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Joe’s Top Ten from 2011
10. Bulletstorm
The thing you need to know about Bulletstorm is that some people absolutely hate Bulletstorm; almost to the point of them becoming physically sick at the thought of it. I gave an honest recommendation to a friend by telling him to go buy Bulletstorm as he was on the look out for a new game, and he did not thank me later.
Quite the opposite.
Regardless, I think Bulletstorm is great. For all the hatred it gets for its over zealous use of jokes referring to male genitalia, and other such immaturities, Bulletstorm’s gameplay is a definite breath of fresh air. I like to think of it as a blend of old and new, with the weapons from a game like Epic’s own Unreal Tournament series blending with some of the speed fueled action found in something like Vanquish, and then dressing it up with some of the trappings found in your typical modern shooter. Though you certainly figure out your go-to arsenal by the end of the game, all of the weapons still feel as integral to your loadout as the next one. It’s simply a blast to play thanks to the stylish combat combined with the skill shot system, and though the story and characters may not be up to par with some of the years best, Bulletstorm is by no means a lesser game.
09. Frozen Synapse
I’m imagning plenty of different faces being pulled at the inclusion of Frozen Synapse in my top ten of 2011 list, especially considering some of the stellar games I’ve missed out. But no matter how underwhelming this game may look compared to any other, Frozen Synapse gave me some of the most fun I’ve had all year. I’ve never been a turn-based strategy man, but I can probably credit my love for this game to the original couple of Rainbow Six games back in the late nineties and early noughties. I saw it as the mission planning mode from those games, but instead of a prelude to the gameplay, it was the gameplay. That sounds terribly vapid, but the real fuel behind my appreciation for Frozen Synapse is the simplistic yet complex nature of the game. It’s easy to control, thanks to a nice and inituitive user interface (which perfectly compliments the clean aesthetic), but harbors an almost Chess-like degree of the player needing to be three steps ahead of their opponent.
The asking price for this delight? Eight pounds ninety-nine.
08. Mortal Kombat
I’ve never been invested in the Mortal Kombat franchise. I’d never even given it consideration, to be quite honest, as my younger years were based around Tekken with my teens being invested in dabbling with Street Fighter. I picked up 2011′s MK as a review opportunity for Reaction Time, and nothing more. I thought I was going in with an average fighter, but what I got was a game that has revolutionised what it means to tell a story in a fighting game. It flawless integrates the fighting with the story, with MK smoothly transition from cutscene to fight with all of the loading done behind the scenes. Not only as the execution sublime, but the story took the narrative from the first three Mortal Kombat games and retold it in a way that, while still dumb, wasn’t dumb in a negative fashion. Top all of that off with really enjoyable fighting, tight and responsive controls combined with huge amounts of replayable, and you’ve got the best fighter of the year. One of the best games of the year, too. Obviously.
07. Star Wars: The Old Republic
I love Star Wars, and The Old Republic made me remember that. I’ve played any decent Star Wars game I could get my hands on, and I must have watched the original trilogy of films at least forty times – I’m not kidding. Now, I also like World of Warcraft, so The Old Republic seemed like a given considering the game seemed to be that exact game with a nice coat of Lucas paint over the top. Though it does play similarly to WoW (purely because, honestly, what MMO doesn’t play similarly?), The Old Republic executes on BioWare’s idea of a truly story-driven MMO excellently. Sure, there are those that will just pick something like the Smuggler class because they like the idea of wielding a blaster pistol in each hand and blowing stuff up. But there are also people like myself, who were drawn to the Smuggler class after a good amount of time spent with the obvious first choice of Jedi Knight because there aren’t many better things in life than being some smooth talking, blaster wielding anti-hero of the Republic. The almost animated aesthetic goes down well too, and the gameplay is definitely balanced enough to keep me coming back in the future like I have been doing with Blizzard’s behemoth title. Oh, and my Smuggler? Not only is he voiced by Nolan North, but he’s called Captain Stryde. Enough said.
06. Battlefield 3
It’s been a while since I last spent every night playing a competitive multiplayer shooter, but Battlefield 3 brought me back to that routine. Sure, the single-player is a little flat and the co-op isn’t particularly inspired – but as with any Battlefield game, the multiplayer is the core and with good reason. Battlefield 3 may not do much to the formula established in Battlefield 2 and Bad Company 2 (with the latest instalment being a blend of the two), but it perfectly capitalises on what makes this series great. It may be grounded in reality, but the amount completely insane events that occur in an average multiplayer match is simply wondrous. The infantry combat is better than ever, and I have a newfound desire to hop into a jet whenever possible. You don’t just play Battlefield 3′s multiplayer to win. You play it to scream down your microphone at the top of your lungs because the building you’re in just collapsed beneath your feet because a helicopter just flew into the side of it.
05. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Skyrim. The game that lets you create a magic-wielding, hooded lizardman. I’ve been playing The Elder Scrolls series since Daggerfall, and though I’ve enjoyed each one to a similar extent, Skyrim is certainly a leap or two ahead. Skyrim is one of my top ten games from 2011 not because of the gameplay (which is actually a little flat in some aspects), but because of the world you can really *live* in. The Elder Scrolls game – Morrowind in particular – have done a great job at setting up an appropriate atmosphere for the world you’re in, and telling stories through the environments you’re in but without directly feeding the story to the player. This is what I appreciate most from Skyrim. Though I haven’t really touched it for a couple of weeks now, I’m sure I will dive back in to create a new character. A new story for myself. Though I’ll probably play this character in the same way as I always do, everything down from the music to the visuals (as well as the narrative surrounding me) will hit me in a different way each and every time I play. Skyrim lets you do what you want, but keeps it within the realms of possibility in the games universe; and that’s while I’ll continue to play (and later, mod) Skyrim throughout 2012.
04. Bastion
Bastion is one of the most unique games I’ve played, purely because of its style. The constant narration of your adventure from Rucks, the music, and the art style all merge together something so special that it couldn’t be anything other than Bastion. If you’d asked me a couple of years ago if I’d appreciate some guy talking over my game all the time and making a story through what I’m doing on screen, then told me it’d later be featured in one of the best downloadable games ever, I’d probably be a little more than sceptical. The downloadable game market is often filled with games that are trying to do more than what others are; games that try to push the boat out. Bastion perfectly encompasses this idea as well as setting a high bar, and as Supergiant Games’ debut title, Bastion has shown everyone that they’re a developer to look out for in the future. Even if you don’t like the look of how Bastion plays like many people I know, give it a try because this game isn’t like others of its kind.
It’s Bastion.
03. Saints Row: The Third
I bought Saints Row: The Third as an early Christmas present to myself because I felt compelled to play it due to the peculiar amount of praise the game was receiving. The decision to play this game, relying entirely on other people’s judgement, was the best decision I’d made all year. Saints Row: The Third perfectly encompasses what video games should be – fun, self-aware, and completely ridiculous wherever possible. If you’re going to play around in a video game world for a couple of weeks, why make it so contemplative? Just stick a load of gangsters in a city filled with gimp-chariots, gun-toting luchadores, auto-tuned pimps (my favourite kind of pimp) and VTOL jets. Why? Because you’re playing a video game; a video game that never stops being fun and extensively nonsensical. It isn’t just amusing and stupid, though – it is a really well crafted game, which is something I must emphasise. Everything you hear about this game be about all of the insane moments of the games story, but know that it plays well and makes some welcome additions to the genre. It looks great too, particularly on the PC version, and I really can’t wait to play a bunch more with the season pass I have. My first ever season pass. That says enough in and of itself.
02. Deus Ex: Human Revolution
To me, the draw to the original Deus Ex was the cyberpunk theme and the ability to choose multiple paths into any area you needed to get into. Whether you were stealthy or a guns blazing kind of guy, Deus Ex had you covered. Human Revolultion expands on all of that, with surprising success, bring the Deus Ex franchise into the modern age. Though some of the voice acting was less than great, and the story ending a bit poorly, Deus Ex: Human Revolution is one of the games I spent most of my time with this year. With multiple playthroughs already, I revelled in finding completely new ways to sneak my way through the game, as well as finding new areas altogether. I was looking forward to Human Revolution, and I was still impressed with how well I took to it. The best thing about it was that it still felt like Deus Ex, and had the shades to prove it.
01. The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings
There aren’t many games that could stop you playing them when you wanted to because your girlfriend is hooked on it, and won’t allow you to play it unless she’s around. There also aren’t many games that I’ll buy (not a single one that I can think of, in fact) before I even have a computer to run it. Witcher 2 improved on the first game in every respect, sporting some of the best graphics around, a mesmerising soundtrack, and a story that is both engaging and indefinitely replayable. I loved every second of The Witcher 2, and although many would place Skyrim above this as their RPG of the year, Geralt of Rivia and friends hold a much greater appeal to me. I would recommend this game to anyone, regardless of taste, because I think it’s so good that it could bleed through into other audiences. I look forward to the game’s Xbox 360 release so that I can preach the word of Assassins of Kings to the world instead of just those lucky enough to own a powerful PC. Oh, and it won our Game of the Year award – enough said.
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