Game of the Year 2011 – 30-21

2011 is gradually becoming a distant memory, but before it’s completely forgotten we’re brining you our Games of 2011 list. We’ve picked the 40 best after a fair bit of arguing. Over the next week or so we’ll count down from 40-6, then deliver our top five in video form complete with thoughts from each of us at VideoGamer.com. If you turn away in disgust at the sight of our faces, there’ll be a text Top Five too.

30. Resistance 3

“Comfortably PlayStation 3’s best exclusive FPS,” said Tom in his 9/10 Resistance 3 review. “Insomniac has produced one of the biggest surprises of the year. Played alone or with a friend the campaign here is of the highest order, providing an experience that feels different to the competition while managing to finally build on what the series has always had going for it. There’s also a substantial, deep and fun multiplayer offering included that will keep many Resistance fans playing for months to come.”

29. Bulletstorm

Jamin summed up Bulletstorm perfectly in the opening paragraph of his review: “Bulletstorm is: a bromantic comedy starring two meat-heads and a chick with huge norks; a lesson in creative swearing and vulgarity; an interactive compendium of interesting things you can do with a gun; a middle-finger to the current customs and conventions of the FPS genre; and a shout out to its peers: ‘Hey! Assmaggots! Why you all gotta be so serious!?'”

28. Crysis 2

“Crytek’s fourth game is their most confident to date,” proclaimed Martin in his 9/10 Crysis 2 review, “carefully balancing silliness, seriousness, and spectacle, and despite looking like a laundry list of bad shooter clichés at first glance the end product is surprisingly fresh-faced and triumphant. Switching to New York gives Crytek what it desperately needed: a credible sense of menace to go alongside gorgeous technical fortitude and impressive artistic direction.”

27. Total War: Shogun 2

“It’s wonderfully colourful and completely unique, and it should provide the usual hundreds of hours of gameplay for the hardcore,” said David Brown, awarding Creative Assembly’s latest a score of 9. “Those worrying about a retrograde step being taken for the series shouldn’t have done so – it’s a classic, no question.

26. Pokemon White and Black

It’s Pokemon – again – but that’s no bad thing, as Jamin stated in his review. “For all its added features and refinements, Black and White still rigidly follows the tried and tested formula. The leaps and bounds folks like me have been hankering after will have to wait until the inevitable 3DS version. Until then, however, rest assured in the knowledge that Black and White are damn fine games; the best the series has to offer.”

25. Battlefield 3

It may not have been a CoD-beater, but Battlefield 3 certainly had its strengths, as Martin said in his review. “When you hit your stride in multiplayer Battlefield 3 is simply phenomenal – it’s an incredibly satisfying experience unlike anything else on the market, and in these wonderful moments of bliss the game’s myriad problems simply fade away.

24. F1 2011

Jamin was a big fan of F1 2010, and he loved this follow-up even more.”The bodywork remains largely the same for Codemasters’ second attempt with the Formula One license, but under the bonnet there are several fundamental changes to the engine. The Birmingham-based developer has tinkered, tuned and chucked in whole new components this time around, the resulting game being a largely different beast to its predecessor. It’s like learning to drive all over again.”

23. Driver San Francisco

“Driver San Francisco could have been a one-trick pony,” mused Tom in his 8/10 Driver San Francisco review, before going on to say that “it has managed to use that trick in a variety of clever and interesting ways, ensuring the driving gameplay never becomes tiresome or generic. Get over the slightly ludicrous coma explanation, and chances are you’ll have a lot of fun with what Reflections has delivered. With a bit of imagination, the dev team takes the open-word driving genre to new heights.”

22. Dead Space 2

“The game works best as a struggle, one where each corner leaves you feeling like you’re a couple of bullets and a medpack short of getting through the next encounter,” said Martin, awarding the game a score of 8, last January. “These are the plentiful moments where Dead Space 2’s 15 chapters shine – the game is often an overwhelming taut, tense affair, with bouts of satisfying blasting offset by a lingering hesitation about going down the next corridor.”

21. Saints Row the Third

“Ceaselessly crass and juvenile it may be, but then Saints Row: The Third has no higher purpose than to entertain you in the most ridiculous way possible – though that in itself is a lofty ambition,” concluded Chris Schilling in his 9/10 review. “Its surprisingly clever and thoughtful design ensures that it succeeds – and then some. It is, as I said before, very smart at being stupid.”