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Best of 2011

Showing 1-10 of 10 items

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

1. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

The formula has nearly been perfected. The world is vast. There are more quests than I will ever complete. The leveling system is one of the best of any modern RPG. Bethesda's animators are getting better, but the figures and creatures are still a little stiff and don't interact with the world as convincingly as they could. In my mind, that's the final barrier that Bethesda must cross. Fallout 4 will be a great place to do it.

Deus Ex: Human Revolution

2. Deus Ex: Human Revolution

I had a lot of fun with the action and stealth, and there was just enough RPG and character progression sprinkled in there to make me feel fully invested in the story and the fate of Adam Jensen. Looking forward to the sequel to the prequel.

Dead Space 2

3. Dead Space 2

Like the first, only better. Smooth. Fast. Technically amazing. Scripted sequences required too much trial and error, so their coolness was diminished in having to replay them. New game plus was awesome. Usually I prefer more difficult games, but I liked the game a lot more on Normal with a bunch of upgraded equipment than I did on Survivalist with nothing.

Saints Row: The Third

4. Saints Row: The Third

Easily one of the best open world games I've ever played. It's a video game, both ridiculous and brilliant.

Catherine

5. Catherine

Fun, mature themes. Interesting and sometime infuriating story. Great style. Played it on Easy and the block puzzles were just my speed. It's a different and strange game released in a year where most games felt tired and just a little bit boring to me.

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine

6. Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine

As someone who knows a fair amount about Warhammer 40K and Space Marines, the story makes sense, but to the unknowledgeable, I'm sure it's an incomprehensible mess. Luckily the game itself is a lot of fun. I played through it twice.

Gears of War 3

7. Gears of War 3

The campaign was solid, but didn't blow my mind. What makes Gears 3 great is the breadth of game modes. There's a lot in there that can keep me entertained for a long time. I can see myself coming back to this game down the road.

Dragon Age II

8. Dragon Age II

The storytelling is daring in that it's paced more like a novel than a game. The plot languishes in the early stages and comes together only in the final third of the game. My love for Bioware kept me from disparaging the seeming lack of story focus in the early going, but I'm glad I saw it through to the end. The consequences of my various choices played out in a very satisfactory way, and the story that I crafted through roleplaying felt believable and inevitable. The combat, I feel, would be better on the PC than on console, but since I was able to push a button to attack this time around, it bothered me less than it did in DA: Origins.

Batman: Arkham City

9. Batman: Arkham City

The combat is a lot of fun. The story's decent. It's just cool to play as Batman and beat dudes up.

Battlefield 3

10. Battlefield 3

Great multiplayer if you play with people who know what they're doing. The ability to vault low obstacles is awesome, and I fully expect it to be aped by other FPSs in the future. Terrible single player campaign from what I played of it.