The editorial team rub heads (leading to a couple of nasty rashes and a concussion) to come up with some highlights of 2011.
DaveRage:
This has been a hard one to write, I’ll admit. The reasons for that will become clear later.
First off, let me start with the nice surprise of 2011 for me. L.A. Noire.
Ok, so we all knew it would be good, but I was not expecting what I actually played. In my head it was going to be Grand Theft Auto 1940: The Good Guys. I expected a sprawling open world, where I would have to go from A to B and back to A again in non linear, fetch and find style missions. What I got was one the tightest linear adventures since Heavy Rain – the narrative was superb, the action intense and characters so well created adn rendered that you could, at times, believe you were in a film. Sure, it had faults; the interrogation scenes could be a bit daft, and the story had some pretty large jumps in it, but overall (one you had trudged through the arson cases) it was one of the most draining and fulfilling titles I have played in a while.
Second, my most disappointing surprise of 2011. L.A.Noire.
This is actually nothing to do with the game. It is to do with the development of the game. About a month after the release of the game, stories started to emerge from Ex- Employees of Team Bondi of treatment that bordered on abuse. Continual crunch style time scales (being told the games was only a few months away from release), forced and unreasonable working hours, team members not being credited in the game and more. It highlighted just how far the industry could move away from its roots. A very sad and disappointing chapter in its history.
Next, Zumba. Who could have imagined that the charts would be so devoid of AAA releases for so long that Zumba could dominate the charts for several months!
My final and again negative surprise was the lack of innovation present in the big releases. Ihave written at length about this(see elsewhere), but all I will leave you with are some of the biggest releases of the year.
- Modern Warfare 3
- Uncharted 3
- Battlefield 3
- Gears of War 3
- Killzone 3
- Resistance 3
- Saints Row the Third (3)
Revolver Ocelot:
2011: The Surprises
Everything within me wants to use this space to moan about the lack of innovation and risk-taking within games this year, but I know that’s a bit of a stuck record at the moment, so I’ll attempt not to waste your time with my futile ranting.
The thing that most surprised and excited me this year was the release of the Diablo 3 beta, and subsequently getting to play said beta. I realise that the delays in the production of this game haven’t quite been on the scale of Chinese Democracy, or Duke Nukem: Forever, but while both of those turned out to be massive disappointments, I genuinely enjoyed playing the Diablo 3 beta, and it’s wet my appetite for more!
Blizzard have managed to find the balance of changing just enough to keep the game feeling fresh and original, while maintaining the elements that made Diablo such an innovative and successful game in the first place. It just seemed like all of the little things that bugged me in Diablo 2 have been dealt with, and what’s more, the graphics & environments are breath-taking, the world just seems to come to life around you!
Other games that stood out:
- Deus Ex: Human Revolution
- Batman: Arkham City
Games that disappointed me:
Duke Nukem: Forever (not that I was expecting much anyway) Rage (looks amazing, gameplay is solid, but honestly, it was just uninspiring) The endless stream of rehashes, sequels and cash-ins
Well, here’s hoping for a better 2012!
MrJoeKerr67:
Well, like most people out there I`m sure…thinking of my gaming surpises for 2011 is not an easy task at all. If I’m totally honest, 2011 has been pretty uninspiring.. My first surprise was a game that came out end of last year, but due to lack of interest here at YARS, It only ended up with me as no one else fancied it. This was Deadly Premonition. A very Japanese survival horror game, with visuals from the PS2 era of gaming, and gameplay from early Silent Hill/ Res Evil games. Totally out of place in 2011, yet it had a story that just got into your head and suddenly you were hooked. The mad story, a la Twin Peaks helped!
Elsewhere, I was surprised that Duke Nukem Forever finally hit the shelves, then proceeded to hit the bargain bins soon after. I was actually hoping for a decent romp, but it was just poo to be honest. L.A Noir, Uncharted 3 & Arkham City all kicked serious ass in my books, but that was no surprise was it. Thinking on, one thing that did surprise me, was the announcement by Nintendo concerning their forthcoming console, with a controller the size of a tablet pc: I can’t see that working, can you? Talking of consoles, I was also surprised that Sony are going back into the handheld market with Vita. Why bother, just admit you will never beat Ninty at there own game.
See you all in 2012, and keep the faith.
Phoenix Trigger:
Every time I jump into Link’s shoes for a new Zelda installment, I don’t find myself connecting with the mute hero like I did back in Ocarina Of Time, and this is partly because of the cliché ‘Chosen One’ card constantly being played. This short-cut to greatness is emblazoned in platinum in Skyward Sword at the beginning, and Link really does seem to relish in the attention, but that doesn’t mean to say everyone believes in his luck with the Fates. Early on, you’re tasked to save the titular female namesake, yet find someone has beaten you to the punch, and after much dungeon delving and boss slaying, you encounter the unsung hero in question with the famed damsel. Rather than present you with your prize in a rather sexist manner, however, the shining armoured entity casts Zelda aside, and questions your lateness, your prowess and even your worthiness of taking on the role of protagonist. (I remember this bit, and thinking “Is he going to start on the size of my manhood next or what?” – Hippy)
The scene lasted far longer than it should have as I completely froze, all eight of my hearts hollowed and I was stripped down from ‘Legendary Adventurer’ to who you’re really meant to be when you start up a game in the franchise: just an average kid swept up in apocalyptic conspiracies. If you want the status, you’re actually going to have to bloody work for it. Yes, it’s a scripted event that occurs no matter what, but after 20 years of witnessing Link stride through adventures just because he was picked by the Gods, such a sombre yet brutally honest knock on the ego takes you aback far further than any insult strung together by a guffawing madman. I knew I would fall in love with Skyward Sword, but I did
n’t think that the cast would matter quite as much as they do, and that me and Link would see eye to eye with each other in determination to crush evil once again…partly to prove that cow wrong…
HippyDave:
Phew, the guys seemed to have a bit of a poor year, so my biggest surprise is probably that so few people see what a stellar gaming year 2011 is. Yes, a lot of threes came out, but most of them were pretty good.
However, for me, there were some genuine beauts, starting with Dead Space 2: taking what was already a legendary game and blowing it up into huge proportions showed me one thing – EA really mean business these days, and are pulling out all the stops to bring us good, enjoable titles that don’t feel like rehases.I know that many people see them as the enemy, but wise up, guys – EA are now consistently delivering innovative, lengthy titles that are worth our money.
Next up, Marvel vs Capcom 3, the game that brought the fun back into the beat em up genre. Yes, it’s not the most accomplished slapfest title out there, but for sheer carnage and visual chocolate, take this bad boy for a spin and watch the colours make your mum have acid flashbacks.
But, far and away the best surprise was Witcher 2 – if you have a 360, get ready for this little treasure early next year, as CD Projekt have made an RPG that feels like a true next gen experience. Every decision you make is incorporated into the narrative, meaning every quest feels somewhat different and interesting. The characters are all scumbags, but massively deep and believable. Side quests feel integrated into the main story, avoiding any grind or repetition as you really want to see where each thread leads you. And the main quest demands you invest blocks of time to keep up with a mature and clever blend of politics, intrigue, deceit and war, all the while keeping combat fresh, dynamic and interesting. And all of this is wrapped up in a gorgeous, realistic world populated by feasible NPCs and beautiful scenery, which just pops out at the gamer and lingers in your mind long after playing.
Open world games can feel detached and loosely strung together, whereas tightly scripted games often feel restrictive – Witcher 2 rips these problems apart by making every decision grey, every motive clouded, and everything you do carry a weight that can have repercussions hours later. A true example of a real next gen RPG, by being as deep or as shallow as the gamer playing it.