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Personal Perspectives: The Top Ten of 2011

December 26, 2011 12:29PM PST

By Staff

The GameSpot editors reveal their top-10 lists for 2011.

The Top Ten of 2011

Day One: Kevin, Caro, Marko, and Brendan.

Day Two: Chris, Tom, and Shaun.

Back before I worked at GameSpot, I used to post a blog in my profile every year celebrating my top 10 games. I called my personal awards The Cubbies, in honor of my longtime Internet handle, "fiddlecub."

Now that I work at GS, I get to be part of the long and emotionally challenging discussions about the official Best Of awards. The discussions involved the entire editorial team at GameSpot, including our international editors, as well as the GameSpot Live team, a group of experienced and tasteful individuals in their own right. And so now you know what we collectively decided upon--but not necessarily our individual favorites. Each year, most of the editorial staff write blog entries detailing the games they most enjoyed. So this year, I asked some of them to send their lists to me so we could share them with you.

And so here is my own list. Bear in mind that this list doesn't necessarily represent the games I think are the best, but rather, the ones that were my favorites. And there is a distinction. Last year, I would never have called Deadly Premonition one of the best games of the year, but it sure as hell was one of my favorites; ditto for Ninja Blade the year before.

But enough gibber-jabber. May I present the 2011 Cubby Awards.

Kevin's List

10. To the Moon

I'm an old softie, but it's rare that a game makes me weep. Crisis Core and The Longest Journey are among the few that have moved me to tears--and now we can add To the Moon to the list. Interactive fiction is becoming more common in our medium, and Freebird Games' gem is one of the finest examples. Two scientists embark on a journey through an old man's memories in a story told in reverse. Autism, childhood bonds, and the nature of human connection are just a few of the themes the game explores. And I bet even the coldest of hearts might warm when the game reaches its tear-jerking climax, if not before.

9. Bastion

Tone is an important element of a game, even though it's one you rarely hear discussed. What makes Bastion special to me is that it has a voice--and I don't mean just the evocative rasp of the narrator, though that's part of it. Bastion is a sly mixture of fantasy and Old West, and the Kid is the lone gunman. If To the Moon was about connection, then Bastion was, for me, about disconnection. A lonely, voiceless protagonist's story is told by a gruff side player, accompanied by guitar riffs that recall dusty trails and cattle ranches. He explores a world so unknown, it fills in around him as he progresses. I never felt like I embodied The Kid; I felt like I controlled him from a distance. It was fun to play, but for me, Bastion was more than fun: it was a study in how a game's tone can affect your state of mind. And in this case, I felt as lonely as the Kid must have felt.

8. Crysis 2

For all the muttering of PC gamers who felt the original Crysis was the second coming and hated what Crysis 2 stood for, I adored Crysis 2 for exactly what it was. This sequel isn't just like Crysis, but it isn't just like any other shooter either. You have some corridor shootouts here and there, but it isn't Call of Duty by any means. You have some open-a-rea action, but it isn't Far Cry 2 in that regard. And awesome things happen around you, but you aren't yanked out of the game and into a cutscene every time. (Like, say, in most modern shooters.) The level design was varied and interesting, and the game built to a climax gradually, rather than bombarding you with one set piece moment after another. At a time when shooters are just constant explosions and follow-the-leader mission design, Crysis 2 allowed itself room to breathe.

7. Anno 2070

The subject of global warming is a divisive one. If you need proof, then peruse the comments on my review of Anno 2070, or the comments on reviews elsewhere. It's too bad that this great strategic city builder must serve as a lightning rod for a few people unwilling to acknowledge its excellence, because it's as engrossing as any such game I've ever played. I've always liked this series, but this entry feels special. I admit part of my joy came from the futuristic setting. Many of the sound effects and musical cues are reminiscent of Assassin's Creed--and as you may know, Assassin's Creed is my favorite modern-day game franchise. And so I had an immediate response to the production elements that reminded me of AC's sci-fi trappings. But ultimately, I didn't love Anno 2070 for such shallow reasons. Rather, it was the ultra-addictive combination of thoughtful city building, time-sensitive missions, and persistent rewards that made me crave more, more, and more hours in front of my computer monitor.

6. Xenoblade Chronicles

It pains me that North Americans must jump through so many hoops if they want to play this game right now. And that's because reports that Xenoblade Chronicles raises the bar for Japanese role-playing games are not exaggerated. It is wonderfully paced, always moving ahead briskly and gradually introducing new concepts to keep the combat from ever being predictable. The setting--the corpses of two world-size beasts locked in an ancient struggle--is one of the most original in recent memory. And the characters, while representing standard archetypes, are human beings you can care about, in part because the English voice acting is natural, not stilted in the way English acting so often is in such games. A real gem.

5. Catherine

Catherine won't click for everyone, but it sure clicked for me. A few folks in the office don't understand its star, Vincent. Vincent is an everyman, characterized not by his actions, but by his inaction. And the consequences of his wishy-washy attitude are disastrous, both in his waking life and in his nightmares. The fiendishly difficult puzzles are surely a nightmare for some; I know I struggled with many a late-game conundrum. But what an insane, fun, and captivating game, filled with bleating sheep, jealous girlfriends, and sexy text messages. Not to mention, crazy boss fights unlike anything you've ever seen.

4. Portal 2

If there is one game this year I could point to as approaching perfection, it might be Portal 2. Here is a game that features wonderful gameplay and a compelling story, both of which burst with more wit and character than a dozen other games combined. Portal 2 proves that developers don't have to choose between awesome gameplay and an awesome story--you can deliver both in one package, and do so in a way that combines them seamlessly, so that one element doesn't trod over the other. So many quotable lines. So many ingenious puzzles. And that ending. Holy crap, that ending. Portal 2 is the Sixth Sense of video games. Play it again, and you'll catch all the foreshadowing and appreciate it from a whole new angle.

3. The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings

Short note to BioWare: this is how it's done. Nothing against the incredible studio responsible for Mass Effect and Dragon Age, but The Witcher 2 shows how branching story paths can affect the virtual world around you. It also shows that you can offer a game with varied outcomes and still make it absolutely gorgeous to look at. (Dragon Age developers, again, take note.) It's a shame the third act sort of limps to a halt, because the dozens of hours leading up to it are incredible. One of my favorite moments this year was slashing away on a battlefield washed in a golden glow, under the protection of a sorceress who had taken wing. How amazing: a beautiful RPG featuring mature characters, a substantial story, and fun combat mechanics, without making you feel that one aspect suffered because more attention was given to another.

2. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Fun fact: I had a very, very hard time getting into Oblivion. And yet Skyrim had me hooked almost immediately, and before I knew it, I was fending off wolves, clearing tombs of ancient evils, and spraying lightning from my hands, yet rarely paying much attention to the main story. Yet when I did follow the main story, I found myself caring about what was happening, just as I found myself caring about the fates of the various organizations I joined and the towns I stumbled upon in my travels. Every unexplored cave and every dragon's roost urged me to push onward to discover new secrets and new quest lines. I became a cannibal; I talked to a dog telepathically; I entered other planes of existence; I insulted a jarl; and I murdered a jester when given the chance, simply because I hated his voice, and then stole his clothing. Then I read about lizard people in love, absorbed the soul of a dragon, slowed down time while I drove an axe through pirates, and then gazed at the northern lights that rippled across the night sky.

I was there. And that's the great thing about Skyrim. I really was there.

1. Dark Souls

My coworker Lark Anderson often reminds me that Dark Souls tells the kind of story that only a game can tell. And he's right. Dark Souls isn't filled with countless quest givers that spout endless paragraphs of exposition in a desperate attempt to make you care about the world. Instead, the world simply exists, and its history gradually comes to light as you unveil the game's mysteries. And the discoveries come at a cost. They are not offered to you by a shimmering maiden carrying secrets on a gilded tray. Instead, they are buried, half-digested, in a slobbering dragon's gurgling belly. With Dark Souls' brilliant combat system as your primary asset, you slash and curse and gnash your teeth until victory arrives and you can gloat to anyone within earshot about your virtual trophy.

Dark Souls took Demon's Souls excellence and then exponentially enhanced it. Skyrim inspires plenty of awe for its huge and attractive world. Dark Souls' Lordran is not as vast, but it's no less impressive for it. The way each region fits with others is ridiculously ingenious. You may not initially realize that an opulent chapel swarming with dangerous beasts rests atop the shrine that serves as your primary home. And then you gain access to an elevator--and discover how intricately these places fit together, and how unlocking a single new access point is almost as rewarding as clearing out dozens of dungeons in a standard role-playing game.

But what makes Dark Souls my personal favorite game of 2011--by far--is how it invaded my mind. I would wake in the morning, and the attack patterns and enemy arrangements would be etched into my brain. As I walked to work, the trip through Darkroot Forest would play in my head, and the swinging blades in Sen's Fortress would practically appear before my eyes. Dark Souls isn't just a game for me. It's a state of being. No game has ever inspired this kind of raw psychological response, and in a year, and in five years, and in 10, the state of being known as "Dark Souls" will be as tangible to me as any other emotion and any other memory. It was that powerful.

The Almost Made-Its: Rift, The Dishwasher: Vampire Smile, Child of Eden, Two Worlds II, MotorStorm: Apocalypse.