Here’s the second half of my list without further ado!
#5: Dirt 3 / Portal 2
I sort of forgot about Portal 2 until we started recording, so I had to shoehorn it in here somewhere. But what can I really say about Portal 2 that hasn’t already been said? It’s a fantastic game with great characters, a good story, fun puzzles, and fantastic co-op. And Valve somehow managed to make a sequel that didn’t feel unnecessary.
On the other end of the spectrum, Dirt 3 is another fantastic game in that series. The first Dirt was great and the second improved on nearly everything (except for the horrible menus), but Dirt 3 really improved on so much. Naturally there are more of everything, with more cars, tracks, and events. Then Codemasters added snow (which, thankfully, isn’t cosmetic) and the gymkhana events, which were far more fun than they should have been. And if you have a good PC, Dirt 3 looks spectacular.
#4: inFAMOUS 2
I somehow keep forgetting about the inFAMOUS games, even though I enjoy the hell out of them when they come out. And inFAMOUS 2 is no exception. Improving on some of the frustrations of the first, while keeping the best elements of the original, this was one hell of a sequel. Moving the game to a New Orleans setting also helped, allowing for a bit more diversity in the environments. I’m also a big fan of having the main enemy looming in the distance for the better part of the game.
#3: Xenoblade Chronicles
The JRPG that changed JRPGs. That’s monumental enough to get this high on the list, but making a game that is actually fun and has enough content for over 100 hours? That’s just incredible. In a year that has seen the JRPG struggle against shooters with RPG elements and big-budget Western RPGs, it’s nice to see that at least one developer wants to keep moving the genre forward and fighting against the stagnation that can plague JRPGs. Thankfully it’s coming to North America so I don’t have to keep hoping that everyone else can play it.
#2: Dead Space 2
TVGP’s Game of the Year for 2011. While maybe not as naturally scary as the first (likely because Isaac speaks), DS2 is a fantastic game. It looks better, the combat is more fun, the weapons more varied, and the upgrade paths for weapons felt much better. I wish I had more to say about the game, but I spent the entire year talking it up. Go check it out (and if you haven’t played the first one, play that, too)
#1: Gears of War 3
I didn’t expect to fall in love with Gears 3, I really didn’t. I had fun with the previous two Gears games, but never really fell head over heels like so many others did. But the combination of everything in Gears 3 was too much for me to resist. Each and every mode in the game is fun and/or fresh. Of special mention is Arcade mode, where Epic has figured out how to get you to help and compete with your friends in yet another way.
The highest praise that I can give Gears 3 is that since it has gone into my 360 it has spent very, very little time out of it. No game has done that for quite a long time.
That’s my list for this year! Like 2010, 2011 was a hell of a year for games. I sincerely hope that 2012 continues the tradition of delivering tons of great games that drain my wallet completely.
Looking forward to next year, I will have a post up soon about the changes I’m making to Pile of Shame. The first experiment was successful, but I have a different way of doing it that takes all the guesswork out of it and cleans up my pile a bit faster.
