As years go, 2011 was definitely another one of those. Not a hell of a lot happened that would mark 2011 as a landmark year in many entertainment mediums; save for one (in my opinion): video games. Simply put, 2011 saw the release of a lot of pretty spectacular games. It also marked the year that I got a PS3... so there's that. Anyways, let's get on with the list... from #1 apparently... kind of anticlimactic if you think about it...
In the last few days I've heard a lot of smack talk about Skyrim; a lot of very accurate smack talk. It crashes often, the combat isn't that great (in comparison to other games), it's buggy as hell, etc. Skyrim most definitely has major issues... issues that honestly can't possibly detract from what is my favorite game of the year.
I love this game. I've put in over 140 hours between two characters. I've explored almost every part of the province. I've done a ton of quests; and yet I still find myself going back to it.
You know what really defines Skyrim as my favorite game of the year... the fact that I can't truly quit playing; and that is what should define a true game of the year.
Batman is the god-damn Batman. And now, thanks to Arkham City, I can feel like the god-damn Batman. Batman: Arkham City is fantastic. I love the world. I love the free-flow combat system and the stealth system. I love the secrets, the riddles, the story and the characters. I love most everything about this game, and it is definitely a step up from Arkham Asylum.
When talking about Saints Row: The Third I could talk about a lot of things. I could talk about how much I love certain missions (Murderbrawl and Deckers.die come to mind). I could talk about how great it feels to upgrade your character to be an indestructible force and go on a rampage. I could talk about how great the combat, the driving and just about everything in the game feels. I could talk about a lot of things (I just did in fact); but all I really need to tell anyone is that this game is fun... plain and simple. I love this game because it is fun. Period.
Portal 2 is excellent in every aspect of the word. The puzzles are excellent. The writing, voice acting and story are excellent. The multiplayer (of what I played anyways) is excellent. Portal 2 is an excellent game, and that's all I really have to say about it.
Ghost Trick came out at around the beginning of the year. That was a long time ago, in case you didn't notice. I was a different person back then; in that I still played DS games (still like Picross 3D, though). With that said, I have to put Ghost Trick on this list. It had fantastic puzzles, a pretty great, mysterious story and some of the best animation I have ever seen on the DS. Ghost Trick was great and I highly recommend it to everyone.
Uncharted 3 isn't as great as Uncharted 2... there I said it. It may have some upgrades: a better combat system, more set pieces and other improvements; but it just doesn't "feel" better than the second game. That's not to say that it's bad, or even just okay; it's an excellent game for all the reasons I already listed and much more. It wouldn't be on this list if it were bad. For me, Uncharted 3 is just as good as Uncharted 2; and that is enough to put it in the upper echelon of my collection.
Rayman: Origins was a major surprise for me this year. I didn't expect to like it as much as I did, or to even pick it up. But after playing it, I can say that: the platforming is fantastic, the art style is amazing and the music is excellent. This title is the first Rayman game that I have played, but thanks to this game it probably won't be the last.
I really liked inFamous 1. It was a great game. The traversal system worked well, the combat was great and the open-world was truly open. InFamous 2 builds on what inFamous 1 created and takes it to the next level. InFamous 2 is a pretty great game and definitely belongs on this list.
Bulletstorm, like many other games on this list, really surprised me. I kind of only picked it up in the first place for the Gears 3 beta key (and 'cuz it looked kind of cool). But Bulletstorm turned out to be a hell of a lot of fun. I love the action in this game. It's gruesome and... just awesome. Some of the battles that you encounter in this game were really memorable. Some that come to mind include when you find the remote-controlled monster or when you first encounter the true monster in the game. In the end though, Bulletstorm was just a lot of fun and I enjoyed it the entire way through.
For me, Resistance 3 had a lot going against it when it first came out. I was prepared to pick up Warhammer over this day one, but I ended up changing my mind for an unspecified reason. I never played the first nor the second Resistance games, so I didn't really have much of an attachment to the characters involved; and, in the beginning, the gameplay didn't seem that remarkable.
But as I played through the campaign and got into the multiplayer, I enjoyed Resistance for what it was: a crazy shooter with great weapons and fun gameplay. That's what really puts this game on my list.
