{"id":7149,"date":"2011-12-26T00:01:37","date_gmt":"2011-12-26T06:01:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gamesanityblog.com\/?p=7149"},"modified":"2011-12-26T00:01:37","modified_gmt":"2011-12-26T06:01:37","slug":"carys-best-games-of-the-year-2011-awards-show","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/2011\/12\/26\/carys-best-games-of-the-year-2011-awards-show\/","title":{"rendered":"Cary’s “Best Games of the Year 2011 Awards Show!”"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Welcome everyone to the \u201cCary\u2019s Best Video Games of 2011 Awards Show!\u201d I\u2019m your host, Cary Woodham, and tonight we\u2019ve got a lot of great special guests: two dogs, Missile the Pomeranian from Ghost Trick and Chibiterasu from Okamiden. Also, She-Hulk from Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Tifa from Dissidia 012, and Reiko Nagase from Ridge Racer 3D. Plus Rayne from BloodRayne: Betrayal and Toad from Mario Kart 7! Not to mention Wheatley from Portal 2 and other robot friends like Fi and Scrapper from Skyward Sword! OK, none of those are really guests, but I think if someone drew all those characters up on stage, that would be some pretty neat fanart, don\u2019t you think? All right, enough silliness from me, let\u2019s get onto the games!<\/p>\n

Now, before we start, keep in mind that these are MY picks only. No polls or outside opinions were taken. Many games may be missing from this list that you would\u2019ve liked to have seen. But I\u2019m only one person and can play only so many games! This list also reflects my tastes in games, so some readers may think this list is a bit biased. But hey, it\u2019s my blog so I can do what I want, right? Anyway, with that out of the way, let\u2019s get onto the awards show!<\/p>\n

BEST POINT AND CLICK ADVENTURE<\/strong><\/p>\n

Back to the Future: The Game (PC)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Technically the first episode of this came out late last year, after Christmas in 2010. But the majority of the episodes came out this year, so I\u2019m considering it a 2011 game. It may not be TellTale\u2019s best work, and it started better than it ended, but it\u2019s still a fun romp for fans of the movies. It\u2019ll probably be the closest thing we get to a Back to the Future 4. They got some pretty good voice work, like Christopher Lloyd and even Michael J. Fox in the last episode! The cartoony graphics work, too, actually, like DreamWorks got a hold of the movies or something. It also wins by default, since it\u2019s the only point and click adventure I played this year. TellTale wasn\u2019t quite as on the ball this year as they have been in previous ones.<\/p>\n

WEIRDEST GAME<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective (DS)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Ghost Trick was made by the same folks who did Phoenix Wright, and you can definitely tell by the characters and story! But the game is a weird mix of point and click adventuring with The Incredible Machine puzzle-like gameplay. You are a ghost and must possess objects to make them move to get to point A to point B mostly, or trigger other events. Great characters and a fun story with a crazy plot twist at the end will keep you on your toes, too. My favorite was Missile the dog, who also appears in the Phoenix Wright games, too. In fact, when I got Nintendogs + Cats for 3DS, I got the version that had a Pomeranian so I could have my very own Missile!<\/p>\n

Runners Up:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Camping Mama: Outdoor Adventures (DS)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

I always find the \u201cMama\u201d games pretty crazy, and when she\u2019s not cooking, it\u2019s pretty weird to see what she does next. This time it\u2019s camping. Fun little kid\u2019s game with a pinch of Japanese quirkiness.<\/p>\n

Okabu (PS3)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

In this downloadable PSN game, you play as cloud whales wearing hats. I think that\u2019s all that needs to be said.<\/p>\n

Skylanders: Spyro\u2019s Adventure (Wii)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

The game itself isn\u2019t that weird, as it plays a lot like Gauntlet. But the idea to switch characters with real life toys you collect is an interesting one.<\/p>\n

Wappy Dog (DS)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

A typical virtual pet dog game, but it comes with a real life robot dog you can interact with! That\u2019s pretty weird, in a way.<\/p>\n

BEST 3-D ADVENTURE<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (Wii)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

So the new Zelda game didn\u2019t win my Game of the Year, but it did win Best 3-D Adventure, so that\u2019s still good. Actually another Zelda-like 3-D adventure won my game of the year, so be prepared to be surprised! So what held Zelda\u2019s newest back? Unforgiving motion controls for one. And while the world design offered tons of fun puzzles, there was a lack of a huge open world to freely tromp around in, so it was kind of a mixed blessing. I will say, though, that I did enjoy it a bit better than Twilight Princess. But it still can\u2019t beat my top five favorite Zeldas, Link\u2019s Awakening still being number one there. The characters were a crazy fun bunch in Skyward Sword, though. My favorites? Forget the romance between Link and Zelda, I loved how Scrapper the robot was smitten with \u201cMistress\u201d Fi. They say that robot love is the purest love of all. Who were your favorites in Skyward Sword?<\/p>\n

Runners Up:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Kingdom Hearts: Re:coded (DS)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

One of the problems with Kingdom Hearts games is they rehash a lot of the same characters and locations, and Re:coded is no exception. They make up some kooky story to explain why Sora is revisiting all these worlds (they use the hackneyed virtual world plot here). But it\u2019s essentially Kingdom Hearts you can play on your DS. And for what it is, it\u2019s pretty good. Graphics are great and the hack and slash gameplay is fun. Plus they added all the gameplay tweaks that I loved in Birth by Sleep.<\/p>\n

Solatorobo (DS)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

This little-known 3-D adventure was published by XSEED, my favorite niche gaming company. It\u2019s a sequel to Tail Concerto, a PSOne game I absolutely adored. Solatorobo gets a little too \u2018anime-ish\u2019 sometimes, and lacks the charm of the original. But it\u2019s still a heck of a lot of fun. If you can find it, get it!<\/p>\n

Super Mario 3D Land (3DS)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Even though I can\u2019t see the 3D effects since I\u2019ve been blind in my left eye since birth, I still really liked Mario\u2019s newest adventure. It works because they kept it simple. Stages are kept short so you can play easily on the go. They also finally let you save after every level. And while completing the game may seem easy, once you beat it, the game gets twice as long with a whole new set of levels and challenges. This is the best way to do it, I think, by letting younger kids feel a sense of accomplishment by allowing them to beat the game easily, while older players can enjoy the extra hidden challenges that await. And it\u2019s nice to have an easier Mario game, too, since the last couple of 2-D ones have been pretty tough.<\/p>\n

BEST 2-D ADVENTURE<\/strong><\/p>\n

Kirby Mass Attack (DS)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

One of the last DS games is one of the best, too! Such a creative take on Kirby where you guide a mass of little Kirbys through levels. It\u2019s actually one of the more challenging Kirby games out there. Plus it has tons of fun mini-games and great music (including remixes from Air Ride).<\/p>\n

Runners Up<\/strong><\/p>\n

Kirby\u2019s Return to Dreamland (Wii)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Not quite as good as Mass Attack, but this more traditional Kirby game is still lots of fun. Get three friends and you can play together, too!<\/p>\n

Moon Diver (360)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s basically a spiritual successor to Strider. It was even made by the same guy. I wish I could get some friends to play multiplayer on it with me, though!<\/p>\n

BloodRayne: Betrayal (360)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

I hate vampires, so you know this game has to be good if I liked it. It was made by WayForward, and I\u2019m a huge fan of their games. The 2-D animated graphics are beautiful and the game reminds me of a mix of Castlevania and Mega Man X. And 2-D BloodRayne\u2019s main character is now officially cool to me. Not bad for a yucky vampire!<\/p>\n

Mighty Milky Way (DSi)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Speaking of WayForward, here\u2019s another creative 2-D game they made that\u2019s quite a bit like Namco\u2019s Star Trigon. I highly recommend downloading it if you have a DSi or 3DS. I can\u2019t wait to try their next game in the series: Mighty Switch Force!<\/p>\n

Sonic Generations (360)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

OK, so this one is both a 2-D and a 3-D game. But really, most of the game is in 2-D. Even the 3-D worlds have 2-D sections in them. So I am putting it in the 2-D section. I enjoyed this game quite a bit, really, and that\u2019s saying a lot since I\u2019m not a big Sonic fan. I think anyone who enjoys both classic and modern Sonics should check this one out. I hope Sega revisits this idea in future Sonic titles.<\/p>\n

BEST SPORTS GAME<\/strong><\/p>\n

Go Vacation (Wii)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

This is actually a sequel\/spinoff of We Ski and We Ski and Snowboard, two great Wii sports games in themselves. But Go Vacation adds sports you can play on the beach, in the city, and out in the wilderness, as well as snow. There are over 50 games in all, and most of them are really fun. There\u2019s so much stuff to do that brother Jeff calls it \u201cNamco\u2019s Every Game Ever!\u201d I highly recommend it.<\/p>\n

Runners Up:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mario Sports Mix (Wii)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

A lot of people complained that this game was too simple, but I think that\u2019s why I liked it so much! It uses the Wii Sports approach to the gameplay, and it means that players of all ages and skill levels can enjoy it together. Square made this one for Nintendo, and they put in a lot of old school Final Fantasy references and characters, which I liked. It\u2019s not the first time Mario and Final Fantasy were in the same game, but it always still surprises me when they do that. Especially at the end of the tournament mode in Sports Mix when you go up against a giant purple Behemoth in a crazy sports boss battle!<\/p>\n

NickToons MLB (360)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

It was great to see all sorts of NickToons favorites all in one game. It was clearly made for the younger set, but that\u2019s OK. Kids need good sports video games, too! And this one was pretty fun as well.<\/p>\n

BEST FIGHTING GAME<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dissidia 012 [duodecium] Final Fantasy (PSP)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

I almost was going to give the fighter award to Marvel vs. Capcom 3, but when this game came out a little later, I played the heck out of it. Even though it\u2019s nearly the same game as the first one. But it\u2019s such an original fighter and the things they added to it really made it great. Like new characters such as Tifa and Kain. Heck, even dumb old Lightning was cool (but only because she has pink hair). Even though I played the first one to death, I found myself really getting into this one as well. So that\u2019s why it beats Marvel vs. Capcom 3. Sorry guys.<\/p>\n

Runner Up:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 (360)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Just because it didn\u2019t win, doesn\u2019t mean that it\u2019s not a good game. Marvel vs. Capcom 3 is still a great fighter that gets a lot of playtime around the house even to this day. It was also fun to learn about some of the Marvel characters that I didn\u2019t know much about. I was also glad the Ultimate edition had Phoenix Wright in it!<\/p>\n

BEST RPG<\/strong><\/p>\n

Pokemon Black\/White (DS)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

This one really wins by default, as it\u2019s the only RPG I\u2019ve played this year. Well, OK, I\u2019ve played two others, but the PSP remake of FF4 is getting another different award, and Hyperdimension Neptunia<\/a><\/strong> wasn\u2019t that great, even if it had cute girls with pink and green hair. Even though it\u2019s more of the same, the newest Pokemon games are still fun. My little brothers and their friends still enjoy them to this day. And the little piggy starter Pokemon is awesome. I think I just OD\u2019ed on Pokemon back when I was writing about it all the time for the newspaper when the game first came out. I\u2019d probably enjoy the games more if I hadn\u2019t done that. Oh well. I do wish I had gotten to review some of Natsume\u2019s RPGs this year, like the newest Rune Factory and Harvest Moon games. But the only one I got from them was Gabrielle\u2019s Ghostly Groove.<\/p>\n

BEST ARCADE CLASSIC COLLECTION\/REMAKE<\/strong><\/p>\n

Final Fantasy IV: The Complete Collection (PSP)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

And speaking of FF4, it gets this award, as the PSP version is probably the best FF4 remake yet. Yeah the DS version was in 3-D, but the graphics were crappy and it was way too hard. This has all the extra stuff found in the GBA version, and the After Years sequel! Plus tons of extra content. A must for old school FF fans like myself.<\/p>\n

Runners Up<\/strong><\/p>\n

Galaga Legions DX (Xbox LIVE)<\/strong><\/p>\n

It may not be much different from the original Legions, but I do like the little enhancements. Plus it\u2019s a little easier, too.<\/p>\n

Pac-Man & Galaga Dimensions (3DS)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

While the new 3D games may not be the best, it\u2019s nice that this one came with Pac-Man: CE and Galaga: Legions, plus the original games!<\/p>\n

Shinobi (3DS)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

It may not be the best Shinobi game, but I was impressed with the history section and crazy secrets and cameos! You should try it if you\u2019re a classic Shinobi fan.<\/p>\n

BEST RACING GAME<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mario Kart 7 (3DS)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

While it may not be the best Mario Kart game, I know from experience that it\u2019s a heck of a lot better than the other crappy kart games I\u2019ve reviewed on the 3DS. It\u2019s not very original, but it\u2019s still fun.<\/p>\n

Runner Up:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ridge Racer 3D (3DS)<\/strong><\/p>\n

This other 3DS racer would\u2019ve won, but I just like Mario Kart games just a tiny bit better. I hear the 3-D graphic effects are good, but since I can\u2019t see 3-D, I wouldn\u2019t know. But it has Reiko Nagase in it, so that\u2019s nice. I like some of the icons you can put on your profile, they\u2019re from classic Namco games and obscure favorites like Taiko Drum Master and Legend of Valkyrie. And you know I dig that!<\/p>\n

BEST PUZZLE GAME<\/strong><\/p>\n

Portal 2 (360)<\/strong><\/p>\n

The original Portal was a brilliant game and the only reason why I bought The Orange Box (I did wait until it went down in price, though). The sequel is every bit as good. It may look like an FPS, but it\u2019s a cleverly disguised puzzle game. But I don\u2019t need to tell you that. What I will say is that I never thought another Portal character could upstage GlaDOS, one of my favorite video game villains. But they did in Portal 2 with Wheatley. Man, he was so hilarious. I liked Wheatley so much that I even looked up what other work his voice actor, Stephen Merchant, has done. Unfortunately, his other work is too highbrow for me, but you know I had to have really liked Wheatley if I actually made the effort to do research on something! Portal 2\u2019s co-op mode was also a blast and me and my brother Jeff had a lot of laughs with it. It really is a game that makes you think.<\/p>\n

BEST IMPORT GAME<\/strong><\/p>\n

Taiko no Tatsujin Portable DX (PSP)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

I love these cute little Taiko drumming games so much that I import them when I can. I was a little bummed out that this might be my last import title since the 3DS is not region free. But I read somewhere (might be wrong), that the Vita was still going to be region free so maybe I\u2019ll still be able to import a game from time to time. Taiko games are great to do that with because they\u2019re so import friendly! If I can figure them out, anyone can!<\/p>\n

And now it\u2019s time to announce my Best Game of the Year SO FAR! Taiko drum roll, please\u2026<\/p>\n

BEST GAME OF THE YEAR 2011<\/strong><\/p>\n

Okamiden (DS)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

I loved the first Okami game; it was my Game of the Year for 2006 on the PS2. While the portable sequel isn\u2019t quite as \u2018epic,\u2019 it\u2019s nearly every bit as good. You get to play as an adorable little puppy, the graphics look amazing on the DS, and it\u2019s a very long and fulfilling quest. I highly recommend it; it\u2019s every bit as good as the portable Zeldas.<\/p>\n

Another reason why Okamiden gets my Game of the Year award are the memories that I\u2019ve associated with it. When the game came out, I got the opportunity to do an Okamiden Art Contest and that was a lot of fun. I got a lot of great entries that I posted that you can check out here<\/a><\/strong>. Definitely a highlight in my video game reviewing \u2018career.\u2019<\/p>\n

There were so many great games this year though, that Okamiden had some tough competition. Mainly from Portal 2 and Skyward Sword. But Okamiden had less frustrating parts than Zelda did. And while Portal 2 was great, it was also pretty short for a full priced game. And again, puppies win out over elf boys and goofy robots.<\/p>\n

Conclusions<\/strong><\/p>\n

And that\u2019s my awards show! In the comments section, tell me what YOU think! Were my choices good or stupid? What were YOUR favorite games of the year? Would you watch an awards show on TV like this? Please let me know, and I\u2019ll see you all later! Next time on my blog, I\u2019ll ring in the New Year with games I\u2019m looking forward to in 2012! –Cary<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Welcome everyone to the \u201cCary\u2019s Best Video Games of 2011 Awards Show!\u201d I\u2019m your host, Cary Woodham, and tonight we\u2019ve got a lot of great special guests: two dogs, Missile the Pomeranian from Ghost Trick and Chibiterasu from Okamiden. Also, She-Hulk from Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Tifa from Dissidia 012, and Reiko Nagase from Ridge […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7149","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-game-reviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7149","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7149"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7149\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7149"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7149"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7149"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}