Best Games of 2011 (90% LOADED)

I'm writing this very early on, in terms of the 'gaming year' there's still; Assassin's Creed Revelations, Skyrim, and the latest offerings from Call of Duty and Battlefield to come. 4 of the biggest games of the year no less.

But, I will review my choices at the end of the year. Call of Duty and Assassin's Creed are both gonna have to do something pretty spectacular and new this time to make my top 5 games, another re-hash wont cut it. I only bought the last COD because of the inclusion of Nazi Zombies, unless it's got a co-op campaign I can take it or leave it. And I never got into Oblivion, infact the choppy frame-rate pissed me off and I got bored of it, I liked Fallout though. I still need to play 'Dark Souls' and 'Rage', I'm hearing great things about both of them and they could also make the final list.

Anyway, my list so far looks like this;

5. Bulletstorm

It's obviously by the makers of Gears, and it's a brave attempt at doing an original FPS. The only thing that let it down was the ridiculously short campaign, but the gameplay is unique and innovative enough to make my list. The leash is a cool addition and the points system and destructive environments make it a fun ride!

4. Deus Ex

When it was being raved about as Mass Effect meets Metal Gear Solid meets Half-Life and then I saw the trailer, drawing comparisons to Blade Runner and Ghost in the Shell, the sci-fi nerd in me was a bit excited! It's not quite up there with Mass Effect 2 (my game of the year for last year) and Metal Gear Solid 4 (my game of the year in 2008). I found the controls and movement a little awkward at first, but as I progressed and started to get confident with them and started upgrading my character it won me over.

3. Gears of War 3



It starts slowly, but just gets better and better. More of the same with a few added additions. It's all about the co-op and 'Horde' with Gears, a great finale to the story arc.

2. Portal 2



The most innovative co-op experience I've ever played, and for that alone it almost got my game of the year! The 'tests' are extremely clever in Portal and the added addition of co-op play really takes it to another level. Brilliant and infuriating in equal measures.

1. Batman: Arkham City

Read review in previous post.


Previous years;

2010:
1. Mass Effect
2. Vanquish
3. Fable 2
4.Army of Two: 40th Day
5. Halo Reach

2009:
1. Batman: Arkham Asylum
2. Resident Evil 5
3. Left 4 Dead 2

2008:
1.Metal Gear Solid 4
2.Left 4 Dead
3.Gears of War 2

BRICKS OF WAR

Amazing Gears of War animation made with lego!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ua5qh40x4KA&feature=player_embedded

Top 10 Badass Videogame Characters

Kick-Ass videogames need characters who can, urm, well, kick-ass!

Obviously this is my own personal list, not everyone's favourite bad-ass will make the cut! Leave a comment with who you'd have. I've tried to avoid characters that are more known for their comics or films (i.e Batman).

In reverse order;


10. Dante - Devil May Cry



He's part Devil and slays Demonic beasties for a living! And he somehow makes that gothic-red leather shit look cool.


9. Jack - Mass Effect 2



I could have gone for Commander Shepard, that would have been the obvious choice. But, Jack just OOZES bad-ass! A dangerous criminal locked away in a space prison, with her shaved head and tattoos, not to mention her powerful biotic powers! She would have brutal animal sex with you! And then probably eat you afterwards.

8. Kazuya Mishima - Tekken series



Kazuya is pretty bad-ass; he's survived being dropped from a mountain! And was once thrown into a volcano! WTF!? He's beaten on his old man and even his own son! And he's got the 'devil gene'...


7. Sam Gideon - Vanquish



From massively underrated shooter Vanquish, Sam slides across the screen at break-neck speeds wearing a super cool mech suit. He drop-kicks robots in the face!

6. E. Honda - Street Fighter series



Ryu may be the face of classic beat em' up 'Street Fighter', but a 300 pound Sumo wrestler bitch-slapping his enemies one hundred times a second is way more bad-ass!


5. Starkiller - Star Wars The Force Unleashed



Darth Vader's secret apprentice and hunter of the remaining few Jedi after order 66. Starkiller's skills with the force and a lightsabre make even the best of Jedi look like Jar Jar Stinks.



4. Marcus Fenix - Gears of War



Cole Train's got more beef, but Fenix is way more bad-ass. Stomping on the Locust Horde is like playing a round of golf for this dude.


3. Sephiroth - Final Fantasy 7



He looks like a Goth girl, but he would still cut you in half and then set you on fire. The quintessential RPG baddie!


2. Master Chief - Halo



The Halo fanboy in me couldn't leave the big chief out of this list. It's MASTER CHIEF! He's a 7 foot tall one man army. He teabags his enemies too, smooth.


1. Solid Snake - Metal Gear Solid



Solid Snake. Nuff said!


...ok then, he single-handedly took on a tank and won! He's knacked up a vampire, a cyborg ninja, various mechs, and even his Dad! He's the epitome of bad-ass! And in MGS4 he's got a moustashe! Win



Snake? SNAKE?! SNAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAKE!!!!

Gears 3 (The End of an Era)

The last game in the current story arc, possibly even the last Gears of War (I doubt it though)! Being a big fan of the series I'm excited and sad all at the same time, it's great to be playing as Marcus and co again, yet it's possibly the last one...

So, I've been playing through the campaign (my job allows me to play games early :P), and I have to say it's pretty slow to start. It doesn't go off with a bang like previous games; there's a lot of story build-up, flashbacks, wondering around and not actually getting to smash the Locust hordes (what Gears does best).



But wait! I play co-op, my partner in crime is the missus. And to its merit the game gets better and better as you progress, on previous games the wifey has grown a little bored (she prefers Army of Two!), but this times she's asking to play it longer!

The game mechanics are more of the same (if it's not broke, why fix it?) altough they've added plenty of new things to make it a worth while purchase. And I love the addition of mechs in the game! Except for the slow start the only other grumble I have so far is an underwater level that felt a little like filler to me and wasn't much fun to play. They've improved online play massively and Horde was one of the best online experiences anyway! Gears 3 will certainly be most fun played online.

Also, I don't want to spoil anything for anyone, but there's some gargantuan shocks in store plot wise this time around!


One final note,

"Cole Train Eats Whole Grain Baby!
WOOOOOO!"