I’ve said it before, and I’ll probably say it again, but 2011 was a monumental year for video games. The last four months alone have given us some of the finest gaming experiences of the last few years. Skyrim and Batman: Arkham City are still vying for my personal Game of the Year slot, but even with these two juggernauts on my mind it’s hard to forget the games that were smaller but still managed to pack a big punch.
My biggest surprise of 2011 was Sonic Generations, the return to form for the Blue Blur that we’ve been waiting for ever since Sonic Adventure 2. There are no Werehogs (which I love to point out smugly is a misnomer, as “were” means “male human”, so “Wolfhog” would have been more appropriate), no goofy side-kick levels and no swordplay. It’s just straight up speed in classic or modern flavors and I kind of love it for that. If you’ve been hesitant about Generations, it gets my personal seal of approval. It’s not Game of the Year contender material, but it’s a solid title that earns its praise.
Another game that caught me off guard this year was Magicka, the isometric magic-casting game that took the PC world by storm. This game took co-op and turned it on its head by making your friends not only your greatest allies but your biggest threat as well. Four out of the five GS crew members played a night of Magicka and it was a howling good time, even if it did turn me into a raging asshole.
Rayman Origins also gets a nod from me as a sleeper hit, but what about you guys? What were your big 2011 games that no one’s talking about?
You probably know mine already, I mean, I bring it up often enough. Xenoblade Chronicles. I really wasn’t expecting much from the game, I just bought because I liked what the Rainfall people were doing, and it ended up being my GOTY.
Modern Warfare 3 would have to be mine.
I was surprised that it actually exceeded my expectations, and it added a lot of things that I had hoped to see. Not to mention I’ve already put days worth of time into Survival.
Shadows of the Damned, would be mine. I didn’t really know anything about this game until it was released. I read a good review, sounded like my thing, and ended up loving it. Sure, it gets annoying at times, but mostly it’s just a fun that doesn’t take itself too seriously. This one gets the “dp stamp of goodness and fun”.
Catherine may have been, but I still haven’t gotten around to playing it.