2011 was a year full of good games that I still play this day. Some more than others, but for the most part, it has been a real treat as a gamer. I'm going to go down the list of genres that I play and just jot quick notes on some of them.
Best Fighting Game - I love Fighting Games. I have to admit they are one of the first genre I have indulged myself in way back when during the 'family computer' days in my homeland. So without further adieu:
WINNER:
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| The Return of the Kunoichi herself! |
WHY: I gave it a lot of thought on this because one of my most anticipated fighting game came out this year. But truth to be told, one of my all time favorite fighting game is still SNK v.s. Capcom 2. I loved the way it was true to the root of both games. While it had the classic feel of both KOF and Street Fighter, they took the best of both and combined them. Well, King of Fighters XIII offered some of that same feel for me. While I'm not super familiar with a lot of the characters since I'm more a Capcom guy, I did appreciate how smooth the system was. The way buttons responded, how combos linked, the WAY improved graphics compared to its predecessor KOF XII (what a damn bad game....), King of Fighters XIII took the reign as the champ in my book. While it did come later in the year, it still offered/offers me some good burns on my thumb doing those quarter circle punch moves. I'm going to be playing this game a while so I can probably give a better in depth review later.
Runner Up:
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| I have a Feeling Tony in a Suit is more than a match for Ryu. |
WHY: I'm a Marvel Fan. Like Hard Core. Duh. I've also been a huge fan of Street Fighter. I played the living crap out of Marvel vs Capcom 2 for hours and hours on end. Hell, I bought that damn game at ebay for $99!!! So when the sequel and its trailer was announced I damn near creamed my godamn pants!!! I bought the collector's edition, played the hell out of it as well. I loved the way they 'snikt' (hahaha. Sneaked. Snikt. hahaha!) some of the rival/relationship dialogue between some of the Marvel characters (Logan and Laura, Logan and Magneto, Iron Man and his act of being a ladies' man, etc. etc.). The story wasn't good, but it wasn't bad and I thought putting Galactus as a final boss was more than adequate. Controls responded well, combos linked so smoothly with air combos, hyper moves and signature moves stayed loyal to each character wether we speak of Capcom or Marvel. They even captured the personalities of the newly introduced characters so accurately for the most part (Deadpool's 'belief' that he is either in a video game or a comic book is a good example). Let's add a little bit of spice by mentioning that the voice acting was well chosen like X-23 being voiced by Tara Strong was a good pick; and of course we can't forget to mention how awesome the graphics are! So why? Why is it second place when it had so much pros that I just listed?
Well. Multiplayer. Multiplayer killed it for me because too many people are too damn good. You call me a sore loser? Not really the case. I mean I lose, I get mad. Yeah. But the thing is that most 'good' players I have lost to know the system and know the system in an annoying way! Spam! Spam! SPAM!!! SPAAAAM!!!! It's like combos after combos!!! Godamn freaking shit! Okay so maybe I'm not super great at this game. I admit it. But godamn!!! To some of you, it may be a bad reason to not give this game its deserving award as number one. But let me tell you something: It's a fun game when I'm kicking my friends' ass or the A.I., or maybe fighting those I have a chance at online.
Best Action/RPG: This genre is a little vague and easy to mix up games. But I kind of dwindled it down in what I thought fell in this spot. These games come in abundance in the gaming world. Very few really really stick out. These are the two that stuck out for 2011.
WINNER:
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| Hhhmmm. Kinky Kitty. WHY: Batman has been one of the few DC characters that had always caught my attention. A man with no super powers at all and yet he still manages to hold his own against the Man of Steel, The Emerald Knight, and so forth and So forth. He holds arsenals of hi tech gadgets, state of the art armor that is disguised as a big Black Bat, one of the best hand to hand combat skill, a very intuitive detective mind, then let's not forget the play boy part that has him smashing with some of the hottest babes of gotham. Arkham Asylum drew a pretty good picture of Batman and most of his 'charming' style as a comic book character. Arkham City did the same but two times better, then it painted his environment as well as added the more colorful casts of his rivals and 'allies' in a 'prettier' picture. So now that we got the comic book geek mindgasm out of the way, let us really talk about the core of the game. I always liked how smooth the combat system was in Arkham Asylum, simple, but can add some complex part by mixing up between melee, evasion, and using gadgets. Arkham city did that and added more flare. Then the stealth parts which added the whole 'gloom' of how Batman stalks his prey. Well, this game captured it again but gave him more gadgets and made it more imperative at some parts (the battle with Mr.Freeze as such). Graphics, good. Story gave a good homage to DC's story line. The role of voice acting is of course legendary. Tara Strong and Mark Hamill in the cast is always a good thing when we are talking about a Batman game. Then in the grand scheme of things, there are so much things to do in the game that for sure added the 'rpg' aspect of the genre as well as the open world feel. One could get lost into just grappling around as Batman within the 'prison' city, fighting baddies, or solving Riddler's riddles. Then off the story chart, one can also delve into the challenge maps. The combat challenges are always fun if you just feel like beating the living hell out of some henchmen. The bonus thing that I love out of all is being able to play as the hott as hell Catwoman: |
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| MRRRoooooWWW!!! |
Runner up:
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| I never fought this dude. Maybe cause I died so many times. Duh. |
WHY: The 'spiritual predecessor' of Demons' Souls as it has been called many times. Well we all know the jist of Demons' Souls right? You are just some poor sap placed in a hellish world. You fight to just rid the world of demons. Your only guide is The Maiden in Black and the only time you get to see her is if you die, and believe me, you'll die. A LOT. Well, Dark Souls did the same thing. To how far I got, yes it was harder than Demons Souls. But it was missing a few 'umphs' that its 'spiritual predecessor' (don't you feel so special when you call this game that? I mean I do. hahahaha!). Don't get me wrong, it was still one of the hardest games I've ever played, however, there was just a certain point when it was just killing me just to fuck with me. Demons Souls I can say a lot of my dumb mistakes were the reason I died when I got to a certain point, but Dark Souls just wanted to torture the living hell out of anyone who picked up the damn controller. But I guess that was the point. Anyway, this was the game that stuck to me in this 'genre'. I know, this area of genre is a little vague and easy to mix up. It may not be the same definition to some of you, but who the hell cares? it's my godamn blog. Okay, next genre!
Best Open World Game: So let's add another genre that is so easy to mix up. I could've easily have put Batman in this genre. Then again, some games I put here I can also mix up on my previous banter about 'action rpg'. But remember, this is my take on the gaming world, yo! So here we are!
WINNER:
WHY: My first (and only game so far) that I have given a full depth review. I think it's well earned that title for 2011. A really fun game, I played it twice. It also featured a pretty decent DLC much later in 2011 called Festival of Blood. All in all, if you want a full reason as to why, scroll back and you shall read. Other than that, Next....
Runner Up:
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| Gangstas in puhrpal. Yo. |
WHY: I've never been a big fan of GTA. I played it here and there but I was not a big time follower like a lot of people are. I remember Saints Row way back when and I thought to myself that it's just another open world gangsta game. It wasn't until Saints Row the Third came about that I actually pictured myself enjoying the game. Well, I got it on the latter half of the year and let me tell you, this game is as hilarious as it is fun. I've heard many gamers call it: "GTA on Crack". I say it's GTA on a hippy flip. You get the standard open world game with all it's mission based, 3rd person action, and filthy mouth dialogue. With that you get to 'pimp your ride' as well as take on gangstas that are from wonderland or just bizzaro world. All in all this game can feature the same qualities as a GTA game for people but with far more humor and a little more on the wacky goofy side. Besides, with THQ's smackdown influence on it, running and DDT'ing and posing is as fun as blowing someone's knee caps off with two desert eagles on hand.
Best Western RPG: For the longest time I've always been a bigger JRPG gamer. But for reasons I will probably mention in a much later blog, Western RPG has become my number one source for my Role Playing crave. They have so much more things to engage, their characters are usually leaning towards the actual gamer's likes and dislikes (of course for the most part there is no real 'personality' and they lack the main character protagonist that has a 'voice'), the choices are more often than not laid upon the player's discretion on which path s/he will take, and for the most part, a lot of Western RPGs are in the theme of a real 'open world' gameplay. 2011 offered a couple that really delved into what the Western RPG can do and gave us a glimpse of what the future can offer. So let's name these games that deserve the awards shall we?
WINNER:
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| I wore that armor for 5 hours total. |
WHY: Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion was a fantastic game. I gave that game over 700 hours on the X360 and then some with all the dlc's with four characters. It took at least a year and a half until I was finally 'tired' of the game, but it left me with a craving. With Bethesda and the way they take time making games, I studied the Elder Scrolls mythos after playing it Oblivion. I read about Elder Scrolls III and from that I kept on digging into some of the facts about the races, the continents, etc. It did nothing more than hungered me for another game. Well, it may have taken six years but Skyrim came in the VGA 2010 announcement. And let me tell you, the fans roared like the dragons, and the haters hated like the daedras themselves. And after a long anticipated wait, 11/11/11 came and I stood in line with many other gamers awaiting for our copy.
Much like Oblivion, once the story telling had passed, the player, wether they be Nord, Khajiit, Argonian, Dark Elf, High Elf, Wood Elf, Redguard, Breton, or Orc, the Dragonborn is thrown into an open fantasy that is as enticing as it is dangerous. I can go on about how beautiful the landscapes are and how much better the graphics are but being redundant I know, I will have a review on Skyrim (probably after the first major DLC on it), but that is not the main reason why I got involved in Skyrim for 500 hours so far. It's the feeling of freedom in a game. Like I'm living a fantasy life and doings that I cannot do, doing it the way I would do it if I had some magical powers and able to wield blade like that. It's the path I'm able to take, the armors I can wear to fit my liking, and of course all the endless hours of slaying fools, and demanding dragons from the skies that tremor their way to slay the likes of me.
To me it defines Role Playing. It gives 'life' to the whole idea of being a character and making the choices one wants to make with very limited boundaries to abide by. Not only that act of being able to freely choose one decision to another in regards to quests or what not but that same freedom flows right into the gameplay. The ability to be able to choose between melee and magic is just so easy. I can switch from the blade and when need be I can just heal myself or summon any element I want and be off to a good start back to using a my sword; and if that sword doesn't fit the scenario, I can switch to another sword, or maybe give my left hand a shield instead of magic when I'm getting bombarded by the baddies.
I can keep going on and on, but let me give the other games a few words. But let me say this, I three games on Skyrim: A warrior Dark Elf, A Sorceress Breton, and a thief Khajiit; all three games are still fresh to me and I would love nothing more than to give them more hours. Just like its predecessor Oblivion, Skyrim set the standard to future open world western Rpgs that so few games can ever par strictly because of how much it has to offer. And believe me folks, I've barely scratched the surface as to why it is deserving of this title and another one.
Runner Up:
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| I never found myself using Blood Magic as a mage |
Why: Dragon Age II did not get very many good praise. Perhaps it was because they had a lot to live up to with Origins being their predecessor that appealed to so many RPG players. Many raved negatively against Dragon Age II's more 'hack and slash' gameplay mechanics and the poor choice of recycling the same backgrounds for many dungeons and such. Many felt that there was less tactic and more button mashing and the act of just reusing the same environment was lazy and far from impressive. There were even talks of bad story telling and what not. While I agree with a lot of the complaints, I found myself enjoying DA II's gameplay a lot more than Origins. I thought the voice acting was terrific and the narration wasn't all that bad. While I totally hate the repeating backgrounds, I was pleased with their attempt to correct that problem through the DLC's. The characters were still rich in story and thought. I like the fact that Hawke, wether male or female had a 'voice' and a personality compared to the Grey Warden in Origins. Merril and Fenris were a fantastic addition to the whole mythos. Their opinions weren't black and white but rather grey, and both side of the coin had a lot of good points when it comes to where they stand. So all in all, it wasn't a terrible game, it wasn't great. But fear not folks, I think Dragon Age III will probably rectify some of the complaints both you and I had about the sequel.
'Sub Runner Up':
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| I wonder just how big his role is in ME 3? |
What and Why: A lot of gamers played Mass Effect 2 on January of 2010, but for the ps3 gamers, This awesome game didn't come our way until a year later on January of 2011. Without a doubt this would be my top Western RPG even above Skyrim for 2011, however technically the game was introduced to the world a year before. But since I only got to play it this year, it is very note worthy to talk about it because the Mass Effect series is one of the best games that ever hit the gaming world. With very in depth characters that are given many thoughts and plenty of personality, an open world outer space (the second one being more of an open space than the first of course), consequences for choices s/he makes from one sequel to the next, and of course we can't forget the fact that between ME 1 and ME 2, the gameplay improved despite the fact that it was fun as hell in the first one. The third one is just right around the corner and I'm going to take a wild guess that ME3 will take the reigns of this genre if they do everything they did with the first and second one but multiply it. This is suppose to be the conclusion of Shepard's story, so it will be a rather bitter sweet time for a lot of us. But I know one thing is for sure, Mass Effect 3 will end the story with a bang!
Best JRPG: I've stated it a couple of times before that Jrpg has been lacking. Final Fantasy XIII was their last biggest RPG, and let's all admit it, it didn't/doesn't live up to what Final Fantasy used to be. We also get waves and waves of Jrpg's left and right but for some reason they all seem to have the same knack for the same redundant theme. Not to mention, turn based gameplay isn't as big as it used to be. But amidst all the Jrpgs I did play in 2011, there was one particular one that did stand out to me that still has me playing it to this day. Sad to say, it's the only JRPG worth even naming in my books.
Winner:
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| This game was even on par with the First Disgaea!!! |
WHY:
What Disgaea 4 offered pretty much the same addiction that the first three gave, one of its main shining point are the vastly improved graphics. While I'm not a total graphic whore, I do appreciate my games to grow up with the generation. Come on, let's be serious, a 16 bit on ps3 capability is not any way shape or form cool or attracting. It takes away from the ooohs and awe that we are in a new jump on graphics, so making the sprites in vibrant form like they did with Disgaea 4 was anything but credible. The animation was smooth on every attack, the explosions and craziness are more eye hoarding, and while the background will never be Disgaea's main sight of attraction, it was for sure enhanced to a much safer feel for this generation's liking.
Aside from all that, Disgaea 4 gave us the same addicting character customization option where a generic Healer who can't do squat for regular offense damage can become one of the front line hard hitters if one spends the hours transmigrating and hulking her out. This time around, there are also additional colors that can be earned (one must have a lot of HL with that though, which makes building up one's funds important even in the end) making an original feel even more attainable. The item world still holds its true form with few tweaking, but the very miniscule twist makes it a bit more of a grand experience (again with many hours into it). They took the concept of the character world and pretty much kept it the same like it was on the third Disgaea, and the list goes on about the many customization routes one can take that may take one hours and hours on end, and even on the edge one might still hunger for more 'mastering'. I can't blame anyone for spending way pass the 200 hours I have currently spent.
Lastly, the characters. While Laharl, Etna, and Flonne remains to be the classics, Disgaea 4 offered new and much more colorful casts, feeding off the popularity of this day and age's vampire and lycan fever. Valvatorez and Fenrich offered such a strong, but sometimes less than awkward strong show of male/comrade bonding. Then there are the mini main characters who are usually less than important to use, but because of their back story or their usefulness, made them more than once as part of my front line. I can dig deeper into this, but I think we get the picture why Disgaea 4 deserves the praise in my book. If one can really dig into Tactical RPG the way I can, enjoy a little humor in story lines as well accept a few crude jokes, then the Disgaea series (especially Disgaea 4) is for you.
Best Humor In a Game: Come on, in the gaming world, humor is a must. We can't always have that dead on serious, blood and gore, mystery solving, drama love heart filling, and all the other stuff that makes a game manly and gritty. We all have to have some Hees and Haahs with it. So I just had to put this out there. So here's my two pick.
WINNER:
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| Odd. |
WHY: Okay so Disgeae 4 is on twice in a row for compliments. Big deal. It's a damn good game, and one its blockbuster in the gaming world is keeping the tradition of the wacky world of demonic humor. But let's be blunt, the originality of the first Disgaea is hard to surpass because it was the original humor. But that doesn't go to show that the fourth installation the series doesn't have its own kicks. The real moments that had its most hilarious points are of course the interaction between Valvatorez and Fenrich; The werewolf's undying loyalty for the overlord Vampire can be quite the chuckle or two (or just plain odd as I have stated before), then the trio of Fuka, Desco, and Emiziel's constant curiosity about 'Vulcanus' and Valvatorez' mysterious past gets them in a rather hilarious debates and gossips, then there are also the random things that happen in game like the action animations that just makes you want to shake your head in humor because it's just absurd and funny that they would even imagine a 'Succubus' performing such an act while morphed as a weapon. There were plenty other comical moments to be shared, but truth to be told, I don't remember them all or there are too many to share at this moment. But since I am on another close cycle to replay this game, I might just update.
GAME OF THE YEAR: To me this title doesn't have a limit of number as to how many games can receive it in any given year. Some years in the past I had one came in mind, others had a couple, this year was for sure a good solid line up of spectacular games that took my time, my attention, my awe, and on stressful days these games took out the stress and put me in a world where I can be whatever the game permits me to be which can be nothing but a Marvelous feeling. The words I have expressed about them can not compare to the experience they have had on my gaming (and others') world. While their play time may only be a few hundred hours, their main story line only repeat so much, and their DLC's may soon run short for downloading, their mark will be infinite. They made 2011 for gaming past time for me!!!
Afterwords: I already know that this is not the majority's pick. I know that I'm missing a few genres too that most people would call note worthy. But do keep in mind that this is my blog, my opinion, and my Freedom of Speech and these are the games that did it for me. Well, as my last thing to say, I know you guys probably don't hear it too often but if you guys happen to read this, all of you people how made these video games possible: THANK YOU!!! I look forward to your future endeavors in the future days of Gaming!
RUNNER UP:
No More Heroes. But more Girls.
WHY: "No More Heroes". This game was just plain absurd in every point it was trying to hit. It wasn't trying to be subtle at all with its violence, sexuality, use of vulgar language, incredibly off the wall story (and the way it was told), super mundane gameplay that is equally as bonkers, really bizarre characters, so forth, and so forth. Well to break it to you folks, it may sound like a horrendous game, but that is the humor of this game, the fact that it was pushing into the charts of ludicrousness and beyond. An otaku guy, just made himself a light saber, decides to assassinate badasses and comes across a hot chick who promises to pay him with money and her ass as long as he keeps climbing up the ladder killing badasses. If the story line doesn't sniff out some chuckles, well the way you go about it, characters you have to kill, the language you have to endure and the 'twist' at the end, well I guess I may be one of the few that found this rather fitting for laughter then. I wouldn't put this game on par as one of the most entertaining games of 2011; but it did give me the laughter to even remember it.
Best Voice Overs: For some the voice behind a character can make or break the game. I'm not that super picky about voicing, but it does have to be decent. Like actors. They have to play the role given to them, roll the dice with it, and game with it. Well there were a lot of good games this year that had very strong resounding voices that really made the game easy on the ears as well as the eyes. These are the two most note worthy to call out.
WINNER:
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| 'Why So Serious?' |
WHY: Arkham City had a lot good voice cast. Some of the best in the business as I have been told and I have also heard. Let's just name the big few: Kevin Conroy, the voice of Batman (I would name all his credentials, but wiki can do a better job, but to sum it up in my own words, this guy is the breathing voice of Batman, trust me. Animated series in the 90's per say and just about every Batman thing after that?), Mark Hamill as the Joker (Yes he is Luke Skywalker, but look at his voice acting career. Much longer than his movie acting), and Tara Strong as Harley Quinn (This gal has voiced so many femme fatales that I adore. X-23, Rikku, and now Harley, just to name a few). Very strong and compelling voices that made each respected comic book character well known and recognizable even to gamers who barely even turn a page of a comic book in their life time. Not that the talking was a big grand thing in this game, far from it since Arkham City is packed with mostly action, stealth, and some minor detective work but in between are some very good interaction between Heroes and Villains of the Batman mythos. With each voice actor doing stellar to spectacular feats of portraying their characters, the comic book world of DC is perfectly translated into the Gaming universe. It's not the big reason why I played and honor the game, but one of Arkham City's main guns are for sure the choices of their voice actors.
RUNNER UP:
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| Bioware had never lacked in Voice Actors. |
WHY: Yes, Bioware made some huge mistakes with Dragon Age II. I know and loyal fans of the series knows this. But credit is still worth giving to certain areas of the game that was still as powerful as the first Dragon Age. With that statement, let's give praise to the voice acting in this game since there are a LOT of narration in this game. Mostly on Varric and Cassandra's part. They had the proper fluctuation of feelings on every pivotal point and emotions are heard as well as felt with every dialogue between the two. Let's just say Varric's sarcasm and real emotion can be distinguished any time which is a key to a voice acting in a game full of narration. Monotone and unable to carry out the feeling through vocals is a bad voice acting job which Dragon Age II didn't deliver. And I'm not just limiting it to the Seeker and the Dwarf's talent either, the rest of the cast did from high mediocre to excellent. I personally loved Fenris and Merril and the way their personalities were defined in the way they talk; or at least the actors' way of conveying their fantasy avatars. In fact I don't think there was ever a real awful sounding actor that didn't make the whole 'vocal' experience for me bad. From Flemeth to the lowly dwarf in Kirkwall slums, everyone knew how to pinpoint reaction when they spoke; and to me it made Dragon Age II note worthy to receive an acknowledgement in this area. I didn't cringe at the thought of someone talking. Best of all, I've got a special place of honors to the best voice actor of the game:
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| ENCHONMENTS!!!! |
GAME OF THE YEAR: To me this title doesn't have a limit of number as to how many games can receive it in any given year. Some years in the past I had one came in mind, others had a couple, this year was for sure a good solid line up of spectacular games that took my time, my attention, my awe, and on stressful days these games took out the stress and put me in a world where I can be whatever the game permits me to be which can be nothing but a Marvelous feeling. The words I have expressed about them can not compare to the experience they have had on my gaming (and others') world. While their play time may only be a few hundred hours, their main story line only repeat so much, and their DLC's may soon run short for downloading, their mark will be infinite. They made 2011 for gaming past time for me!!!
WINNERS:
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| Skyrim |
Batman: Arkham City
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| Disgaea 4 |
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| Mass Effect 2 |
Afterwords: I already know that this is not the majority's pick. I know that I'm missing a few genres too that most people would call note worthy. But do keep in mind that this is my blog, my opinion, and my Freedom of Speech and these are the games that did it for me. Well, as my last thing to say, I know you guys probably don't hear it too often but if you guys happen to read this, all of you people how made these video games possible: THANK YOU!!! I look forward to your future endeavors in the future days of Gaming!
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