The 8 Best Damn Games of 2011

It’s fairly evident that 2011 was a great year for gamers, and although the myriad of titles available during the holidays are sure to occupy much space on many a gamer’s best of the year list, it’s important to look back a little further and remember the earlier blockbusters of the year. Although heavy-hitters such as Battlefield 3 and Skyrim are certainly killer games, I often find the most recent titles adorning these lists simply because the memories of their experiences are freshest in gamers’ minds. That being said, there were some seriously kickass games that released this year, and I’ve managed to narrow my personal list down to eight of the best titles 2011 had to offer. Take a walk with me.

Why Video Game Journalism is Failing

Before I continue, I feel that it's important to preface this article by establishing that video game journalism in and of itself is not a bad thing - there are many fantastic writers in the field, and several of them are well-versed and knowledgeable about the subject matter they cover. However, for every Charles Onyett, there's a Jim Sterling - a professional with a knack for journalistic critique for every needlessly controversial amateur. With such a rift between the two types of game journalists, the concept of taking the whole entity seriously falls by the wayside when so much of the content that is pumped out of the mainstream news sites is trite, uninformative, or childishly incendiary. Allow me to demonstrate.

Modern Warfare 3 received insanely generic reviews for such a big-budget title.

Are Fighting Games Doomed to Repeat History?

Fighting games have recently enjoyed quite the revival in this generation of consoles, and as much as I love the fact that we’re practically being showered with fresh experiences and new games to tinker around with, a part of me can’t help but wonder if companies such as Capcom are forgetting their pock-marked history and are on track to repeat it. For those of you who are unaware, fighting games were quite the business in the early to mid ‘90s, with Street Fighter II enjoying a healthy amount of attention in addition to SNK’s King of Fighters games. Due to the commercial success of these games, fighter developers such as Capcom and SNK started releasing tons of mildly updated versions into the wild, effectively splitting the tight-knit community that had begun to rally around the most popular titles. Eventually, people stopped supporting these incremental iterations, and the fighting game scene died, or, rather, went into a deep hibernation. But that’s old news, right?

SF3: 3rd Strike hit arcades just as the fighting game genre was dying out.

Should Singleplayer and Multiplayer Be Reviewed Separately?

With the recent release of Battlefield 3, many critics have noted the large disparities in quality and enjoyment between the game’s campaign and multiplayer modes. The general consensus seems to be that BF3′s singleplayer experience strays away from the formula that makes Battlefield such an enjoyable shooter in favor of something more in the vein of the Modern Warfare series. Some have even gone so far as to say that the campaign mode in Battlefield 3 is notably bad, while the multiplayer stands head and shoulders above the competition. This begs the question – should singleplayer and multiplayer components of video games be reviewed separately? Or should they be graded as a single entity with a score that considers the overall package?

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Battlefield 3, Origin, and You

Although the community’s lamentation of the lack of Steam support for Battlefield 3 is not completely unfounded, it’s a little ridiculous to think that people will skip out on one of the biggest games of the year simply because they have to download a new client to play it. During my time with the Alpha build of Battlefield 3, Origin performed just fine, and although it wasn’t the prettiest application, it accomplished everything it needed to.

In order to fully understand what EA is trying to do with Origin, think of the client as a new console launch. The software needs a killer app to draw people to it, and once the initial audience has been captured with that kickass game (in this case, BF3) they’re more likely to stick around and use everything the software has to offer. Remember, just because you have to download Origin to play BF3 doesn’t mean your Steam account suddenly becomes useless and that platform goes to hell. The two are competing rivals, sure, but that doesn’t mean that the consumer can’t use both. They’re both free, they both act as digital distribution software, and if anything, the direct competition with one another will ultimately benefit customers. 

Although it’s quite likely that most EA games will launch exclusively on the Origin software from now on (actually, you can count on it) there may be other titles that also launch on the service, which ultimately gives gamers more options, and provokes price wars to compete for your hard-earned cash. If the fact that you can’t play Battlefield 3 on Steam is enough to convince you that the game isn’t worth your money, let’s be honest, you probably weren’t very interested to begin with. In the long run, this could be a shitty move and really hurt the franchise, but at least it’s a hell of a lot better than Modern Warfare 2’s PC options and actually has some semblance of potential. Snuff out your torches and put the pitchforks back in the shed, people, it’s Battlefield 3. Battle-fucking-field 3! C’mon!