Those game making people outdid themselves this year, giving us so many amazing games to play. So we at InfinityFeed have all picked our favourites, and figured we would share our thoughts. See our picks after the jump!
Dash
Game Of The Year
Dash
Game Of The Year
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
There was never really a question of what my favourite game of this year would be. I am a long standing fan of the Elder Scrolls series and the games have always taken over my life whenever they are released, and Skyrim is no exception. The game of course has its flaws but they are very minor and are easily outshone by the stunning visuals, amazing natural character advancement and the sheer vastness of the world. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim will probably be my favourite game for a few years to come (depending on how Guild Wars 2 goes of course).
Honourable Mentions
Minecraft: I LOVE this game, and I know it has been available through alpha and beta for a long while now but it was officially released in November so it counts! Minecraft manages to capture a type of creativeness and imagination that I think many people lose after childhood and I will be playing it for a long time to come.
Amnesia: Dark Descent: This game did a very good job at immersing you into a world of fear and paranoia and had some genuinely scary moments, which is difficult to achieve in a game.
Shep
Game Of The Year
Portal 2
When I was asked to pick my game of the year I, without hesitation, picked Portal 2. This is for one simple reason: I have not enjoyed a single game released in 2011 as much as I did this game. I completed it in a single sitting!
The humour, the characters, the voice acting and the fact that even the simplest puzzle can turn the smartest person into an idiot is perfect. But for me this game really came alive in co-op mode. Recently Dash and I sat down to complete Gears of War 3 and ended up pulling an all-nighter. But instead, having been bored shitless by Gears, we decided to attempt the new Portal 2 co-op DLC named “Peer Review”. It did not go well! Dash and I are not stupid by any measure but, and we both blame the fact that our brains were running on nothing other than caffeine for fuel, we were appallingly bad at figuring out the puzzles. We spent an hour, AN HOUR, trying to figure out a puzzle only for Dash to figure it out when I had gone to the bathroom and another hour was wasted trying to drop a box into a laser, using an excursion funnel, only for the solution to the puzzle to be much simpler and only apparent after another bathroom break.
This game took an original idea from the orange box and, whilst keeping the core mechanic, expanded the cast, complexity and scope of some of the puzzles, did it perfectly AND added multiplayer into the mix. Had InfinityFeed been around in April, Portal 2 would have gotten 9/10.
Valve, I salute you.
Honourable mentions.
Batman: Arkham City
This would have been my game of the year had it not been for that FUCKING ENDING! It was worth the price for the Mr. Freeze fight alone but playing as Catwoman as well made this a must buy and a real contender for game of the year, only for RockSteady to ruin it with the finale.
Infamous 2
I loved the first inFamous game and was pumped when inFamous 2 was announced. When the game finally dropped I played the hell out of it spending hours tracking down every blast shard to supercharge Cole, bounding across rooftops and using my electric powers to do good or evil (mostly evil).
(I would have picked the ICO & Shadow of the Colossus HD re-release as an honourable mention but considering these games were released in 2002 and 2006 respecitively I felt it could not truly be considered a 2011 game).
Dish
Game Of The Year
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
As with Dash, my game of the year was predetermined many many months ago when this game was announced to be released in November. I pulled about 3 consecutive all-nighters in completing this game, amassing around 50 hours over the long weekend of its release. I have already spoken at length about this game in my review, but i think a few points bear repeating: The one-to-one sword motions are amazing and allow for some truly incredible gaming moments; the story is the most compelling of any Zelda game i can think to compare it to and really makes you care about the characters; and the only problem i had with the game wasn’t a deal-breaker by any means (check out my review to see what that problem was *wink*). Overall a fantastic game, well deserving to be my game of the year!
Honourable Mentions
The Binding of Isaac
I got this little game as part of one of the ‘Humble Bundle’ collections of games, and i was blown away by the concept of it. You wander Zelda-style dungeons from a top-down perspective, shooting tears at abomination after abomination (this game has a really gross aesthetic, but in a good way!), fighting your way to the end boss of each section. The unique part of this game however, is that the dungeon layouts, enemies, bosses and powerups are randomly selected each time you play - you can play it thousands of times and not have the same experience twice. It is currently only £2.00 (or $ equivalent) on Steam, so you should definitely check it out if you havent already.
Cthulu Saves The World
I kind of went on a little bit there, so I’ll keep this brief. This is an old-school style RPG filled to the brim with Easter Eggs and mickey-takes of the genre as a whole. And it’s Cthulu! Saving the world! What’s not to like? I loved this game this year, and if you want something a little different from the current gaming tropes, both these titles are must-play!
Biebs
Game Of The Year
Resistance 3
For me this was the big game of the year, when I first got my Playstation 3 I was blown away by the Resistance series and, having played the first two games to death, I was eagerly waiting the third. The joy of Resistance is that it doesn't try to be ultra serious or realistic like many FPS’s, but instead creates levels that the players can really enjoy, like the custom made sneak and snipe levels in the dark ( I loved the satisfaction of spotting one of those damn invisible predator-esque snipers and blowing his head off before quietly sneaking away); or the truly terrifying moments when your searching an abandoned village covered in Grim pods (zombie-like former humans). From the weapons to gameplay, everything about the game is designed to immerse the player within the world and really have some fun - the variety in the missions and bosses also keeps the game from becoming stale and repetitive. Finally, the storyline, as the third and seemingly final instalment in the Resistance series I was expecting some answers and boy do you get them, but only by searching for all those intel documents can you uncover the true picture of the origins and motives of the Chimera. The game’s only flaw is the ending which frankly is a little disappointing; though not as much as that of Batman: Arkham City’s!
Honourable Mention
Uncharted 3: Drakes Deception
I had really high hopes for this game having loved the first two and could only imagine good things, but sadly I was a little disappointed as the game play seriously lets down what could have easily been my game of the year. The graphics and the visuals are amazing, the puzzle solving and cinematic style levels are awesome, it is just a pity poor controls and handling has relegated this to my number two spot.
Pixel Punk
Game of the Year
As soon as I saw the first trailer for this game I was eagerly awaiting the games completion and release. As time went on the developers released more videos relating to actual game play footage and I began to see other people’s interest dwindle as they slagged something they hadn’t actually played. I waited, as I so often do with new release games, until the price had dropped down and eventually picked this game up for a relatively cheap £24. This was a bargain considering on it’s release it was priced around £45 and sold out in the city I live in.
The game combines many of my individual gaming loves, the first being zombies! I’m a sucker for a good zombie game or film. Dead Island also implements RPG elements, such as completing quests for more experience or having upgradable weapons. When you level up you can spend points on certain skills, which are presented in a ‘talent tree’ like way, much like World of Warcraft.
The visuals for this game are stunning and I’ve found myself looking at how beautiful the environment around me is instead of focusing on the several undead shuffling towards me, salivating at the chance of a fresh meal!
Dead Island’s main drawback for me was the co-op. Yes you can play two to four player co-op via system link (who does that?) or by using Xbox Live/Playstation Network , however I was looking forward to playing splitscreen with my partner for multiple zombie slaying hours.
All in all Dead Island is an excellent game for solo players or for those who love playing with friends/strangers via the internet, just don’t come crying to me when the zombies start creeping their way into your dreams because you’ve played too much.
Honourable Mentions
Saints Row the Third
Just as bonkers and barmy as the first two games with decent amounts of customisation. My only main petty gripe was changing the character models of Shaundi, Pierce and Johnny Gat as well as the voice cast for Shaundi and Pierce.
Captain America: Super Soldier
One of the best games based on a film/superhero I’ve ever played. Hugely enjoyable. If you need to know more then just check out my double shot review of Cap and Thor’s respective games here.
Game of the Year
Dead Island
As soon as I saw the first trailer for this game I was eagerly awaiting the games completion and release. As time went on the developers released more videos relating to actual game play footage and I began to see other people’s interest dwindle as they slagged something they hadn’t actually played. I waited, as I so often do with new release games, until the price had dropped down and eventually picked this game up for a relatively cheap £24. This was a bargain considering on it’s release it was priced around £45 and sold out in the city I live in.
The game combines many of my individual gaming loves, the first being zombies! I’m a sucker for a good zombie game or film. Dead Island also implements RPG elements, such as completing quests for more experience or having upgradable weapons. When you level up you can spend points on certain skills, which are presented in a ‘talent tree’ like way, much like World of Warcraft.
The visuals for this game are stunning and I’ve found myself looking at how beautiful the environment around me is instead of focusing on the several undead shuffling towards me, salivating at the chance of a fresh meal!
Dead Island’s main drawback for me was the co-op. Yes you can play two to four player co-op via system link (who does that?) or by using Xbox Live/Playstation Network , however I was looking forward to playing splitscreen with my partner for multiple zombie slaying hours.
All in all Dead Island is an excellent game for solo players or for those who love playing with friends/strangers via the internet, just don’t come crying to me when the zombies start creeping their way into your dreams because you’ve played too much.
Honourable Mentions
Saints Row the Third
Just as bonkers and barmy as the first two games with decent amounts of customisation. My only main petty gripe was changing the character models of Shaundi, Pierce and Johnny Gat as well as the voice cast for Shaundi and Pierce.
Captain America: Super Soldier
One of the best games based on a film/superhero I’ve ever played. Hugely enjoyable. If you need to know more then just check out my double shot review of Cap and Thor’s respective games here.
And that is us game-wise for the year. Make sure you come back in 2012 - we have big plans!
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