1. Journey

2. FEZ

3. Ghost Recon Future Soldier Multiplayer Beta

4. SSX

5. Botanicula

6. Windosill

7. Borderlands

8. Kingdom Rush

There you have it. Even though I said the beginning of this year seems a little slower than most years I’ve still manage to keep a full plate of games. Hopefully you will give some of them a try!

In Warp you control an alien being that escapes from a lab and wrecks havoc on the scientists and security guards. You have special powers you unlock as you go but you are equipped from the beginning with the ability to warp through walls and into things such as barrels and turrets. Later on as you progress you unlock the ability to send out an “echo” which is a clone of yourself and use it to distract guards and turrets. Later on you can send your clone out to a barrel or turret and then switch places with the barrel to get you through thick walls and over water, etc. There are plenty of abilities to unlock throughout the game which keeps it interesting the whole way through. In addition to the campaign there are challenge rooms where you can test your skills. Warp has a sort of social feature to it in where it compares your scores with other people on your friends list. It also keeps stats such as how many times you’ve warp and how many times you fragged and compares it with your friends right on the screen as your playing. That was a nice little touch although I only had one other friend playing Warp to compare with.

I love the art direction of Warp, it has a sort of Portal mixed with Shadow Complex vibe even though it’s top down. The game is clean and sharp and controls great. It’s decently lengthy too, especially if you are trying to find all the collectible “grub” and film canisters. At only 800 MS points the game is totally worth the price. I’m hoping they have plans to make a sequel and/or downloadable content because I’d love to play more. Pretty much all of the game takes place in an underwater laboratory (which is awesome) but it would be nice to see a sequel bring it above ground.

Overall I thought Warp was great and it’s definitely going to be on my mind when trying to determine the best XBLA game of 2012. If you haven’t given the demo a try make sure you do that right now.

Fish Food – Episode #51

Video Games – 2:45
Movies – 28:08
Music – 35:48
Around The Web – 42:20

Intro and Outro – “I Come Alive” by The Used

Run Roo Run has crisp clean graphics with bright colors which is very pleasing to the eye. Each world introduces a new gameplay mechanic such as double-jumping, sliding on sludge, pushing switches, gravity changes, etc. Each world focuses on that new gameplay so much that the game almost feels like one big tutorial preparing you for whats ahead. The only problem is that it doesn’t stray from that style at all and the levels never get truly difficulty. This is not a huge problem for me as I like easy games that I can play in chunks. Run Roo Run is perfect because it doesn’t take much time and you will find yourself flying through it with no problems.

Besides never really getting off it’s feet from feeling like one big tutorial Run Roo Run is an awesome game. I love the graphics and I love the simplistic gameplay mechanics. I highly suggest this game to anyone as it’s only $0.99 and well worth it. 5th Cell is also promising 10 new levels a week for free so I think I’ll be coming back to this game often.

When determining my top 10 games I like to look back at all the releases and see which games I had the most fun with. I’m not necessarily looking at graphics, sound, or gameplay but those factors do play a big part in my overall memory of the game. A game like Uncharted 3, which didn’t make my list, is pure beauty but honestly the game wasn’t all that fun to me and it didn’t do anything new with the franchise. Same goes for Gears of War 3. Great game, but I had that “been there done that” vibe with it.  I’m finding more and more I want to have fun playing games and don’t want the game to feel like a chore. This may be why I’ve found myself switching more games to “easy” than keeping them on their normal difficulty. Games should be fun and for me this is a big part. This is how I determined my top 10 games of 2011 and my overall Game of the Year. Enjoy!

10. Infamous 2

I really enjoyed the original Infamous and felt like Sucker Punch provided a great sequel with great polish. I do however think they will need to change the environment and game greatly if they plan to make a third one. Overall InFamous 2 was a great solid sequel.

9. Where’s My Water?

This game is my iPhone Game of the Year. I think the reason I keep going back to it is because it’s not too difficult. Sometimes when an iPhone game get’s too hard (with the exception being Trainyard) it gets too time consuming and then I just get bored of it. I’d rather devote my gaming time to a console game than an iPhone game. Where’s My Water is perfect in short bites and is constantly adding new level-packs which makes me keep coming back to it over and over again. I love this game.

8. Rage

I know a lot of people hated on Rage but I actually enjoyed it a lot. Even though it didn’t do anything new with the post-apocalyptic genre it was still fun. It was one of the best, if not the best looking game I played this year.

7. Bastion

I’d been following Bastion even before it was announced for XBLA because I was intrigued by the art style. It turns out the gameplay is great too! Bastion is a simple beautiful RPG and this years best XBLA title.

6. Killzone 3

I was not a huge fan of Killzone 2, mostly because it made me motion-sick and it looked really grey and bland but Killzone 3 changes that. This game looks and plays amazingly. It even works great with the PS Move which is impressive. I will never forget battling the MAWLR which for me wins “most epic gaming moment of 2011.”

5. Renegade Ops

This game came out first on XBLA but I decided to wait until it was released on PC purely for the better graphics. I’m very glad I waited because this game is beautiful. Renegade Ops is best played with a friend but is still worth the purchase even if you will be playing it alone. I played through the expansion pack as well and it was a great addition. If you like twin-stick shooters as do I then buy this game.

4. Portal 2

Portal 2 is a masterpiece in cooperative gameplay and has a truly solid single-player campaign. I loved the game because it gave me a Dharma Initiative (LOST) sort of vibe in that you never know what secrets lie behind Aperture Science. Portal 2 was a great sequel but I think that’s as far as Valve needs to go with the franchise.

3. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

I was not a big fan of Oblivion so I went into Skyrim a little skeptical. I can reaffirm the haters that this game rules. Skyrim is epic in every way possible and it’s fun too. I wish that I could have spent more time with it as it is a huge game. I was only able to complete the main campaign. Either way, the game is great. I’m excited to see what they take away from this game and incorporate into Fallout 4.

2. Crysis 2

I guess you could say this is my “First Person Shooter” of the Year. It’s sad that many have forgotten Crysis 2 being that it was released so early in the year but I have not. This game had a stellar campaign and brought fresh new elements to it’s online multiplayer. It’s hard to keep me interested in online competitive shooters but Crysis 2 switched it up enough to do just that. I really enjoyed this game and at one point during the year I thought it was going to be my game of the year.

1. Game of the Year 2011 – Rayman: Origins

Like I said in my intro I like my games to be fun. Rayman Origins is the epitome of fun. First off, the art style is amazing. This is the kind of art that makes my heart melt. I hope more developers take advantage of the Ubi Art tools in the future or hopefully we’ll see a sequel. The controls are perfect. They are tight and not floaty at all. I never felt hindered by crappy controls in any way. Seriously I don’t see how they could make them better. The last thing I want to hit on is the sound. I’m not a stickler for great sound but the music and sound effects in Rayman fit it perfectly. The music really adds a lot to the vibe of the game. I had the best experience playing this game with 3 other people as I felt it was too difficult to complete alone. All-in-all Rayman Origins is just plain fun but it also perfects the three main components of a game: graphics, controls, and sound. Even though I’ve already put close to 40 hours into the game I still want to go back for more.

So there you have it. My top 10 games of 2011. I can’t wait to see what 2012 has in store.

*Apologies for the humming sound throughout the episode!

Fish Food – Episode #50

Fish Food – Episode #49

2:18 – GAMING

-What we’ve been playing
-Gaming News

20:48 – MOVIES AND TV

-What we’ve been watching
-Movie news

27:20 – MUSIC

-Patrick – “Meter Feeder” by Hail Mary Mallon
-Jordan – “Kate” by Ben Folds Five

36:15 – AROUND THE WEB

-Little Printer

Intro and Outro – “Me and You” by NERO

Intro and Outro: “Tongue Tied” by Grouplove

Fish Food – Episode #48