2011 in Video Based Games

I began this year with a spreadsheet titled "OMG VIDJA GAME HYPE LIST" that never left my desktop. Every time a game came out that caught my interest, I'd add it to a row. When I got my hand son one, I colored it. By the end of the year, I only played 14 new games. So making this list wasn't the hardest thing in the world.

Honorable mentions go out to Bit.Trip Flux and Pixel Junk Shooter 2. I really love the crap out of them, but unfortunately had to cut them.

My 4th annual "Best game I played two years late" goes to AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!!: A Reckless Disregard for Gravity. I played the "For The Awesome" expansion a few months ago, and had a blast. But on to the present. Here is, my top ten ---

NUMBER TEN - L.A. NOIRE

Yeah, when this game made a wrong move, it fell HARD. There was some needless platforming, Cole's bipolar temper, and just about every desk has an unsatisfying ending. But when things worked, it provided some of the best in interactive storytelling. When a perp would run for it - when you knew you had some slimebag cornered in interrogation - when the case would branch off due to your actions or decisions… And dat face tech!

NUMBER NINE - STACKING

Best downloadable game of the year. Double Fine's most innovative title yet. Incredibly charming, and puzzles that exist in the world with seamless context. I never got bored of causing chaos in aristocratic Victorian society.

NUMBER EIGHT - BATMAN: ARKHAM CITY

I was really overwhelmed by this game's pace and depth, there was some diminishing returns, and it was not the Metroidvania Asylum was; but you're still The mother-fucking Bat, done the way only Rocksteady has accomplished. The quick fire gadgets make combat is even better this time, the plot takes some truly ballsy turns for a licensed property, and it does true justice to the world of Gotham.

NUMBER SEVEN - SHADOWS OF THE DAMNED

Suda51's take on American pulp horror is funny, ridiculous, and stylish as hell (HAH, YOU SEE WHAT I DID THERE?!). Shinji Mikami wrangles Suda's madness into a modern third person shooter that doesn't feel janky. Respected composer, Akira Yamaoka even joins in to add the cherry on top of this absolutely mad grindhouse adventure. Some of my favorite "oh mah gah, I can't believe they put this in a game!" moments came from this interactive road movie.

NUMBER SIX - UNCHARTED 3: DRAKE'S DECEPTION

More of the same? Yeah. More breathtaking environments. More top of the line voice acting. More "hoooooly shiiiiiit" action sequences. I'll take it.

NUMBER FIVE - LITTLE BIG PLANET 2

I pretty much only play LBP games for the campaign, so I guess I have a different perspective than most who believe its success lies in the community and creation tools. The new features and aesthetics of the campaign as i played it co-op won me over big. Every new environment felt more enjoyable than the last. Nothing else this year made me feel like a kid playing videogames for the first time.

NUMBER FOUR - GHOST TRICK: PHANTOM DETECTIVE

Halfway through the year, I thought it was strange when I considered Ghost Trick to be better than L.A. Noire. Now it only seems logical to be in my top 5. A plot and play style so unique its barely describable in words, and incredible animation for the DS. As expected from Shu Takumi (the mind behind the Ace Attorney series), there are a ton of memorable characters, and ludicrous twisting plot.

NUMBER THREE - EL SHADDAI: ASCENCION OF THE METATRON

So glad I started playing this before the end of the year. This most logic defying insane video game game I've played since Killer7. The combat and platforming are… ok, but it's all the crazy that surrounds it that shoots this game high up into this list. The level design has to be seen to believe, and the plot is nonsensical in all the right ways.

NUMBER TWO - DEUS EX: HUMAN REVOLUTION

Honestly, this and my no 1 are dead even. It just comes down to what you want. A open wide choose-your-own cyberpunk adventure with a few flaws, or a completely on rails amusement park ride. The original Deus Ex is something I've been happy to agree being "the best game ever", and this prequel lives up to the excitement and wonder I had playing that game ten years ago.

NUMBER ONE - PORTAL 2

This is the previously mentioned amusement park ride. A damn near perfect one! Only Valve can create a guided experience, and make it feel like it's still your decisions and discoveries that push things forward. All the while you're treated to the smartest and snappiest writing EVER in videogames. A dead even tie would have been my conclusion, but It's the co-op that pushed this to no 1. An entirely unique campaign that feels just as rewarding as the single player experience. Aside from being fun to play, this expansion on the Aperture Science Universe makes it one of this generation's most original creative properties.