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 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. I mean I bought stuff like ITSP, Might and Magic and Pixeljunk Shooter 2 but I never actually played them.
But before we start, there's 2 special categories:
Biggest Disappointment of the Year:
. What the fuck Guerrilla? Seriously what the fuck? How do you go from KZ2, the greatest FPS of this generation, to that steaming pile of shit you call a sequel? Not only did you completely fuck up the campaign, but you also boned the MP with the new spawn system.
2011's 2010 GOTY:
I picked this up in March and oh boy! I've probably put in over 300 hours already. Not only is this game incredibly addicting, but the sheer amount of options is staggering. I can easily see myself playing for another 300 hours without the slightest hint of boredom showing up.
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 cool weapons, the fun bosses and the genuinely interesting story, it feels like something specifically tailored to my tastes and sensibilities. I stayed up for 3 days straight until I finished it because I couldn't put the controller down. I love this game. Hell, I even renamed my wifi network to Sarif Industries!
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 area 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!
This game really came out of left field for me. I've had a lukewarm reception to the previous two (too much dudebro), 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 of it online.
Uncharted 3 is better than Uncharted 2. It just is. Not only did 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!
I don't like Valve games. There's just something about them that feels... empty. Soulless. Barren. 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.
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. It's just so fun, so crazy, so... Battlefield!
I didn't particularly care for the first Crysis. It had some fundamental gameplay issues I just couldn't look past. So I was pleasantly surprised when I started C2. The suit powers were fun to use, the combat scenarios were compelling and the story was presented in a nice way. The pretty graphics didn't hurt either. The shooting mechanics still need a bit of tweaking, but it was still an enjoyable romp through New York.
I have a love/hate relationship with DA2. I want it to be better, oh god I want it to be better so bad! 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!
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 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. I mean I bought stuff like ITSP, Might and Magic and Pixeljunk Shooter 2 but I never actually played them.
But before we start, there's 2 special categories:
Biggest Disappointment of the Year:
. What the fuck Guerrilla? Seriously what the fuck? How do you go from KZ2, the greatest FPS of this generation, to that steaming pile of shit you call a sequel? Not only did you completely fuck up the campaign, but you also boned the MP with the new spawn system.
2011's 2010 GOTY:
I picked this up in March and oh boy! I've probably put in over 300 hours already. Not only is this game incredibly addicting, but the sheer amount of options is staggering. I can easily see myself playing for another 300 hours without the slightest hint of boredom showing up.
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 cool weapons, the fun bosses and the genuinely interesting story, it feels like something specifically tailored to my tastes and sensibilities. I stayed up for 3 days straight until I finished it because I couldn't put the controller down. I love this game. Hell, I even renamed my wifi network to Sarif Industries!
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 area 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!
This game really came out of left field for me. I've had a lukewarm reception to the previous two (too much dudebro), 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 of it online.
Uncharted 3 is better than Uncharted 2. It just is. Not only did 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!
I don't like Valve games. There's just something about them that feels... empty. Soulless. Barren. 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.
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. It's just so fun, so crazy, so... Battlefield!
I didn't particularly care for the first Crysis. It had some fundamental gameplay issues I just couldn't look past. So I was pleasantly surprised when I started C2. The suit powers were fun to use, the combat scenarios were compelling and the story was presented in a nice way. The pretty graphics didn't hurt either. The shooting mechanics still need a bit of tweaking, but it was still an enjoyable romp through New York.
I have a love/hate relationship with DA2. I want it to be better, oh god I want it to be better so bad! 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!
Deus Ex bitches! I agree, the game's completely tailored to people who read every file, hack every computer and contemplate every choice and course of action. Love it.
@Enigma777: I just meant the final moments where you fire one grenade at the boss and it dies, completely anticlimactic. Also I'm aware this isn't a widespread issue but when the boss died nothing happened for a solid 5 minutes before the scripting kicked in. I just had a shitty experience basically.
@N7: You mean after the shitty on-rails "shoot every fucking missile or you die" part? Ugh, just thinking about it pisses me off... That whole game was a huge mess.
It's nice to see that I am not the only person shameless enough to put Dragon Age II on their list. Whatever man, that game may be a horrendous trainwreck, ending in the worst way possible, but it was a horrendous trainwreck that I enjoyed. Screw you internet kids and your hipster jokes about repeating dungeons!
Oh, and Deus Ex is a very good game. It lost points for me because of those awful boss battles, but otherwise you and I are on the same page.
@N7: You mean after the shitty on-rails "shoot every fucking missile or you die" part? Ugh, just thinking about it pisses me off... That whole game was a huge mess.
No, I mean more of the fact that in the Killzone mythos(Which are actually really well done if you look them up. The dude who did the backstory for these games is a fucking king) says that Earth basically died and only a handful of people remain while everyone else went to Vekta. However, because they didn't use the same dude to write the story in Killzone 3, now Earth is the home base and Vekta apparently doesn't exist. Not only that, but the fact that Rico is a stupid dumbfuck that doesn't do ANYTHING worthwhile. I'm thinking about compiling every cutscene he's in just to show how fucking lame he is to everyone who may not have played the game.
"Rico, you don't understand. We have to stay here and protect the fleet. If we try to take on an army, we'll all die!"
"NO FUCK YOU MAN YOU DON'T FUCKING GET IT I'M NOT FOLLOWING YOUR GODDAMN RULES MAN FUCK THIS SHIT GOD DAMN YOU TO HELL HOLY FUCKING SHIT FUCK NO. COME WITH ME EVERYONE WE'RE GOING TO GIVE DEM DA BINESS!!"
*45 soldiers killed later* "I told you Rico! You need to follow orders!"
"NO I DON'T ERRYBODY COME WIT ME I'MMA FIGHT SOME DUDES YEAAAAAA".
Throughout the entire series he has done nothing but get people killed and not follow rules. And he is not an interesting character in the least.
@N7: Ah, you were being sarcastic. Gotcha. Also I'm like the biggest Killzone fanboy so yes, I'm aware of the amazing mythos and how it was butchered in KZ3.
And fuck Rico! After I beat KZ2 for the first time, I said KZ3 would be shit if they didn't kill him in the first 30 seconds of the game. Guess I was right.
@Enigma777: Word. I was so big on Killzone 2 I thought you'd have to get me at gunpoint to talk shit about it. It was fucking perfect. Definitely one of the best shooters to this day.
Then Killzone 3 comes along and is like "Hey, remember how good of a game Killzone 2 was? WELL FUCK YOU YOU SCUMBAG FUCKER". Tactical Spawn Points(More like fuck you spawn points) that gave the winning team an even more unstoppable force by allowing them to spawn directly in front of the enemy team spawn, with a mortar that kills anything within 20 meters. Not to mention the fact that in every single map, there is one good spawn point and one bad one. So one team you literally cannot spawn camp, while the other team can just enter your base and kill you over and over again.
I just wanted to ask them "What the fuck were you thinking!? At WHAT point did deleting everything from Killzone 2 make any good sense whatsoever?". I just want to ask them that question. Whatever their response is, I would be happy. I just want them to hear those words ordered in that particular way and enter their mind. I want to know.
And did I mention I got the over-fucking-priced Helghast Edition, that, two weeks after launch, went down to $80? My Killzone fanboyism got in the way. Clearly I was misguided by delusions of grandeur. Never again, GG. Never again.
Although I will say that the game was pretty good until the mid-way point. Then everything turned to shit. And if Rico isn't dead by the first level in the next game, I'm not buying it. He ruins everything.
But again, good list. Dragon Age II was great. I played a little of Crysis 2 but didn't really feel for it. Battlefield 3 had one of the most drull campaigns I've ever seen but the multiplayer was pretty wicked. And Dark Souls was fudging awesome.
I've got to play Deus Ex again sometime soon. I didn't like it much at release, but that was my own damn fault. Right, RIGHT before it came out, I put nearly 80 hours into Vampires. I was so burnt out on that type of RPG that I was unfairly harsh on Deus Ex.
So stoked for The Witcher 2 on 360. Good list but DA2 was so disappointing for me. Origins had me enthralled enough to play every Origin and then finish with each of them before I ever touched another game. I read all the books and then DA2 came out and I really tried to love it but, alas
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