2011 was one great year for video games. Although there were only a few notable titles for a good chunk of the year, the last few months brought one great game after another. Some even claimed that there was no better time to be a gamer (these claims are, of course, exaggerated. Despite the quality gaming year 2011 was, it was no mid-nineties, or even a 2005 or 2007). 2011 was the year we saw the fall and rise of the Nintendo 3DS, the year the fourth-quarter proved more fruitful than ever, and the year we caught a glimpse of what the future of gaming holds.
In such a noteworthy year in games, which ones stood out the most? Well, I may not be able to get the chance to experience every major gaming release, but as far as I’m concerned, the following ten games are the games that shined the brightest in 2011.
It’s that time of year again…Award season! Okay, so technically award season is primarily in January, but what the heck.
The following are my awards for the best in gaming in 2011, in categories such as best visuals, best music, and so on and so forth. I will write about the winners of each respective award in detail, and include a brief mention of the first and second runner-up for each category.
Keep in mind that my “Game of the Year” award will soon follow in the form of a top ten list.
And so, here they are, my 2011 video game awards! The Yammies! Read more
Pushmo is Intelligent System’s puzzle game available through download on the Nintendo 3DS that looks to take advantage of the handheld’s 3D abilities. But is Pushmo a puzzler to be praised? Or is it another novelty in the quickly-flagging downloadable gaming scene? Read more
Mario Kart 7, the most bluntly named entry thus far in the series, is the 3DS’ iteration of one of Nintendo’s most popular series. But just how well does Mario Kart 7 stack up against its predecessors? Does it race to the finish? Or have Mario and friends hit a bump in the road? Read more
Earlier this year, Nintendo released its newest handheld, the Nintendo 3DS. The handheld was heavily hyped, though after its release it’s been apparent it was released a little sooner than it should have been, as the vast majority of promised titles are yet to be seen. That’s not to say the 3DS has been entirely barren, the only problem is that the notable games released thus far have had one thing in common: They are all remakes. Star Fox 64, Street Fighter IV and Ocarina of Time are all great, but we’ve already known that for some time.
People began questioning whether or not the 3DS would have a compelling, original game. And now steps in Nintendo’s foremost mascot, Mario, with a brand new adventure. It wouldn’t be the first time Mario had to carry a system into the spotlight, but can Mario repeat his past success? (spoiler: yes he can). Read more
Back in 2002 Nintendo re-released one of its most acclaimed video games ever, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, for the Game Boy Advance handheld system. Included with this re-release was a brand new game, Four Swords, which was the first multi-player entry in the history of The Legend of Zelda series. And now, for the twenty-fifth anniversary of the franchise, Nintendo has re-released Four Swords as a stand-alone, downloadable game (and it’s free until February). But just how well does Four Swords stack up on its own these nine years later? Read more
I love the Super Smash Bros. series, and Super Smash Bros. Brawl in particular has probably taken more of my time than any other game. But if Brawl has one notable flaw, it’s that blasted “Subspace Emissary” Adventure Mode! Much-hyped when it was initially revealed on Masahiro Sakurai’s blog, it proved to be a rather shallow and uneventful experience upon the game’s release. I myself played through the Adventure Mode to unlock all the characters but haven’t played it since (and again, I’ve put a lot of hours into Brawl, so it’s telling when I say I have yet to touch its Adventure Mode again). So I decided to write this list of ways I think the Wii U iteration of Smash Bros. can better its Adventure Mode. Read more
Alright, another Smash Bros. 4 wishlist. While I said I would start getting to stages and items (which I still will do), as well as some other character ideas, there was something else I was thinking about for the Wii U Smash Bros…Final Smashes. Now, for all the new character suggestions I’ve made, I listed potential Final Smashes for them along with their respective lists. What this is is a small list of Final Smashes that appeared in Brawl that I think should (or could) be changed in order to fit their respective characters better. Read more
My Smash Bros. wishlists continue! And now, here is the moment you’ve been waiting for…third party characters! When Brawl first announced Solid Snake’s induction into the Super Smash family, things changed. It seemed the possibility for potential characters was endless. And, seeing as Sonic the Hedgehog would end up being the only other third-party character in Brawl, those possibilities are still wide open. Now, I was originally going to make this particular wishlist a top 10/top 5 list of my most wanted third-party characters, but I decided to go the same route with this as I have been with the Nintendo characters, and merely listing five, non-numbered characters here in case I should think of other characters as I go (but with that said, my most wanted of all characters is listed here). Read more
