2011 Gaming Recap

I've dawdled too long, so I'm just gonna post a quick synopsis of gaming in 2011.

Overall, it was a fun year.  I experienced a nice mix across a few different platforms, including the additional options of the DSi and PSP - enabling me the opportunity to enjoy the word puzzle driven ScribbleNauts and the quiky JPop goodness that is LocoRoco. Additionally, I finished a few games started years ago (Tiger Woods 06, Super Mario Sunshine), and had some fun with new releases (a rarity for me) like TellTale Games' Back to the Future adventure game series.


2011 Games Log
Total of 51 games finished: Beat 34, Completed 17
Also, Completed one that was previously Beaten.

 Wallace & Gromit's Grand Adventures: Episode 4: The Bogey Man (1/2)
 We ♥ Katamari (1/17)
 The Chronicles of Narnia: TheLion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (1/21)
 Shadow of the Colossus (1/29)
 Machinarium (2/6)
 Rock Band Track Pack: Vol. 1 (Guitar-Hard) (2/8)
 Luigi's Mansion (2/20)
 Final Fantasy IX (2/20)
 Mirror's Edge 2D (2/21)
 Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law (3/7)
 Back to the Future: Episode 1: It's About Time (3/19)
 Spyro: Attack of the Rhynocs (3/19)
 Braid (3/21)
 Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly (3/27)
 Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves (3/31)
 Cars (4/8)
 Sly 2: Band of Thieves (4/18)
 Pajama Sam 3: You Are What You Eat From Your Head to Your Feet (4/27)
 Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (5/1)
 Pajama Sam 4: Life is Rough When You Lose Your Stuff (5/22)
 Monopoly Star Wars (5/30)
 ScribbleNauts (6/1)
 Jak II (6/4)
 NHL 09 (6/5)
 Tiger Woods PGA Tour 06 (6/5)
 Super Mario Sunshine (6/9)
 Band Hero (Guitar-Hard) (6/18)
 Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (PC) (6/26)
 Despicable Me - The Game (6/26)
 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (PC) (7/2)
 Back to the Future: Episode 2: Get Tannen! (7/2)
 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (PC) (7/10)
 Back to the Future: Episode 3: Citizen Brown (7/15)
 Back to the Future: Episode 4: Double Visions (7/25)
 Ghostbusters - The Video Game (7/28)
 Back to the Future: Episode 5: Outatime (7/31)
 Rock Band: Metal Track Pack (Guitar-Medium) (8/13)
 Spyro: A Hero's Tail (8/17)
 Crayon Physics Deluxe (8/20)
 Cogs (8/25)
 LeChuck's Revenge: Monkey Island 2 (8/29)
 WALL·E (9/15)
 Rocketman (9/25)
 Questionaut (9/25)
 The Quest for the Rest (9/25)
 Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (9/25)
 Jak 3 (10/15)
 Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (10/23)
 Metal Gear Solid (12/13)
 Daxter (12/20)
 Exit (12/20)
 LocoRoco (12/31)

To close, the following games were my Top 7 played for the year in no particular order:

-----Shadow of the Colossus: More of an experience than a game - epic cinematic bliss.  A fine follow-up to the equally impressive ICO. Limited exclusively to 16 boss battles, riding a horse across the countryside and into hidden areas is as fun as fighting the Colossi themselves. A MUST.

-----Sly 3: The stealthy raccoon's swansong until...Sly 4 was announced!  The cast gets a bit large in this one vs. the trio in the previous two, but the story woven is pretty solid.  The stealth platforming is nice and crisp as usual with excellent level design, and mini game missions might be best in this one - I was delighted at the inclusion of an old naval broadsides mission later in the game.

-----Final Fantasy IX: A bit skeptical about going to an older/silent RPG after loving the modern/voiced Final Fantasy X, this one eventually caught on strongly and both my wife and I loved it.  Aside from a bit of a cheesy ending, the story was delivered well with some surprises along the way.  A key, the characters were very likable, interesting and relevant to the story told. Excellent soundtrack to boot.

-----Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: A legal-based adventure game that was every bit as fun as I'd hoped it would be. The character interactions drive this, and the puzzling out of clues is quite clever.  I look forward to perhaps hitting the 2nd one some time in 2012.

-----Jak II: Probably the hardest game I've ever beaten, from middle of the game missions right down to the final boss. Took the Jak franchise and gave it depth...and guns (lots of those).

-----Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time: Oh my, platforming/acrobatics done right!  The fighting was suitable (but not my favorite part). It's the atmosphere/music, decent cutscenes and excellent control on the platforming elements that are key here.

-----Daxter: Yes, the PSP prequel to Jak II. As much as I loved LocoRoco's JPoppyness, and one could argue this isn't a long game, it's a very well put together platformer.  Extremely rare camera issue aside, everything else is spot on - virtually perfect.  I'm not sure another game could look this good on the 3 inch PSP screen.

Well, that's it for now.  Time to go tackle Final Fantasy VII, Star Ocean: First Departure and Super Mario 64 DS - fine leftovers for a solid start to 2012!