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In this first round of great sci-fi games of 2011 I'll be going through the games that made it on the list as number 10 through 6.
Most of these games are worth your time and money and I have spent a good number of hours playing the majority of them, but they are lacking just that special something to make their way to the top spots on the list.
10: Red Faction: Armageddon
Okay, so when I just said that almost all the games on the list are worth your time and money... Red Faction: Armageddon is the exception to that. It's on the list because it was a much anticipated release of a fairly large sci-fi franchise that managed to break most of the things that made its predecessor fun.
Gone is the open world levels of Red Faction: Guerrilla in favor of linear cave levels with stupid AI alien enemies. The destructible environments, which have always been a big trademark of the Red Faction franchise, is used to decidedly underwhelming effect in Armageddon, and the whole experience simply leaves you with a sour taste in your mouth and a baffled expression on your face, as you wonder how the series could make such a wrong turn.
Red Faction: Armageddon is a testament to all gaming developers that they need to stay on their toes and continue to make an effort designing quality games even on the larger and established franchises. I hope that Volition is going to make a triumphant return to the Red Faction series and give us a great game that can wash away the unpleasant taste that Armageddon has left me with.
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| Some genuinely interesting futuristic weaponry is not enough to make Red Faction: Armageddon an enjoyable game |
9: Rage
Like Red Faction: Armageddon, I was left somewhat disappointed after playing ID's latest kill-em-up. But unlike Armageddon, it was more of a "oh, is that all there is to it?" disappointment, rather than then "Get this revolting pile of donkey feces out of my console!" type of disappointment.
Rage was hyped up to be something like a cross between Fallout 3 and Crysis. That is, it was meant to offer some meaningful open world gameplay in addition to the satisfying quality first person shooting experience that ID is known for making.
But when the game came out it was clear that the "open world" part was little more than deciding if you wanted to play some different mini games or go to the next linear shooting mission. The whole driving sequence, which was also heavily advertised as a major gaming element, turned out to be a pretty minor gameplay mechanic that allowed you to travel between said linear missions.
Now, all these criticisms aside, ID *did* manage to deliver a very solid and entertaining FPS games in some very good looking surroundings. Rage is not going to win any innovation awards and it's not really advancing the FPS genre, but if you enjoy shooting stuff and like some Fallout-esque wasteland setting in your games, then Rage is perfectly capable of keeping you entertained for the 10 hours or so that it's going to take you to play through the campaign.
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| Despite its shortcomings you can find a very solid shooting experience in Rage |
8: Bulletstorm
Unlike the previous two games on the list, Bulletstorm was a real positive surprise for me in 2011. I had seen some footage of Epics new FPS game, but I had dismissed it as being a very generic looking shooter propped up by some poor crude humor that reminded me of Duke Nukem in all the worst ways.
However, the game actually turned out to have a lot more depth than that, and it was in fact much like Duke Nukem in all the *right* ways. The story was well implemented and managed to make you care about the main characters, while the gruff humor was often times genuinely funny (not always, but still).
Bulletstorm had game mechanics that encouraged you to be creative about how you killed your enemies, rather than just go for the standard FPS head shot, and the iconic "whip" that allowed you to snag enemies, Mortal Kombat "Scorpion" like, or send them flying into the air, where you could use them as target practice.
All this made Bulletstorm a FPS that turned out to be a much more enjoyable FPS than I was expecting, and while it didn't rock my world, it provided good dumb solid fun, and that's also a worthy cause.
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| Big guns, big monsters and a side order of stupid fun. That's Bulletstorm for you |
7: Dead Space 2
If Bulletstorm is a stupid fun game, then Dead Space 2 is surely a stupid scary game. Unfortunately we're not trying to find the most scary sci-fi game of 2011, otherwise Dead Space 2 would have been a prime contender for the throne.
Building on the success of the great, and also pretty effing scary, original game, Dead Space 2 provided an even better story to play through, with a protagonist haunted by his memories of the past. It also gave the player some cool weapons to play with. Weapons that were put to good effect dismembering the gruesome enemies of Dead Space 2. The deformed babies being one of the most unsettling enemies of 2011 bar none.
Dead Space 2 is probably the current gold standard of survival games, no matter the setting, but it did feel a lot like an incremental improvement over the first game, and the multiplayer was a so-so experience. Still, if you wanna be scared in 2011, then Dead Space 2 is a good way of making you sleep with the lights turned on.
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| Dead Space 2. Not for those with heart conditions or loose bladders |
6: Crysis 2
Crysis 2 was the much anticipated sequel of the 2007 FPS free roaming nano-suit-em-up "Crysis". With Crysis 2 also coming to the consoles, unlike its older PC-only brother, many fans were worried that Crysis 2 would end up being simplified for the "console kids" and also not look as good as possible, due to console focused development.
Thankfully those worries turned out to be pretty much unwarranted. While the nano suit mechanic was made a little more streamlined, Crysis 2 still provided an engaging FPS experience with good opportunity to go into combat the way you saw fit. It also looked amazing, especially on a high performance PC, where Crysis 2 is right up there with Battlefield 3 as the best looking video game of 2011.
But Crysis 2 did stumble a bit. Even though you could mostly still plan out your attacks, the environments were in general more enclosed than those of the original. A questionable checkpoint system could make the game an exercise in frustration at times, and the story was a bit on the bland side.
So while Crysis 2 turned out to be a graphically stunning experience that catered to the arm chair tactician, it was not the perfect sci-fi FPS jewel that many were hoping it would be.
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| Games don't get much more gorgeous than Crysis 2 |
These are all great games and I had some good fun with them, but they are not the games that will stay forever etched in my mind as the stand out gaming moments of 2011.
We'll start to see some of those next week, when we get further down the list, going through the games positioned as number 5 to 3. So stay tuned!
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