My Top 10 of 2011

10.Uncharted 3

It seems crazy to have an Uncharted game this low on the list, but that just goes to show how good this year has been. Uncharted 3 makes some incremental improvements to the series and features what may be my favorite story of the bunch, but it would be wrong to assume that there would be departures from the formula after Uncharted 2 was so successful. Naughty Dog has this down to a science.

9. Batman: Arkham City

Arkham City was exactly the follow up you'd expect after Arkham Asylum: a bigger world, some small gameplay tweaks, but generally more of the same. I enjoyed the side missions more than I did the main storyline, and they caused me to stick around long after I beat the game.

8. Dead Space 2

Dead Space 2, unfortunately, is a game destined to be forgotten. It was released at the beginning of a year packed with great games. It didn't do much of anything different than its predecessor, but with gameplay as refined and intense as Dead Space it hardly mattered.

7. Rage

As someone who really only likes playing shooters in a single player venue, Rage had my eye for awhile and I wasn't disappointed. A lengthy game that was polished (on Xbox) all across the board. Its greatness came from refinement, not innovation. My favorite shooter of the year.

6. L.A. Noire

L.A. Noire is a game that I really wanted to be something it wasn't but ended up kind of falling in love with anyway. The middle section of the story wasn't handled real well and consequently made the associated cases feel somewhast useless, but the final act of the game was exciting and memorable. The game as a whole managed to feel like it was a missed opportunity while I was loving (almost) every minute.

5. Dark Souls

Aside from providing a ton more content, Dark Souls doesn't really do anything better than its predecessor, making it less of a sequel and more of a worthy companion to Demon's Souls. Fortunately, Demon's Souls was an excellent game and Dark Souls is nothing less.

4. Deus Ex: Human Revolution

The versatile gameplay is undeniably fun, but the real disparity in enjoyment will be based on how much stock the player puts in story, atmosphere, and the present thematic elements. I happen to put quite a bit.

3. Skyrim

Skyrim is the most detailed and fully realized single player open world around. That'sreally the only reason you need to sink donzens and donzens of hours into it. Bethesda hasn't really changed much from their previous games, but this is a formula that clearly doesn't need tuning.

2. Portal 2

I liked, but never loved Portal. I enjoyed its quirkiness and puzzles and I could seewhy so many people adored it even if I didn't. Then Portal 2 came along and improved everything. Funny, smart, and technically superb, Portal 2 is fantastic on all fronts.

1. Witcher 2

The star of the show is the divergent story that took risks that no other developer had been willing to take. There were a few gameplay hiccups, but nothing to detract from the incredible experienceof the game as a whole. Almost as important as the game itself is that it proves that there are still small, talented studios working on fantastic and unique games while mega-publishers are busy cranking out annual editions of their most popular franchises. It's not as close to perfection as Portal 2 is, but all across the board The Witcher 2 exemplifies what I love about gaming in a way that no other title this year could match.



Indie Picks of the Year (in no order):

Binding of Isaac

To The Moon

Gemini Rue

Bastion

Sword & Sworcery

2011 was yet another fantastic year for games. 2012 looks to have some big releases up its sleeve as well, but still has plenty of room for surprises. Have a great one.