kotorstrife's 2011 G's OTY

I spent many restless nights tossing and turning over how to present my 2011 games of the year. Why's that? Well, I didn't even complete enough games released in 2011 to formulate a list. For me, it was a year dominated by the past. A game released in 2003 is the best game I played in 2011. I find that a telling testament to the quality of Star Wars: KOTOR. Others, such as Black Ops, Castlevania, and Enslaved, were released in 2010 but consumed a considerable bulk of my gaming hours in 2011. What I ultimately decided to do with this list is rather than ham-fist the few 2011 releases I played into a pitiful portrayal of my year, I would consider every game I played this year regardless of its release date. With that in mind, I feel a sincere sense of liberation and proudly present the best games I played in 2011. Enjoi!

List items

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  1. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

  I had to do this. A game released in 2003 winning my 2011 Game of the Year. A dear friend of mine managed to force persuade me into playing this after five or six years of repeated attempts to get through the planet of Taris while rolling and re-rolling in an endless cycle of unsatisfied character creation. One day, I just summoned the force and willed myself to persist as a Scout/Sentinel. I decided not to worry about the nitty-gritty dice-rolling details and just play the game as the class I thought would be the most fun.<BR><BR>

  Much could be said, but it would only serve as a disservice to what BioWare accomplished. It's easily their greatest triumph, with a narrative that is rivaled by no other game I have ever played. It made me search the depths of my own soul to discover who I really was, or could become. It made me feel things that videogames shouldn't. <BR><BR>

  And therein lies the success here. BioWare has married masterful storytelling with a questing, party management, and combat structure that actually requires more than two brain cells to successfully process. KOTOR is the one game I would love to experience time and time again for the first time. Star Wars: KOTOR for the 2011 win!

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  2. Call of Duty: Black Ops

  Did me three tours in that J-Nuggle over the first half o' 2011, hackin' care packages and watchin' with sadistic delight as they blow the faces off the faces of my enemies. Zombies... pushed back the monkey hordes in Ascension, pwned George Romero in Call of the Dead, and depressurized some bone jerky on the Moon. My time with Black Ops in 2011 was better than best. It was *gooder* than *good*. Much prestige to Treyarch for crafting the absolute best multiplayer experience of this generation, my 2011 number two.

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  3. Enslaved: Odyssey to the West

  Much like 2K Marin did with Minerva's Den, Ninja Theory took an already fantastic experience and went ham on it with their Pigsy's Perfect 10 DLC. I'll be candid; when I first heard the star of the show was the morbibly obese, albeit heroic, pig-man from the core game, I cringed, thinkin' it a bunch o' hogwash. I'm glad I didn't let my preconceived judgementalism get the better of me here, as Pigsy's Perfect 10 is Ninja Theory's finest work. I squealed with glee at the introductory sequence alone -- I hope they do an entire game with that art style some day! Add a shockingly moving story and riveting new gameplay to the trough, and you've got a stellar 4-5 hour experience that's far from a boar.

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  4. Dead Rising 2

  There's got to be something said for duct taping sticks of dynamite to a severed zombie hand, having Chuck proclaim that's "just like mom used to make" and then lobbin' that DynaMeat into a procession of flesh raiders. This act results in a *huge* amount of PP -- that's prestige points, folks. I was brought to my knees in tears of laughter on innumerable occasions with this game runnin' co-op with my banana-hammock buddy Raxxel. <BR><BR>An unforgettably humorous and awesome classic.

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  5. Dead Space 2

  Some of the most heart-stopping moments of my gaming life, including a scene involving a precision needle that is perhaps the most unnerving instance, ever. A deliciously grotesque dismemberment fiesta with a maxed out Ripper Blade, I would turn overwhelming odds into giblets for next years stuffing. It's slow and predictable in the usual ways of the genre (dem corridors, vents, and elevators) but for 95% of the time Dead Space 2 is non-stop, wed-betting good times with a strongly likable cast of characters.

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  6. Renegade Ops

  Avalanche Studios? Who the...? I pride m'self on keeping up to date with the industry I bracket-right-three, but getting blindsided total by a cannon-mounted jeep is the surprise smash hit of 2011 for me, from a studio I'd never heard of. This is one of my all-time favorite games from the NES era (Jackal) reborn with gorgeous visuals pumping out non-stop chaos via dual analog massacration! New word I just made up for this awesome game. <BR><BR>

  You liss'nin, Kojima? Massacration.

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  7. Beyond Good & Evil

  BG&E was a victim of the PS2 disk read error, winding up swallowed and lost to the Backlog Kraken. When the game finally reemerged, the disk was irreparably marred by scratches and unplayable. A cruel, undeserved fate for what became a cult classic in the eight years since its release. When Ubisoft announced its return in HD, I wept. Things could be made right and I could see "Yade" to her epic conclusion. And so I did. I wish I could go back and experience such a profoundly amazing game in its prime.<BR><BR>

  Mmmmmmmmamago!!!

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  8. The Ico & Shadow of the Colossus Collection

  I only played the Ico half of this remastering to completion, and it's as masterful as it ever was. A decade old game that looks better than a lot of current gen titles at times with colors so lush and vivid you can smell them. Ico has more heart and imagination than most games, period, and will forever remain a relic of times when games could be "unique".

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  9. Castlevania: Harmony of Despair

  My carrot-dangling tendencies and childhood nostalgia got the better of me here. Konami introduced an 8-bit Simon Belmont into the fray this last January, along with a retro 8-bit stage to whip. Er, boot. Simon's Quest on the NES is a fond memory of mine, and it was more fun than it should have been to relive in a multiplayer format. Surprisingly addictive loot romp with friends featuring classic Castlevania stages and tunes. Epic win.

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  10. Star Wars: The Old Republic

  Makes the list on principle, given its predecessor and the fact that a lot of the key Mass Effect staff transferred to the project. I've only logged about 20 hours into the Jedi Guardian narrative, but am thus far highly impressed with the core story and the furiously engaging battles that make KOTOR seem like Bantha Bingo. There's a bit too much filler content for my liking on the part of menial sidequests, but as long as the eight core story's engage me I'm in for the long haul and very well might be talking about SWTOR in the 2012 GOTY's.