The Best Games of 2011 - Game of the Year and Other Great Video Games

This hub is going to talk about the best games of 2011. This includes the Game of the Year and other great video games for various consoles. I will pick a total of five of the best games of 2011 and I will write a short blurb on them. Afterwards, I will post a link to a review of the video game and a video as well, for those of you in the crowd who prefer to watch things instead of read them. Check to see if your favorite video games are on this list!

Before I start, I'd like to write up a little disclaimer, so here it is:

Disclaimer: This hub about the best games of 2011 represents my personal opinions on video games I may or may not have played, tempered by the opinions of several gaming websites I researched beforehand in an attempt to gather varied viewpoints on what the Internet considers the best. They may or may not be in line with what you perceive as the best games of 2011. You have the right to disagree politely (and post your best games of 2011 votes) in the comments section. You do not have the right to flame me or others for our opinions. Remember video gamers, quality is subjective!

With that said, I hope you enjoy!

I'm starting off this list with what is my personal vote for Game of the Year (a few gaming websites agreed, but most did not). Failing that coveted status, it is arguably the best Wii Game of 2011. I am talking about The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. Nintendo took a huge risk in adapting an entire full-length game (Wii Sports Resort doesn't count) around their Wii Motion Plus technology. They ran the very real risk of having a game that no one wanted to play for being too quirky. Having personally played it myself, I can safely say that it is an awesome experience.

While the motion controls are not perfect, they are more than good enough at what they were meant to do: Emulate swordfighting at a 1:1 ratio. If you swing your Wii Remote sideways, Link uses a horizontal slash. If you move your Wii Remote in a downwards motion, Link will perform a vertical slash. This, combined with the fact that most bosses are smarter, forces you to actually use strategy and not just hack and slash your way through levels as you were able to do in most earlier iterations of The Legend of Zelda.

I have a full review of Skyward Sword on this very site which should sum up why I believe this is the best Wii game of 2011. Click on any part of this sentence to read it if you want more information on the game!

Alternately, if you're more visual, scroll down a bit so you can see a trailer of Skyward Sword, posted by RydarGames on Youtube.

This is the latest video game iteration of the Batman series. Batman has seen many ups and downs, both in video games and in the movie industry. With all of the hype that this game received, you would be forgiven if you had assumed this game was going to be a down point in the franchise.

It has been a few months since the game was released and I have almost exclusively heard positive praise. What little negatives I have heard tend to relate to the large amount of bugs that Batman: Arkham City seemed to drag along upon release. Even so, this is easily one of the best, if not the best Xbox, 360 games of 2011.

This game gets bonus points because the developers inserted a creative piece of anti-piracy into the software: Should you attempt to play a pirated copy of the game, it will run perfectly...until you try a hard jump. Then you realize you can't cape glide. People have reported the "bug" only to later find out that they snitched on themselves and their hacked copy. That's priceless if I may say so myself.

For a full review of Batman: Arkham City, written by a fellow Hubber, please click on any part of this sentence.

If you prefer a gameplay video, I can deliver that too. This one, just below, comes from GOGameOn on Youtube.

Portal was a little known video game released a few years ago with a very sadistic supercomputer out to kill you. You needed to complete each level by solving puzzles that involved the use of your portal gun, a gun that produces portals (neat, eh?). Portal became known as a puzzle shooter.

What was probably one of the most unique concepts for a first-person game ever spawned a whole new sequel called, aptly enough, Portal 2. Portal 2 adds, among other things, a co-op mode that allows you to play with a friend as well as new gameplay elements such as "tractor beams, laser redirection, bridges made of light, and paint-like gels that impart special properties to objects they cover" (italics quoted from Wikipedia's Portal 2 page).

If you're the type of person that enjoys a good mind-numbing puzzle in an interesting setting, then Portal 2 is definitely the best PC game for you!

Phasmatis, a fellow Hubber here at Hubpages, wrote up a review for Portal 2 based on his impressions after playing the game. Click on any part of this sentence to check it out!

Also, for all of our video lovers in the crowd, below is a gameplay video from Experienced-Gamers over at Metacafe.

Super Mario 3D Land is the best 3DS game of 2011. While a large amount of people like to say that Ocarina of Time 3D should take this honor, I disagree, and here's why:

• Ocarina of Time 3D is essentially a revamp of an earlier, already existent title. While Ocarina of Time was, is, and always will be an incredible game (it's in my personal top 5 of best Zelda games ever), it's already been established as such.
• On the other hand, Super Mario 3D Land is a completely new title that combines aspects of the classic 2D Mario video games with a number of innovations from the 3D Mario video games.

Given that Super Mario 3D Land is a relatively fun romp (as most Mario games are), I have to give the best 3DS game of 2011 award to Super Mario 3D Land.

Besides, to be fair, there's not a great many new and good 3DS games to evaluate at this time. I'm sure 2012 will bring a lot more to the table for the Nintendo 3DS.

Check out my full review of this game (click on any part of this sentence) for more details!

For the videoholics, look below for a video review of the game from IGN. The video itself is located at metacafe.

The Internet has declared The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim to be the Game of the Year 2011. While I humbly disagree with the verdict (as I mentioned before, I consider Skyward Sword to be the Game of the Year 2011), one can't deny that Skyrim has a lot going for it.

If you've been living on the planet Earth for the past year and are a video gamer, you've probably heard of Skyrim. This game is the sequel to The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, released some time ago by Bethesda Softworks. It is a first person roleplaying video game with real-time combat and has already spawned an internet meme ("I took an arrow to the knee"; Google that and be amazed). Such is the popularity of Skyrim.

However, as I have only played Oblivion and not this latest gem, here's a full review from a fellow Hubber called Indigital.

And, last but not least, below you will find a gameplay video. This is official E3 2011 Skyrim gameplay footage posted on vimeo by John Smith.

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, Batman: Arkham City, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Portal 2, and Super Mario 3D Land are the best games of 2011 (keep in mind that Arkham City, Skyrim and Portal 2 are multiplatformers), in my personal opinion. You may agree or disagree with any part of this article, and you are free to disagree in the comments section. If I receive enough votes for different best games of 2011, I may create another hub for those video games, so feel free to shout out!

Before I finish, I'm going to explain my logic behind choosing these games. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword and Super Mario 3D Land should be obvious (I have already played them, so there's positive bias there; the Internet has also voiced out in favor of these games, so that was the final determinant in my decision). As for the entries I haven't played, I did some research on gaming websites and most people seemed to agree that those three titles have carved out neat little pieces of the video game industry for themselves. Whether by way of originality (Portal 2), solid gameplay (Batman: Arkham City), or an engrossing experience (The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim), these games delivered for gamers around the world. Frankly, that's good enough for me. :)

Until the next time, take care and have fun! ;)

-Winterfate

P.S: Please check out the poll below and vote for the best game out of these five I have mentioned!