THE BEST OF 2011 SO FAR

THE BEST OF 2011 SO FAR

Here's a brief recap of some of the best games from the first half of 2011.

B Y  A V I N A S H B A L I   A N D   S A M E E R D E S A I

CRYSIS 2

Crysis 2 may not have

been the game to bring

your uber powerful

PC to its knees, but it

sure was pretty. Crytek

made the game highly

scalable so even yearold

PCs could enjoy

Crytek’s version of

post-apocalyptic New

York in all its visual

glory. The action was

fast and satisfying,

offering a healthy

blend of stealth and

all out action. Sure, the

painfully dumb AI did

hamper gameplay a bit,

but at the end of it all,

lofty production values

and solid gameplay

across both single and

multiplayer prevailed,

making Crysis 2 a

must-buy this year.

DEAD SPACE 2

Taking a gamble with

new IPs in this day

and age is risky; one

that paid off real well

for developer Visceral

Games. Dead Space was

a game that combined

action and horror

to near perfection,

offering players a

chilling ride, playing as

an engineer forced to

face his fears aboard

a derelict ship. With

the sequel, Visceral

expanded upon what

we loved about the

first game, introducing

some truly impressive

set pieces along with

a multiplayer mode

reminiscent to the one

from Left 4 Dead 2.

DIRT 3

The Dirt series was

Codemasters’ attempt

to move from pure rally

to all-round off-road

racing. But the fans still

wanted rally, so in Dirt

3, it made a return and

comprised 60 percent

of the game, alongside

the other event types

from previous games.

The responsive car

handling, the welldesigned

tracks, the

slick menus and the

stunning visuals were

in evidence as well.

The game also added

several fun online

modes, making this one

of the best off-road

racing games ever.

FIGHT NIGHT CHAMPION

Fight Night Champion

gave the struggling

boxing franchise a new

direction, and it couldn’t

have done a better job

of it. The main focus

of the game was its

new cinematic story

mode that included

slick cutscenes,

great characters, an

engaging story, and

some very intense

gameplay scenarios

that constantly kept

you on your toes. Throw

in a bit of brutal bareknuckled

brawling,

and this game had

everything a fighting

game fan could want.

INFAMOUS 2

There aren’t too many

sweeping changes this

sequel, but it’s the

little things that Sucker

Punch has done that

together combine to

make Infamous 2 one

of the most fun openworld

games in a long

time. The new city of

New Marais has a ton of

character, the missions

(and side missions)

are well designed, and

the morality system,

however superficial,

works brilliantly.

Infamous 2 doesn’t

break new ground for

the franchise, but when

it’s this much fun, who

cares!

KILLZONE 3

After the success of

Killzone 2, expectations

for the next game

were sky high, and

Guerrilla Games

didn’t disappoint.

The explosive singleplayer

campaign was

packed with cinematic

set pieces, massive

bosses, large, varied

environments, and lots

and lots of intense

FPS action. Of course,

multiplayer is a massive

draw for series fans,

and the developers

rebuilt the multiplayer

from scratch to

address the issues

from KZ2 and add more

features, while keeping

the signature Killzone

experience intact

L.A. NOIRE

A radical departure for

Rockstar Games, L.A.

Noire was a storydriven

whodunit,

where players spent

their time solving

cases as opposed to

embarking upon killing

sprees. The star of the

show was the game’s

wicked facial animation

system that tied into

gameplay, allowing

players to catch lying

suspects based on

their facial reactions

during interrogations.

The game is out on

consoles, but PC

gamers will also be

able to have a go at it

when L.A. Noire comes

to PC later this year

LITTLEBIGPLANET 2

While the first game

gave players powerful

tools to create and

share their own levels,

this time around,

you can create whole

new games of any

genre within LBP2

itself, complete with

cinematics, characters

and narratives. These

creation tools were also

put to great use by the

developers themselves

for Sackboy’s new

story mode adventure.

LBP2 is great for all

ages, but don’t let the

cute art style fool you;

it'll challenge even

the most seasoned

gamers.

PORTAL 2

Portal was a tiny little

game bundled with

The Orange Box that

garnered cult status

thanks t o i ts s harp

writing, sarcastic

humor and innovative

gameplay. For the

sequel, Valve turned

it up to 11, with a fully

fleshed out single

player campaign as

well as a separate

co-operative campaign,

in addition to some of

the best voice acting

we’ve come across all

year. Portal 2 was also

used to launch Valve’s

online service, Steam

on the PS3, allowing

cross-play between

PS3 and PC.

THE WITCHER 2: ASSASSINS OF KINGS

You probably wouldn’t

expect a stellar RPG

from a small Polish

developer, but you’d

be wrong. The Witcher

2 greatly improved

upon all aspects of

its predecessor. You

had gorgeous visuals,

improved combat, and

a riveting story that

sucked you in till the

very end. Be warned

though; the game is

not very noob-friendly

and can appear pretty

intimidating with its

erratic difficulty. But if

you’re patient, there’s a

vibrant, dangerous and

exciting world ripe for

exploration.