Looking back on 2011 I’m forced to wonder “What the fuck happened?”. It feels like we spent the whole year paying $60 for the exact same games we played last year. As far as best years for the video game industry go, I’d say you can officially add 2011 to the “not so hot” category. There were a few games that stood above the rest though, refusing to be lumped in with the mediocre crap everyone else was passing off on the audience. And with that here are your nominations for the 2011 Better Than Jesus Awards…

Remember to cast your vote for your ’2011 Better Than Jesus’ pick at the bottom of the page!
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The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Developer: Bethesda

Release Date: November 11th, 2011

Rating: M for Mature

Genre: RPG

Nathan Schmidt – While Bethesda’s massive RPG is a shoe in for most everyone’s “Game of the Year” nominations, here at Pixel Apocalypse we were hesitant about including Skyrim as a nominee due to the amazing amount of bugs and glitches in the game. It’s almost like Bethesda sent their quality assurance team home mid-development and just said “fuck it, it’s good enough!” No one should be rewarded for releasing a broken game, but in the end Skyrim skated by and got a nomination.

Being a bit broken not withstanding, Bethesda crafted a masterpiece of an RPG with Skyrim. The content rich world will keep most players engaged for upwards of 60 hours, and that is a conservative estimate. Completeing 100% of Skyrim would have players slaughtering Dragons, Giants, Stormcloaks or Imperials well into 2012. Skyrim’s wealth of content is secondary only to how amazing the world looks. While the visuals can, and will get a bit choppy on the consoles, turning the PC version settings up and entering the game may in fact make your eyes bleed tears of joy.

Not to mention that you get to fight dragons….FUCKING DRAGONS! There isn’t much in this world that can top that except actually having a dragon as a companion, oh wait…you can do that in Skyrim as well!

Great job Bethesda, now get me my god damn patch!

Check out our review of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim here!
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Little Big Planet 2

Developer: Media Molecule

Release Date: January 18th, 2011

Rating: E for Everyone

Genre: Platformer

Shaquil Hansford – LittleBigPlanet 2 is not a game with a level editor in it; it’s a game engine. This is no exaggeration. With the game’s level editor, an aspiring designer can craft entire games, using a microphone to add voice acting to cutscenes, the in-game music sequencer to add a custom soundtrack, tons of materials which can be shaped in any way possible to form level layout, logic to program different features into the gameplay, a score tracker, and a level linker to keep the transition from one level to the next seamless. While playing LBP2, I’ve seen a LittleBigPlanet-ized version of Donkey Kong Country on the SNES, a nearly pixel-perfect recreation of the original Legend of Zelda on the NES (no Sackboys involved), various original first person shooters, platformers, racers, fighters and RPG’s; let’s not forget the point-and-click adventures, flight simulators and complete recreations of famous music videos (for example, Michael Jackson’s Smooth Criminal, oddly enough).

The creative side of LBP2 should not dwarf the part where you’re actually playing it. Its story mode is hilarious and incredibly fun, and many of the top-rated user-created levels are not only wonders of architecture, but great to play, especially with friends. You’ll find more enjoyable co-op levels in LBP2 than there are full-fledged co-op games on the PS3 and Xbox 360 combined, and the creators don’t seem to be stopping any time soon. Sixty dollars for a game like this is a steal. It’s not just one of the best games of 2011, but one of the best games ever made.

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Minecraft

Developer: Mojang

Release Date: November 18th, 2011

Genre: First Person, Sandbox, RPG

Shaquil Hansford – In today’s industry, where a game is usually very easily categorized by genre, ESRB rating and overall budget, Minecraft was an unforeseeable wildcard. Is it an adventure game? An RPG? A level editor? It’s hard to say. While most of those who’ve gone into the world of Minecraft have struggled to eke a meager existence with limited resources amidst all the violence and utter loneliness, some have thrived. There are people whose worlds have been built into decadent paradises with large buildings, roads, canals, and coal mines. Others, still, have gone further—Coliseums, stadiums, sports arenas and race tracks behind castle walls so high and wide that, when beneath their shadows, some would think a perpetual night had fallen.

This is all, of course, before I even mention the mods. Minecraft’s community has produce mods that add nuclear reactors, engines that run on oil, ATV’s, guns, Pokemon, NPC’s, dragons, horses, air ships, planes and much more than I’ll ever get to see. If the phrase “Interactive Experience” was ever meant to represent something more than cutscenes where you press a button every few seconds, then I think it might fit Minecraft well. Minecraft players can strive to live in their own worlds, or join 24-hour hosted servers with hundreds of other players living in towns governed by laws, where out in the forest some less-friendly players wait, hoping for an innocent newcomer to walk by, so they can rob him of his belongings. The type of gaming you do in Minecraft is just fundamentally different from the rest of the industry, and for that alone it should be game of the year. But, most importantly, it’s also incredibly fun and addictive. Putting it down is a testament of your self control; it’s also kind of a bad idea.
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Batman: Arkham City

Developer: Rocksteady

Release Date: October 18th, 2011

Genre: Action, Adventure

Rating: T for Teen

Nathan Schmidt – Not only is Batman: Arkham City the best Dark Knight story ever told in a video game, it’s one of the better Batman stories told across any media. While I doubt it will be held up with Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns, Paul Dini crafted an amazing story that has entertained me through multiple playthroughs. As opposed to other forms of media, video games need to strive to be great on multiple fronts. Even the best story in the world will not hold up if your graphics or gameplay are absolute balls. Thankfully Arkham City developer Rocksteady has proven once again that they are one of the premier development studios in the industry by delivering an amazing game world, a second to none freeflowing combat system, and the best voice acting we’ve seen this side of Uncharted 2.

What is really inspiring about Arkham City is the way Rocksteady has crafted an experience that nails what it must feel like to be the Batman. There is no silly disconnects that make it plainly obvious that the developer does not understand the IP, or ridiculous new characters thrown in just to create hype. This is classic Batman at his most badass, granted with a new spin on the design of well known locales, costumes, and tech. Throw in Batman’s entire Rogue’s Gallery and what you have is one of the best experiences this generation. Congratulations Rocksteady!

Shaq’s Note – The parts where you push the Y button were fun…

Check out our review of Batman: Arkham City here!
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Portal 2

Developer: Valve

Release Date: April 19th, 2011

Genre: First Person, Puzzle, Platformer

Rating: E for Everyone

Nathan Schmidt – In the big gun, big tits, dudebro hell that has become the video game industry Portal 2 is a welcome departure. Fewer and fewer games require any sort of cognitive reasoning whatsoever, so when a game like Portal 2 comes along it’s pretty special. Let’s go down the list shall we…

Fun and interesting characters (with the exception of Chell of course)…

CHECK

Amazing sense of humor that is delivered during gameplay and not during a cut scene…

CHECK

Well laid out puzzles that range from “That was pretty easy!” to “I’m so angry that I’m driving to Valve HQ and cramming my copy up Gabe Newell’s ass!”…

CHECK

Fantastic voice acting which immediately endears the characters to the player…

CHECK

Arguably the best finale ever presented in a game…

CHECK

Terrific cooperative play that allows you to experience a completely separate and fantastic campaign…

CHECK

Successfully taking an amazing one-off game like the original Portal and turning it into a franchise to be enjoyed for years to come…

CHECK

For all these reasons and so many others that I can’t think of, Portal 2 is the most deserving of this years nominations. Hell if there was something better than ‘Better Than Jesus’ I’d nominate Portal 2 for that as well.
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Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception

Developer: Naughty Dog

Release Date: November 1st, 2011

Genre: 3rd Person, Shooter, Platformer

Rating: T for Teen

Alex Von Sternberg – While some may accuse the Uncharted series of being a series of cutscenes strung together with gameplay (last time I checked that’s how games have structured for the last 15 years…), it can also be fair to say that this series and this game in particular elevate the maturity of video game storytelling to a new level. If you’ve been following the Uncharted series up until this game, very little explanation is further required. If not, you need to understand how fucking POLISHED this game is!

Graphics don’t make a game, but they do need to be given props when it’s deserved, and goddamn it this game deserves those props. Its presentation overall is some of the best in the medium with its top notch voice acting and sound design. Presentation aside, it needs to be said that this game is freakin’ fun. If the story isn’t grabbing you, you can tackle the robust multiplayer suite which gives you almost a dozen options cooperatively and competitively alike. There is no shortage of options and therefore value with one of the best games released this year and we here at Pixel Apocalypse want that to be made clear.
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