2011 was a year in which a number of phenomenal titles were released. L.A. Noire, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Battlefield 3, and countless others. Unfortunately, it was also a year of extreme disappointments. We'll just take a look at what some of my favorites from the past year were as well as the biggest disappointments.
In creating these lists of games, it's honestly a bit difficult to order these in any numerical fashion. The only thing that I am sure of is the pick for Game of the Year. The rest? They'll have reasons listed by they're on the list but they won't be labeled with a conventional 5 through 1 style that you might be expecting.
The Good
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Without a doubt, my Game of the Year firmly resides with The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. While it isn't perfect, it does come as close as I've ever seen a game get to perfection. An open world experience unlike any other from this year, Skyrim offers up the potential for hundreds of hours of gameplay as you craft your character to your own liking in both appearance and ability.
Our video review covered most of the basics when it comes to the game, and I'm sure most of you have already experienced it for yourself. Skyrim took what people loved about Oblivion and other Elder Scrolls titles, reworked them, made a world that was far more alive than any previous version, and tossed in some kick ass encounters with dragons.
For the money, no other game this year really compares to the fun most gamers will experience in Skyrim. What is the only thing that held it back from absolute perfection? A slightly wonky UI and melee combat that could still use a bit of work.
Saints Row the Third
Wow, Saints Row the Third just came along and beat the absolute crap out of the notion of what a "GTA clone" should be. Featuring some of the most over the top action, the game never goes too far in its "extremeness" to accomplish what it sets out to be. And what does it set out to be? One hell of an enjoyable open world title.
It was honestly incredibly difficult to decide between this game and Skyrim for my game of the year. Yes, I enjoyed Saints Row the Third that much. Already having sunk 36 hours (at last check in Steam) and 100% of stated in-game completion, I am beyond hopeful for DLC that adds in new gameplay missions. I just want more! There are very few games that I can say I am really wishing there was more of after having already spent 30+ hours playing, but Saints Row the Third is one of them.
Volition really went above and beyond with this game when you compare it to the second in the series. I don't just mean that they pushed the gameplay up to 11, I meant how they took the development of the PC release into their own hands. Sure, there were and still are a few issues here and there but compared to the relative buggy mess that was Saints Row 2 on the PC, this version is phenomenal in comparison. More developers should take note of what Volition has done here to appease the PC gaming community.
Seriously, how many other games allow you to hop into a Tron-like world as a blowup doll, shoot your way through a crashing jet, blow up a sky rise, and then proceed to take out rival gangs with giant purple dildo bats, air strikes, VTOL jets, and more crazy weapons? I'll tell you how many games in 2011 allow you to do this. One. Saints Row the Third.
Portal 2
What GOTY list wouldn't be complete without at least some nod to a Valve released title? Portal 2 came out earlier this year and at the time was an early contender for Game of the Year, falling short in later months to the two juggernauts listed above.
What makes Portal 2 so great? The puzzles all felt fresh, especially with the new game mechanics of the various gels adding what felt like an entirely new dimension to the game. Portal 2 also featured some fantastic co-op (and additional free co-op DLC after its initial release), two very lovable robotic partners that had personalities all their own, and some of the year's most humorous dialogue.
Ellen McLain, J. K. Simmons, and Stephen Merchant were the perfect fit for GLaDOS, Cave Johnson (Aperture's CEO), and Wheatley respectively. Each character had a unique approach to humor, sarcasm, and wrath that was just a treat to behold. Couple the voice work with the musical stylings of Mike Morasky, Jonathan Coulton (Want You Gone) and The National (Exile Vilify) and the player is left with a game that was as much fun to play as it was to hear.
The only things that really held Portal 2 back was the fact that some of the features included in Portal 1 did not initially make a return in Portal 2. The challenge mode was omitted from the game's initial release, but was later added back in as an alternate form with the Peer Review DLC. The game also felt like it was a lot more simplified and streamlined compared to the first. Freedoms to solve puzzles using different methods seem too removed thanks to more deliberate placement of Portal capable panels. It sometimes felt like the developers pushed the player to put a Portal in just one place instead of giving the player the ability to go through trial and error like in the first game.
Battlefield 3
The sequel most of us here have been waiting for finally came out in 2011 to relatively positive reviews. The removal of the Commander system from Battlefield 2 might be the biggest complaint gamers initially had, assuming you ignore the fact that it requires Origin and has no in-game browser. But for the few missteps that have occurred with Battlefield 3, it's still an incredibly fun shooter. Dare I even go so far as to say that it's the best shooter of 2011? Yes, I dare.
Having only clocked a bit over 58 hours so far, that's actually a rather miniscule amount when compared to others on my friend's list. To be honest with you, it doesn't even feel like that much time has passed either. The battles are engaging. The gun play feels like a happy mixture of Battlefield 2's rather unforgiving nature and Bad Company 2's far more "general audience" friendly shooting style. The sounds are easily the best in any FPS released this year and the visuals, if your machine can handle them, are often breathtaking... up until the point the Frostbite 3.0 kicks in and the town starts to turn to rubble before your very eyes.
As mentioned, there are a number of things that really hold back Battlefield 3 from being a bigger threat for GOTY. The fact that some of the UI is an over complicated mess is one such issue. A number of user mockups have made their way around the net that all look tons better than what DICE cooked up for the game. The lack of an in-game browser is a minor issue. Battlelog is decent but it's still sometimes a little odd that you have to first exit the game you're in just to find a new server to play in. The lack of in-game VOIP is also a big concern for a lot of PC gamers. Sure, you can use VOIP through Battlelog but if the people in your pub game aren't on your friend's list, then what's the point? Team play is essentially dead in the water from a severe lack of communication, which is why some of my most enjoyable moments are playing in servers with friends I know through Ventrilo.
Bastion
Whoa, an Indie title making a list of best games of 2011? You better believe it. Bastion is one of those games that need to be experienced. You don't even have to play it, you can just sit and watch someone else play it while you take in the dynamic narration, the music, and the sights.
While the gameplay is rather standard fare, the true brilliance of Bastion comes from the game's presentation. As mentioned, the game features a dynamic narrator named Rucks. Many actions that you as the player carry out are given commentary by the narrator and it just makes for such a uniquely enjoyable experience unlike anything else.
As "The Kid", players battle their way through the broken fragments of Caelondia following a devastating "Calamity." The mystery surrounding the Calamity starts to come to light as the player progresses, and while this isn't high drama, the presentation is again what makes the game really kick the crap out of similar action titles.
Supergiant Games knocked their first commercial release out of the stratosphere with Bastion. Here's hoping that they can continue their success with their sophomore release.
Deus Ex: Human Revolution
Deus Ex: Human Revolution is like the game that most other media outlets forgot about. Honestly, it's a shame that this title was largely forgotten when it came to the big "GOTY" nods, especially with how well the game holds up months after its release. Featuring a blend of stealth, puzzle solving, and precision shooting, DX:HR is a great blend of a number of gameplay elements. If only the boss battles weren't so far out in left field compared to the rest of the game. I suppose that's what happens when you outsource your boss battles to another studio.
Typically, a game may over extend itself trying to excel in too many areas at once. Human Revolution manages to keep each area in check and never really falters in any of those key gameplay elements. The cyberpunk visuals are a perfect fit for the future version of Detroit and Singapore dreamt up by the folks at Eidos, Nixxes, and Square Enix.
As main protagonist, Adam Jensen, players can outfit him with a number of augmentations that let you play as you want to. If you want to gear Adam to be stealthier, simply place more augmentation upgrades in the stealth abilities. It's really that simple.
The best part is that the PC version actually had additional time and effort put into it to ensure that it looked and performed better than its console counterparts.
Other Notable 2011 Releases
Terraria - More than just a 2D version of Minecraft, the sheer amount of content packed into Terraria through its numerous updates is astounding. Take on bosses, build fortresses, dig for new materials to craft yourself better armor, crazy new weapons, and more. Featuring persistent characters between online servers and single player, Terraria is a blast to play either alone or with a group of friends.
Dungeon Defenders - This spot would have been taken up by Orcs Must Die! if OMD included a multiplayer component. Part tower defense game, part action, it's 100% addictive fun when playing with friends. Level up your characters as the Diablo style loot drops keep you coming back for more difficult challenges.
L.A. Noire - I once said that L.A. Noire had a good shot at GOTY when it was released earlier in 2011. The problem is, given how great of a year 2011 was for gaming it was quickly over shadowed by other, better titles. That's not to say L.A. Noire isn't worth it. Far from it. It's still an amazing crime solving thriller and the game's facial technology is second to none.
Dirt 3 - Looking for a racing game in 2011? You'd be remised if you passed up Dirt 3. Dirt 3 improves on every aspect compared to Dirt 2, which is a difficult task to accomplish given how good Dirt 2 already was. The visuals and sounds really pull you into the rally experience and the new gymkhana mode offers up a true test of skill to newcomers and series vets alike. It was a tough call between this and Test Drive Unlimited 2 but the community for TDU2 is starting to shrink, which kept it from being a more significant threat to Dirt 3.
The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings - CD Project RED pulled out all the stops for this mature take on the classic action-RPG format. While not quite as unforgiving as Dark Souls, The Witcher 2 offers up a considerable amount of challenge that will ensure you can't just hack and slash your way to victory. The branching story also makes it so that decisions you make in the game aren't felt until much later on, eliminating the ability to simply load a save and see the immediate outcome of the choice you didn't take.
Dead Space 2 - Many seem to have forgotten about Dead Space 2 already, which isn't too surprising since it came out late January 2011. The sequel improved upon the first game in almost every way, even going so far as to give Isaac Clarke more of a personality as he battles both the Necromorphs and the demons inside. Easily one of the best survival horror titles out there.
Biggest Disappointments
Duke Nukem Forever
By far the biggest disappointment of 2011 was Duke Nukem Forever. After 14 years in the making, the hype surrounding the game was astronomical and anything short of the best gaming experience would mean only disappointment to fans. While our review was generally favorable, most came away from DNF extremely disappointed. What looked amazing years ago just didn't hold up to more modern games that have pushed the FPS genre into entirely new fields.
While Duke, his humor, and his gameplay remain stuck in the previous decade, it wasn't all that bad if you went into the game with low expectations or without the rose-tinted glasses that many gamers still had on for the game's release. An opportunity at something truly special was squandered and if the game had come out over a decade ago there's no doubt that it would have been a strong contender for GOTY.
As it is, there are only so many times you can hear Duke's repeated one-liners, generic AI, and largely forgettable gameplay and scripted sequences before the player starts to sigh and look for something else.
Dragon Age II
I'm not sure what it is with modern BioWare titles that just cause them to take a nose dive in quality when a sequel is concerned. First, Mass Effect 2 was a tremendous disappointment to those who actually enjoyed the RPG elements from the first game that were ripped apart in Mass Effect 2. Then, Dragon Age II comes out and just completely bitch slaps its fan base across the face.
The feeling of control over companions was out the window, with the inability to customize load outs being a huge issue that fans of the original took issue with. While the combat improved in Dragon Age II, the lack of environmental locations and fairly limited exploration really brought the sequel down a few notches. The critics seemed to praise the game but the fans did not feel the same way. It honestly felt as though a lot of the gameplay from Origins was dumbed down in the sequel which is just baffling.
Couple the disappointments with the game itself with the fact that at least one BioWare employee tried to artificially inflate the Metacritic score and you've got a volatile mixture that will only make fans leery of the third entry in the series. BioWare promises that they're taking the criticisms of the second game to heart for the next sequel.
Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad
Having already faced one release delay, the outspoken fans of the first Red Orchestra title felt that a longer delay would have done wonders for the game. It shipped without promised game modes including a co-op campaign mode. Months after its initial release, the co-op campaign still has not been added. The SDK for the game is a constant work in progress as well, an issue that mainly affects those wanting to crank out custom maps for the title.
For those who were actually able to get the game started without crashing, the performance was nowhere near what they expected an Unreal Engine 3 game to run at. Even those with rather beefy rigs were having significant framerate issues. Fortunately, Tripwire Interactive has addressed many of the crash issues and have made a number of updates to increase performance, but it almost feels like a case of "too little, too late." Who could forget the leveling system that probably should not have even been included for how much it didn't work or the weapons that may or may not have actually been used in the real war? Fans of the original game were and still are put off by these issues, perhaps even more so than the fact that the game seemed to abandon many of the elements that made the first game so great: gritty, more realistic style battles in large scale environments.
While Tripwire Interactive has made significant strides to fix the game post-launch, the online player base has dried up considerably in a very short amount of time. While the heads of the studio would like to blame the releases of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and Battlefield 3 for this drop in player base, many aren't buying the excuse. Many, including yours truly, feel like a delay into the first quarter of 2012 would have been the best bet for success for Red Orchestra 2. The release would have been far more polished and the fans would more than likely been far more content.
RAGE
What happened here? RAGE looked fantastic in the previews, showcasing off beautiful visuals utilizing the latest and greatest id Tech engine but what was released was a fairly generic FPS plagued by technical issues out the ass. In fact, the most memorable aspects of RAGE were the easter egg rooms for Quake, Doom, and Wolfenstein 3D.
ATI users were hit with the brunt of the technical problems which included slow loading textures thanks in part to poor ATI Catalyst drivers and a lack of optimization by the game's "MegaTexture" feature. Nvidia and console players were not exempt from these issues either as simply spinning around or turning to the left or right at a pace faster than a snail yielded incredibly blurred textures while the high resolution textures loaded in.
A fairly unforgiving auto-save feature also turned away many gamers who died near the end of a section only to discover that the last autosave was at the beginning of the area. The initial release of the game also did away with many advanced customization options that PC gamers have come to expect in just about every game, including vsync, anisotropic filtering, and adjusting of the texture cache. The number of configuration file tweaks and other tricks that users had to discover on their own before this patch came out is just inexcusable for any modern title.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
I believe that my two part video review (Part 1, Part 2) for Modern Warfare 3 summed things up quite nicely. When you come down to it, MW3's multiplayer is the same thing we've seen for the past four or so releases in the series. There is little in the way of innovation, the maps are incredibly small in size, and the lack of dedicated servers for ranked gameplay on PC is actually a huge step back when compared to Call of Duty: Black Ops.
The single player portion of the game contains more explosive set pieces than a Michael Bay film. While it is far more over the top compared to the first two Modern Warfare titles, it does continue the story and at least make an attempt at tying up a few of the loose ends.
I'm sure many console players will continue to buy future titles in record numbers, in spite of how many echoed my sentiments about a lack of innovation.
By the way, Call of Duty Elite, the online social gathering place for Modern Warfare 3 players still does not support players on the PC version of the game. I would not be surprised if and when Activision decides to simply pull the plug on future PC releases for Call of Duty.
Batman: Arkham City & Assassin's Creed: Revelations
A two for one special on these two titles. Why? Well, they both ended up being disappointing sequels to games that were simply amazing. The first Batman, Arkham Asylum, caught everybody by surprise. Nobody really thought that a Batman game could actually be good but then Rocksteady came along and just proved everyone wrong. Everything in Arkham Asylum was a surprise and remained a solid experience the entire way through.
With Arkham City, the surprise and mystique is gone. You know what you're in for the moment you pop in the disc. Now, don't get me wrong here, I think Arkham City is a great game but it just doesn't carry with it the sense of awe that Asylum did the first time you played through it. What it does, it does great. It refines and almost perfects upon almost every gameplay element from the first game, even adding in a greater open world environment to play around in.
The same problem arises with Assassin's Creed: Revelations. The jump from Assassin's Creed 2/Brotherhood to Revelations was not as great of a jump from Assassin's Creed to Assassin's Creed 2. It, like Batman, peaked in previous entries in the series and thus made it almost impossible to make significant improvements on what were already great formulas.
I'm sure I'll get some flak for these two but that's the thing with lists like these, not everyone will agree with what's said. Again, they are great games but they just did not pull me in as previous entires in the series.
Crysis 2
I'll come right out and say that I disliked the first Crysis title. The game really fell apart for me when it became more about fighting aliens than the Koreans. At least with the human enemies, tactics were employed more as the AI actually seemed to be fairly competent. While beautiful, the game just never jived with me, which is why I went into Crysis 2 with already low expectations.
Gone are the lush jungle environments, replaced with the high rises and office buildings of New York. The gameplay felt dumbed down compared to the first game, with many of the suit's functions streamlined (perhaps as a compromise for the console crowd?). The game also felt far more linear due to the game's new environment, eliminating a number of flanking options that a large jungle environment was best suited for.
The game's multiplayer was also largely forgettable. While fun for a few rounds here and there, it just offered nothing new that hasn't already been done before, including a ranking system and persistent stats.
The Crysis series was also always known for how it really pushed PC's to their graphical limit. Crysis 2, when it shipped, was able to be maxed out on hardware that was far from top of the line. DirectX 11 features were absent from the initial release, being offered only as an optional patch down the road.
Closing Thoughts
While this list contains only a handful of the games that came out in 2011, there are many more that I'm sure would have made the list if I had actually played them. Games such as Gears of War 3, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword and Uncharted 3 are probably both amazing titles, but as I never played them I can't rightfully add them to a list such as this.
Other titles, while good, simply didn't feel cut out for "GOTY" mentioning. Games such as Limbo, Rift, Frozen Synapse, Hard Reset, and NHL 12 are all worthy of your hard earned dollars but none of those ever struck me as GOTY worthy. Games that came out this year as HD remakes include the Metal Gear Solid HD Collection and Halo CE Anniversary. While these are both impressive titles they weren't out in their original forms in 2011, so it would be a little wrong to include them in the list above. Star Wars: The Old Republic is an amazing MMO, but it was released far too late in the year for me to consider it a 2011 release with the others mentioned above.
I'm sure there are agreements and disagreements out there on the games I've included here. Feel free to share your own favorites and biggest disappointments from 2011.
In creating these lists of games, it's honestly a bit difficult to order these in any numerical fashion. The only thing that I am sure of is the pick for Game of the Year. The rest? They'll have reasons listed by they're on the list but they won't be labeled with a conventional 5 through 1 style that you might be expecting.
The Good
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Without a doubt, my Game of the Year firmly resides with The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. While it isn't perfect, it does come as close as I've ever seen a game get to perfection. An open world experience unlike any other from this year, Skyrim offers up the potential for hundreds of hours of gameplay as you craft your character to your own liking in both appearance and ability.
Our video review covered most of the basics when it comes to the game, and I'm sure most of you have already experienced it for yourself. Skyrim took what people loved about Oblivion and other Elder Scrolls titles, reworked them, made a world that was far more alive than any previous version, and tossed in some kick ass encounters with dragons.
For the money, no other game this year really compares to the fun most gamers will experience in Skyrim. What is the only thing that held it back from absolute perfection? A slightly wonky UI and melee combat that could still use a bit of work.
Saints Row the Third
Wow, Saints Row the Third just came along and beat the absolute crap out of the notion of what a "GTA clone" should be. Featuring some of the most over the top action, the game never goes too far in its "extremeness" to accomplish what it sets out to be. And what does it set out to be? One hell of an enjoyable open world title.
It was honestly incredibly difficult to decide between this game and Skyrim for my game of the year. Yes, I enjoyed Saints Row the Third that much. Already having sunk 36 hours (at last check in Steam) and 100% of stated in-game completion, I am beyond hopeful for DLC that adds in new gameplay missions. I just want more! There are very few games that I can say I am really wishing there was more of after having already spent 30+ hours playing, but Saints Row the Third is one of them.
Volition really went above and beyond with this game when you compare it to the second in the series. I don't just mean that they pushed the gameplay up to 11, I meant how they took the development of the PC release into their own hands. Sure, there were and still are a few issues here and there but compared to the relative buggy mess that was Saints Row 2 on the PC, this version is phenomenal in comparison. More developers should take note of what Volition has done here to appease the PC gaming community.
Seriously, how many other games allow you to hop into a Tron-like world as a blowup doll, shoot your way through a crashing jet, blow up a sky rise, and then proceed to take out rival gangs with giant purple dildo bats, air strikes, VTOL jets, and more crazy weapons? I'll tell you how many games in 2011 allow you to do this. One. Saints Row the Third.
Portal 2
What GOTY list wouldn't be complete without at least some nod to a Valve released title? Portal 2 came out earlier this year and at the time was an early contender for Game of the Year, falling short in later months to the two juggernauts listed above.
What makes Portal 2 so great? The puzzles all felt fresh, especially with the new game mechanics of the various gels adding what felt like an entirely new dimension to the game. Portal 2 also featured some fantastic co-op (and additional free co-op DLC after its initial release), two very lovable robotic partners that had personalities all their own, and some of the year's most humorous dialogue.
Ellen McLain, J. K. Simmons, and Stephen Merchant were the perfect fit for GLaDOS, Cave Johnson (Aperture's CEO), and Wheatley respectively. Each character had a unique approach to humor, sarcasm, and wrath that was just a treat to behold. Couple the voice work with the musical stylings of Mike Morasky, Jonathan Coulton (Want You Gone) and The National (Exile Vilify) and the player is left with a game that was as much fun to play as it was to hear.
The only things that really held Portal 2 back was the fact that some of the features included in Portal 1 did not initially make a return in Portal 2. The challenge mode was omitted from the game's initial release, but was later added back in as an alternate form with the Peer Review DLC. The game also felt like it was a lot more simplified and streamlined compared to the first. Freedoms to solve puzzles using different methods seem too removed thanks to more deliberate placement of Portal capable panels. It sometimes felt like the developers pushed the player to put a Portal in just one place instead of giving the player the ability to go through trial and error like in the first game.
Battlefield 3
The sequel most of us here have been waiting for finally came out in 2011 to relatively positive reviews. The removal of the Commander system from Battlefield 2 might be the biggest complaint gamers initially had, assuming you ignore the fact that it requires Origin and has no in-game browser. But for the few missteps that have occurred with Battlefield 3, it's still an incredibly fun shooter. Dare I even go so far as to say that it's the best shooter of 2011? Yes, I dare.
Having only clocked a bit over 58 hours so far, that's actually a rather miniscule amount when compared to others on my friend's list. To be honest with you, it doesn't even feel like that much time has passed either. The battles are engaging. The gun play feels like a happy mixture of Battlefield 2's rather unforgiving nature and Bad Company 2's far more "general audience" friendly shooting style. The sounds are easily the best in any FPS released this year and the visuals, if your machine can handle them, are often breathtaking... up until the point the Frostbite 3.0 kicks in and the town starts to turn to rubble before your very eyes.
As mentioned, there are a number of things that really hold back Battlefield 3 from being a bigger threat for GOTY. The fact that some of the UI is an over complicated mess is one such issue. A number of user mockups have made their way around the net that all look tons better than what DICE cooked up for the game. The lack of an in-game browser is a minor issue. Battlelog is decent but it's still sometimes a little odd that you have to first exit the game you're in just to find a new server to play in. The lack of in-game VOIP is also a big concern for a lot of PC gamers. Sure, you can use VOIP through Battlelog but if the people in your pub game aren't on your friend's list, then what's the point? Team play is essentially dead in the water from a severe lack of communication, which is why some of my most enjoyable moments are playing in servers with friends I know through Ventrilo.
Bastion
Whoa, an Indie title making a list of best games of 2011? You better believe it. Bastion is one of those games that need to be experienced. You don't even have to play it, you can just sit and watch someone else play it while you take in the dynamic narration, the music, and the sights.
While the gameplay is rather standard fare, the true brilliance of Bastion comes from the game's presentation. As mentioned, the game features a dynamic narrator named Rucks. Many actions that you as the player carry out are given commentary by the narrator and it just makes for such a uniquely enjoyable experience unlike anything else.
As "The Kid", players battle their way through the broken fragments of Caelondia following a devastating "Calamity." The mystery surrounding the Calamity starts to come to light as the player progresses, and while this isn't high drama, the presentation is again what makes the game really kick the crap out of similar action titles.
Supergiant Games knocked their first commercial release out of the stratosphere with Bastion. Here's hoping that they can continue their success with their sophomore release.
Deus Ex: Human Revolution
Deus Ex: Human Revolution is like the game that most other media outlets forgot about. Honestly, it's a shame that this title was largely forgotten when it came to the big "GOTY" nods, especially with how well the game holds up months after its release. Featuring a blend of stealth, puzzle solving, and precision shooting, DX:HR is a great blend of a number of gameplay elements. If only the boss battles weren't so far out in left field compared to the rest of the game. I suppose that's what happens when you outsource your boss battles to another studio.
Typically, a game may over extend itself trying to excel in too many areas at once. Human Revolution manages to keep each area in check and never really falters in any of those key gameplay elements. The cyberpunk visuals are a perfect fit for the future version of Detroit and Singapore dreamt up by the folks at Eidos, Nixxes, and Square Enix.
As main protagonist, Adam Jensen, players can outfit him with a number of augmentations that let you play as you want to. If you want to gear Adam to be stealthier, simply place more augmentation upgrades in the stealth abilities. It's really that simple.
The best part is that the PC version actually had additional time and effort put into it to ensure that it looked and performed better than its console counterparts.
Other Notable 2011 Releases
Terraria - More than just a 2D version of Minecraft, the sheer amount of content packed into Terraria through its numerous updates is astounding. Take on bosses, build fortresses, dig for new materials to craft yourself better armor, crazy new weapons, and more. Featuring persistent characters between online servers and single player, Terraria is a blast to play either alone or with a group of friends.
Dungeon Defenders - This spot would have been taken up by Orcs Must Die! if OMD included a multiplayer component. Part tower defense game, part action, it's 100% addictive fun when playing with friends. Level up your characters as the Diablo style loot drops keep you coming back for more difficult challenges.
L.A. Noire - I once said that L.A. Noire had a good shot at GOTY when it was released earlier in 2011. The problem is, given how great of a year 2011 was for gaming it was quickly over shadowed by other, better titles. That's not to say L.A. Noire isn't worth it. Far from it. It's still an amazing crime solving thriller and the game's facial technology is second to none.
Dirt 3 - Looking for a racing game in 2011? You'd be remised if you passed up Dirt 3. Dirt 3 improves on every aspect compared to Dirt 2, which is a difficult task to accomplish given how good Dirt 2 already was. The visuals and sounds really pull you into the rally experience and the new gymkhana mode offers up a true test of skill to newcomers and series vets alike. It was a tough call between this and Test Drive Unlimited 2 but the community for TDU2 is starting to shrink, which kept it from being a more significant threat to Dirt 3.
The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings - CD Project RED pulled out all the stops for this mature take on the classic action-RPG format. While not quite as unforgiving as Dark Souls, The Witcher 2 offers up a considerable amount of challenge that will ensure you can't just hack and slash your way to victory. The branching story also makes it so that decisions you make in the game aren't felt until much later on, eliminating the ability to simply load a save and see the immediate outcome of the choice you didn't take.
Dead Space 2 - Many seem to have forgotten about Dead Space 2 already, which isn't too surprising since it came out late January 2011. The sequel improved upon the first game in almost every way, even going so far as to give Isaac Clarke more of a personality as he battles both the Necromorphs and the demons inside. Easily one of the best survival horror titles out there.
Biggest Disappointments
Duke Nukem Forever
By far the biggest disappointment of 2011 was Duke Nukem Forever. After 14 years in the making, the hype surrounding the game was astronomical and anything short of the best gaming experience would mean only disappointment to fans. While our review was generally favorable, most came away from DNF extremely disappointed. What looked amazing years ago just didn't hold up to more modern games that have pushed the FPS genre into entirely new fields.
While Duke, his humor, and his gameplay remain stuck in the previous decade, it wasn't all that bad if you went into the game with low expectations or without the rose-tinted glasses that many gamers still had on for the game's release. An opportunity at something truly special was squandered and if the game had come out over a decade ago there's no doubt that it would have been a strong contender for GOTY.
As it is, there are only so many times you can hear Duke's repeated one-liners, generic AI, and largely forgettable gameplay and scripted sequences before the player starts to sigh and look for something else.
Dragon Age II
I'm not sure what it is with modern BioWare titles that just cause them to take a nose dive in quality when a sequel is concerned. First, Mass Effect 2 was a tremendous disappointment to those who actually enjoyed the RPG elements from the first game that were ripped apart in Mass Effect 2. Then, Dragon Age II comes out and just completely bitch slaps its fan base across the face.
The feeling of control over companions was out the window, with the inability to customize load outs being a huge issue that fans of the original took issue with. While the combat improved in Dragon Age II, the lack of environmental locations and fairly limited exploration really brought the sequel down a few notches. The critics seemed to praise the game but the fans did not feel the same way. It honestly felt as though a lot of the gameplay from Origins was dumbed down in the sequel which is just baffling.
Couple the disappointments with the game itself with the fact that at least one BioWare employee tried to artificially inflate the Metacritic score and you've got a volatile mixture that will only make fans leery of the third entry in the series. BioWare promises that they're taking the criticisms of the second game to heart for the next sequel.
Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad
Having already faced one release delay, the outspoken fans of the first Red Orchestra title felt that a longer delay would have done wonders for the game. It shipped without promised game modes including a co-op campaign mode. Months after its initial release, the co-op campaign still has not been added. The SDK for the game is a constant work in progress as well, an issue that mainly affects those wanting to crank out custom maps for the title.
For those who were actually able to get the game started without crashing, the performance was nowhere near what they expected an Unreal Engine 3 game to run at. Even those with rather beefy rigs were having significant framerate issues. Fortunately, Tripwire Interactive has addressed many of the crash issues and have made a number of updates to increase performance, but it almost feels like a case of "too little, too late." Who could forget the leveling system that probably should not have even been included for how much it didn't work or the weapons that may or may not have actually been used in the real war? Fans of the original game were and still are put off by these issues, perhaps even more so than the fact that the game seemed to abandon many of the elements that made the first game so great: gritty, more realistic style battles in large scale environments.
While Tripwire Interactive has made significant strides to fix the game post-launch, the online player base has dried up considerably in a very short amount of time. While the heads of the studio would like to blame the releases of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and Battlefield 3 for this drop in player base, many aren't buying the excuse. Many, including yours truly, feel like a delay into the first quarter of 2012 would have been the best bet for success for Red Orchestra 2. The release would have been far more polished and the fans would more than likely been far more content.
RAGE
What happened here? RAGE looked fantastic in the previews, showcasing off beautiful visuals utilizing the latest and greatest id Tech engine but what was released was a fairly generic FPS plagued by technical issues out the ass. In fact, the most memorable aspects of RAGE were the easter egg rooms for Quake, Doom, and Wolfenstein 3D.
ATI users were hit with the brunt of the technical problems which included slow loading textures thanks in part to poor ATI Catalyst drivers and a lack of optimization by the game's "MegaTexture" feature. Nvidia and console players were not exempt from these issues either as simply spinning around or turning to the left or right at a pace faster than a snail yielded incredibly blurred textures while the high resolution textures loaded in.
A fairly unforgiving auto-save feature also turned away many gamers who died near the end of a section only to discover that the last autosave was at the beginning of the area. The initial release of the game also did away with many advanced customization options that PC gamers have come to expect in just about every game, including vsync, anisotropic filtering, and adjusting of the texture cache. The number of configuration file tweaks and other tricks that users had to discover on their own before this patch came out is just inexcusable for any modern title.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
I believe that my two part video review (Part 1, Part 2) for Modern Warfare 3 summed things up quite nicely. When you come down to it, MW3's multiplayer is the same thing we've seen for the past four or so releases in the series. There is little in the way of innovation, the maps are incredibly small in size, and the lack of dedicated servers for ranked gameplay on PC is actually a huge step back when compared to Call of Duty: Black Ops.
The single player portion of the game contains more explosive set pieces than a Michael Bay film. While it is far more over the top compared to the first two Modern Warfare titles, it does continue the story and at least make an attempt at tying up a few of the loose ends.
I'm sure many console players will continue to buy future titles in record numbers, in spite of how many echoed my sentiments about a lack of innovation.
By the way, Call of Duty Elite, the online social gathering place for Modern Warfare 3 players still does not support players on the PC version of the game. I would not be surprised if and when Activision decides to simply pull the plug on future PC releases for Call of Duty.
Batman: Arkham City & Assassin's Creed: Revelations
A two for one special on these two titles. Why? Well, they both ended up being disappointing sequels to games that were simply amazing. The first Batman, Arkham Asylum, caught everybody by surprise. Nobody really thought that a Batman game could actually be good but then Rocksteady came along and just proved everyone wrong. Everything in Arkham Asylum was a surprise and remained a solid experience the entire way through.
With Arkham City, the surprise and mystique is gone. You know what you're in for the moment you pop in the disc. Now, don't get me wrong here, I think Arkham City is a great game but it just doesn't carry with it the sense of awe that Asylum did the first time you played through it. What it does, it does great. It refines and almost perfects upon almost every gameplay element from the first game, even adding in a greater open world environment to play around in.
The same problem arises with Assassin's Creed: Revelations. The jump from Assassin's Creed 2/Brotherhood to Revelations was not as great of a jump from Assassin's Creed to Assassin's Creed 2. It, like Batman, peaked in previous entries in the series and thus made it almost impossible to make significant improvements on what were already great formulas.
I'm sure I'll get some flak for these two but that's the thing with lists like these, not everyone will agree with what's said. Again, they are great games but they just did not pull me in as previous entires in the series.
Crysis 2
I'll come right out and say that I disliked the first Crysis title. The game really fell apart for me when it became more about fighting aliens than the Koreans. At least with the human enemies, tactics were employed more as the AI actually seemed to be fairly competent. While beautiful, the game just never jived with me, which is why I went into Crysis 2 with already low expectations.
Gone are the lush jungle environments, replaced with the high rises and office buildings of New York. The gameplay felt dumbed down compared to the first game, with many of the suit's functions streamlined (perhaps as a compromise for the console crowd?). The game also felt far more linear due to the game's new environment, eliminating a number of flanking options that a large jungle environment was best suited for.
The game's multiplayer was also largely forgettable. While fun for a few rounds here and there, it just offered nothing new that hasn't already been done before, including a ranking system and persistent stats.
The Crysis series was also always known for how it really pushed PC's to their graphical limit. Crysis 2, when it shipped, was able to be maxed out on hardware that was far from top of the line. DirectX 11 features were absent from the initial release, being offered only as an optional patch down the road.
Closing Thoughts
While this list contains only a handful of the games that came out in 2011, there are many more that I'm sure would have made the list if I had actually played them. Games such as Gears of War 3, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword and Uncharted 3 are probably both amazing titles, but as I never played them I can't rightfully add them to a list such as this.
Other titles, while good, simply didn't feel cut out for "GOTY" mentioning. Games such as Limbo, Rift, Frozen Synapse, Hard Reset, and NHL 12 are all worthy of your hard earned dollars but none of those ever struck me as GOTY worthy. Games that came out this year as HD remakes include the Metal Gear Solid HD Collection and Halo CE Anniversary. While these are both impressive titles they weren't out in their original forms in 2011, so it would be a little wrong to include them in the list above. Star Wars: The Old Republic is an amazing MMO, but it was released far too late in the year for me to consider it a 2011 release with the others mentioned above.
I'm sure there are agreements and disagreements out there on the games I've included here. Feel free to share your own favorites and biggest disappointments from 2011.
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