Game of the Year 2011
By thenesta 1 Comments
Well, it's that time of year again. Time for me to care entirely too much about a silly little list of my favorite games of the year. I know not many people actually read my list, or care about them. But I still can't help but be excited for them. And, hey - when you spend most of your time and money playing about 100 games every year, I think you might have some interesting things to say about your top 10.
So, I won't waste anytime getting into it. Here's my picks.
Game of The Year 2011
If you're surprised to see the latest entry in the Pokemon series as my Game of The Year, don't worry, I am too.
A brief history lesson: I bought into the Pokemon craze fully back in the late 90s when it first made it's way over to the US. And I do mean fully. I was obsessed with the game, the Anime, the cards, and any other merchandise I could get my hands on. This went on for a good while, well into the release of Silver and Gold. And then, suddenly, I had enough. Sure, my love of Pokemon never went away, but I became decidedly less interested in it. I passed up the entire run of GBA games, and didn't really rekindle the passion until the release of Diamond and Pearl. Eventually that gave way too, and I found myself cured of Pokefever again. With the announcement of Soul Silver and Heart Gold, I became interested again, but ultimately I was unimpressed once I got my hands on them.
With all that said, it'd be a logical conclusion that I'd become excited about Black and White. However, I wasn't. No, actually I didn't even intend to play Black and White until my partner convinced me otherwise. So, I went in with a bit of skepticism. And... to my surprise, Pokemon Black/White is what I would consider to be, the greatest games in the series.
Long winded explanation of the events leading up to that aside. Pokemon Black/White was a breath of fresh air for me with the Pokemon series. It hasn't changed the core mechanics of the game, but they're still what you come to Pokemon for. The tried and true battle system remains fun, and surprisingly deep if you delve into it. The appeal of catching new monsters and raising them is still there. And you're still getting a really good, classic style JRPG, complete with charming sprites and a hint of nostalgia.
That's all to be expected though, the real takeaway here is that everything else has been improved. Dramatically. For starters, the story is actually compelling now. Sure, it still has the same format of going from town, to town, fighting each new gym leader. But there's a deeper story going on in the meanwhile. There's still these really powerful Legendary Pokemon lurking about, but they actually play a big role in the story this time. And the events leading up to the game's finale are simply awesome. As I mentioned before the game has a very charming sprite look to it, and as the DS's swan song, it looks even better than any Pokemon game before it. Oh, and the music. God, the music in this game is wonderful. It's honestly the first time where I've sat down and listened to a Pokemon game soundtrack out of the game. "Battle! N" nearly sends chills up my spine.
I mentioned catching new monsters, and while that isn't anything new to the series, one of the really smart things they did this time was make it so that you only see the new Pokemon during the main story. This does, in my mind, so much to refresh the experience, since we've seen all those old Pokemon so many, many times before. Also, much like my initial reaction to Black and White. My impressions of the new Pokemon were pretty lukewarm. But I can say with confidence after playing through the entire game that this generation has some of my favorite monsters.
So let's say you don't care about the single player. I could hardly blame you after a decade of narratively linear games. However, for the sake of such people, let's consider that you're only here for the competitive multiplayer battles. Those are still there, and undoubtedly as strong as ever. Except this time the online system is even more robust, allowing for much easier access to competitive battles. The biggest improvement being that you can fight against random people, instead of needing to have friend codes for each individual battle you do.
Overall, it's simply bigger, and better Pokemon. I know this read sort of like a review, but I just need to stress that these improvements are what make this my game of the year. I love Pokemon, as I've established. But it got stale for me for a while. Pokemon Black and White took me by total surprise. It was an early release in the year, and I wasn't even planning on buying it. But I did, and I played it, and it was wonderful. I'm totally on-board with Pokemon again, and I still regard the game fondly nearly a year later. So that is why, Pokemon Black/White is my Game of The Year 2011.
2. Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine
Speaking of surprises. Oh, hey, here's Space Marine. So let me set the stage for you again. I've always had a passing fondness for the Warhammer universe. So when previews started popping up for Space Marine, I was pretty interested. Flash forward to about a month before the game came out. I downloaded the demo on X-box Live and was immediately... disappointed. Who can say what the problem was? Bad day? Wasn't in the mood? Bad demo? I'm willing to put weight in the latter, considering it seems to be a running gag with me.
So, reviews and impressions start popping up once the game is released. Now, anyone who knows me well enough will tell you that I am easily, easily influenced by the positive opinions of others. It makes me want to try pretty much anything. Not the best thing in the world, but sometimes it works out. It worked out.
Space Marine is pretty much as advertised. It's a brutal, dare I say "visceral"? character action game set in the Warhammer 40,000 universe. The single player is a pretty enjoyable 6 or so hours of glee inducing Ork smashing. The story, and characters are hilariously forgettable, but the action is really clutch. It combines simple melee attacks, with some tried and true third-person shooting. The highlights here though are two-fold. One, they follow this mantra of "fuck cover y'all", seeing as how these SPACE MARINES are 8' tall and fully clad in battle armor from the neck down. Two, there are some highly entertaining weapons in this game. Such as the signature skull crushing Warhammer. But also some crazy shit like a shotgun that shoots molting hot lava at people. It's stupid fun, especially the last portion of the game which has some pretty exciting highs.
All of that sound good? Cool. That's not why I really like Space Marine.
So, going back in time again. There I was having a pretty good time with Space Marine's single player. Now, I wouldn't say that the multiplayer took me by complete surprise, but I had heard some pretty cool stuff about it that may, or may not have influenced my buying decision. However... HOLY SHIT, the multiplayer took me by complete surprise.
Space Marine's multiplayer isn't wholly original. It's a third-person shooter with Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, and King of The Hill. It's the inclusion of the elements unique to Space Marine that make it something special. As I've established, big dudes, big armor. There's no cover like Gears of War, so that provides a slightly different feel than what people are used to at this point with the genre. Another thing, remember that sweet sounding lava shotgun? Yeah, you get to use shit like that and more here. True, some of the weapons are standard enough, but when you combine it with the vicious melee attacks, and creativity in the weapons you get something pretty different. For example, one of the classes is purely melee focused, but- they have a jetpack. So you have dudes with giant warhammers flying all around the battleground like a spastic dog. It's pretty sweet.
Lest I neglect to mention this, I may be a bit biased about how good the multiplayer is. See, for whatever reason, I'm unnaturally good at it. I'm usually found comfortably between total suck and painfully average in competitive multiplayer games anymore. But, with Space Marine, I dunno. I was just dominating. I'd frequently pull off shit I'd never dream of doing, and was usually at the top of the leaderboard. It was a nice feeling, very nice.
I remember writing something about Space Marine a few months ago. Basically I compared it to Nier. In the fact that these are both games that pretty much came out of nowhere, and destroyed my expectations. They're both games that I will look back on and smile. Thinking that it's pretty damn nice to have a surprising experience in gaming once in a while.
Again, Speaking of surprises, here's another one!
To the Moon is another game that came out of nowhere for me this year. It's an independently developed point-and-click adventure game, developed by Kan Gao, and Freebird Games. It's also one of the greatest point-and-click adventure games I've ever played.
No doubt there are many classics in that genre, many of them I sadly missed out on back in the day. In more recent years I have taken quite a shining to the genre that encompasses such point-and-click adventures, as well as visual novels, and such gems as the Phoenix Wright series. Even so, I would consider To the Moon one of the best.
The story in To the Moon is a damn good one, it has some very emotional highs, and the brillant writing only helps to convey that. I remember saying on Twitter that the game's dialog was making me smile constantly, and then realizing that the story was going to be very sad at points too. It was a nice balance of the two that definitely tugged at my emotions.
The whole thing is presented along side some really pretty sprite work, and an absolutely gorgeous soundtrack. The game is fairly short, at about 4 hours, but I would argue that is to the game's credit. Much like the original Portal, I felt like it was a very tight, polished experience that provided just enough for me to be satisfied, but totally craving more.
I wish I could say more about the game, but it's just one of those games where you can't really say much without going into the story. And I'd rather people just play it instead of me ruining anything for you. Needless to say, it was another pleasant surprise, and one that I feel very strongly about. I can only hope that Freebird will continue the adventures of Eva and Neil.
The thing with Bastion is, that the entire experience was exciting. I remember when it was first revealed and there was a lot of positive buzz about it. It looked, and sounded like an awesome game. And then thanks to the guys at Giant Bomb, we were able to see what the guys over at Supergiant Games were doing, with a monthly segment entitled "Building The Bastion". It was a great idea, that allowed for people to watch this game grow, and develop. All in all, it was a pretty neat experience. Oh, and it doesn't hurt that Bastion, the game, is totally kickass.
So, it's not often that I'll trout out the games value argument. But in this case, I think it was really appealing. For $15 on the 360 (and even cheaper during sales of the PC version of the game) you got, what is, one of the best games of the year. Now, it's not uncommon for smaller titles to be great or anything, just refer to To the Moon higher up on the list. But, Bastion kind of holds it's own against fully fledged, AAA releases.
It's a beautiful game in many ways. Most easily apparent would be the unique art style that the game is in. It's pretty breathtaking in motion, so colorful, and alive. And complimented that visual aesthetic the entire way is some stellar audio. Not just the music, which I would highly recommend picking up the soundtrack. But what is probably the game's big "hook", as well. As the character Rusk, voiced by the very talented Logan Cunningham, narrates the entire game.
Depending on your stance, the narration might sound like a deal breaker, in either the good, or the bad way. For any people worried about it, rest assured that it's handled very well. Rusk rarely (if ever) repeats himself, and always has new comments about what The Kid is doing. It's pretty damn neat, and I'd like to see more games do this, but then you always run the risk of wearing it out, or doing it wrong. But as far as Bastion is concerned, it's oh so right.
All of that, and I haven't even talked about the gameplay. It's no slouch either. Bastion plays similar to an action RPG, dungeon crawler. No stats, but you're able to customize your character in various different ways. The Kid can use two weapons at a time, and there is a wide array of weaponry, including both melee and ranged weapons. Along with this you're allowed to pick a special ability you can use as long as you have a charge for it. And The Kid can also equip a series of Tonics that improve his various abilities. It's all simple enough that anyone can jump in and enjoy it, but provides enough depth that more core players will find it enjoyable.
Speaking of the core player, Bastion has an excellent difficulty "setting". There are these things called Idols that you can collect throughout the game, and each Idol has a negative effect on The Kid, or a positive effect on the enemy. The more of these you toggle on, the harder the game gets. This is actually pretty amazing, because it allows the player a wide range of control over how easy, or hard they want the game to be. The other benefit of turning these Idols on is that you get more experience when you do, so you level faster the harder the game gets. It's a nice balance.
Aside from the main game, those Idols come in real handy when you're attempting to do the games arena like stages, which adds some extra replayabilty to the game, by competing to do better in each arena, with as many idols turned on as you can manage.
The whole thing is pretty brilliant, and it's definitely one of those smaller games that I tend to latch onto and obsess over. As far as I can tell, it was doing pretty well for Supergiant, so kudos to them. They deserve all the respect they get. And I'm really anxious to see their next project.
5. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Ah, there's Skyrim.
I'm not really sure how to approach this one. On the one hand, I really loved Skyrim. It's an amazing game, that has some breath taking moments. Mechanically it's a huge improvement over previous Elder Scrolls games, which I am a big fan of. On the other hand, there are some problems I have with the game. Now, obviously the problems weren't big enough to deter Skyrim from making my list, but, maybe it kept it from ranking higher on the list.
I'd rather not dwell on the negative side of Skyrim, so instead I'll just try to reassure you that, despite the faults, I played Skyrim for over 200 hours already, and I plan to play many more hours. I still love this game.
As I mentioned that game has some pretty outstanding highs. There are moments scattered throughout the game, be it in a side quest, or just some random occurrence that match any highlight in any game this year. Elder Scrolls fans will know where to look for some of these moments. Such as The Dark Brotherhood, or the Daedric quests. But there's some really awesome stuff involving The Thieves' guild, and the main story in this game has some pretty sweet stuff too.
Though, I'd have to say that my favorite moments in Skyrim took place in the early hours of the game. It's when you first enter this world, and you see how awesome it looks, and how many improvements have been made since Oblivion. When you fight a dragon for the first time, and the chanting Nordic monks kick in singing in this awesome made up language. It's when you're curious about anything, and everything. You can't decide how you want to build your character, because everything seems cooler than the last thing you tried. It's when you go out of your way to explore, or do side quest, both big and small. All of that is what makes Skyrim stand out for me.
As I mentioned, I definitely want to play more Skyrim. And a lot of that has to do with the fact that there's so much to do in the game. So many different ways to play your character. I want to see how a mage, or a thief play for extended amounts of time. I've already had more than a few ideas for new character builds, and hey, replayability is a pretty cool trait for a game to have.
Within the first 20 minutes of Saints Row: The Third, my fat, green haired, black, British protagonist was free falling through the air, before he crashed through the windshield of a cargo plane, flying through the entire plane, killing everyone in his path, and exiting the rear of the plane before resuming his free fall. Yeah, Saints Row is pretty crazy.
And that's why I love it really. Mechanically, Saints Row: The Third plays like it's predecessors, which is to say it's a Grand Theft Auto clone. However, what Volition has done is kind of carve out a space for the Saints Row series alongside Rockstar's giant. By taking that popular genre, and turning everything to 11. Unlike, say, Grand Theft Auto 4. Saints Row 3 doesn't care about anything. Everything is batshit insane. I wish I could point to a few moments in the game that emphasize this point, but the truth is the entire game does that.
However, I don't think I can rightfully speak about Saint's Row without talking about some of those moments, so...
It's just one of the craziest game I've ever played. And it's a total blast to play. The game does a great job of mixing up activities, and always keeping missions feel fresh. The core mechanics are all great, they may not be the most compelling things in the world, but it's nice to have such a wacky game play well. The soundtrack is awesome, with not only a nice selection of songs on the games various fictional radio stations, but some truly epic music cues. There's a leveling up system that allows you to customize your character, and it makes for some pretty hilarious results. Such as being able to shrug off pretty much any damage in the game, without cheating. You don't have to work your ass off to gain access to the really cool stuff, it actually comes pretty easily. And as surprising as this may sound - the voice acting is really, really good.
Saints Row: The Third is probably a better game than it has any right to be, but that's totally fine with me, as it matches up with the trend of pleasant surprises on my game of the year list.
7. Atelier Totori: The Adventurer of Arland
Charming. That's the word I'd use to describe Atelier Totori. I've had previous brushes with the Atelier series of games, most recently before Totori, was Rorona. I desperately wanted to like Rorona, for it looked like an adorable game, but something didn't click. Fortunately that wasn't the case with Totori.
Atelier Totori is similar to classic turn based JRPGs, at least with it's combat system. It has a few twist that make it unique, but overall it feels tried and true. This, to me, is a good thing, since it's something I've grown up with, and still enjoy. I feel that too many modern JRPGs lose sight of the fact that "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." And thus we're plagued with a bunch of, admittedly, innovative battle systems, but most of them feel overly convoluted. At least that's my take on it.
That aside, the other half of Totori's gameplay consist of you running around, and collecting items in order to alchemize stuff with. This isn't a wholly original idea, especially when compared to previous games in the series. But since it's such a huge part of the game, it provides an interesting twist.
See, while there is a main story going on in Totori, it kind of takes a back seat to other activities. Sure, you're required to meet certain objectives in the story if you want to proceed in the game, but the rest of the time you're presented with no small amount of freedom. You're free to roam around exploring, harvesting herbs, or hunting monsters for items and quest. You can spend as much time as you want working on your alchemy, and you can kind of take things at your own pace. Within reason of course.
The first time I played through the game, I just went around trying everything I could. It ultimately ended in my failure to complete the main objective, but I learned a lot, and got a good feel for the game. And considering that the game, for a JRPG, only takes about 25 hours or so on the FIRST run, and having a New Game+ feature. Totori is great for multiple playthroughs.
All of that, and I haven't even talked about the rest of the game! Atelier Totori is an adorable game, the art style is beautiful, and there are some really cute character designs. It helps that there are plenty of fun, lighthearted scenes where these characters interact with each other, because it would be a shame if some of these characters just fell by the wayside once the main story was done with them.
And to top it off, there's a catchy soundtrack to the game too. But, if you didn't like it, the game features the ability to customize the music with soundtracks from other Atelier games. So, assuming you liked a soundtrack in a previous game more, and are willing to spend a few bucks. That's totally a thing you can do. But, I rather like this soundtrack, so I stuck with it for the 100 or so total hours I spent playing the game.
In the end, like I said, Totori is a charming game. And if a traditional style JRPG sounds like your cup of tea, I'd definitely suggest checking it out. I know that I am eagerly awaiting the release of Atelier Meruru, the third game in this trilogy of Atelier games.
P.S.: Melvia <3
Catherine was a game I was pretty excited about from the onset. A brand new IP, on an HD console, from the team that did the Persona games. The idea of that, combined with the early teasers showing off the game's characters and... weirdness totally had me hooked. But that was before we even knew what kind of game it was.
So, several months later, it finally gets out there that - Hey, Catherine is actually this weird block climbing puzzle game. Wait, what? Yeah, it was pretty shocking, and I think that may have soured a lot of people's opinions on the game at that point. I'll admit, as someone who is pretty awful at puzzle games, this was a concern.
Well, given it's presence on this list, I'd say it wasn't that big of a concern, now was it?
So puzzle elements aside for a moment. Catherine is a beautiful looking game, it's the sort of thing I find very aesthetically pleasing. Now, I don't know about you, but I'm always more compelled to play. or like a game more when it's something I find to look appealing. Sure, that seems like a no-brainer, but I think it's a pretty important part of my love for certain games. So, Catherine has that covered in spades.
Eyecandy aside, Catherine has a pretty great story. It's a mature story, about realistic adult relationships. Well, you know, realistic as you can get with demons and sheepmen. But it's a great story, with some excellent writing and voice acting to help sell it. Props to Atlus USA for continuing to pump out quality localizations.
To complement the story, and visuals. Catherine also has a wonderful soundtrack, which is a combination of typical Shoji Meguro, Shin Megami Tensei fair. But it also has a weird selection of remixed classical tunes that accompany many of the game's stages. It's pretty weird, but also kind of awesome.
Alright, so... back to the puzzles. I'd be lying if I said they were the best part of the game. Though some people would argue that, seeing as how competitive Catherine multiplayer leagues have popped up (wtf?). Still, I think for most people, the block puzzle portion is going to be a real turn off. Well, there's a simple solution to that!
If, at the main menu of the game. You highlight the "Golden Theater" mode and hold select. The screen will flash white, indicating that you have enabled Very Easy mode. And you're done! You're welcome. Basically very easy mode makes that game's puzzles a cakewalk, and you'll pretty easily breeze through the game. It's a great way to enjoy the story of Catherine without having to put up with some rather frustrating block climbing.
On the other hand, I originally played through Catherine on Easy, and it was quite an experience. Don't let the name fool you, Easy mode is probably the way you want to play the game if you still want to... you know... play the game. The reason being, is that it still presents the core gameplay, with some pretty difficult challenges. Fair warning, playing Catherine on any mode other than very easy is pretty god damn exhausting. Still, I was able to get some enjoyment out of it, and was relieved I could just play through the game again two more times with ease.
All that said, I really liked Catherine. Despite the weird puzzles, it was a game I wanted to play through three times, back to back. And that's because it presents a really good package surrounding that gameplay that is totally worth checking out if you're into that sort of thing.
Never enough. We want more. We are. The Gears of War! Or something like that. Yeah, Gears of War 3 is a total dudebro fest, but it's one of the best to this day. I've had a fondness for the series since the original. Which I put quite a bit of time into the multiplayer back then. Mainly played 2 for the single player. And finally things came full circle with 3, where I've thoroughly enjoyed all modes of gameplay.
Gears 3's campaign is probably the best in the series. It's lengthy, has a lot of high octane action. And goes to some surprisingly emotional places by taking advantage of your attachment to the characters of this franchise in a way that "Dom's wife" never could. There's a few new weapons that spice things up, as well as a new enemy type. But I think when it comes down to it, Epic just got better at their craft.
Single Player aside, there is of course a robust selection of multiplayer modes. The standard competitive types are still there. Including some much needed improvements and additions, such as dedicated servers, and unlockables (though it's all cosmetic, which keeps Gears feeling like Gears). One of my favorite additions was the new "Casual" playlist, which lets new, or less skilled players compete with similarly skilled players. It was nice easing into the experience this time, since my skills were more than a little rusty. That was one of my major complaints with 2, was that I just got thrashed in the multiplayer from the get go. Combine that with the inclusion of bots, and it's a lot more noob friendly.
Then there's the cooperative multiplayer modes. Where honestly, I think that's where the game really shines. Horde is back from Gears 2, but it too has seen some pretty drastic improvements. Same basic concept, you and three other people try to survive against wave after wave of enemies. And while I haven't personally made it all the way through the 50 waves. Apparently late game - this shit gets nuts. I'd love to see it sometime. In addition to that, they've added the ability to build up defenses and stuff, giving Horde 2.0 more of a tower defense sort of feel. It's really neat.
Finally, there's Beast Mode. Which is a totally new mode that allows you to play as the Locust and mow down a group of surviving humans. While I wouldn't say it's better than Horde mode, it's certainly a blast playing as some of the more interesting Locust.
Altogether, you're getting an excellent package with Gears 3. And I think the game will have legs for a while.
Alright. So, here's the deal with Portal 2. Portal 2 is a great game, even if it is technically in "last place" on my list. Thing is, I was a little disappointed with Portal 2 though. And who can blame me really? Portal is, one of the best games of all time. Period. That's not the easiest thing to follow up on. To say my expectations for Portal 2 were high would be a massive understatement.
Again, I don't really like going into negative stuff on these lists. But it bears mentioning that Portal 2 had some glaring flaws for me. Namely, I thought it was TOO LONG. I know, it's a ridiculous sentiment. But where Portal was, I thought, the perfect length. Portal 2 tends to drag a bit. And this wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't for the fact that some of the later puzzles are really, really tough, and involving. Now, the simple solution to this would have been to play Portal 2 at a much slower pace. But, I just couldn't do that. For as much as the puzzles might have worn on me, I still had to know what was going to happen. So... I finished Portal 2 in about three sittings.
It was a mistake.
Still, that was my initial experience with the game. And it will always be that way. And there's not much I can do about that.
So, seeing as how that was the case. When I started formulating this list, I was thinking that Portal 2 wasn't going to make the cut. But when I thought about it, I mean, really thought about it. I thought to myself "You know what? That was still a pretty damn good game."
And it is. Portal 2 is more of Portal, and it's hard to argue with that. Some of the puzzles in this game are absolutely amazing. I remember someone saying about the original Portal, that, the puzzles made you feel like a genius. They're not the hardest puzzles around, but they're tough enough that when you figure out the solution, you can't help but feel impressed with yourself. It's nice that they added different mechanics later on in the game too, even if I don't like them as much as the basic portal manipulation, they're still pretty cool.
While the puzzles in Portal and Portal 2 are definitely one of the reasons these games are so great. One could argue that the storytelling, and the characters are just as important. I would be one such person. GLaDOS remains excellent, and even a bit more complex this time around, as I kind of hated her at the beginning of the game, but grew to lover her again over the course of the game. In addition to that we have Wheatley, who is easily on of the best new characters this year. He's hysterical, and completely charming. I don't know how anyone couldn't like him. And if two of the best characters in gaming weren't enough. Another new character, Cave Johnson rounds it off, providing an excellent tangent about lemons.
While I might have some gripes about Portal 2, it's still one of the best games that came out this year. And I wouldn't be surprised to see it at the top of some people's list. I stand by the fact that Portal was about as perfect as a game can get. But Portal 2 is still master class.