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TA Top Five: Games of 2011

  • Nexus GruntNexus Grunt162,207
  • vSullyvSully1,298,455
    Posted on 20 November 13 at 16:31, Edited on 20 November 13 at 16:55 by vSully
    IMO, The best year of the generation with three games in my top 10, including my #1 (which this article gave an honorable mention) and #3 (which didn't even make the article).

    Dark Souls- For me, this is the undisputed game of this generation. Nothing else even comes close. Dark Souls appealed to me with its combinaiton of rewarding, engaging combat, interesting and dangerous enemies, a complete lack of hand holding and direction (explore and figure out what to do yourself), dozens of individually unique weapons (literally a different experience based on your weapon), and a level of difficulty that was rewarded by careful and intelligent play. And that's just the tip of the iceberg of what made this game so great. Easily in my top five games of ALL TIME.

    I know there's a lot of hate for this game and that it isn't for everyone, so don't misunderstand me- This is MY game of the generation, but almost certainly not THE game of the generation. Though I still cannot fathom how someone could love Fallout 3, which I considered an absolute turd, yet dislike Dark Souls. This game simply does everything right and, in direct comparison, makes almost every other game look bad.

    Dead Space 2- Has this game been completely forgotten? It picked up right where the original left off and raised the bar even higher. I found it absolutely thrilling from start to finish. A great story, unique weapons, fun enemies, and that unfortgettable sequence where Isaac blasts back to the sprawl from the solar array. One of the few games that I finished and couldn't wait to immediately start on another playthrough. My #3 game of the generation.

    Portal 2- A true masterpiece in gaming. A quirky, engaging story with memorable characters that unfolded through a series of complex, yet reasonable physics puzzles. And awesome co-op, too! An instant classic with a solid place in my top 10 games of the generation.

    Batman AC- Picking up rght where the original left off, this game again delivered an interesting story with Batman's characteristic seemless combat in a dark open-ish world environment. This only missed my top 10 because I preferred Arkham Asylum (ever so slightly) and there was too much other goodness to squeeze another Batman game in. It's definitely in my top 20. My only complaint: too many damn challenges- many of which were essentially the same- across the four characters.

    Other games I feel are worth mentioning:

    Gears 3- As a completionist, my opinion on this game is tainted by the crap I went through to finish Seriously 3.0 (which involved three xboxes and several weeks of nonsense). I played the mutiplayer somewhat casually for a few months following launch, particularly TDM, and had a lot of fun with it. I found the campaign to be "ok" and I thought Horde mode was changed for the worse, having spent hundreds of hours with Horde in Gears 2.

    LA Noire- I completed this game and found it to be rather dull. A step down gameplay-wise from Red Dead. Thankfully there was no MP.

    Bulletstorm- I found this game to be a moderately fun SP experience with forgettable co-op. The whole "numerous different ways to kill with each weapon" gimmick was mildly interesting. Arguable the worst DLC of all time, though.

    Alice: Madness Returns- I'd be surprised to see any mention of this game, but I enjoyed it. I thought the combat was solid (fun weapons) and the game world was beautiful. Not something I'd look to replay but definitely worth the several days I spent with it initially.
  • Posted on 20 November 13 at 16:32
    This was a great year for RPGs since it also included Bastion, Torchlight, and Dragon Age II... which I realize was incredibly flawed, but still enjoyed.
    TrueAchievements Editorial Manager | Twitter: @osubluejacket | "In Soviet Russia, game plays you!"
  • Posted on 20 November 13 at 16:33
    Batman: AC was a big let down for me. It lost all of the magic from the first game. The shifting from a Metroid Prime to sandbox game really lost some of the feel and atmosphere from the game.

    Deus Ex should've been in the top 5. It seems like blockbusters that underdelivered (CoD:MW3 and Gears 3) get spots because of legacy while a stellar, albeit a bit niche, franchise like Deus Ex gets a snub.

    Still another year of solid releases.
    This space for rent.
  • bryan dot exebryan dot exe1,327,627
    Posted on 20 November 13 at 16:35, Edited on 20 November 13 at 16:35 by bryan dot exe
    Fantastic year. I stocked up on many of the excellent fall releases and was playing deus ex, batman, gears, dark souls, mw3, and skyrim well into summer of 2012.
    thundrchickn on scorehero.com
  • Nefarus FoxNefarus Fox244,396
    Posted on 20 November 13 at 16:36
    I also LOVED Alice: Madness Returns and agree with your comments about it
  • VictimOfDesireVictimOfDesire2,940,943
    Posted on 20 November 13 at 16:37
    Honorable mention for LA Noire? Lol nope.
  • Removed Gamer

    Removed Gamer

    Posted on 20 November 13 at 16:43
    The fact that Dark Souls is lumped with MW3 says all that needs to be said. Portal 2 is the best game in the top five by a mile.
    My teeth taste funny today. They seem more jagged than normal.
  • TanookifyTanookify482,286
    Posted on 20 November 13 at 16:45
    "a year in which even the honorable mentions would make it on to any top list"

    Not mine (excluding Dark Souls of course). In fact how that didn't get into the Top 5 in a mostly dull year is baffling!
  • I Ebon Hawk II Ebon Hawk I2,438,946
    Posted on 20 November 13 at 16:52
    Dark Souls gets my vote for best game of that year.
  • pezza888pezza888179,763
    Posted on 20 November 13 at 16:52
    Dark souls is one of the best games of all time.
  • Polaris66Polaris66893,224
    Posted on 20 November 13 at 16:55
    Really?! More COD?!
  • Nexus GruntNexus Grunt162,207
    Posted on 20 November 13 at 16:55
    Whilst writing, we considered our community scores and awards, along with the Metacritic rating. However on a purely personal note, I rate Crysis 2 as possibly the best shooter I have played on the Xbox 360 and I would have loved to have placed it higher on the list.

    I'd should check before writing this (journalistic integrity and all that), but I think Deus Ex was my game of the year nominee for that year.

    It was a good year for gaming, and it was difficult to choose the short list .... hence the sneaking in of five honorable mentions ;-)
  • vSullyvSully1,298,455
    Posted on 20 November 13 at 17:03, Edited on 20 November 13 at 17:07 by vSully
    I still cannot believe Dead Space 2 didn't even get a mention. It's got a site rating of 4.6 (matching Arkham City and only BARELY bested by Portal and Skyrim) and a metacritic rating of 90. But hey- we've got to recognize that Call of Duty craps out games every year, right? Hell, the Call of Duty on this list has a community rating a full .9 higher than Duke Nukem!
  • Removed Gamer

    Removed Gamer

    Posted on 20 November 13 at 17:04
    Deus Ex not in the top 5?

    Poor show.

    Dark Souls not in the top five?

    GET FUCKED!!!!!!!!
    There are all kinds of stupid people that annoy me but what annoys me most is a lazy argument/Hitch
  • Zedymieon77Zedymieon77333,609
    Posted on 20 November 13 at 17:05
    Half-Minute Hero: Super Mega Neo Climax is a fun, little gem imo. I'd pick this over half the games on the list(the half that I haven't played)
    I am the proud owner of a Silver Crown in Kingdom Hearts II: Final Mix on Critical Mode Max Level 1.
  • Dancing RobDancing Rob157,636
    Posted on 20 November 13 at 17:05
    the year where dimishing returns began to kick in. MS had switched their focus purely onto Kinect at this point, meaning the interesting indie / XBLA stuff ceased, whilst the big publishers became increasingly focused on sequels, rather than new IP. Even worse, some of the sequels weren't as good as the originals (I'm particularly thinking Batman & Portal - perhaps also Dead Space 2 from reputation), whilst others seemed very much 'more of the same, even more so than usual, such as Forza / Gears / Skyrim.

    Of the new / revamped IPs, LA Noire had plenty of good ideas, but didn't hang together very well at all, whilst Bastion, indie darling of the year just didn't really click with me for whatever reason. Deus Ex is then one of very few games I've started, but given up after a couple of hours. I suspect this may have been more to me, rather than the game though. I still haven't played Dark Souls (I just know I'll find it far too punishing to be enjoyable!), but it's perhaps the only from this year I expect to be up at the top of this poll on merit, rather than due to huge sales.

    Portal 2 was my personal highlight, and whilst I'm a little disappointed Rayman Origins and From Dust didn't warrant a mention in the article above, neither would be anywhere close to my top 10.

    All in all, a disappointing year, and not a patch the glorious 2008/9/10 period.
  • Posted on 20 November 13 at 17:21
    Oh come on TA. Gears 3 in the Top 5 and LA Noire is just mentioned???
    LKv666
  • ネメシスネメシス1,413,331
    Posted on 20 November 13 at 17:35
    Dark souls only an honourable mention? The fuck is up with that its my game of the generation.

    Also no mention of dead space 2
    Mortal kombat 9
    and how is cod gonna get mentioned yet again but battlefield 3 which is miles better is nowhere to be seen?
    http://www.youtube.com/user/ReazieTV
  • Zonrith1Zonrith1671,280
    Posted on 20 November 13 at 17:35, Edited on 20 November 13 at 17:36 by Zonrith1
    While GoW3 was my favorite of the series, it wouldn't be in my top five (but understandable that it is here). What I liked is co-op went up to four players, and I really enjoy co-op campaigns.

    Of all the top five, Portal 2 is easily the best, and is very high on my games of the generation vote.

    I agree with L.A. Noire and Dark Souls getting honorable mentions (both are titles I feel are generally overrated by the community, and I approve that both were left out of the fine five). L.A. Noire was a bold idea, and I enjoyed the game, but there are numerous flaws that stop it from shining as much as the developers probably intended. Dark Souls I ended up disliking (I still need to finish my playthrough), but it offers a lot that is different from other RPGs and that obviously appeals to certain gamers (otherwise it'd never have become a cult favorite).

    I'll echo some of the others who have mentioned Alice: Madness Returns. I'd like to have seen that honorably mentioned as well. I just played that a few weeks ago, and had a lot of fun with it.

    No comments on MW3, Forza 4, or Deus Ex, as I've not played those.
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