It's that time. It's the big moment! To crown the very best game of 2011 in my roster, and we have quite a bit of big games to choose from! Even as Nintendo launched a new handheld this year, with the Big N also preparing a new console for this year sometime after Sony launches their own new portable gaming device, 2011 was packed with quality offerings across all systems and genres. A slew of triple-A franchises stormed the Big Three's various gaming platforms, with Mario validating the power of 3D graphics in video games while Link proved just how much motion control can enhance a gaming experience, while favourite characters like Nathan Drake and Cole McGrath kept people glued to their PS3's, as Delta Squad concluded their bitter war on the Xbox 360. Rayman returned hand-drawn art to gaming on the third-party end, while Portal 2 took a small concept and blew it up with added innovation and immense appeal, as Skyrim once again challenged the limits of scale in a video game, and Batman: Arkham City continued to prove the unstoppable power of an entertainment license done right in a game! Meanwhile, dormant franchises like Driver, Deus Ex and Rayman came back with a vengeance, and high-quality downloadable offerings like Outland, Bastion, and Pushmo continued to drive forward the indie downloadable scene. It was another eventful year for games, but in the end, there can only be one champion.
As usual, I have painstakingly selected just ten nominees for the honour. These games represent the best strides forward for our beloved gaming industry as of last year, and these are the games that will serve as 2012's benchmarks going forward, even as new hardware gradually drops from both Nintendo and Sony, with rumours persisting of an Xbox 720 and PS4 soon following suit. Time will tell on those, but for now, here are 2011's top ten highest quality games, and only one of them can be number one!
GAME OF THE YEAR NOMINIEES
1) Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective (DS)
WHY: As if I haven't made myself clear already, Ghost Trick was a ludicrously underplayed DS exclusive by Capcom that featured extremely clever puzzle mechanics, a superb storyline and tons of surprises. Story and gameplay blended together in one of the DS's most unique and rewarding games yet, even with the 3DS close on the horizon. Those who were lucky enough to play the game will agree that 2011 hardly saw a more creative and smart portable effort!
2) Portal 2 (PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3)
WHY: The original Portal was easily the biggest surprise hit of 2007, buried in Valve's compilation disc, The Orange Box under a slew of more heavily profilic Half-Life and Team Fortress games. What began as a student project turned eccentric curiosity piece ended up being a masterpiece of mindbending puzzles and dark comedy, and it was much lengthier, more developed, and somehow, twice as entertaining in Portal 2, its full retail exclusive. Bringing back the highly beloved antagonist, GLaDOS, while introducing Wheatley, one of the best new game characters since, well, GLaDOS, Portal 2 complemented its brilliant humour with further expanded puzzle mechanics and an even wackier story, along with a truly brilliant and challenging separate co-op campaign. It was hard to believe that even a great developer like Valve could so effectively improve upon the success of Portal in a sequel, but they did it, and they did it in spades!
3) Bastion (Steam, Xbox Live Arcade)
WHY: One of the most unexpected and deep Summer of Arcade hits of 2011, this isometric action RPG was a wonderfully tongue-in-cheek story about a nameless boy seeking to restore his destroyed world after an inexplicable disaster. The narrator alone was worth the price of downloading this game onto your PC or Xbox 360's hard drive, and the creativity of the fast-paced gameplay and surprisingly effective wit only served to make Bastion all the more entertaining. Digital download games continue to improve every year, and Bastion was an immense new level of quality for the medium!
4) Catherine (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3)
WHY: Catherine was a game that many believed would never come to North America. It's chillingly eccentric timed puzzle gameplay and heavy erotic thriller themes were thought to be too racy and surreal for anyone but Japanese audiences. Defying all expectation, the game came to North America and Europe in the end, and we're very glad it did, because Catherine is one of the most creative and memorable video games of not just this year, but the past several years! The game's examination of relationships, fidelity, adultery and sex were previously unheard of in such a blatant form in gaming even today, and the gameplay probed players' own deep-seated beliefs on commitment, marriage and even how willing one would actually be to cheat on their loved one. On top of that, Catherine was super challenging, super terrifying, and was guaranteed to give even many adult gamers the willies with its chilling imagery. For being such a bold, thrilling experiment in exploring a very adult set of themes with such an ambitiously creative gameplay offering, Catherine stood very tall as one of the year's most innovative and unexpected hits!
5) Batman: Arkham City (PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3)
WHY: Batman: Arkham Asylum was one of the very best games of 2009, and took home its own share of Game of the Year nods. Despite that, Warner Bros., DC Comics and developer, Rocksteady were determined to do even better with the sequel. They succeeded. Batman: Arkham City is a massive game with a huge stretch of Gotham City to explore, loaded with all of Batman's most profilic villains, each with their own agendas, hundreds of optional and story missions, and a new and improved Challenge Mode that not only tested your finest gaming mettle as Batman, but also as Robin and Nightwing. Batman fans were further treated to a huge variety of costumes, the ability to control Catwoman during several of the story sections, and the most immersive, large-scale Batman experience that's ever been placed on a game disc. Like its predecessor, Batman: Arkham City convinced players that they ARE the Dark Knight, made bigger, better and more kick-ass than ever no less!
6) The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3)
WHY: Skyrim is massive. Once you get into it, you don't stop playing it. When you create a character, you'll begin a quest to be what you want, do what you want, and slay a hell of a lot of vicious dragons while you're at it. Skyrim is an action RPG with a nearly infinite list of tasks that players can achieve and master, and even if the game is plagued with the series' usual tendency to have some unwelcome, albeit sometimes funny glitches, especially in the PS3 edition, Skyrim still provided more bang for your gaming bucks than any other game in 2011. Its play value is endless, its adventure is stagging, and it's a fantasy RPG that truly has no limits. Oblivion was a tough act to follow, but Skyrim thoroughly put it to shame, and it's a game that many people will still be playing extensively in 2012 and beyond, not even close to seeing all it has to offer even years later!
7) Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception (PlayStation 3)
WHY: Uncharted 3 continued to improve on a series that had already virtually achieved cinematic perfection in every way. Delivering further improved multiplayer modes atop an excellent new treasure hunt with all of the usual charm, exploration and firefights that make this series as amazing as it is, Uncharted 3 placed Nathan Drake on his most dangerous and thrilling adventure to date, somehow outdoing even its excellent 2009 predecessor, my personal pick for Game of the Year that year. This is a series that only improves further with each installment, even if it changes very little of the fundamental formula. When you're a series as ambitious and compellingly lifelike as Uncharted though, where else is there to go when you're already on top?
8) The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (Wii)
WHY: The Zelda franchise celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2011, and even in a year where its most beloved game was given 3D visuals and playability on a handheld, it still stood tallest thanks to a new series high point. Skyward Sword marked a prequel that serves as the new start of the series timeline, delivering the Wii's most large and breathtaking adventure to date. The best part however is that Skyward Sword finally proved just how immensely motion controls can improve a game experience! The 1:1 motion reading of Wii MotionPlus finally allowed players to control Link's sword with expert precision, along with the various other tools in his arsenal, creating a whole slew of new ways to slay your enemies and solve the new batch of puzzles throughout the new selection of dangerous dungeons. Fans were further treated by added insight to former titles and the creation of Hyrule as a whole, making Skyward Sword not only one of the best Zelda games to date (no small feat), but also one of the best Wii games to date!
9) Rayman Origins (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii)
WHY: Rayman Origins really should have sold more, but at least its recognition was enough to get the game on track for 3DS and Vita releases in early 2012. Still, even if it's limited to consoles for now, the new Rayman prequel is beautiful, colourful and insane. It also happens to be one of the most pleasantly challenging and thoroughly engaging platformers in recent memory, even when stacked against the stellar mainline Mario games of this year, and the past several years beforehand. With the ability to play with up to four player co-op and the revolutionary push of hand-drawn visuals in gaming, Rayman Origins was a platformer that not only proved just how much heartfelt art can enhance the appeal of a game, but also how good platform gaming sensibilities just never die, while rounding that out by bringing back a long dormant franchise with its best entry yet. It was a long time coming for the true return of Ubisoft's limbless hero, but considering that Rayman Origins is one of the best third-party platformers in years, it was worth the wait!
10) Super Mario 3D Land (3DS)
WHY: The 3DS had a bumpy start, between a problematic launch lineup of games, a delay to the eShop online service, and the ongoing (and bullshit) accusation that the rise of smartphone and tablet gaming is making dedicated portable game systems obselete. That's a load of crap, especially since it's constantly non-gamers saying this ironically, who don't seem to grasp that the rift in depth and technology between smartphones/tablets and portable gaming devices is MASSIVE, but that's another blog. Anyway, my point is, the 3DS had trouble at launch, but Super Mario 3D Land finally got Nintendo's revolutionary, glasses-less 3D handheld off the ground, delivering the series' same hallmark stellar level design, while also proving in myriad ways how 3D visuals can effectively enhance the way we play games. The first original 3D Mario game on a handheld, Super Mario 3D Land continued to remind gamers everywhere why Mario is still the top platforming brand in the industry, even if games like Rayman Origins were tough competition. Still, Super Mario 3D Land was the game that proved the power of 3D, in much the same way that Super Mario 64 proved the power of polygonal 3D graphics back in 1996. It's another whole new way to play video games, and leave it to Nintendo to keep standing at the forefront of innovation!
Now that the nominees are decided, it's time to select the two runners-up, and then the Game of the Year. The second runner-up, for Game of the Year Bronze 2011....
GAME OF THE YEAR BRONZE: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3)
WHY: Skyrim is an excellent RPG, but to be honest, I disagree with all of the mindless Game of the Year wins that have been thrown at it. Allow me to explain why. First, Skyrim is more "large" than it is "groundbreaking". It mainly sticks to what makes the Elder Scrolls games work, and it mainly prides itself on its massive world and nearly infinite quests. That's still a very impressive accomplishment, and in terms of sheer scope and epic appeal, Skyrim is still one of 2011's best games, but it's not THE best in my opinion. Part of the problem is that, when you look at other Awards rosters, including my own, Skyrim doesn't win any concrete awards. It isn't crowned the best on its respective platforms, it's not effectively honoured for its graphics, sound or story, so why is it Game of the Year? That doesn't really make sense. This is part of the reason why, as great as Elder Scrolls is, I do find the series a tad overrated, since people just give it Game of the Year automatically because it's big, not because it's revolutionary, and they don't really think about it when they do it. In fact, I also feel a bit remiss giving Game of the Year to a game that's as loaded with bugs as Skyrim to be honest. On the note of the series' arrogance too, series maker, Bethesda isn't helping matters by trying to sue Minecraft creator, Notch over the use of the word, "Scrolls" in a game title. Uh, yeah, Bethesda, you don't own an entire word, the series isn't THAT good! Anyway, that's my explanation for why Skyrim isn't my Game of the Year, something I'm sure fanboys will chew me out for, but it's still second runner-up, and it's still a pretty amazing game. I still think that any serious gamer should play it, but for my two cents, it's not Game of the Year.
Next, is the first runner-up for Game of the Year 2011, taking Game of the Year Silver! This game is...
GAME OF THE YEAR SILVER: Portal 2 (PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3)
WHY: Portal 2 is outstanding, not just in terms of its play mechanics, but in terms of its world and characters as well. The original game may have been a simplistic, three-hour experience, but somehow, Valve took that nearly perfect slice of inventive gaming heaven, blew it up, added an excellent co-op campaign to it, and sold it as a bigger, better sequel, beating the odds in every way. Whether you love Portal 2 for its excellent puzzles or hysterical dark sense of humour, the sequel cemented the revolutionary Valve brand as its own esteemed franchise, only making things better with its new contributions. Portal 2 was still a smaller game than most of what 2011 delivered, but even in a smaller package, it was still one of the most hysterical, surprising and consistently memorable titles of the entire year, and no gamer should pass up the chance to play it!
This brings me to my final selection for 2011's very best game. After much careful deliberation, my selection for Game of the Year Gold, the best game of 2011, period, is....
GAME OF THE YEAR GOLD: The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (Wii)
WHY: Yes, this is going to be a VERY controversial opinion, especially since I didn't, you know, give it to Skyrim like everyone and their grandmother and their grandmother's cat. I was kicking around the nominees for a while, and it was really hard to bump excellent games like Ghost Trick, Super Mario 3D Land, and Batman: Arkham City out of the running, since they were really revolutionary and amazing game experiences that every gamer should play. The more I think about it though, the more that I feel that Skyward Sword best deserves my pick for Game of the Year 2011. It's not quite as massive as Skyrim and it's not quite as off-the-wall as Portal 2, but Skyward Sword took a franchise that turned 25 years old in 2011, one of the most adored and well-known franchises in gaming history and rightfully so, and it completely reinvented how we play it, while somehow still staying true to everything that makes the Zelda franchise a masterwork. As if the game's huge length, excellent world and dungeon design, highly entertaining enemy encounters, superb storyline and breathtaking art style weren't amazing enough, Skyward Sword also finally, objectively demonstrated how motion controls can create a game experience that just isn't possible with traditional buttons and control sticks. The extra precise capabilities of Link's sword were just amazing to finally make our own thanks to Wii MotionPlus, and just in time for 2012's introduction of Wii U, Skyward Sword also finally, objectively proved that the Wii can still deliver kick-ass blockbusters that even outdo their HD competition on the Xbox 360 and PS3 before being succeeded by its own HD successor. The Wii had a pretty tough year in 2011, as is common with Nintendo consoles that are in their twilight stages, but Skyward Sword was enough to make the entire year for Wii owners, and even if it's probably Wii's last big first-party blockbuster, something that even Nintendo basically admitted, it struck a triumphant final blow for Nintendo's little white box, rewarding the faith of Nintendo's fanbase with one of the best Zelda games yet, one of the best Wii games yet, one of the best action-adventure games yet, one of the best uses of motion controls yet, and best of all, 2011's all-time best video game in my opinion, and the opinion of many others.
So, if you have more to say than flaming me for making Skyrim settle for third-best, feel free to contribute your own thoughts on 2011's top games, and what you felt best made the year for you and your gaming peers! Thanks for reading, and happy gaming in 2012!
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