I suppose I really should have done this last week but I completely forgot about it before now (now being Sunday 8th at 5pm GMT). 2011 has very much been the year of the sequel. Not alot of original titles being released but I suppose that’s the way of the gaming industry these days. Some big names in the business choosing 2011 to be the year of their series new release. Now lets take an overview of them (btw, if your favourite game isn’t here it’s for one of 2 reasons, 1) I enjoyed it less/more than those mentioned or 2) I didn’t play it). Lets make a start shall we?

3rd Worst Game – Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3

Modern Warfare 3 shows us just how gullible the average gamer can be. Being served the same old shit and calling it sugar. Although the actual game isn’t bad, it’s what the game represents which is why it sits 3rd in this list. The corporate sham that sits atop of the gaming charts because of corporate backhands just so Activision can add another golden toilet to their palace that the unthinking masses paid for. It’s frightening thinking that the same game can be sold many times over with just a new coat of paint and a few minor tweaks  The west is meant to be in a state of economic crisis, although you would never notice given how many copies of Modern Warfare shifted upon it’s release. Come to your senses people!! Modern Warfare isn’t as good as you think it is!!

3rd Best Game – Batman Arkham City

Now I get to talk about someone I like, Batman. It seems every time Rocksteady put their name to something it instantly turns to gold. Arkham Asylum was critically acclaimed and unlike the former mention game, it deserved the credit. It’s dark depiction of everyday life of out caped crusader had everything you wanted from a game, the interesting story, the thick atmosphere, crisp gameplay. Also if my memory doesn’t deceive me, I think it was the first game adaptation of any comic book which was actually any good, one that someone who wasn’t even all that into the Batman comics could pick up, play and still say it was a good game. Now we have the sequel, which tries to take the winning formula of the original and improve it. Although Arkham City doesn’t quite reach the giddy heights of the original it is still to all intents and purposes a good game and worthy of 3rd place. The story may be somewhat lax compared to the original, but it’s still interesting enough to see through to the end and defiantly a game worth picking up, even as I’ve mentioned before if you’re not a big comic geek.

2nd Worst Game – FIFA 2012

Another game that was never going to fair well in my books for all the same reasons Modern Warfare 3 is in my bad books and more. FIFA games have been infecting our consoles since 1993. I remember playing FIFA 1996 on my PSone all those years ago. I had stints on a few FIFA games since then up till about FIFA 2000 then lost track of them until my brother bought FIFA 10, then FIFA 11 and then FIFA 12. To this day I am actually unsure as to what the difference is between the last 3 were. Ok, in fairness Blackpool were only in the Premiership in one of those games I get that much, but past the modernising of Leagues and stuff their isn’t really anything new to add. The problem all FIFA games have is that they are expected to create a game every year to keep their leagues up to date, but with very little that’s new to bring to the table every year means that very little that’s new is added so all anyone can do is tweak and update and hope for the best, which in the end becomes over tweaked and ruined. I remember the game mechanics being alot more controllable and smoother when playing FIFA 98. Also back then you could get actually tackle people, unlike this day and age where you get banned for 8 matches for calling someone black.

2nd Best Game – Portal 2

It’s been 4 years since Portal descended from the heavens and graces us all with it’s presence. Showing us all that Valve weren’t doing what we wanted them to (making Half-Life 3), but we can forgive them for since they gave us Portal. Portal was and still is the most fun I’ve had for £12 ever. It may have been a bit short at maybe 3-4hrs but given that it is at its heart a puzzle game, if it were any longer it wouldn’t have had the same appeal. The gaming mechanics were interesting and to add the icing to the proverbial cake it contained the best use of dark humour in any computer game to date. Now we have Portal 2. Like Arkham City, it may not shine as brightly as Portal but on it’s own it stands up very well. The single player although being more story orientated than fixated on gameplay is still interesting enough to keep you entertained all the way through. True it’s not as puzzle based as the original and does loose it’s charm a little in the single player, it more than makes up for it in the multi-player. Portal showed us how much fun we could have with just a room and 2 portals. Portal 2 in giving us a partner shows us how much more fun it can be when we add another pair of portals, lasers, light platforms, repulsion gel as well as many other weird and wonderful things. A must own. Also I recommend buying the game on the PS3, since you do get a free PC copy with it.

Worst Game of 2011 – Duke Nukem Forever
 

I couldn’t in my right mind give this mark of dishonour to any other game than Duke Nukem Forever. It’s just bad, bad, bad, bad, terrible, rubbish, appalling, dreadful, horrible and bottom line shit. Which is a shame because I love Duke. His quirky one liners and complete disregard for any sexual equality made him cool. Man wanted to be him, women wanted to be with him. That was all well and good back in the 20th century but in this day and age of equality to all races and sexes Duke is just a bit of an embarrassment. It’s like dad dancing. Sure it might have been cool when he was young, now he’s just making a fool of himself. Duke is a relic of years gone by. Duke Nukem Forever is proof of this. For starters the game itself encompasses everything bad about modern First Person shooters. It’s gimmicky, the story flows like a river of bricks and Duke’s snappy one liners now just seem desperate like a child craving attention by breaking his grandma’s porcelain clown just because she wouldn’t let you have any ice cream after dinner… anyway.

Best Game of 2011 – The Elder’s Scroll V: Skyrim

I don’t think I could have possibly given this award to any other game.I must have enjoyed over 100+hrs of gameplay on this game over the past two months, which is a staggering amount of time. Every hour I have enjoyed just as much if not more so than the last. My only complaint about the game is that every 2hrs or so the game will crash to desktop. As annoying as it is. I can’t help but think how many more sleepless nights I would have had if the game hadn’t crashed to desktop at 3am. It is a game of sheer brilliance, beauty and overwhelming enjoyment. If you have to play one game from 2011. Make sure it is this.

Well that was 2011, now we get to look forward to 2012 and what that has to offer us. Some of the bigger titles to grace us through 2012 include Tomb Raider, Hitman Absolution, Final Fantasy XIII-2, Max Payne 3, Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City, Soul Calibre V, Metal Gear Rising and the one I’m looking forward to most Mass Effect 3. As usual, I’m looking forward to the year ahead but at the same time trying not to get my hopes up too much.