My Top 5 Games of 2011

About a week ago I purchased my last game of the year, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3. I can immediately guess your reaction to that, which is "what about Zelda!?!?!?!?!?". To put it simply, I'm not buying Zelda. If anything I'll get getting it for Christmas and would then count as a game I played/finished 2012. If I don't get it for Christmas though I'm just going to leave it be. Zelda doesn't excite me like it does most people. I didn't grow up with that aspect of Nintendo so I don't hold it in such nostalgic revere as most people seem to do.

Glad that's out of the way. Now back to what I was saying: since I've purchased my last game of the year I thought now would be the proper time to list my top five games of 2011.

5. Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception

I think many would agree that Uncharted 3 just didn't seem as strong an outing as Uncharted 2 did. This may very well be because U3 doesn't reinvent the wheel like U2 did and instead simply builds on it. That said, Uncharted 3 was an amazing experience. The characters, the stories, and set pieces all came together to create an amazing game. The game has a few faults, don't get me wrong, but everything it does right easily surpasses those small blunders.

4. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

I haven't finished Skyrim yet, but it could be months before I actually stop playing Skyrim. Even so I've had such a great time just exploring the world that I can't help but place it on this list. The fact that I haven't touched the main storyline after defeating the first dragon is a testament to how much there is to do in Skyrim. Now all I have to do is wait until the Creation Kit (Skyrim's Modding Tools) to come out and there's the potential for endless Skyrim playing.

3. Deus Ex: Human Revolution

I'm a sucker for cyberpunk settings and Deus Ex: HR was no exception. The colors, the soundtrack, and even the story were something that drew me in immediately. The game also had the perfect morality system, meaning there was none at all. It let you choose your actions without telling you which was "right" or "wrong" and let you deal with the consequences as they came. While I recognize the boss battles were terrible and the game somewhat falls apart towards the end that doesn't takes away from the amount of fun I had with the game before then.

2. Batman: Arkham City

Batman: Arkham City is probably the perfect the comic book game. The game's open world isn't as advanced as say, RDR or Skyrim, but it does what it has to in order to for the player to enjoy grappling all around the city.  And while the story used up nearly ever last interesting villain in Batman's lore and not always to their fullest potential, I wound up loving the story. The twist at the end (and the ending itself) is one of my favorite of all time, one of the perfect revelations that you didn't see coming.

1. Portal 2

Above all else, the game I enjoyed most this year was Valve's Portal 2. It was funny, it was quirky. It was a game that never made me feel stupid for not knowing the answer. It was the game that I never wanted to end. It was the game, that by the end, I felt some sort of catharsis. It is in my mind, perfect (and that's without even touching the co-op).