I have both a Sony Playstation 3 and a XBox 360 if you want to know which one I prefer and why exactly go here. Short answer… PS3 is best overall. Oh, and YES I also have a Wii and if you do not see any Wii games reviewed this year well guess what… That should tell you how much money I wasted buying a stupid Wii.
So at the very beginning of this year we saw Little Big Planet 2 and Mass Effect 2 come out. You know what they had in common? Everyone bought them and everyone played them and I can’t remember anyone really having any fun with them as the months went by.
That my friends is evidence that they failed ultimately. You know what did not fail?
Portal 2
Portal the original version of this game was a throw away they slapped into The Orange Box with Half-Life 2 and it took off. In fact it took over and became the runaway cult classic. Portal 2 simply perfects any of the annoying parts from the first go around and added a bit more story line and that was all the added spice this game needed to be the solid winner for 2011 in this category of game which I consider the true legacy of Super Mario.
You can pick this game up at any stage or level and you can put it down and go do something else for a while and you can leave it sitting there for weeks on end and still come back and start playing right where you left off without having to remember any convoluted story line or worry about anything you might have missed. Add to that the game is fun and inoffensive and is built to attract kids of all ages.
That is the sign of a true winner of 2011 video game wise right there. Put it on the shelf next to the original Little Big Planet and Katamari Forever for the Sony Playstation 3 and you have some cool video gaming relaxation and enjoyment.
My Review Of Ico & Shadow Of The Colossus Collection
The Sony Playstation 2 changed video gaming as we know it and it did just that through games like this. These are solid gorgeous games that have been updated to take advantage of the Sony Playstation 3 high definition graphics without really touching their original game play.
The thing is Ico… can be kinda of linear and a drag sometimes and Shadow Of The Colossus is an early sandbox style game that can feel pretty empty at times. You have to remember before these games it was hard to point to anything and say that is art. Both of these games changed that in their own way because in essence they are art. So buy this collection for your edification and art appreciation and maybe you might even enjoy them and come to love them for their gentle natures as much as I do.
Dragon Age 2 did come out this year which seems like ages ago. I hope they have patched this thing within a inch of it’s life now because what a freaking mess it was to play originally. I gave it a Grade C even with all the DLC that eventually came out and I stick by that assessment but I still say if you like Gay Romance this game gave you mega angst ridden Gay Romance in spades. It simply is one of the few games out there I can say that about. I mention it for that one unique aspect of the story line alone and nothing else but for some people that will be enough to spark their interest so have at it.
Red Dead Redemption: Game Of The Year Edition
L.A. Noire came out from Rockstar Games this year and failed in such a totally unexpected way. It was trying to be a sandbox style game which Rockstar Games specializes in but this dang thing felt like it had been created by people who had no clue how such things worked. It was a mechanical, linear, overly scripted, robotic, BORING mess more interested in NPC facial gimmicks than in game play.
Everything that Red Dead Redemption: Game Of The Year Edition IS, L.A. Noire IS NOT.
Let’s focus on a much much better game though and forget this years dismal disappointment. If you want to play the best Cowboy game Rockstar Games ever made and that I have ever played in video games period. If you want to play this most excellent game with all it’s patches and DLC extras and everything on it then pick up this Red Dead Redemption: Game Of The Year Edition and have a blast playing a gun slingin, horse ridin, Rootin’ Tootin Cowboy on the video game range like Erastes is right this very minute.
Borderlands: Game Of The Year Edition
Rage came out this year. *yawn* I will say it was pretty for a Fallout knockoff but kinda dumbed down so it could fit in with every other boring Shooter. Listen I will not kid you about this, Shooters are a HUGE video game category with many many people playing the hell out of them but frankly I find I have little or nothing very interesting to talk about when it comes to Shooters. Then I took the big gun and then he went kablooie and I lol’d… um yeah.
Except this one… Borderlands: Game Of The Year Edition is god damned funny. It’s smart mouthed and twisted and it could care the hell less if you get the joke or not because half of it’s uncontrollable glee is putting you through the grinder and laughing hysterically. You are Borderlands number one bitch because you pressed the start button sweet cheeks!
Borderlands: Game Of The Year Edition is what most Shooters “try” to be with it’s cartoony violence and “joke a minute” attitude and plain old “blow em sky high but be creative while you do it” fun and then striving to remain interesting in a “wait till you see what crazy thing is going to try and kill you next” kind of way. Somewhere along the line Borderlands: Game Of The Year Edition became more than just another Shooter and that is why I love it so.
If you have a teenager around get the damn thing they will love this edition with all the game patches and all the hilarious but down right abusive DLC extras all in one “cool beans” gift wrapped package of video game wickedness. It may not be the latest, but it is still in my opinion the greatest.
Fable 2: Platinum Hits Edition
Oh yeah, Fable 3 came out this year. You know what the best part of Fable 3 was? The part that replicated Fable 2 and it’s game play exactly.
Just get Fable 2: Platinum Hits Edition if you have an XBox 360 (because this game is strictly XBox only) for it’s Disney-fied fantasy RPG goodness and skip Fable 3 unless you find Fable 3 in a Platinum Hits Edition somehow with all the added patches and DLC extras and it also happens to be in the dollar bin. You most likely won’t so I say just stick with looking for that Fable 2: Platinum Hits Edition by default.
Wow! OK, this whole post is running on far too long… Here is a quick run through of some other sequel-tastic video games I love and the exact “Editions” I recommend you look for this sale infested holiday season as cheaply as you possibly can in the wonderfully crazy piled high sale bins. Get these specific ones because either they represent the pinnacle of the series at this point or “the best game play for the buck” next to everything else available in my opinion…
Fallout 3 ~ Game Of The Year Edition
My Review Of Fallout 3 ~ Game Of The Year Edition
inFamous: Greatest Hits Edition
Assassin’s Creed 2: Greatest Hits Edition
My Review Of Assassin’s Creed 2
Bioshock: Greatest Hits Edition
I keep forgetting to sit down and really review the first Bioshock. Here is what I think of it in a nutshell…
Bioshock is set in an alternate 1960 and you are Jack… Um, that’s about the only thing you really know about yourself… Jack. Your plane mysteriously crashes and you wind up in an Art Deco city called Rapture at the bottom of the ocean. First, let me say this game is absolutely gorgeous with it’s Art Deco motifs and the underwater setting. The kicker you will come to find out is the whole story line was inspired by Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged and Fountainhead. In fact there is this system in the game based on the moral choices your character makes and those choices get darker and darker as the game progresses. This game fucking bothered me playing it. I never wanted to quit (but I did feel like taking a shower) because I was spurred on to see the story progress but the underlying facts are that NO ONE in this game including you (eventually) is even remotely “human”. Everyone you meet has these big plans and bigger aspirations and huge cut throat methods and they don’t care who they hurt getting to the top. I played both the “Good” game and then, because I like pain, I went back and played the “Bad” game and wow it’s not nice any way you play it. So if you want something with a little more teeth to it than your typical video game OR if your ever wondered what an Ayn Rand inspired game might be like try this creepy dark fascinating thing.
Tags: Video Games
Erastes wrote,
we are game twins. a couple here i haven’t tried, so i’ll put them on the list! brilliant post, thank you
Link | November 13th, 2011 at 10:08 am
TeddyPig wrote,
Erastes I think Skyrim might be your ultimate exploration game ever ever ever.
Jason has been exploring for two whole days now.
Link | November 13th, 2011 at 10:55 am
Spike Video Game Awards | The Naughty Bits wrote,
[...] was even happier when my choice for Game Of The Year 2011 ~ Portal 2 walked away with the most awards including an award for the lady who played GLaDOS. She so rocked [...]
Link | December 11th, 2011 at 4:34 pm
Teddypig’s Super Mega Best Computer ~ Building The Perfect Beast | The Naughty Bits wrote,
[...] Playing Skyrim is like a whole new game. Playing Nude Male Skyrim is beyond decadent. Playing Fallout 3 or Witcher 2 or Portal 2 or Borderlands at the highest available settings is OMG amazing. It is frightening how much better this Super Mega [...]
Link | April 27th, 2012 at 6:26 am