Reflections on gaming in 2011

2011 has been an exceptional year in gaming.

Whether you prefer your games on disc or digital, mainstream or independent, handheld or on a massive television, this past year has been outstanding for anyone who has ever placed a controller in their hands. Instead of choosing one single game to represent the best in 2011, I and my fellow Void games writers have opted to have an open discussion and talk about all the very best in the world of gaming this year.

Let’s do this.

Handhelds and mobile

Michael Spada: Let’s kick things off small – literally – with the wonderful world of handhelds.

2011 was a bit of a transitional year, seeing the DS taper off at the start of the year to make way for the far-too-early launch of the 3DS. Lacking a proper e-Shop at launch and coming out with a rather limited library, the 3DS started off weak and didn’t really pick up steam until the summertime, when remakes of N64 classics The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Star Fox 64 hit shelves. Once the fall hit and games like Super Mario 3D Land and Mario Kart 7 were released, the system became a competent player just in time to compete against next year’s early launch of the PS Vita. While Sony’s exciting new handheld was initially due to launch this holiday season, they held off for a bit and will have the very advantage the 3DS didn’t – a stellar launch library.

While I personally didn’t get my hands on a whole lot of handheld titles this year, one game in particular stood out to me, and that is Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective for the regular old DS. This game took everything that made the DS such a special system to me and put it together in one brilliant package.

From the team that gave us the Phoenix Wright games, we’ve got a classic adventure game where you play the spirit of a dead man whose memory is completely gone, as you possess your way from one inanimate object to another in search of your own past and the answers to your death. The game featured gorgeous animation, exceptional writing and characters, and addictive gameplay that will break your brain as much as it will make it feel like a god for figuring out some of the tougher puzzles.

The DS couldn’t have gone out better for me.

Mark Power: I think that the 3DS was a massive disappointment when it first came out, but it appears to be slowly recovering. The original DS didn’t exactly have a stellar launch and wasn’t really that successful until the DS Lite came out — and we all saw what a shuddering juggernaut that became.

Some of the 3DS games have been absolutely wonderful and hopefully Nintendo can get some third party studios in to really start taking advantage of the new hardware. My favourite handheld game of the year was the little beheld Aliens: Infestation which was absolutely brilliant and atmospheric, a cross between old-style Metroid with Alien 3 for the Amiga and Mega Drive.

What I think has been amazing is the continuation of games on the app stores of smartphones and tablets. These have been unstoppable. Unless I have been on a long trip somewhere, I have been mostly content to play games on my phone as a diversion as opposed to taking one of my handheld consoles. The controls aren’t great on some games, but work brilliantly with others. Grand Theft Auto 3’s controls fall into the former camp but the pricier Football Manager Handheld 2012 is an absolute delight. Would I choose my smartphone over a 3DS or a Vita? No, not yet, however I am sure that that day is coming.

David Lillywhite: Would I choose a smartphone over a 3DS or a Vita? I think I already have. If I’m out and about, my iPhone satiates my appetite for a quick fix and it’s one less thing I have to carry in my pocket. Cave have really committed to making excellent ports of their most popular titles and when there’s no time for a book on the Underground, I’m happy to crack on with a level or two of DoDonPachi or Espgaluda. Hell, I’m still playing Flight Control and GeoDefence. The App Store has given the two main players in the market a big wake-up call.

For the second time in the space of a year, I’ve found myself in the alarming position of being distinctly underwhelmed by a Nintendo product. Normally I’d have had a 3DS pre-ordered on day one but its been a very uninspiring piece of kit until Super Mario 3D Land. I’ve been playing on Nintendo systems since 1986, but there’s only so many times I’m going to pay for the same game. Three times wasn’t a charm for Star Fox – I’ve had it on Nintendo 64 and Virtual Console and the enhancements just weren’t enough to make me part with my cash for another go-around, though F-Zero 64 might be a different matter. I think 3D is a bad enough gimmick at the cinema, I don’t need it intruding on my gaming too.

And yet, despite my reticence to really engage with handheld gaming, I still find myself strangely drawn towards the PS Vita. It’s got an appealing set of launch titles and enough power under the hood so that developers aren’t constrained by technical limitations. Oh, and portable Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 too. Hold me.

Martin Kreuch: As for the 3DS, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D was nice and also an example of how Nintendo didn’t really get across in their marketing campaigns what’s cool about the 3DS. Cause they just kept hammering out the 3D, whereas the Augmented Reality features of the 3DS are much nicer than the 3D (which you have to turn off after a while, even as a display junkie). For example in Zelda when you can look around rooms by just pointing the 3DS in the right direction.

Digital downloads

Double Fine's Stacking - charming

Michael Spada: On the digital front, speaking of both independent games as well as Xbox Live Arcade/WiiWare/PlayStation Network titles, this year was like any other — excellent. Digital gaming has become a crucial part of the industry, with shorter and sweeter titles available to us almost instantaneously. Neither better nor worse, a solid and constant stream of digital titles assaulted us with joy in 2011, but one studio stood miles above the rest – Double Fine.

The creative gods behind Psychonauts and Costume Quest took an almost exclusively digital route this year and the results were fabulous. While Iron Brigade was a joy, Stacking was easily among the most charming and downright enjoyable games to come out in 2011. Playing as a Russian stacking doll, you assume the form of other dolls, stacking to become bigger characters with varying abilities. Every problem has multiple solutions, making you think and smile every single time you face an obstacle. It didn’t help that the music was outstanding and the writing was among some of Double Fine’s best.

On the indie front, I didn’t pay as much attention as I would have liked to this year, but obviously one game caught my attention because it caught the WORLD’S attention – Minecraft.

This dashing sandbox game truly allowed you to build whatever you wanted, allowing for an infinite amount of creativity. Users worldwide played the beta more than they played most full games, recreating famous nonfiction and fiction architecture, crafting their own unique worlds, or just making monstrous nightmares for a laugh. The game was officially released in November after months and months of public funding, and is an absolute triumph for the indie scene.

Bastion boasted amazing art

Martin Kreuch: I agree, Stacking was nice, reminded me a lot of McGee’s Scrapland (which had such a nice story underneath a few painful gameplay issues).

On the less positive side I was quite disappointed by The Baconing. Didn’t even play past the demo, even though I loved the first two DeathSpank games dearly. Another game worth mentioning would be Bastion. Amazing art and a wonderful storytelling mechanic that underpinned the theme of the game better than in most AAA blockbusters.

Mark Power: I also really liked Bastion. It was such a beautiful, anime inspired isometric RPG. The ending is such a fantastic way to end a game – it was awesome. Minecraft is such a genius concept and so easy to play and adaptable. It just goes to show that diamond edged graphics don’t always beat fun and gameplay which you don’t find in a lot of paint-by-numbers games these days.

I have never felt such genuine emotion as when I played the indie game To the Moon which was a PC downloadable RPG. It allows you to explore a wish fulfillment scenario which is available to the protagonist as he is on his death bed. It tells of his alternate life where he wants to go to the moon and explores the relationship with his deceased wife. It was honestly quite moving.

Other mentions should probably go to Ms. Splosion Man which was the epically fun sequel to the original and Bit.Trip Runner which was released on Steam this year too after a number of WiiWare outings.

Retro re-releases and compilations

Metal Gear Solid HD Collection was, for the most part, exceptional

Michael Spada: Since this generation began, really, we’ve been seeing a steady increase in re-releases and remakes of classic games, both downloadable and on disc. 2011 saw a lovely bunch of these come through, including a series of HD collections that are absolutely to die for. Collections of God of War games, Splinter Cell games, and the Prince of Persia games hit stores, and all were outstanding. But two really took the cake this year.

The Ico & Shadow of the Colossus collection took two of the most compelling cases for games as art and popped them into one beautiful collection. These PS2 classics never really got the attention they deserved, which is an absolute abomination considering the mood, atmosphere, and sense of loneliness conveyed in both titles. Having both games re-released in glorious HD gave people one more chance to experience these amazing games, and in the best way possible. The HD polish really made a difference with these games, especially Shadow of the Colossus, a game with a grand scope that can only really be enjoyed in high definition. Absolutely worth purchasing again or for the very first time.

The Metal Gear Solid HD Collection was the other big re-release this year, featuring Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, and the portable Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker. Seeing the two PS2 MGS games in HD was incredible enough (especially considering they hold up visually WITHOUT HD), but Peace Walker’s inclusion on this collection is really what brings this game to a must-own status. The PSP game was exceptional, with one glaring flaw: the lack of a second analog stick. Aiming controls with the face buttons only barely worked on the PSP, so finally including a significantly more playable version of this outstanding entry into the series makes this the best re-release of the year.

David Lillywhite: I tip my hat to Microsoft in this regard, the 360′s elevation to the essential gaming choice this generation has been due in no small part to the retro re-releases that have threatened to overwhelm the second half of the year for me. Granted, many of these games can be found on Sony’s dust-gathering black box but for sheer convenience, having them all in one place has made the decision easy.

Street Fighter III: Third Strike

Capcom’s update of the legendary Street Fighter III: Third Strike is a remarkable offering of spectacular value that has provided players with a chance to properly discover such an under-appreciated gem – I hope this has done well enough to justify the investment and encourages a Vampire Saviour HD release.

Meanwhile Treasure’s RPG/hack-and-slash ‘em up Guardian Heroes and seminal shooter Radiant Silvergun were among the Sega Saturn’s finest offerings and now they’re here, lovingly restored and presented for a new generation. Radiant Silvergun has been an obsession of mine for years, the disc always tantalisingly out of reach and for a measly 1,200 points it did not disappoint. Then there’s Sega’s Daytona USA which is as perfect a conversion as you could wish for, prompting a month long competition between myself and my friends to achieve the best 777 Speedway time. Time has been at a premium this year and Score Attack modes have been my primary gaming focus. A bravo to the developers who have made it quick and easy to see how good my friends are.

My only complaint has been the frankly insane release schedule – the four games I refer to above were all released in such close proximity to each other and shunted so quickly from the main Marketplace page on the Xbox dashboard that I fear for their commercial success. It’s almost criminal that these classic gems have been left to fend for themselves, particularly against the bigger hitting retail releases. It’s been a real balancing act with my other preoccupations - Marvel, DoDonPachi, Arkham City (to say nothing of the eternal fascination with SSFIV which itself got a nice little bump this year with Arcade Edition and 2012 updates) – to get the most out of this glorious year for retro gamers.

Retail games

Portal 2 blew everyone away

Michael Spada: Let’s get to the real meat of this year’s games – traditional retail games. This year saw an ungodly amount of exceptional releases from the beginning of the year to the end. Starting with Dead Space 2 and not stopping until The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, nothing but absolute quality was released on store shelves this year. We’ve seen brilliant third entries in a number of acclaimed franchises, like Gears of War and Uncharted, and yet we’ve also seen some excellent new IPs such as LA Noire and Shadows of the Damned. Anyone that loves videogames can easily say that this year was amazing.

However, above all else, my personal pick for the absolute best game of 2011 goes to Portal 2. From beginning to end, this game oozed quality, originality, and a rarity in games – hilarity. This game is genuinely funny. As a comedy snob, it takes a lot to make me laugh in this modern day, especially in videogames, but Stephen Merchant’s Wheatley brought on laughs unparalleled in any game I’ve ever played. That’s not to downplay Ellen McLain’s startlingly touching return as GLaDoS, of course, as she brought genuine emotion to the devilishly evil and brutally rude villain. And JK Simmons, my all-time favorite character actor, was astounding as Cave Johnson. The writing is easily the best in any game to date, delivering a story that’s sharp, emotional, and thoroughly entertaining from beginning to end.

None of that would matter, of course, were it not for the gameplay. And Portal 2 delivers. Building off the excellent mechanics established in its 2007 runaway hit of a predecessor, Portal 2 does more with portals than any other piece of science fiction in history. Adding to it the gels, light bridge tunnels, and excursion funnels, this game constantly bombards you with new and exciting mechanics that change things up before it even threatens to get old. There is literally nothing wrong with this game. Valve has topped themselves, a difficult feat given their stellar track record. This is the only game in my life where I started playing and, dinner aside, did not stop until I completed it. It was that good.

No game in 2011, maybe ever, made me smile more.

Martin Kreuch: It is a very personal choice, and I’m slightly drunk writing this, but for the sheer nostalgia of it my personal high-point was the lovely Rayman Origins. It reminded me of the many an hour I spent playing the original Rayman, with all the characters and tons of levels.

Rayman Origins

It’s definitely at its best when you play with at least three players, and knock each other off ledges. Even though this sometimes means you don’t all progress, it doesn’t matter. It’s just good fun slapping your mate in the face and make him fall to a lovingly animated death. Great animation, amazing sound design, fun gameplay.

And yet, it never creates the sense of being in an actual story, the way that Rayman did. But then again, how many jump’n'runs ever managed that on the same level as the original Rayman?

David Lillywhite: Is it our collective destiny to each deliver our Game of the Year while under the influence?

I’m halfway through a bottle of 12 year old Yamazaki and it seems the ideal jumping off point. First, I’ll tell you what’s not my Game of the Year – Batman: Arkham City. And that’s painful to write because for the most part, it’s a game that is everything a sequel should be: staying true to its predecessor while delivering a new, satisfying experience that moves the game world on. Twenty minutes in and you’ll swear blind Rocksteady have bottled lightning and as you explore further, you realise that this is a developer that has managed the impossible: franchise tie-in as a credible offering. Arkham City just drips with atmosphere and the spin on Batman’s rogues gallery feels fresh (with the exception of Catwoman, natch).

And yet, I can’t forgive the climax of the game which amounts to little more than a casual stealth ‘em up and a rather lazy big boss battle. After all that effort, it’s a bust of a finish that left me thinking ‘Is that it?’ I kept hoping there was more to it (and in the game’s defence, the package offers the player lots to do after they’ve finished the game so your mileage may vary) but in the end, I didn’t feel compelled to return and mop everything up. The Riddler’s hostages are just going to have to die.

Marvel vs Capcom 3

Martin’s taken the right approach. From a purely personal perspective, Marvel Vs Capcom 3 was my highlight.

Let’s first look past the obvious: the Ultimate disc release just eight months later was a woeful misstep that smacked of the oversaturation that killed the fighting game genre back in the late 90s; the cast was, in all fairness, not quite as crowd-pleasing as everyone had expected and yes, the overall content of the original disc came up a little short but for sheer giddy balls-to-the-wall eye-bleeding mental, nothing came close.

I’ve lost count of the Friday nights that have disappeared to random team battles with friends and at last, I’ve migrated from gamepad to joystick. I know I’m supposed to have focused on building the perfect team (I only got as far as Trish, Akuma, Mango Sentinel) but the lure of a series of frankly crazy match-ups from dusk till dawn represented wicked value that everyone could get involved in. Moreover, there was a terrific community spirit - Cross Counter has long since offered enthusiastic coverage of the fighting game scene but The Marvelous Adventures of Gootecks and Mike Ross have been a welcome supplement to a game that asked for a further £24.99 for a spectator mode and a few new characters.

Mark Power: Sadly, unlike my fellow colleagues, I am not under the influence at the moment (however I do plan to change this quite soon!).

My game of the year was Deus Ex: Human Revolution (DE:HR). I was looking forward to this game since the first Deus Ex came out over a decade ago. My confidence was knocked slightly by the release of Deus Ex: Invisible War which frustrated me so much that I couldn’t even finish it. For DE:HR I watched with schoolboyish excitement all the build up, the preview videos, the big arm-knives, the commitment to the RPG elements. When I finally played it, it was perfection. Well… almost. While it didn’t exceed my expectations, it certainly matched them.

Deus Ex: Human Revolution

Just like the original Deus Ex had some flaws (poor combat, over-recycling of map areas, dodgy AI, subpar graphics even for the time), I got over them, just like the slight flaws in the girl next door that turn her into something more than a supermodel. In DE:HR, I wasn’t keen on the mandatory boss fights, and some of the augmentations seemed a bit pointless. In addition, the augmentation that you basically needed to beat one boss was particularly irking if you didn’t have any augmentation points left during the boss fight.

Yes, they took some of the flexibility out of your approach, but as a whole, I loved it. I loved the fact that I went through as myself choosing whatever was natural, then I went through again as a Mr. Stealthy McSuperstealth, and then I went through again it as Rambo. The degree of customisation that was on offer reminded me of Mass Effect 2, although I think that the combat in DE:HR was better. The plot was labyrinthine and satisfying, with lots of branch offs from the main mission so that you could really get to know the game world and everything it had to offer, yet it didn’t tie you down to the details. You could do the bare minimum to progress the game, or every sub mission, or something in between. The choice was there for you, which in a post-Modern Warfare corridor world, is getting increasingly rare.

Even the themes behind the game, the readiness of humankind to accept posthumanism, the rampant corporatocracies that seem to mysteriously influence governments, and of course the age old Frankenstein’s monster theme – the creation that goes out of control of the master, it all creates a powerful and in-depth game world that inspires you as you play it.

The only other game from my perspective that could have beaten it was Skyrim. However, I haven’t played it yet as people told me they were 80 hours in after a few days and I had a major project on so couldn’t risk it. So the only other contender for me was Portal 2. A sublime game, and pretty much the only game ever that has made me pause it because I was laughing too much. Not at Wheatley so much (although I did chuckle a bit but Stephen Merchant has been a little bit over-exposed on TV adverts recently), but at Cave Johnson’s genius remarks and comments. Maybe the “Cake is a Lie” meme from the first was bigger, but Cave’s “If life gives you lemons” is just as funny and poignant.

2012 is fast approaching

Bioshock Infinite looks amazing

See? Look at that. 2011 was exceptional on every front. There is nothing to complain about. With so many absolutely fantastic games, the real stinkers like Duke Nukem Forever can simply be forgotten about forever.

And now we’ve got 2012 to worry about. This is the longest console generation in a long time, but we’ve still got loads to look forward to. The PS Vita will be assaulting us before we know it, there’s a brilliant South Park RPG in the works by the creators of Fallout: New Vegas, and oh, BioShock: Infinite is coming out and will probably change the world. And there is plenty more where that came from.

So 2011, we tip our hat to you. In a world where it’s increasingly easier to become bitter about the games industry, it’s years like this that really make you stop and think – videogames are REALLY awesome.