by aggrocraig
Hey look, it's my top 10 games of 2011, in which I try to organize these ways in a way that makes sense!
HONORABLE MENTIONS, OR GAMES THAT WERE ON THIS LIST AT SOME POINT AND THEN GOT CUT:
Mortal Kombat, Uncharted 3, WWE All Stars, King of Fighters XIII, Radiant Historia, Pokemon Black, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, The Binding of Isaac, Kirby's Return to Dreamland, Renegade Ops, Super Mario 3D Land, Rayman Origins, LA Noire,
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In case anybody wasn't convinced that downloadable games stand legitimately alongside high-profile retail releases, let Bastion change your mind. This game is an achievement of the highest order, managing to combine masterwork-level art and music with a story that is written and delivered well, all surrounding a core of gameplay that stayed compelling for me through not one but two playthroughs. The narration, a central feature of the storytelling, is delivered fantastically, making the story feel organic in a way that no other game that I have played has managed. Equally impressive is the design of the weapons, which all feel great in action and offer upgrade paths to make them fit the player's style. Everything comes together just right, simple as that. I can't praise the crew at Supergiant too much for their work, as they have produced what is most certainly my favorite game of 2011.
I technically finished this game at the tail end of the first week of January 2012, but it was released in 2011 and it's close enough anyway, so I'm going to include it here. To The Moon is a complicated game to write about because, in many senses of the word, it's barely a game at all. The actual interactive parts involve exploring environments in a way reminiscent of SNES RPGs and solving rudimentary picture puzzles to advance the story, but the bulk of the actual experience of To The Moon revolves around taking in the story that the game presents. However, I cannot stress enough how effective that story is. Told through the construct of a trip through a dying man's memories in an effort to grant him his one last wish: to go to the moon, the narrative in To The Moon is in equal parts deeply haunting and beautifully touching, but most importantly it manages throughout to ring true as extremely personal. The characters, both the player characters of the scientists traveling through the memories of Johnny, the man in question, and the various individuals in Johnny's life who come into play at various points, are all engaging and believably human in a way that I have scarcely encountered in a video game in recent memory. This is an especially impressive feat considering the limits within which it is achieved, with characters represented by 16-bit sprites with unvoiced dialogue. However, the writing is incredibly well-done; the characters' interactions manage to elicit both laughs and tears over the course of the story's progress, and the story drew me in to the point where I was compelled to continue playing just so that I could find out what was going to come of it all, leading to me playing most of the game in one long sitting. The music also deserves special mention, with an excellent soundtrack that adds to the emotional impact of the narrative at every juncture, giving another dimension to an already-powerful experience. I will most certainly admit that this game is not for everyone; as I said, the parts where it is a video game that one plays aren't very complex or even the most compelling, but the effect that the story had on me is such that I can't possibly omit To The Moon from this list. For the asking price of about 12 dollars, about the price of a novel, I had a narrative experience that I won't soon forget.
With games these days reaching higher levels of artistry and technical acumen, it's easy to lose sight of the diversionary value of the medium. In short, while games can certainly deliver powerful messages that make a player think, there's also value in a game just being fun to play. To that end, Saint's Row: The Third deserves high marks for being the closest thing I've encountered in years to pure video game fun. Helped in no small part by extremely clever writing, quality voice acting (each of the multiple voices I gave my character over the course of the game was well done, an amazing feat), and totally insane mission design, this game is an absolute blast to play. Volition has found their identity in this madness, we can only wait and see where they go from here.
Who would have thought that a trivia game would still work in 2011? I might never be able to play this game again, as I have played every episode they have released and thus know all the answers, but the time I spent with it was wonderful all the way through. Everything that has made You Don't Know Jack a great time over the years, like the Dis or Dat and the Jack Attack, are all present, with fun additions like the Wrong Answer of the Game added in to throw another dimension into the experience of each episode. It's extremely difficult to achieve quality humor in games, but Jellyvision, a company who has carried the flag for this pursuit for years, continues to show that they know how it's done. Good, varied questions, hilarious banter, and the ability to pull a group of players into the cycle of "just one more episode" all make this game a pleasure. Find a copy of YDKJ and three friends and you are in for a singular experience. I'll never forget you, number 4. This one's for you.
The original Portal was a pure surprise, one which justified the purchase of the Orange Box all on its own with its mind-bending puzzle design, fascinating minimalist storyline, and expertly-tuned mechanics. It definitely provided a tough act to follow, one which made it hard to believe that Portal 2 could possibly live up to its predecessor. However, even denied the element of surprise, the crew at Valve proved once more that they are masters of their craft. Introducing two excellent new characters, Wheatley and Cave Johnson, to the cast and providing them with well-written lines that manage to flesh out the world of Portal in crazy and often hilarious new directions is an impressive feat. The team also added just enough new mechanics to the puzzles and introduced them at just the right rate to keep everything feeling fresh and constantly devious from start to finish. I must admit, I enjoy it when a game makes me feel clever, and Portal 2's puzzles made me feel like the smartest man in the world when I came across their solutions. All of these factors combine to an incredibly impressive experience.
I had very high hopes for a game made by the team that brought us Persona 4, and I was not disappointed by Catherine. I know that some people were turned off by the block puzzles or the game's general difficulty, but I found the challenge refreshing and the storyline a great reward for solving the puzzles. Catherine deals with issues that most video games pretend don't exist, casting the focus on the complications of human relationships and the difficulties that can arise when one is forced to make adult decisions. I feel like this is a game whose experience is based in large part on what the player is willing to put into it, as the questions posed during the game can be intensely personal if you allow them to be. I really thought about how I felt about each question the game presented to me, and as such it made me feel like the ending that I got was in line with the decisions I would really make. I think I would have liked it more if the game had ended one "chapter" earlier, as it could have delivered a really harsh message that would have resonated really strongly, but the romantic in me couldn't help but enjoy the "nice" ending that I got. It also bears mentioning that the game's voice cast delivers amazing performances, making the characters into people that I truly wanted to get to know. It's not for everyone, but Catherine resonated very well with me.
It is a terrible, crying shame that almost nobody bought this game. One could blame a near-total lack of marketing, its generic title, or several other factors, but whatever the reason may have been for so many people skipping it, I still insist that they all missed out on something truly excellent. The pedigree of Suda51, Shinji Mikami, and Akira Yamaoka is a powerful one indeed, so it should be little surprise that the game turned out so well-crafted. The singular weirdness of Suda is present, but this time in a game that's more playable than any other that Grasshopper has put out. Feeling like Resident Evil 5's better-playing cousin, the shooting managed to stay satisfying throughout thanks to the introduction of new weapons and some great stylistic moves (like the really cool visual effect associated with headshots once in a while.) Both Garcia *FUCKING* Hotspur and Johnson are truly memorable characters, and the writing makes it clear that, despite the fact that Duke Nukem Forever failed miserably at their execution, boner jokes can still work in games. If you are reading this and haven't played this game, you owe it to yourself to check it out.
It occurs to me at this point that, despite my complaints on the contrary, there were several games released this year that genuinely made me laugh. This game could have made this list on the strength of saluting alone, but it definitely doesn't hurt that there's a core of very strong gameplay along with it. I'm not normally a tower defense guy, but the fun that I got out of building an engineering chassis and dotting the field with emplacements to keep my base safe from invading TV monsters while letting my teammates do all the heavy shooting can't be denied. The cooperative experience of this game is second to none, and the satisfaction that comes from a team of four all executing on point and working together to succeed against increasingly dangerous waves of enemies is strong indeed. The addition of the endless survival mode added a factor that the game truly needed, and I eagerly await the DLC. Double Fine, much like Grasshopper as described in the previous entry, has delivered their most playable game without sacrificing the spirit that makes their games so damn charming.
I feel like I must admit up front: I have not finished this game, I have a great deal left to accomplish. If I had played it more, I imagine it would be significantly farther up this list. However, the ~10 hours that I have spent with the latest Zelda game so far have made an extremely strong impression on me. The motion controls feel legitimately well-done, and the game has taken advantage of the capabilities of the Wii in ways that make its design feel entirely justified. Also, it doesn't hurt that the game is gorgeous to look at, boasting a beautifully-colored art style that brings back fond memories of Wind Waker. Each new environment is a pleasure to explore, and the activities that the game sends you to do in those locales are compelling as well. In a world where Twilight Princess was a Gamecube game that was put on the Wii at the last moment, Skyward Sword shows what a true Wii Zelda game feels like. And man, does it feel great. This system may be in the twilight of its life cycle, but Nintendo has proven that it's not dead yet.
I don't have the affection for multiplayer shooters that I once did, but I have allowed myself to get invested in the story of Gears of War over the course of the trilogy. Despite any meathead appearances that the Gears may present, the team at Epic has fleshed the members of Delta Squad as human characters and, in this third chapter, they are shown as tired, often broken people who have been beaten down by the horrors of war. Of course, they still need to stand and fight, which is where the strong gameplay of Gears 3 comes in. The weapons feel good to shoot, and the mission designs simultaneously serve the masters of fun gameplay and fulfilling storyline. It's a sad reality of games today that closure is so rare, with the immense monetary value of a successful series leading to many continuing significantly longer than they probably should. However, Gears of War 3 makes it clear that it is intended to close out a storyline, and I think it does so with real emotional impact. The "Brothers to the End" event is truly powerful, and makes me glad that I invested myself in the series' story over all these years.
