2011 Honorable Mentions - Jason Mills

It's almost over! 2011 seems to have flown by pretty quickly, bringing us a boatload of games as the year began. Which were good? Which were flat out awful? We'll be going over all of that, but first, let's take a look at the games that just didn't quite make the favorite list for me this year. They weren't necessarily bad, but they don't really deserve going back to. These are the honorable mentions.

I've probably dropped more money into games this year than any other year before. There were a lot of new things hitting the scene that I just had to try out, as well as some forgotten favorites making their comeback. There have even been a few games that I had gone back to from long years past. It's been a crazy ride, and just like our economy, has had its rising points and sudden drops. A few were expected and a few completely caught me by surprise.

Rift:


There was an itch that I couldn't seem to scratch at the beginning of 2011. I needed a MMORPG game, but nothing was out for the first couple of months. I went back to play other games, such as Fallen Earth and Everquest, but it just wasn't satisfying that craving. Luckily, the announcement for Rift caught my eye, and I quickly began researching the game. The first thing that caught my eye was the list of classes that it had. O glorious day, maybe we can have the as many classes as Everquest and Everquest 2 did!


Well, Rift definitely started something new with its rift openings around the world. It was exciting to see how the zone would pull together to close these portals of terror. I've always been a big fan of games that brought the player base together to complete something. Too many times have I played games from level one to fifty with barely uttering a word to another player. Rift even took it a step further by adding elite invasions. These took more than just a couple of groups to fight back – this took an army.


Rift also had a nifty little feature with the class system. It's been over six months since I've touched Rift, and I'm still teetering on whether I enjoyed this feature or not. Basically, players could choose a primary class and then two other classes to switch to. For example, if I was a straight tank, I'd have problems dishing out enough damage and fall behind while soloing. The answer to that was to pick up another class that I could switch to for damage. Along with being able to switch to different classes, you were able to tier out your main class. This means I could pick skills from different classes. It was all types of crazy and is a bit difficult to fully grasp unless you get a hands on experience of the game. I feel it helped those who didn't really want to group, but also created an opposite effect to the opening of rifts which drew people in. Suddenly everyone could do almost anything by switching roles.


While I haven't gone back since, I've noticed a lot of Rift emails in my inbox. I'll admit that I've been tempted to return, but with Star Wars: The Old Republic out, it won't be anytime soon. I would love to see how this game has expanded since its initial release. With the whole funky class role thing they have, I'm sure I could switch back and forth to what I needed in order to catch up. Rift is definitely in my back pocket to continue with in the future.


Trapped Dead:

Zombies seem to be all over the place. When my grand niece is mentioning zombies, I know that we're going overboard just a little bit. That still doesn't deter me from zombie based games though. I just hope that this doesn't turn zombies into a completely bad thing. I enjoyed having my own little fixation and leaving people with strange looks when I mentioned the zombie apocalypse.


Trapped Dead was a fun little puzzle based game on how to get from point A to point B. There were, of course, zombies along the way that had to be dealt with. The game was really stingy on ammunition and top notch acting. Players had to find the right route to take in order to survive. While all routes were certainly an option, some were more of a headache than others.


The game also had a bunch of different characters that had their own strength and weaknesses. I can clearly remember the woman in the game who refused to remove her damn high heels. She was pretty great with a gun, but she click-clacked everywhere she went, alerting every zombie in a ten mile radius. There was also the very important doctor that was almost always required except he was bound to a wheelchair. I nearly killed my mouse every time he got stuck on a street curb. Even with those small flaws, the game still presented an interesting storyline that kept me glued for some time. Its silly B movie style had me smirking quite often. This could be a game that I go back to or load onto a work computer for when I have to kill some time... And zombies.


Cthulhu Saves the World:

Oh great Cthulhu! Thank you for bringing me the many laughs I needed after several horrible gaming experiences. Cthulhu Saves the World is by far one of the funniest games I've played this year. While it wasn't actually released in 2011, it made a come back with a new title and revamped style of play under the name of: “Cthulhu Saves the World: Super Hyper Enhanced Championship Edition Alpha Diamond DX Plus Alpha FES HD - Premium Enhanced Game of the Year Collector's Edition (without Avatars!)".


Cthulhu Saves the World is a game I haven't yet beat, but I load up from time to time when I need something different. Without a doubt, it will be loaded onto several of my computers for when I'm not sitting at home. The game takes aim at the popular Dragon Warrior style of play and adds in all types of funny. We've got talking swords, kids with attitudes, and party members who want to stop and pick every flower along the way.


The fight scenes themselves are as action packed as low res 2D gaming gets. It takes the very old, but still exciting, turn based attack system and throws in our hero Cthulhu. There is darkness flying everywhere and tentacles beating thugs into a pulp. The game makes sure not to let things die down too often and quickly re-entertains its players with quirky comedy and silly findings through out the world. The best thing about this game is that it was sold for just a mere $5. It has even been on sale half off! For the love of all that is holy and for little Baby Jesus, pick up this game. It's a great break from all the serious game play.


Dungeons of Dredmor:


When this game came out, I gave it an awkward look. Who is this crazy man with huge eyebrows that delves into dark dungeons? This game is just all out silly, and I'm simply not interested! Well, after staring at it for another minute or so, I changed my mind. This, just like Cthulhu Saves the World, is a game filled with all types of funny. While it doesn't surpass Cthulhu's comedy, it's still filled with several laughs.


The game doesn't really have an major storyline on why you're digging around in the dungeons, but why should it? You just know you're there for treasure and to smash things into a pulp. There is nothing too fearsome. Dying to anything just makes to want to face palm at your stupidity for doing such silly things. Why did I ever think stepping on a trap over and over was a good thing?


Dungeons of Dredmor throws players into a dungeon after creating their own character by picking from numerous skills. You can be a fancy sword swinger, or you can be a blood mage who enjoys eating mushrooms. The choice is yours. The adventure begins as you constantly kick down doors and smash poor innocent jellies into a pile of mess. You do this until you get far enough into the dungeon or make that fatal slip up.


The game does have quests, but they aren't to be focused on too heavily. Your primary goal is to see how far you can make it and then brag to all your friends – at least, that is how I played it. The good thing about Dungeons of Dredmor is that it's insanely difficult to play the same way you did in your previous life. For those who are brave enough, they can adjust the game setting to instantly killing their player files after their deaths. Basically that means they have to start all over if they die. Brilliant.


Dead Island:


I almost hated this game. I really, really almost hated this game. You know what saved this game, though? Zombies of course! Prior to its release, I had been keeping a close eye on Dead Island. It looked amazing from the previews and the bits of hearsay going around kept me on the edge of my seat. After playing through it, I had a hard time deciding whether I was really going to enjoy this game or if it was quickly going down the pooper with each objective I completed.


For those who have yet to play Dead Island, it's an all out zombie apocalypse set on a remote island. The only way off is by plane, and the only plane is set in the middle of a prison yard. There are only a handful of survivors hiding around the island, and only four of those survivors are immune. Players will make their decision on who they wish to play, each survivor having different skills, and hit the beaches. There are tons of objectives to do and even more zombies to kill. As the game progresses, bigger and stronger zombies will emerge.


The biggest problem that I had with this game was that it felt too drawn out. This game felt like a WoW single player quest fest. Instead of getting to the nitty gritty of things, I was searching cabins for a pair of pink shoelaces to help someone out. The other disappointing factor about this game was when it wanted to rain dicks down on you, it came in full force. There were times zombies would instantly spring up behind me, or thugs would knock me ten miles away without even being near me. It's enough to pull your hair out!


Its redemption lies in that it has amazing things to kill and so many different ways to kill them. It borrows heavily from Dead Rising but one-ups it by doing away with the time limit and adding some pretty awesome driving mechanics. I can't forget to mention that the game does look absolutely beautiful on high settings. It's a game that I may play again in the future as I wish to learn more about the other characters. The only downside to that is that I have to do 1000 quests just to find out that my character once played a tree in their high school play.