My Game Of The Year Blog

2011 was such a great year for gaming, and although I would love to list my top ten games of the year. I just had to turn it into a top twelve list of games. So without further adieu I bless you with my personal game of the year list, and the reasons I chose those games.

12. Saints Row: The Third

The reason this game isn't further up on my list, is simply because I haven't been able to spend enough time with it. Although I did play it extensively the week I got it, I haven't really had the chance to go back and get really into it. With that said, this game is extremely good. What this game lacks in mechanics, it more than makes up in the way it creates a believable, and extremely ridiculous world. I honestly have never played a game that is anything like Saints Row, and it is by far the most over the top game to come out this year, and possibly ever.

11. The Sims: Medieval

This game came out at exactly the right time of the year for me. Although the month it came out was kind of packed with games, I ended up picking this one up the month later. I bough it on a whim, not really expecting much, but I really ended up falling in love with this game. The Sims Medieval is far from being an expansion pack, and in fact it was sold as a standalone product. It's really good that it was sold as a standalone product because it is packed full of content, and it honestly doesn't play very much like the typical "Sims" formula of games. In fact, this game plays a lot more like a very light RPG. You have characters that you level up, and take care of. Although it isn't very heavy on story content, it still is extremely great and engaging.

10. Mortal Kombat

Everybody, who was even slightly involved in the game industry was sucked into the hype for this years iteration of Mortal Kombat. The name says it all; after a few years away, Mortal Kombat makes it's triumphant return. The creators at forgotten realms knew exactly what they were putting out this year, and exactly what kind of fighting game they were putting out. This year fully solidified the fact that fighting games are back, and they are here to stay. Although Marvel Vs Capcom 3 didn't make my list It comes in a very close second to this years Mortal Kombat. I chose to put Mortal Kombat on my list though because although I spent some time playing marvel vs capcom, I didn't spend nearly as much time as I did playing MK. Between the fully fleshed out single player campaign, and all of the other modes. This version of MK has found a way to bring back the beloved series, and make it one thing the Mortal Kombat series has never been: A tournament ready fighter.

9. Deus Ex: Human Revolution

I know I might get crucified for saying this, but I was never a huge fan of the original Deus Ex for some reason. Maybe it was because I came to the game too late or whatever, but you will never hear me denying that it really was a great game, from what I have played of it. Human Revolution brings back Deus Ex, and it brings it back with a vengance. With a story that will compel you to keep pushing forward, and mechanics that will keep you wanting to continue leveling up, and expanding your characters powers, Deus Ex is a game to reckon with. Although the boss battles in this game are atrocious. I will forgive them because I had so much fun playing through the game, that I will remember it for a long time to come.

8. Gears Of War 3

The Gears of War series has never been the type of series that I thought would wind up on a game of the year list, let alone mine. Sure they are popular games, and they have always been solid games, but they never have been the type of game that is extremely memorable...until now. Gears of War 3 is by far the best Gears game in the series. In fact it is probably the my favorite cover based shooter to come out in a long time. The story wrapped up in a good note, and it was the first of the series to have me emotionally invested in the characters. You won't find a more fun game to play through on co-op for your 360. Although I haven't gotten into the multiplayer as much as I would have liked, it is amazing. I wonder if there's even a single megabyte of data that isn't being used on this disc because It is packed full of goodies. I'd highly recommend it.

7. L.A. Noire

Rockstar Games has started building a huge pedigree for creating high profile games, that actually live up to the hype for me. Last year it happened with Red Dead Redemption, and it's happened again this year. What I loved about L.A. Noire is that it played like the old LucasArts and Sierra adventure games of the mid nineties. On the other hand the game played a lot like other Rockstar games. Filled with action, and also a story that remains engaging all the way to the end, L.A. Noire remains one of my favorite games for this year.

6. Dragon Age 2

Although, for a lot of fans of the first dragon age, this game did not live up to the hype, it did live up to it in my book. I never finished the first Dragon Age, but for some reason I got extremely hooked on this game. I didn't play though it until October, during the extra life event, and I somehow managed to play through a huge majority of the game all during that night. For some reason I completely attached to not only Hawke, but all of the other characters of his party. I completely forgave the repetition in the environments to the fact that this game was completely engaging to me. When I get some free time this year, I'll be sure to get back to the original Dragon Age.

5. Tiger Woods 12

I will try to keep this short, but I put Tiger Woods on my list this year because I became utterly addicted to it after I decided to pick it up on a whim from an Ebay Auction. I mostly loved my experience with this game because it is by far my favorite sports game to come out since the Sega Genesis era. I've never once bought DLC for a Sports game. I didn't just buy a piece of DLC...I bought the whole bunch. Enough said.

4. Forza 4

Forza 4 was another case of a game this year that came out at just the right time. It came out during a month where I was getting an itching for a good racing game, so I decided to buy into the hype, and pick up a copy of this game. I will not regret it. Forza is by far my favorite racing game to come out this generation, and it might even be my favorite racing game to come out ever. Let's just say I bought a racing wheel just to get more immersed in the experience...and it worked.

3. Skyrim

Skyrim is the number one game on many other Game of The Year Lists, but the reason it's not up there is simply because I haven't had the time to get as into it as others have. I rented Skyrim the day it came out from a Redbox, and although it was rather hard to do, I had to return it a few days later. After only four short days I was completely addicted to the game. With some pressure from the girlfriend, who ended up buying me the game for Christmas, I decided to put off buying the game until after the holidays. I know it's been almost two weeks since I got the game, but I still have yet to put in any more time into Skyrim. That's mostly because of the Number one game on my list. What I can tell you about my time with this game is this: Skyrim is a game you could lose hours upon hours of your life into, and I can see why some of my friends have gotten so hooked on the game. I can't wait to get the time to get back to the game, but I don't know when I'll take a break off of the Old Republic to get back into the world of Skyrim. I look forward to it when I do.

2. Uncharted 3

Let this one thing be said first before anything. Uncharted 3 is a technical marvel. It is by far the most technically impressive game to come out ever. Without spoiling the game for anybody who might read this I just want to say there were points where I had to pull my jaw off of the floor simply to say, "how the hell did they do that?". Greater than anything this game achieves technically, Uncharted 3 manages to be one of the greatest games I have played in a long long time. The only reason I stopped playing the game, and still haven't finished it was simply because I didn't want the experience to end. That's why I tried my hardest to stay away from the game for short periods of time. So far though I still can't get the game off my mind, and I need to finish the game to see how they manage to wrap up this trilogy. If you have a Ps3 then you need to play this game.

1. Star Wars: The Old Republic

Never, in my entire life, has a game come along that I can't stop playing, but since I've started playing The Old Republic I haven't even touched another game for more than a half hour here, and half hour there. Although this game is an MMO I haven't really had much time to play in many groups. I've grouped up from time to time for the occasional flashpoint, or higher level quest, but mostly I'm playing this game as another Knights Of The Old Republic game. Every main story quest, and every sidequest has been extremely engaging. I absolutely am in love with this game. Being a 21 year old college student with a girlfriend means that when Christmas Break came I didn't have as much time as I'd have liked to have to play games, but to this moment I have about 25 hours logged into the game, and honestly I haven't even touched a single other game since then. Now that this list is done I'm about to get off this computer, and get back to playing it. I fought myself on where I should put some of these games on this list, and there are even some games I left off the list that I wish I should have put on the list, but there was never one question about it. Star Wars: The Old Republic is by far my game of the year. I can't wait to get back to it!