comment I've heard to salve my wounds over the lack of an interesting overworld is that the overworld is just gravy on the rest of the game, which I guess is sort of true. A good game, but just not great.
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12. inFamous 2
inFamous 2 is kind of a slow burn, but once I acclimatized myself to the surge of enemies and delved into the story a bit deeper, I found myself really enjoying it. Despite the more family friendly Cole, there's a certain grim quality to every aspect of the story, world, and characters that adds a certain punch to the series. I certainly hope for more refinements in a potential sequel, as there are some navigational issues and bugginess to the exploration that could have been smoothed out. But overall, this is just as great a game as its predecessor.
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13. Just Cause 2
Just Cause 2 is a joy of an open-world game. Some of the missions get a little reptetive, but the sheer amount of stuff to do, destroy, and play with makes my inner child as happy as a clam.
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14. Crysis 2
Crysis 2 is a beautiful game, but it's just a little bit vanilla in terms of its story and gameplay. The game tries to give the appearance of being bigger than a corridor shooter, but at heart, it's not much more than one with a few big rooms to play with here and there. It's not a terrible game by any means, and it's worth it just for some of the visuals alone. But the developers and publishers are obviously trying to find a sweet spot between a PC and a console shooter, and this is not the solution they need.
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15. Terraria
Terraria is a bizarre, addictive game that anyone with an iota of concentration and love for building or demolishing should be able to get into. I can't claim to have explored a tenth of the possibilities, but I intend to, and with frequent updates, it looks like this one might be a blast for a while to come.
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16. Enslaved: Odyssey to the West
Absolutely superb game. The character interactions are the definite highlight, but the colorful post-apocalyptic setting and the action are fun too.
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17. LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4
Don't judge me.
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18. Batman: Arkham Asylum
As a game, Arkham Asylum is great. Aside from some camera issues (especially around the time Poison Ivy becomes a threat - goddamn plants in my way!), it was really a solid game with a lot to do and see. But I'm just not that much of a fan of the DC villains in the game, save maybe for the Joker and Scarecrow. That's not the game's fault. I've just never felt the attachment to DC comic characters that I've felt towards Marvel ones. Unfortunately in this case, it made an otherwise great game kind of ho-hum for me.
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19. Record of Agarest War
Sigh... I've played some shitty games like Metal Dungeon or Gods and Generals, but none equal the complete craptitude of Record of Agarest War. If you want a generic ass SRPG with no redeeming qualities, pick this up.
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20. Disgaea 4: A Promise Unforgotten
It's pretty much still Disgaea 1 with a few upgrades and new animations, but hot damn, it's still as amazing addictive and deep as the other games in the series.
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21. Yakuza 4
It's not a bad game, but it has a certain attitude towards woman and subservience that rubs me in all the wrong ways.
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22. Alpha Protocol
A few good ideas do not a good game make.
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23. Burnout Paradise
It's a crazy amount of fun, but I do wish certain mechanics such as a quick race finder would have been implemented.
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24. Donkey Kong Country Returns
Just a crazy fun game, with a lot of creative elements. I love it.
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25. Monster Hunter Tri
Very fun, but a bit repetitive.
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26. Forza Motorsport 4
In a year when not being able to drive crushed me more than ever, being able to play a racing game as excellent as Forza 4 really helps. It doesn't hurt that the game has a ton of muscle cars to boot, including the Nova, one of my personal favorites.
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27. Batman: Arkham City
I wasn't blown away by Arkham Asylum (see my thoughts elsewhere on this list), so I wasn't prepared to like Arkham City as much as I do. It's still the same basic game, but the quality of writing is quite a bit better and I'm finding it much easier to find myself engrossed in this world. It doesn't hurt that there's an absolutely insane amount of stuff to do.
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28. Resistance 3
It's not often that a game's story can genuinely convey a sense that the odds are impossible. And yet, with Resistance 3, everything about the world Insomniac has created gives e that impression. Even should the battle be won this day, there's still tomorrow... and tomorrow isn't going to be any easier. It doesn't hurt that the game surrounding this atmosphere is fantastic too. I love the guns and the shooting mechanics.
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29. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Holy shit.
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30. Zettai Hero Project: Unlosing Ranger vs. Darkdeath Evilman
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31. The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky
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32. Dead Island
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