This isn't a top ten list or even a top anything list, or even of games that came out this year. Rather, since there's steam sales going on, it's a round up of everything I can remember playing through this year, divided into categories that will probably piss off what few readers I will ever have. It also links to Steam, which may not be the best way to buy the game. Unfortunately I can't figure out what is ever on sale on Amazon, and GMG scares me. Oh and GamersGate cancelled the one thing I bought off them this season, but I don't blame them for deciding they shouldn't lose thousands of dollars on pricing errors.
So you know, do your research! Or don't, time is your own.
Group A: Shit I definitely think everyone should try, if you haven't:
The Witcher
This is probably my favorite game of the year, which is two things at work: First, the game just felt 'about right' the whole way through. It was consistent in theme, difficulty and mood. The writing isn't amazing, but it's good and solid. The second thing - the game was 2.50 and I got like seventy hours of play time out of it.
The graphics are nothing special and the game is pretty dreary, but sometimes dreary works. The swamp sucked and the murder investigation sucked a bit too, but I mean - It's a fucking swamp! Of course it sucks!
Mass Effect
I hadn't up until this year played any BioWare stuff, and while I do plan to play through Dragon Age 1 and Mass Effect 3 next year, I doubt I'll be as impressed with them as I was Mass Effect. The game isn't anything amazing, but it's a solid step forward in RPGs. As a kid there were all these elements of RPGs that felt a bit too limited - characterization, voice acting, towns, dialogue, I dunno just all of the things felt like they were going to get so much better as computer improved.
Mass Effect isn't quite where I'd like RPGs to be. It would be nice if you had something with the personality and charm of Mass Effect, but the size and depth of a MMORPG. Like World of Warcraft is pretty awesome for making a big world filled with stuff, but it's all stuff you hit with your sword. But Mass Effect was way further ahead than I thought it would be.
Group B: Stuff I quite like, but wouldn't heartily recommend:
Mass Effect 2
It's Mass Effect, only with a worse story and some irritating choices. Not a big improvement: Still good, but only a few baby steps forward. I did like some of the new characters though, and Miranda is way better than Liara.
Torchlight 2
I liked this one almost as much as a Group A game, but something felt off about it. It's a great ARPG and much closer to Diablo 2 than other ARPGs I've played, which doesn't include Diablo 3 but I've heard lots of horror stories about D3.
The art style really suits me and I really liked the third act. But for all the time I spent playing it, I never finished it and never did a newgame+, so that doesn't speak to well about it.
DE: HR
I never played the original Deus Ex and don't really want to, but this game was a really solid FPS-adventure hybrid thing. I enjoyed it and it was nice looking with lots of enjoyable touches, but it's a pretty limited game for what it feels like it could have been and the story was a little bit dumber than it needed to be.
I think the ending sucked, but I don't really remember, and 'the ending sucked' is like the most common complaint about video games people actually finish.
Orcs Must Die 1 and 2
OMD was the best of the TD/hybrid games released in 2011, which is a group of like 3 or 4 or something absurd. The second game is basically the same as the first game, though there's a couple goofy issues they didn't fix.
The game is pleasing to look at, mostly polished, smooth and fun if you're into it. The FPS elements and TD elements are both pretty relaxed so you don't have to be in love with both sides to enjoy the game. It's totally solid, but it's still got some flaws and the TD stuff is a bit weaker in the second game.
Just Cause 2
JC2 is a really solid open world car theft whatever game loosely tacked together with the premise you're overthrowing a country by setting fire to its monuments and murdering people, though actually murdering people doesn't count. Only buildings.
It's pretty, but also pretty shallow, and it has this weird effect where you think to yourself - Why aren't other games as big as JC2? I mean like, why isn't Cybertron this big in the TF games? Like what, allergy to clone tool?
Bulletstorm
I think I give this game a fair bit of a pass because apparently it was "bad" and it isn't getting a sequel. It isn't bad, it looks good, and I wish it was getting a sequel. It is by no means a perfect FPS - a genre that has done so much right still manages to do so much wrong - but it's funny, relaxing and pretty in parts. Also has excellent voice acting, even though Steve Blumm is basically Starscream to me now.
RAGE
I put this right beside Bulletstorm for a reason: The two games, should they be merged into one gestalt being, would be an amazing game. RAGE has a worse, less engaging story than Bulletstorm with way less fun combat. And the driving sections - in a less serious game - would have been way better, instead of Parallel parking the video game.
But RAGE is gorgeous, with fantastic character models, good gunplay and really solid audio direction. The ending is pretty baffling and it weirdly feels like I just beat Mechwarrior 2 or something. If you made a game with Bulletstorm's character, story and nonchalance with RAGE's minigames, engine, character models and guns, you'd have the perfect FPS.
Dead Space
This is the last of category B and the game I want to talk about the most. Dead Space is something everyone who can stomach its flaws should play, and by that I mean among Game designers and not necessarily the general public.
As odd as it sounds Dead Space is the game I miss the most in terms of design. I loved the feeling of the levels, they're way more lifelike and have better flow than other games. But more than that the UI and elements of how it dragged you through the story just worked so well. I keep wishing other games had the 'crumb' button that told you where to go - Maybe not to the same extent, but a little button that pointed you in the actual direction of your goal would help immensely. There's lots of details like this that just worked so much better. People complained that the levels were really industrial and grey, but seriously - what do you think a mining ship would look like? It's like an industrial plant strapped to a warehouse floating through space.
The game itself is really solid and this is coming from someone who hates horror, especially goofy shock horror which this game gurgles all over. But when you find yourself wishing other games had elements of this game, something must be right about it. Even if I did have to mute the last quarter of the game. The voice acting is good, but the audio direction feels like the guy in charge of it just got bored and decided everything should sound annoying. Horror is not Horrible, ok? Like I know the words are pretty close, but you don't make things horror themed by making them horrible.
Category C: Stuff I thought was good or okay, but not great:
Bastion
Bastion is a beautifully made, painting like presentation with an amazing narrator and a very solid story that dragged me through to finish the game. It's also startlingly indie in its game-side, with many mechanics or moments in the game either being outright tedium or just horrible.
As a medium for being told a tale, it is excellent, but as a game it's a moderate effort.
Transformers Games
WFC and FoC are a pair of odd games that get dragged down by external elements. High Moon did a good job of making a solid Transformers game, and then managed it again, which is commendable. The game is unique and has lots of variety, both in terms of play styles, locations and characters. The second one is not at all close to the first game, though they're both shooters of the "triple A" genre. Lots of neat locations, lots of amazing set pieces and lots of well voiced characters.
Problem is, the story is essentially a poorly put together retread, which might not be High Moon's fault. There's a ton of fanboy oozing all through it though, with lots of stuff unnecessarily jammed in. I really didn't care about Grimlock, at least insofar as something I was hyped up to get to and then like ... Eh? He throws oil drums to solve puzzles. The fuck? Both games are painfully linear, even beyond expectations of the genre, and honestly while they're good "Transformers franchise games", RAGE has better driving sections and you drive about 1/10th as much in RAGE. The transforming is just so weak and honestly, on the most part, could have been cut from the second game.
Also it isn't a very G1 game at all. And seriously the story is just dumb. And before you say that a Transformers game or movie can't possibly have good writing, the best comic book I'm reading right now is a TF one from IDW.
Wolfenstein
Although I still have this game in my library, it won't link me to a store page. That's a bit weird. Anyway it was a really run of the mill shooter. Nothing special. Not bad, but definitely not one I'd recommend.
Rochard
This one was good, worse than Bastion but better than Wolfenstein. Problem being is, it was sold to me as a physics puzzler platformer, but half the time isn't puzzling and it leans on the combat. The combat is mediocre, though the last boss was pretty cool. Also other than Rochard himself the voice acting was weak, the story is weird and kinda racist, and again I wanted more puzzle action.
Alpha Protocol
Kind of a weird one to rate. The starting kinda sucks and the story is weird, with odd combat that sometimes feels amazing and sometimes feels bad. At times this game was fantastic, at other points it felt really linear and unconnected, like a story that skips chapters or something.
I think I liked it a fair bit when I played it, but I never really had any urge at all to play it again and I sort of feel like it could have used a bit more polish. People commented you could replay it a bunch of times to see stuff you missed, but I absolutely never felt like I wanted to do that.
DoTP 2012
This is last year's magic game, so it was released in 2011 in spite of ... Fuck, I don't know. I'm not sure when Magic decided to do the car release thing, but it's rather annoying. Anyway DOTP is a pretty reasonable Magic game. It's still not shandalar, but Wizards is scared of Shandalar because I don't know. I can't really explain Wizards of the Coast's marketing ideas, and I have a pretty good idea it is because they can't either.
Anyway it's a magic game, so if you like magic, it's ok but kinda limited and is mostly designed as a vector to get you to play real magic with the promise that is more fun. Which it mostly isn't, unless you can cube, which I'm going to make another blog to talk about.
Selection D: Other stuff
Magicka
This is probably the only game I reviewed that I disliked and didn't finish this year, which is sort of a comment on how solid gaming mostly is nowadays, though it's not like I really search out bad games to torture myself. If you watch enough SteamShots, which AxeManiac from SA does, you'll see how many awful games are out there that I mysteriously never buy.
Anyone this one got lots of hype on forums and people seemed to really like it. I like the art style, but found the game honestly kind of brain addled and just boring. The combat system seemed neat on paper, but it felt more like inputting my PIN code for my VISA than gaming or whatever that quote from someone I forgot was.
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