2011 Year in Review: Chase Koeneke Edition

I had considered writing a year in review earlier, but it wasn’t until I read Daniel Feit’s that I became motivated enough to actually go through with it. While I keep a list of games I conquered over the year, I wanted something a bit more personal and thorough to act as a record of 2011: The games I played (both old and new,) the events that affected me, and whatever else I found important enough to touch upon.

It’s not that 2010 was a bad year by any means (Mass Effect 2 and Metal Gear Solid Peacewalker made sure of that,) but I had much more fun in 2011. I played 37 games to their credits, replayed one of my favorite games of all-time (Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2,) and ended up enjoying a few titles I never thought I would.

No lie, Peacewalker was the best game of 2010. I couldn't believe it either.

Early in the year was reserved for catching up on 2010. I put the last few hours into Golden Sun: Dark Dawn. Though it’s easily the weakest in the portable RPG series, I’m just pleased it got out the door and hope Nintendo keeps it going. It may appear to be a generic RPG romp, but the systems and mechanics behind the scenes make it something really special.

Then it was time to move onto 2011. Being a rare breed of gamer who enjoys playing fighting games single-player more than multiplayer, I played the hell out of both Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds  and Super Street Fighter 4: 3D Edition, not once worrying about phrases like “netcode” and “frame lag.” Both superb enough to warrant going back for a few matches a couple times a month (that is until Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 came out, which I purchased, despite feeling more than a little scammed by Capcom, giving them the benefit of the doubt after earthquakes rocked Japan and the schedules of Japanese developers.)

This pretty much sums up my MvC3 strategy. Fear Skrull!

I’d avoided Bioshock 2 like the plague after hearing may bad things, but after hearing Giant Bomb’s spirited recommendation of the Minerva’s Den DLC in their 2010 Game of the Year Deliberations, I decided to borrow a copy from a friend and try my hand at both the main game as well as Minerva. I’m really glad I did. With lowered expectations, I had a blast revisiting Rapture and learning more about that world. Could I have lived without it? Sure, but all things considered, it wasn’t so bad and Minerva’s Den easily lived up to the hype.

I vowed on my podcast I’d wait for the 3DS to drop in price before I even considered purchasing it. I broke down within two days of it’s release, picking up Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars in addition to the aforementioned Street Fighter. Though I could completely understand some gamers’ frustration about the lack of quality content, I never once regretted my purchase. From Virtual Console releases like Super Mario Land and The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening DX, to the 20 free Ambassador games Nintendo handed out to early adopters, to quality re-makes Star Fox 64 3D and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D, to the great new releases of Mario Kart 7 and Super Mario 3D Land late in the year, to Pushmo, the game I never expected to adore as much as I do, the 3DS rewarded you with a wealth of content if you looked hard enough.

The most underrated game of 2011, bar none. Advance Wars and Fire Emblem fans owe it to themselves to give it a shot.

But for as much as I loved my 3DS, the far and away best handheld game of the year was the last hurrah of the DS: A little game called Monster Tale (which I wrote a whole article on by itself.)

And when I wasn’t playing portable games, I was playing 2011’s fantastic batch of co-op experiences. Rayman Origins, Kirby’s Return to Dreamland, Gears of War 3, and Trenched (I will forever refuse to call it Iron Brigade. Trenched is just too cool a name,) all were an absolute blast, but from out of nowhere, my favorite co-op game was Portal 2.

When I bought the sequel to one of my favorite games of all time, I never thought I’d play the co-op. Portal was an intimate experience I took at my own pace. The addition of a second player would ruin everything, I had concluded. But when I informed my new ladyfriend about my purchase, she enthusiastically demanded we play it together.

You can keep your cake GLaDOS. ATLAS and P-body just want to TEST!

We blew through it in two nights, and they were the two best nights I had all year. To play with someone of similar intelligence and experience was pure bliss, and by the last few hours, our minds were completely in sync as we used the shorthand language we developed over the course of the game. Though the single-player of Portal 2 shined, it was the co-op that pushed it over the edge as my game of the year.

Two games that were welcome little surprises were Catherine and 2010’s Bayonetta. Both Devil May Cry 4 and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed had disappointed enough in the past to warrant me writing off the entire genre. My friend and podcast co-host encouraged me to try Bayonetta, and after he bought it for me when he found it on sale, I had no excuse not to give it a shot. Though absolutely ridiculous, I can’t say I didn’t enjoy crushing angels, demons, and angel-demons with giant summoned hair boots (not a euphemism, that’s a thing that happens.)

Catherine intrigued me as something new and different, which it certainly delivered on. Both the relationship simulator (though “simulator” is to be taken with a huge grain of salt,) and the puzzle parts were spectacular in their own way, putting them together was a bit like throwing potato chips on an ice cream sundae: While I like both of those things, I came for the ice cream and the chips are ruining it for me. In the same way, I came to Catherine for the relationship parts, and while the puzzling would have been awesome separately (as Pushmo would soon confirm,) in Catherine, it only served as an obstacle to what I wanted. Still, if you can overlook its flaws, Catherine will shock you with how interesting it can be.

Catherine will surprise you (in a good, non-perveted way,) if you let it.

Lastly, I have to mention the two games easily put the most time into: The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim and Forza Motorsport 4. Forza 4 is more of a tweak to its previous installment than a whole new game, but it’s a tweak that makes a huge difference. Everything in Forza 4 just feels right. Honestly, Turn 10 has probably done too good of a job: I don’t see a reason to buy any future Forza games, as I can see nothing more to improve.

And then there’s Skyrim. I wanted to hate this game. I wanted to hate it so badly. I’ve never enjoyed fantasy. I’ve always been in the Star Wars/Mass Effect camp instead of the Lord of the Rings/Dragon Age one. In addition, I’d had a terrible experience with Morrowind on the original Xbox and had only begrudgingly enjoyed Fallout 3 once Bethesda had fixed most of its issues months after release. Skyrim was the last chance for both fantasy and Bethesda and if it failed, I could write both things off forever.

I want to hate you so badly, but you're just too good.

But, cards on the table, Skyrim is great. It’s better than great, it’s the best game of this year (not my personal best, but my tastes bias me,) which now has me eating a regular diet of crow.

And that was 2011 for me. Below are a few awards to sum up my thoughts. Like Mr. Feit before me, I encourage you all to write your own year in reviews, and post them to Bitmob (don’t feel like you need to write a 1300+ word epic like I did either. I’m just insane.)

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Game of the Year: Portal 2

Biggest Disappointment: Ms. ‘Splosion Man (it’s like Twisted Pixel took out everything that made the original great.)

GameS I Wish I Had Gotten To: Saint’s Row: The Third, L.A. Noire, Dark Souls

Best Non-2011 Game I Played for the First Time in 2011: Bayonetta

Most Anticipated Games of 2012: Fire Emblem 3DS, Paper Mario 3DS, Borderlands 2, Mass Effect 3, Torchlight 2