Top Games of 2011

Well, 2011 has concluded, and thus begins a new year.  I can’t help but take a moment and ponder on what games I’ve taken on or taken down this passing year.  I thought I’d take the time to post what my favorite games were of the year.  This doesn’t just keep in bounds with release titles.  No, this blog has always been about embracing games of the past as well as current games.  So here goes nothing!

#5 Portal 2 While I never played the first Portal, I had a gist of what was to be expected. I was dead wrong. This game had me laughing so hard at the pure hilariousness that came from the clever dialog. That aside, the puzzles and use of the A-to-B portals was clever and fun. While it had little replay value, I left the game satisfied.

#4 Final Fantasy IV: Complete Collection (PSP) FF4 is truly a FF classic. Squarenix took this classic and remastered it. Not in some new system and graphics, but rather left it to it’s original feel and updated the sprites and backgrounds. So while the graphics are more appealing to today’s standards, the original nature is still in tact. Not only revamping the original game, but they also brought over the after stories that were only in Japan. Add in some extras like a music player and you have a solid game!

#3 Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep (PSP) I’ve been wanting to get into the Kingdom Heart series for quite some time. However I can’t seem to get passed the outdated mechanics of the PS2 originals (Don’t know why). Enter Birth By Sleep on the PSP. While it’s dangerous spoiler wise for me to play it, I still managed to thoroughly enjoy this title. It didn’t require previous knowledge to really enjoy it. I loved the setting, characters, and style. The gameplay was fast pace and fun.

#2 Little Big Planet 2 (PS3) I love getting the family together for some LBP. We thoroughly enjoyed the first LBP so it was no surprise the second would be a classic. They not only added new equipment to the game, at the same time, they added more laughs. Our family had hours of laughs playing this together which makes it easily one of my favorite games of all time.

#1 Valkyria Chronicles 2 (PSP) I LOVE Valkyria Chronicles. While I bought this game December 2010, it earns the place as my #1 of 2011 because I played it long into 2011. I even bought a second PSP and another copy of VC2 for my dad so he would: 1.Stop stealing my PSP to play VC2, and 2.Play Coop with me. Loads of fun and well worth every minute of the over 200hours I spent on it.

Honorable Mentions:
• Pangya(PSP) for bringing a great PC game to the handheld.
• Gears of War 3(Xbox360) for giving me some fun coop fun with my friends.
• Solatorobo(DS) for being the only DS game I’ve ever enjoyed.
• Disgaea 2(PSP) for being an amazingly huge and complex gameplay
• Final Fantasy Dissidia 012(PSP) for the fun fast action packed bouts of my favorite FF characters.

Great Achievements for Gaming in 2011:
Gaming has come a great way over the years.  Some years it takes steps back in my opinion.  However, here are the achievements I would like to point out for 2011.
• PSP becomes a nearly complete Final Fantasy Powerhouse. After gaining FF5 and FF6 on PSN, it now holds 13 FF titles. Besides 3, it has all FFs from 1-9.
• Xenogears hit PSN bringing an amazing title back to life.
• Zelda Ocarina of Time was remastered to the 3DS, a truly amazing revisit to a classic
• Vita was announced and it’s price tag was starting at $250, a sigh of relief was heard as people anticipated a $400+ price tag.

Early Vita Desires

Gamescom let out quite a few bits of footage for us gamers to stare at.  Among them are quite a few Playstation Vita titles.  Some adding to my want list, while others just securing their spot on the list.  I thought I’d comprise a list of great titles that I’m looking forward to for the PSV (Alphabetical).  Now if only it wasn’t delayed til early 2012 *cry*  (Note:Click Titles for Video)

Disgaea 3 Return: Loved D2 on PSP and wanted to play D3 on PS3.  So it’s natural I’m drawn to this port/upgrade.  Disgaea is both crazy and full of fun so I’m definitely looking forward to getting this.

Gravity Rush/Daze: This title looks pretty artistic and intriguing.  While I’m a little weary about how much motion is going to be required for minipulating the gravity; it looks pretty amazing and I can’t wait to get my hands on it.

Hot Shots Golf Next: I dislike Golf games, but enjoy silly Golf games like Hot Shots Golf and Pangya.  While I would prefer Pangya, Hot Shots Golf is a quick second.  The trailers for this look great, can’t wait!

Little Big Planet: What can I say?  I love my LBP.  While the PSP version seemed quite stiff to play, I’m hoping this take on the portable will do better.

Little Deviants:  While it seems this game looks like a bundle of mini games that you would figure would come free with a new console, it’s charm and unique fun looking gameplay makes me want to get my hands on it.

Resistance Burning Skies: While I’m not a heavy FPS gamer, I enjoy seeing FPS games finally working on a portable console.  Having played the Resistance series, I’m looking forward to seeing the invasion from a citizen point of view.  Taking place just at the point of invasion, you play as a fireman turned commando to save the citizens not from fire but gunfire. (yeah, that was cheesy)

Sound Shapes: I’m iffy on this title.  At first glance I had no desire for it, but after seeing(hearing) a demo of this game, it peaked my interest.

Uncharted: Golden Abyss: Last but definitely not least.  Uncharted is epic fun.  GA doesn’t look like it’s going to disappoint.  Visually awesome and it looks pretty action packed.  I can’t wait!