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Josiah’s Top Ten from 2011
10. LittleBigPlanet 2
It’s rare to find a game that slaps a smile on your face as soon as you see its protagonist walk across the screen, but one of the first big titles of 2011 was impossible to not beam at. LittleBigPlanet 2 is a whimsical platformer from the developers at Media Molecule that’s so full of cuteness and charm that it’s difficult to not grin from ear to ear as you jump over a lava-filled pit or leap across a steep ramp with a friend. Every level packed onto the disc is pure, brilliant fun, and the millions of stages created by the community make this one of the most content-rich titles to ever be released. It may not be wildly different from its predecessor, but with such a strong foundation, an expansion on the creation tools and improvement to the campaign was all I could ever ask for. It’s a fantastic co-op experience, and one of the most adorable games to come out in 2011.
09. Stacking
Maybe I’m just too big of a Double Fine fanboy. I really don’t have too much love for puzzle games, and now that I think about it, Russian stacking dolls aren’t something I’m normally fond of. They’re kind of terrifying, to be honest. Still, I downloaded and played the entirety of Stacking, and I enjoyed every damn minute of my time in this crazy little adventure. With a wholly unique setting, pile of challenging puzzles and beautiful art style, Stacking had me happily hopping from doll to doll – free of any embarrassment as my roommates witnessed me giggling at farting toys and quips about child labor laws. It has just enough content to keep you engaged until the ending, and the multiple methods for solving the riddles even leave some room for all the completionists out there. Stacking is a treat, and one of my favorite games to come out of Double Fine.
08. Dead Space 2
In a year packed with sequels, threequels and even some fourquels, Dead Space 2 was a breath of fresh air for me. Yes, I understand that it’s still a follow-up, but I never had a chance to play through Visceral Games’ first journey into the depths of space. So, after finally deciding that I’d never find time for the original, I hopped into the suit of Isaac Clarke and began the lengthy campaign of Dead Space 2. I proceeded to shit those metal pants, put my controller down, turn off the lights and continue forward. This terrifying third-person shooter had me playing for hours at a time – not worried about the few story references that fell on deaf ears. The shooting is tight, the visuals and setpieces are top-of-the-line, and the sound design deserves the help of a good headset to complete the experience. The grotesque noises alone can keep you nervously checking that there’s no oozing monster waiting in your kitchen at night. It may begin to fall apart in the last few frames, but Dead Space 2 is still an outstanding package and well worth your attention – even if, like me, you missed out on the first title.
07. Rayman Origins
I’m a sucker for platformers, but there’s much more than just the clean and challenging platform jumping that makes Rayman Origins so special. The visuals look better than any cartoon I’ve ever seen, the level design is tricky yet fair, and the co-op manages to add a fun competitive element to an otherwise friendly feature. I’ve loved Rayman in the past, but to be able to bring the odd little guy to the current generation in all of his 2D glory with this much success is astounding. There just aren’t many retail games like this anymore, and none that play this well. The music alone would be well worth the $60, but Michel Ancel decided to throw in a full-fledged, 12-hour game, too. Now that’s some serious value.
06. Resistance 3
After taking a step backward with Resistance 2, Insomniac Games was left in a strange predicament. With generally strong sales, was it best to stick with the more generic style of shooter that left critics scratching their heads, or was it worth spending an extra year of development time to mix it up again? Thankfully, Resistance 3 dropped the two-weapon system and regenerating health to become the unique, bombastic shooter that Insomniac has always been capable of making. Joseph Capelli is a perfect replacement for the fallen Nathan Hale, making this a story actually worth following. The shooting’s satisfying, the music is memorable, and the portrayal of a fallen human race is believable. Add in a more polished multiplayer mode and campaign co-op, and you have one of the best shooters released this year.
05. Dark Souls
Like most gamers, I get furious if I spend a few hours in a game, gaining levels and picking up some great loot, only to die and lose all of that progress. Honestly, with improved checkpointing and autosaves, this doesn’t happen very often in the current generation of consoles, so this frustration has mostly been squashed. It’s still an aspect of gaming that I can never forget, as I’ve completely given up on a few older games after losing too much progress. Dark Souls, like its little brother Demon’s Souls, makes this anxiety an integral facet of the experience. While death may be just another part of the game, that fact that it looms over your head as you carry a pretty-purse full of souls changes how you engage in combat scenarios. Some risks are avoided for safety reasons, while others are recklessly taken to reach that next bonfire. There may be actual checkpoints, a slightly more reasonable difficulty curve and a greater sense of progression, but Dark Souls is still a fantastic RPG that thrives on its sheer brutality. The openness of the world is welcomed and the bosses are some of the best I’ve ever faced. I’m proud to say that I conquered this fiend of a game, and I enjoyed every minute of it. Well, not when I died, but you get the idea.
04. Portal 2
I honestly can’t believe that there’s a second puzzle game on my list, but lo and behold, here’s Portal 2. Except, with Portal 2, it’s not the puzzle solving that kept me stationary in front of my TV for hours and hours. Everything that was fun about the portal gun is still fun here, and the new goops make for some great, bouncy moments. Yet, what I really fell in love with was the narrative that doled out new unforgettable bits of humor and whimsy with each new step. GLaDOS returns and retains all of her dark and dry humor, but it’s the new characters (Wheatly and Cave Johnson) that bring this game over the edge. It was a joy to just listen to the cast work, and the honestly funny writing that came out of Valve probably didn’t hurt, either. Maybe I’m a little biased since Nolan North is all over this game, but I don’t care – Portal 2 is a fantastic experience, and one that any type of gamer can and should enjoy.
03. Bastion
Here’s where things really start to get interesting. My Top 3 have been terribly difficult to decide on, as each of these games was spectacular for such diverse reasons. Bastion was a game that I had been following for quite some time, as the art style and narration looked to be right up my alley. After punching in my code and jumping into the game, I quickly learned that I was going have a great experience– but I never expected it to leave such an indelible mark on my 2011. The narration was far beyond what I had imagined – changing what should have been a typical adventure into an emotionally involving and gripping trip. My eyes thanked me for giving them such a colorful visual treat, while my thumbs cheered for the challenging and gratifying combat experience. More than anything, I was blown away by the soundtrack, which is an aspect of games I rarely appreciate. Don’t get me wrong – I recognize good music in video games. It’s the fact that I still listen to and reference this game’s music that sets it apart from almost anything else I’ve played. There’s not a single blemish that I can find on Bastion, making it one of the best games of 2011 and my favorite game to ever hit a downloadable marketplace.
02. Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception
I’ve been singing Drake’s praises for quite some time now, and I couldn’t be more pleased with how Drake’s Deception turned out. The crazy plane crashes and dozens of explosions build up the heart rate, but it’s even more impressive for a game that so often relies on these big, setpiece moments to actually slow things down and show what’s really going on in the heads of its characters. It’s a game like this that finds a way to make a long, arduous journey through a sea of sand, as well as a simple walk through a museum, this mesmerizing that garners my respect. The multiplayer’s expanded, too, giving me an actual excuse to keep the game in my PS3 at all times. It didn’t shake up the gaming world quite like its last outing, but Uncharted 3 is still an undeniable masterpiece that stands out this year. Whether you’re a complete fanboy like me or someone who’s never touched Nathan Drake’s adventures, I implore you to experience what’s probably the last of the series on this generation of consoles.
01. Shadows of the Damned
I like strange games. Last year, I chose Heavy Rain, a French game that was wholly dependent on Quick-Time Events, as my Game of the Year. A bizarre choice? Maybe, but it was unlike anything I’d ever played, and it worked wonderfully. This year, it was weirdly easy to choose my top pick. Right after witnessing the flawless ending of Shadows of the Damned, I remember calling up a friend and saying “I just played what I think will be my game of the year.” Well, looks like I was right – nothing has topped my experience with Suda51’s demonic joyride. Shadows of the Damned managed to combine the outstanding characters and comedy of games like No More Heroes and Contact with the responsive and enjoyable combat of today’s top third-person shooters. Of course, credit needs to go to Shinji Mikami as well, as the game plays quite a lot like Resident Evil. The world is sinister yet colorful, expansive yet tight, and most importantly, a treat to explore. Both the voice acting and writing are top-of-the-line, with certain segments (such as the times when both Garcia and Johnson are reading storybooks) that honestly made me giggle like a child. It may not have a massive open world or multiplayer mode to keep you entertained for months, but what Shadows of the Damned does offer is one of the most fun and crazy adventures I’ve experienced in quite some time. It’s entertainment at its finest, and manages to do what Duke Nukem Forever couldn’t – make incessant dicks jokes and potty humor honestly funny. This is a trip through Hell that I’ll never forget, and a game that I’ll be returning to more than once in 2012.
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I really need to play shadows of the damned now!
It’s pretty cheap right here:
http://www.gamefly.com/Rent-Shadows-of-the-Damned/146975/
Well worth it for $60, but at $20? Buy it now.