Top Ten Games of 2011

Top Ten Games of 2011
by Mitch Eckhardt December 31, 2011


10 Back To The Future: The Game
Telltale Games has always held a special place in my heart for being a team of talented adventure game developers willing to keep making “their” games. This particular title has been hands down my favorite from these folks. A. J. LoCascio was a new kid in the world of voice acting and he was found for this role as Marty McFly in Back to the Future: The Game, and does a phenomenal job bringing my brain back to hearing a young Michael J. Fox. Christopher Lloyd returns for his role a Doc Emmett Brown and this game is definitely in my top ten for this year.

9 Deus Ex: Human Revolution
As a long time fan of the first Deus Ex game, my expectations for this title were massive. Coupled with the fact that this one was developed by an entirely different studio, and this one had a lot to prove. Fortunately, this new team at Eidos Interactive stuck to their guns in crafting a “black and gold” facade amongst a backdrop of kick ass cyberpunk locations filled with augmentation technology and humanities’ unwillingness to ever be happy. Everything a Deus Ex
game needs.


8 Crysis 2
As someone who was never able to run the original Crysis with my old PC, I was looking forward to the Xbox 360 release of Crysis 2. With a much more focused campaign, albeit still having the “approach any situation however you’d like” game play mechanic, Crysis 2 was a joy to play. Stellar looking environments and effects that are usually reserved for PC games, shined, in 720p, on my Xbox no less.


7 Renegade Ops
Only recently have I been privy to the amazing explosions and “play by our own rules” style storytelling in this fantastic downloadable game. Thanks to the Steam Holiday sale I picked up a four pack of this one and have since had one of the most fun coop experiences ever, especially with a PC game. The story is bat shit silly, the vehicle control is loose and satisfying, and the setting makes for one of the best GI Joe games that isn’t.



6 Battlefield 3

Since Battlefield 1942, DICE has been slowly perfecting and iterating on this same large-scale multiplayer military combat. As someone who skipped over the Bad Company series entirely, couldn't get over the fact that I was playing with an analog stick, I was welcoming this title with open arms. After the initial kerfuffle of launching everything through a browser plug in, it turns out the way Battlefield handles preloading the map in the plug in, thus freeing you to use your computer in other ways while you wait, is genius. DICE has really hit a stride developing awesome effects and environments that are very scalable to different hardware configurations. I love the back and forth of Conquest mode on huge maps, even though I’ll probably never be any good.

5 Dead Space 2

The earliest release on this list, Dead Space 2 was a mind-blowing entry in an otherwise middling franchise. I was not the biggest fan of Dead Space, however in this sequel, Visceral Games crafted an emotional experience, gut wrenching combat and hair raising environmental exploration. And most importantly, giving some context to Isaac Clarke as a character, thus bringing me closer to caring about this avatar as opposed to “grafting myself into the game”. This is one of those experiences I will most certainly revisit, and soon, almost like how I watch “Terminator 2” every now and then, but not “The Terminator”.

4 Bastion
So much has been said about Bastion these last few weeks. With all the awards, accolades, and critical acclaim this title has garnered, it’s absolutely clear why everyone should play this game. It has one of the best original soundtracks of any game, AAA or otherwise, and bolsters a surprising original story as well. And the art style..... Oh my God, the ART STYLE!!!!


3 The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
A long time ago I played this game called The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind for a few years. Then Bethesda’s follow-up The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion was released, and immediately crushed expectations for the open-world fantasy RPG genre. Now Skyrim is out, and Oblivion looks like Morrowind graphically. The engine Bethesda uses to render this stunning world is not new technology but it is amazing how they use it.

2 Saints Row: The Third

“You should play Saints Row.” Words continually uttered by Jeff Gerstmann on the Giant Bombcast for weeks. And like Brad Shoemaker I was eventually cajoled into playing this game. Thanks to Jeff for being so persistent because this game is fucking amazing. I played this one on PC, mostly coop with a buddy, and had a blast taking over Stillwater and reclaiming the “throne” as the top gang. VTOL jets, Tron inspired bikes, zombie voice tracks, and one of the most interesting and unique missions of any game ever makes this one my number two. Hehe poop.



1 Portal 2
Valve clearly knows how to make a puzzle game. Portal was an interesting experiment back in 2007, but since then the writing craftsmanship of Erik Wolpaw and Chet Faliszek, and the stunning art and environments have really turned Portal 2 into an unforgettably entertaining experience. Portal changed so much for us about how games could be developed, tell a story, innovate game mechanics, and not have to shoot dudes. Portal 2 continues that legacy while including fleshed out interesting character arcs in Wheatley, voiced by Stephen Merchant, and Cave Johnson, voiced by JK Simmons. And even though I was growing weary of GLaDos antics, Wolpaw and Faliszek still forced my interest by turning the malevolent powerful AI into a potato attached to my Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device. The way the voice over work and environmental story elements, which can be missed if you rush through, weave the plot around you like a blanket of story warmth in a cold world of first person murder and explosive effects is truly a welcome one. The puzzle solving remains as fun and challenging as it was the first time around, especially with the new gel mechanics and technology from the 70’s era Aperture Science facility. I have yet to play the coop missions in this game, but I know I’ll enjoy them with the right partner. This was a true masterpiece of development in every way by a developer I have a ton of respect for. Bravo Valve.