Best of 2011
These are my favorite games of 2011. Hopefully I didn't forget anything. Last year I didn't include God of War III because I suck.
List items
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It's colorful magic turned into a video game. It's a technical show piece on all three platforms. Gorgeous and full of whimsy. It takes the successful physics platformer formula of the first game and refines it with an incredible fluid dynamics system. The first time you jump on a giant leaf and it bends around, you'll be hooked. Love it.
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This is the most impressed I've been with the graphics in a 2D game since I first saw Dragon's Lair II. This features animation and art that rival the best animated films in terms of quality. The gameplay has that smooth, fun flow to it that only the best platformers have. This is a must-play for fans of platformers and hand-drawn art. It's overwhelming and hilarious.
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Wow. Bioware took the MMO, sprinkled in a dash of Dragon Age 2's combat, added their still-great dialog system, and made the best Star Wars game. There's a simply massive pile of high quality content here, you could play this for months and months. The money pours off the screen from the opening CG cutscenes through to the incredible number of good voice actors. It's refreshing to finish a quest in an MMO and have a voiced cutscene waiting instead of a text box. I believe in Bioware.
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This game is crazy amazing fun delivered straight to the player without any irritation. The script is hilarious and filled with inside humor about all kinds of stuff, including some weirdly specific wrestling jokes. While it kind of sacrifices any cohesive overall Saints Row plot for madness, the madness is like nothing else. Drawing turns in the world so you can look at the world instead of the minimap is pure genius (and a brilliant lift from the Fable franchise). The only sore spot is the opening half of the last mission, which I "solved" by slowly crawling through it with a nigh-invincible tank. It was cool that I could do that, but I probably shouldn't have had to. Strap it on.
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This is my favorite Batman story. The trademark combat of Arkham Asylum is improved further, Catwoman is great, and the open world and solid pacing make this a joy to play. The ending is a gut punch in the best possible GTAIV-esque way. I love games that go out of their way to try and make me feel for the characters, and in this comic book setting that's tough to do. This delivers.
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An amazing PC RPG with a gorgeous brand-new engine made for under 10 million bucks. One of the finest examples of the genre, and a triumph for CD Projekt. It had an incredibly rocky launch, but after it was fixed up and smoothed out it became something special. The combat has a flow to it that is unmatched in this genre, and can stand against action greats like Assassin's Creed.
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Somehow this big budget FMV game was made, and Rockstar had to save it from the ether. It's the best FMV game ever, and the guns make smoke unlike in Red Dead Redemption. While its ending is a little too similar to RDR, the episodic nature of the story packs a lot of fun twists into its 20 hour run time.
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A gutsy almost-reboot featuring better combat than the original and some of my favorite of Bioware's character work (Merrill!). The ending is kind of insane, and while I initially didn't like it, I'm all for insane endings in video games. They're video games! It's okay for them to be crazy and funny!
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I was hooked from the shocking opening all the way through to the end. Pushing graphics that make you think "We don't need new consoles" (see also Trine 2), this game took the open shooter elements from the first and added several explosive linear set pieces. The Hans Zimmer score will infect your brain and never leave. If you've played the game, you're probably humming the main theme now that I mentioned it.
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A super-fun space marine game, and a great sequel to the old EDF's that betters them in every way. The PC port is incredibly well-done for the budget release that it is. This is an absolute blast, and rather arcade-y. If arcade games were still made today, this could fit right in with no changes.
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