Best of 2011: Video Games
I feel like I don’t even need to write this. I just… I mean, why bother? It’s such a foregone conclusion…
Oh fine.
SKYRIM!!!
Are you someone who plays videogames? Do you know someone who does? Ok, then you’ve heard of Skyrim. Whether you are aware of it because you are playing it (which is unlikely, because if you were you wouldn’t be here reading this) or perhaps your friends is complaining because their significant other is lost to it, you know that Skyrim has captured the hearts, souls and attentions of a billion nerds everywhere.
In all honesty, I’m always surprised that I like this game as much as I do. I’m a big RPG person, but the thought of a first-person (3rd person optional, but who does that?) RPG in a sprawling, epic beyond all reason, sandbox to end all sandboxes, environment sounds…meh. I hate openworld, sandbox games. GTA, Fallout, even Red Dead Redemption lost me eventually. I like clearly defined goals and minimal distractions from getting there (*cough Final Fantasy 13 cough*). Fantasy RPGs which give you tons of character customization and romance options and potion making and whatnot have never totally worked for me. I’ve already pawned off my copy of Dragon Age: Origins and Mass Effect 2.
Furthermore, I’d never played any of the previous Elder Scroll titles. I’d heard of them, experienced mild curiousity, but that’s it. I bought into the pre-release hype however and bought Skyrim on day 1.
…and I still haven’t stopped playing it. I’m about 150 hours into the game, and I’ve completed maybe 1/3 of the main questline. The most time I’ve ever sunk into a game is probably around the 70 hour mark and that was Dragon Quest 8. That’s with beating it and grinding forEVER to beat the post-game content. There is SO GODDAMNED MUCH TO DO!
The reason I have done so very little story progression is because this isn’t merely a game, this is a world they’ve created. Every single inch of it seems a living, breathing place and the game constantly rewards exploration into new, uncharted territory. Find a cave, explore it. You find a note mentioning a person. Go find that person. That person sends you on another quest. While finishing up that quest you find a fort guarded by bad guys. You storm the fort and re-claim it for the forces of good. In the fort you find a mysterious jewel whose properties can only be uncovered on the completely other side of the map. Travel across the map to find the person who can tell you about the jewel. Along the way find 50 or so caves, towns, tombs, towers, camps, all with their own secrets and treasures. The amount of content is mind shattering, and nothing ever seems like a slog. I must have spent about 4 hours yesterday just traveling from town to town to find ingredients to improve my potion-making skills, and by the time I was done I had literally leveled up by ONE level and I felt so freaking accomplished.
This all may sound tedious and banal, and in the hands of a lesser game it likely would be. The fact that Skyrim commits so whole-heartedly to creating a world you want, desperately, to explore and that the story itself (when you follow it) is quite interesting means that you could play for 150 hours, be nowhere near “finishing” the game, and still feel like playing for 150 more.
Honourable Mentions:
Uncharted 3. Thrills a minute, gorgeous as balls, and an excellent continuation for the series.
inFamous 2. Takes what made the first game really good and blasts it into greatness. The first time I’ve played a game which presents you with morally-based choices and then follows-up with genuine rewards/punishments.
Dead Space 2. In space, no one can hear you torn asunder, beaten, eaten, terrorized, traumatized, and all around mind-fucked. Another instance of a sequel fulfilling on the promise of it’s predecessor, DS2 is to DS1 as Aliens was to Alien. Takes something scary and excellent, ramps up the speed and intensity, deepens the story and gives you a real lead character to root for. Gets knocked a bit for a kinda weak final act.
