2011: A Year in Review – Video Games

2011 was a pretty good year for gaming. Here I’ve listed my 10 top games of the year, 5 I wish I’d played, and my top 5 anticipated 2012 releases.

The Top 10 Games I Played

10. Mighty Fin - iOS

A sort of underwater response to Tiny Wings (read on…), with playful upgrades and candy land. Can be frustrating at times, but it feels great when you get on a good run, with multipliers abound.

9. Madden NFL 12 - Xbox 360 (also available on PS3, Wii)

This game, while still in my top 10 for 2011, was a disappointment. I guess it’s only really here because I love the Madden franchise, and am one of the suckers who will continue to buy the games, year-in, year-out. But this game is frustrating at times, especially to newcomers. I think I still managed to get a lot out of it because I know the franchise well; but many were turned off by this year’s installment. Hopefully EA is hearing the masses, and will make some changes in the 2013 edition.

8. Tiny Wings - iOS

Every casual gamer’s indy-game experience of 2011. I’m not very good at it, though…

7. TETRIS - iOS

EA’s revamp of the arcade classic is the finest touch-screen edition I’ve played. I’ve always felt like this game wouldn’t work on a touch-screen device, but EA proved me wrong on this one. Then again, if they tried to rub it in, I’d probably just tell them to shut up and get back to work on the next Madden installment.

6. Dead Space 2 - Xbox 360 (also available on PS3, PC)

There is so much to love about this game. The graphics, the sound, the weapons, the gore.

But every time I play this game, I am terrified. I constantly try to convince myself that this is a good thing – the game is keeping me on the edge of my seat with it’s shocks and surprises. But I can’t escape the fact that I don’t actually enjoy being consistently terrified. Sure, suspense is enjoyable, and it is enthralling to play a game that can have this kind of effect on me. But constantly worrying about surprises around each and every corner isn’t enjoyable.

I feel like a pussy for saying it, but what needs to be understood is that I’m not “terrified” because they’re big scary zombie mutants coming to crush my skull. I’m “terrified” because I know shocks are just around the corner, and I don’t really like being shocked. So this game gets plus points for having such an effect on me, but loses points for relying too heavily on that shock value to do so.

5. Where’s My Water? - iOS

Where’s My Water? is a physics puzzle game designed by Disney, which I suppose means it’s meant to be for kids. But so are water parks, slip-n-slides, and bouncy balls. It’s fun to be a kid.

The aim of the game is to coerce water through the level to give your crocodile friend a shower. It starts off simple, but like all great physics puzzlers, it gets more and more complex as you go.

Every now and then they’ll release an update with new levels, so you’re guaranteed bang for your buck.

4. Tiny Tower - iOS

The first iOS game that, in my opinion, excellently utilizes the multi-tasking ability of a device. When I first played this game, I thought, “Gee, now I just have to wait for that to happen? What a load of crap!”

Then I came to the realization: this game doesn’t want you to sit there staring at the progress bars ticking down. It wants you to let the tower go on without you, interrupting you (pleasantly – I interject) with push notifications when action needs to be taken.

So it’s certainly not the kind of game you can just sit down and play – although there are always little things to do – but instead it’s one you start up and just keep checking on. It’s kind of like a Tamagotchi, but without the pooping.

3. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12 - iOS

I bought this on my iPhone because it was on sale for just 99 cents, and it’s made me want to buy the Xbox version, too. I never would have thought a golf game could be so playable, but it’s the perfect game for train rides, flights, and otherwise. Chews through battery life, though what doesn’t?

2. Gears of War 3 - Xbox 360

I’ve loved the Gears of War series since I first played the original back in 2007, so this might be a biased opinion. Gears of War 3 is a welcome addition to the franchise. It doesn’t really offer anything new or ground-breaking, but it is certainly the most polished of all the releases, and all game modes are rewarding. It’s a must play, regardless of whether you’ve played the prequels.

1. Deus Ex: Human Revolution - Xbox 360 (also available on PC, PS3 and Mac OS)

I still haven’t played the original two games in the Deus Ex series (both were released early last decade), but by all accounts that doesn’t change the experience of Deus Ex: Human Revolution. This game is the best game I played in 2011, and (maybe outside of one or two of the games in the Grand Theft Auto franchise) it might be the best game I’ve ever played.

I’ve played a lot of games in my lifetime, probably more than my fair share. And as I think back over my 20 short years so far, a few games stand out as pillars of my lifetime gaming experience. In my formative years, it was Asteroids, SimTower and The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall (recognize the title?). Then, it was Age of Empires II: Age of Kings, Diablo II and The Sims. As I moved over to consoles, GTA: Vice City and the Madden franchise became my obsessions. Deus Ex: Human Revolution is the newest addition to that list.

For more on Deus Ex: Human Revolution, see my original review.

5 Games I Wish I’d Played, and Probably Will in the Future

• Batman: Arkham City - Metacritic’s game of the year received unanimous high scores, and unfortunately I had my head buried in the world of Deus Ex when it was released.
• The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - A lot of other people’s game of the year also came out at a busy time for me, and I missed this one too. Sounds like it needs a few bug fixes, anyway, so I’m not too upset.
• Portal 2 - I played Portal, but it didn’t encapsulate me as much as it did other people. So when the sequel came out, I thought I’d let others take a look at it first. Seems like they all enjoy it.
• Mass Effect 2 - I have this game, sitting in a pile under my desk, but I haven’t even opened it yet. Bitter.
• FIFA Soccer 12 - I enjoy the FIFA franchise almost as much as the Madden NFL one. So I kinda wish I’d bought FIFA this year, because it seemed to be a unanimous sports game of the year (apart from maybe NBA 2K12).

My 5 Most Anticipated 2012 Releases

• Tony Hawk HD - The Tony Hawk franchise is, obviously, a little dead. But the idea of producing an updated version of the original 2 classics in the series? Brilliant. Classic maps?  Yes. Classic skaters? You bet. Original soundtrack? Probably not.
• Bioshock: Infinite - The trailerfor this one is shot entirely from in-game footage. I’m excitied.
• Mass Effect 3 - Yeah, I haven’t played Mass Effect 2 yet. But millions of people can’t be wrong… right?
• Game of Thrones - Wait… what? Yeah, there’s a Game of Thrones RPG being advertised. And it could be terrible. But I love the show, so I’m kind of hoping this one is actually worth a look.
• Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Patriots - OK, this one’s not coming out ’til 2013. But my god, the trailer.

What did I miss? Let me know in the comments section.