1080°

The Best Videogames of 2011

Take a look at the best-reviewed games for each gaming platform

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metacritic.com
Arnagrim4507d ago

This comment's section is going to be great.
*Grabs popcorn*

Titanz4507d ago (Edited 4507d ago )

It's based on multiplatform titles (with 1 or 2 exclusive rated over 90% for each console), and the Wii has the highest percentage of 1st/2nd party IPs.

Considering that the Wii didn't get the same amount of 3rd party support as the other 2 consoles, this article is pointless.

I guess we should also bring sales into the equation.

Arnagrim4507d ago

If you were to go to Metacritic.com > Games > High Scores and go to each systems All Time and by Year and counted only exclusives for each system you would still find PS3 had the most games 75% and up as well as 90% and up for both this year and overall.
Not sure why you want to bring sales in.

Gamer19824507d ago (Edited 4507d ago )

Thing is alot of 360 games are kinect games vs move too. Need to take out of equation and comapare real games.

BattleAxe4507d ago

If all Wii games had been included, the Meta Score would have been around 40.0

chriski3334507d ago

oh no buddy it does mean something and u damn well know

Marquis_de_Sade4507d ago

To be fair, 2 of the PS3 games with 90+ (ME2 and Limbo) released last year on the 360. That said, ME2 is my PS3 GOTY along with Skyrim, quality title.

gamingdroid4506d ago (Edited 4506d ago )

An annual number means little, when it is the overall package that you have to consider including the fact that:

- averages are just that
- regardless of what the "ratings" are, if it doesn't have a specific feature or game I want, it doesn't matter if it has ten others i.e. try getting my cousin to give up Mario
- specific features exist on each console that you can't get on the other

So this is pointless. Wii, PS3 and Xbox 360 all have their advantages and disadvantages. It's more the overall package that fit whatever your interest is.

So bottom line is, this is just a stupid comparison, because it doesn't apply to everyone.

InactiveUser4506d ago (Edited 4506d ago )

A bit out of date (last updated July 2011), but:

http://FactsVsFanboys.com/

Compares only retail exclusives, no DLC, no Arcade/PSN games, no Kinect/Move exclusive games, etc.

Dee_914506d ago

I dont get why the top 3 are on the best reviewed list multiple times.
Thats kinda stupid :/

death2smoochie4506d ago

Actually the Wii has more 3rd party support. They just don't get the 3rd party big title games on the system like Dead Space 2, Portal 2 etc.
In other-words they don't get most of the M rated games that are multi-platform.
They get MUCH more 3rd party games... designed for the Wii.

Anyways, this article is going to cause SO many people on this site to go INSANE.
Forget the popcorn, bring out the Lay Chips and your Ottoman to rest your feet up...it has gotten so hot in here and it will get more so LOL

MoveTheGlow4506d ago (Edited 4506d ago )

You all know that different games have different sites reporting on them, right? And not every site rates every game? And multiplatform titles have different people reviewing them if you're talking about platform-exclusive sites? And they're people, not robots, so their scores will differ?

Good, so why are we having this conversation? Metacritic is an aggregator, not the absolute measure it sells itself as; and this is coming from a PS3 gamer who's kinda half-smiling about this article! :)

Perjoss4506d ago (Edited 4506d ago )

It says xbox has 12 good exclusives in 2011 compared to 13 on ps3, I thought the gap would be bigger.

Also quite surprised Uncharted 3 didn't make the top 10 :(

+ Show (11) more repliesLast reply 4506d ago
Papertiger4507d ago (Edited 4507d ago )

Don't see why the comments would go into some sort of frenzy. It was the same way when it was analyzed for the year 2010, and I believe it was the same for 2009 if im not mistaken.

bayport4507d ago

"This comment's section is going to be great.
*Grabs popcorn*"

Definitely

StraightPath4507d ago

Pretty stupid the wii doesnt get much third party support however the 1st party is highest rated games exclusive looking at you mario galaxys.....

LettingGo4506d ago

If Sony and Microsoft made simplistic games like Nintendo, there would be a public outcry!

Benjamski4506d ago

@LettingGo I wouldn't say simplistic so much as formulaic. Galaxy was a big step up, but still fell within the Mario formula for the most part. Great game though--just not great enough to get me to buy a wii or anything ha.

kneon4506d ago

Developers aren't going to waste time creating games that won't sell. They've tried to sell on the Wii and in most cases failed. There are only a few 3rd party games that sell well on the Wii so it's too risky a market for most companies to spend time on.

-Superman-4506d ago

Xbox 360 exclusive list >>> 70% were xbox live games or kinect games... minigames... not real exclusives.

SilentNegotiator4506d ago (Edited 4506d ago )

The results.....
Well, I'm about as shocked as a person finding cheese on their pizza.

The Wii is a few decent exclusives plus a truckload of crapware, the xbox 360 is multiplats and Kinect games, and the ps3 is exclusives and most of the multiplats.

It's the same old story with the same old ending.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 4506d ago
NeoBasch4507d ago

Well some would argue the difference should have been bigger what with inFamous 2 and Resistance 3 getting high praise from the community. Killzone 3, not so much. But still, yeah, deserved but... >_>

ZippyZapper4506d ago Show
DrakesOnAPlane4506d ago

1% difference is all you need. You think the Olympics would want a do-over when the silver medalists gripe and moan?

What about all of the sports scores?

SlyFoxC4506d ago

@NoobSessions

as a great man said

"it doesnt matter if you win by an inch or a mile...winning is winning!"

Rainstorm814506d ago

@zippy

Yea 1st 2nd last...That only matters to fanboys and shareholders....Gamers care about Games.

Besides only LOSERS praise second place...

Aloren4506d ago

Who even "wins" in such a chart? More than a 250 games on both sides, about a hundred good games... 2 exclusives in the top 15 on 360, 3 in the top 30 on ps3... it's not like any normal people had any trouble finding great games on either console this year.

InactiveUser4506d ago (Edited 4506d ago )

Or 3 of the top 7 if you're any good at math and personal research.

#4: 92% - Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception
#6: 91% - The Ico & Shadow of the Colossus Collection
#7: 91% - LittleBigPlanet 2

Not to mention:
#11: 90% - MLB 11: The Show
#23: 84% - God of War: Origins Collection
#25: 84% - Killzone 3
#29: 83% - Resistance 3
#30: 83% - inFamous 2

Rankings don't include PSN games (Street Fighter 3, Beyond G&E, Limbo, etc.) or DLC (Battlefield 3: Back to Karkand). Decide for yourself if the collections or MLB The Show count, but they are Company Exclusives and the best versions of the games. If not, I'm still seeing 5.

For the 360 it's only 2 exclusives in the top 30 retail games:
Gears of War 3
Forza Motorsport 4

(Not counting Dance Central 2, which requires Kinect)

So:
PS3 - 8 of top 30 retail games exclusive = ~27%
360 - 2 of top 30 retail games exclusive = ~7%

Aloren4506d ago (Edited 4506d ago )

@EeJLP I admit I just read this "Out of the PlayStation's 30 highest scoring games this year, just 3 were exclusive to the platform: the latest installment in the Uncharted adventure series, a sequel to LittleBigPlanet, and Killzone 3", which seems to be based on the chart in this article.

I understand why they left out games that exist on other sony consoles and why they didn't ignore psn games though. Sounds logical to me (why would you want to ignore so many games?).
Same with kinect, why would you ignore kinect games ? It's strange how a "list of exclusives" to a console suddenly becomes a "list of exclusives but only including retail games, except those needing an additional accesory, but still including best version of games that exist on another console of the same manufacturer".

That's not what I call maths and personal research. It's just different standards.

+ Show (5) more repliesLast reply 4506d ago
AJB14507d ago

People used to say PS3 had no games. Now it's the other way around.

Marquis_de_Sade4507d ago

Yes, the PS3 comes in with .6 more or whatever more and the "360 has no games".

Hicken4506d ago

Consider this:

If you were trying to convince me to buy a 360 over a PS3, what reasons could you give me for buying that system? What games would you name?

Now, if you were trying to convince me to buy a PS3 over a 360, what would be the reasons? What games you would name?

The .6 you mention is average metacritic score, which has been pointed out by others as being suspect. So screw that.

Feature for feature, advantage for advantage, which system HONESTLY comes out on top? Even if you only name the games.

enfestid4506d ago (Edited 4506d ago )

@Hicken:

If you were asking which games to name that the 360 has and the PS3 doesn't, I'd say the following: Halo, Gears of War, Forza, Project Gotham, Crackdown, Fable, Dance Central, Alan Wake, Viva Pinata, Kameo, The Gunstringer, and Kinect Sports

If you were asking which games to name that the PS3 has and the 360 doesn't, I'd say the following: Uncharted, Killzone, inFamous, Gran Turismo, LittleBigPlanet, God of War, Ratchet & Clank, Resistance, SOCOM, MLB: The Show, Sly Cooper, and Sports Champions

I'm not including downloadable titles, as that would take way too long for each console. Not including unreleased titles as those could go either way, too.

So, clearly, there are reasons to get either console. Both consoles have hardcore exclusives, and both consoles have family-friendly exclusives. The 360 and PS3 are more even than people here are willing to let on. This article is proof enough of that.

(Edited to add a few franchises I forgot on each side.)

InactiveUser4506d ago

I'd add Metal Gear Solid 4, Heavy Rain, MotorStorm franchise, Ico/SotC HD, MAG.. some would add Warhawk, Valkyria Chronicles, Demon's Souls, or others..

and say to get Alan Wake, Mass Effect 1, Gears 1, Left4Dead franchise, Fable III, Metro 2033, Splinter Cell: Conviction, etc. on PC.

There's not a whole lot of quality exclusives left after that besides 4 Halos, 2 more Gears, and ~5 Forza/PGR games.

Blogz4Fanboyz4506d ago

hicken

why would anyone want to convince to buy one system over the other??

people uy the system that they want, or the system where all their friends are..

Benjamski4506d ago

It's always been that way man. Slow start, but once playstation gets momentum, it always has a greater diversity of games by genre and target audience than any other console. Always has, always will.

Aloren4506d ago

Did you read the article ?

"43% of all Xbox releases in 2011 had a green Metascore of 75 or higher indicating positive reviews from professional critics. That's an improvement over the previous year's 39% (and 2009's 35%). In all, there were 101 Xbox 360 games released in 2011 receiving generally positive reviews, tops for any console."

Also "Out of the PlayStation's 30 highest scoring games this year, just 3 were exclusive to the platform".

Granted there were more exclusives... but really, saying the 360 has no games is quite a stretch when exclusives are such a minority on both consoles and when a huge majority of the best games are multiplat.

Marquis_de_Sade4506d ago

Okay Hicken I can't speak for you, but I myself don't currently own a 360 but I certainly would like to if I had the time and money to invest in one. For a start, I simply like the way it serves as a more seamless media hub, Sky player is very much a reason, integration with Live on the 360 is far superior to that offered with PSN/PS3, stronger community features as well. Then there are some excellent games, I have had the chance to play Forza 4 and Gears of War 3, and they both feature in my top 10 games of the year, both excellent, I also happen to really like Halo. I haven't had really used Kinect as it doesn't appeal to me, just like Move, I prefer traditional controllers, so can't speak for that.

To be honest, much as I like my PS3, if it wasn't for the RROD (and maybe MGS4) I likely would never have purchased one.

enfestid4506d ago

@EeJLP-:

I specifically said I didn't include downloadable releases, but if you want to go that route, you're forgetting the following games on XBLA: Shadow Complex, 'Splosion Man, N+, Trials HD, Aegis Wing (free), Crimson Alliance, Geometry Wars, Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet, Iron Brigade, Small Arms, Toy Soldiers, Undertow, pretty much every indie release, etc.

I also said I was forgetting some on each side (I was only naming the major franchises I could think of), so if you're going to go back and add more PS3 games, I'll add the following 360 games: Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts, Lost Odyssey, Dead or Alive, Kinectimals, Perfect Dark Zero, etc.

So, yeah, I'm sticking with the "both consoles are pretty equal in terms of exclusive games" line of thought. There are tons of quality exclusives on each platform -- see my list. You're blatantly ignoring some and you made it a point to only list PS3 exclusives I forgot and went ahead and made a preemptive argument against certain 360 exclusives. Wonder which of the two consoles you own? I'm guessing it's not both.

The fact that you and others here (of both sides -- PS3 and 360 fanboys) are getting so butthurt about this is extremely amusing. And you saying, "oh, but it's out on the PC!" doesn't make much sense either, since a lot of people own consoles precisely because they don't have powerful PCs. If everyone had a gaming computer, why would they own a console anyway? I'd consider Payday an exclusive, for example, since it's out on the PS3 and not the 360, even if it is also on the PC. (Plus Gears of War and Fable III, just to name two, are better on the 360, and Alan Wake hasn't even been released on the PC yet, which means there's no way of knowing.)

+ Show (6) more repliesLast reply 4506d ago
Jirachi4507d ago

to be fair there are far more then 69 wii games if added 200 something wii games it would be better,but either way it's just a score and alot of these reveiwers hate nintendo(like 40-70%) so that's also a factor

Emilio_Estevez4507d ago (Edited 4507d ago )

If they added all of the Wii games their score would plummet, not sure why you would think otherwise. And to be fair, if they are going to base reviews off quality based on what's already out, then the reviews for Wii games would be even worse. Wii games don't compare to ps3/360/pc games because it's like comparing an SNES game to NES games

coryok4506d ago

-not sure if read the article-

three of the five highest rated wii games were wiiware games

two of the five highest rated x360 games were arcade games

sony is the only platform that has all of its top rated games being actual real, retail games. they didnt even count ico/shadow of the collossus collection, which got a 91, and it still had all five spaces filled up

anyways, sony did worse this year than it did last year (if you can believe that), it won that year, and the wii came in last also

cjflora4507d ago

You both provide very compelling evidence.

coryok4506d ago

this is only games released during 2011, games release before than dont count, neither do map packs or any of the like, the wii didnt get much support this year it would seem.

its also counting ps minis,psn games, and such things, without microsofts arcade releases it seems like it would have scored quite a bit lower, 2 of the highest scoring x360 exclusives this year were arcade games

nintendo might have fared better without wiiware games, three of its top scoring exclusives were from wiiware, which again, im going to laugh at

ps3 is the only system to have a list full of top exclusives this year, uncharted3, little big planet2, killzone3, resistance3, infamous2

to be fair, nintendo did have a pretty good offering on 3ds this year though, even if it turned out more bad games than good (read: rushed games), taken from the article: 'Only 14 of the 74 (just under 19%) scored 3DS releases this year received positive reviews'. the 14 games seemed to be pretty good offerings though, mario 3dland, zelda oot, mario cart among them

seriously, i would say microsoft did the worst this year, heres a company that has the resources, the marketshare and the ability to make plenty of good games, but just doesnt, i mean seriously, they have the talent working for them, they have the resources, and the marketshare to ensure that they can make lots of games and probably even profit from them, but they're not, they just refuse to develop games

kikizoo4506d ago

Don't forget that nintendo (i don't thong they have more haters than sony) scores are for...nintendo console : a 8 for wii, is a 4 for xbox, a 3 for ps3...so you can't even compare scores with this different class.

byt the way, only facts matter : http://FactsVsFanboys.com/

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 4506d ago
skyblue142134507d ago (Edited 4507d ago )

Excerpt from article:

"Man, all this talk of awesome games makes me want to … wait, when did my PlayStation 3 turn itself on?"

- LOL but true. The fanboys will be in a frenzy. I still think the console war is stupid, but it does provide entertainment imo. A good way to end the article.

jneul4506d ago

actually my ps3 turns itself on for auto-updates:-)
its fun how the x360 quoted metacritic to say x360 had the better games, until ps3 overtook it

TwistedMetal4507d ago ShowReplies(2)
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50°

Mugen Souls Retro Review – Sexy Demon Space Adventure

Gary Green said: We have a juxtaposition of 2D and 3D visuals, flashy turn-based combat, quirky anime characters with cheeky dialogue with plenty of partial nudity; Yes, this is a Compile Heart JRPG. Whilst the engine is borrowed from Hyperdimension Neptunia mk2, Mugen Souls is more of a Disgaea spin-off. It’s not a strategy RPG as such, it merely sits within Disgaea’s ever-expanding universe (Multiverse? Netherverse? Your guess is as good as mine). You won’t find cameos though, since Mugen Souls is a franchise which aims to stand on its own two feet.

Read Full Story >>
pslegends.com
120°

Looking Back At 2008, An Unbelievably Incredible Year Of Video Game Releases

Huzaifa from eXputer: "2008 was home to the likes of Call of Duty: World at War, Dead Space, GTA 4, Far Cry 2, Left 4 Dead, and many other hits, which is outright remarkable."

ChasterMies41m ago

Some of these low paid video game “news” writers weren’t born before 2007.

CrimsonWing6911h ago

I don’t think anything can compare to 2023

lucasnooker11h ago

1998 - the best year in gaming! Metal gear solid, crash bandicoot 3, medievil, half life, ocarina of time, thief, tenchu, resident evil 2, Spyro, tomb raider 3, oddworld abes exodus, banjo kazooie.

It was a different breed of a gaming era. You’ll never understand what it was like back then. The aura of gaming, it was different!

KyRo11h ago(Edited 11h ago)

I second this. Gaming was a lot more varied and fun than it is today. I'm 35 so getting on compared to some here but I got to see all the changes from NES up to now but I've never felt so disappointed in any generation than I have this current gen. I was expecting more from this generation rather than prettier versions of games that came before it. Game mechanics have become so refined that alot of games feel the same and has done for a while now.

Maybe it's time to have a break for a while. I love gaming but I don't feel I get much fun in the traditional sense out of it anymore.

CrimsonWing6911h ago(Edited 11h ago)

Metal Gear Solid, Resident Evil 2, Abe’s Exodus, and Ocarina of Time are the only things from that list that I liked.

Here’s the 2023 game releases that I personally liked… and big releases that I didn’t care for:

- Dead Space Remake
- Wo Long Dynatsy
- Resident Evil 4 Remake
- Diablo 4
- Fire Emblem Engage
- Hogwarts Legcay
- Street Fighter 6
- Hi-Fi Rush
- Like a Dragon: Ishin
- Octopath Traveler 2
- Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters
- Final Fanatsy XVI (actually ended up not liking this, but it was still a big deal release)
- Baldur’s Gate 3
- Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon
- Lies of P
- Mortal Kombat 1
- Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
- Starfield (Ended up hating this one, but big release)
- Super Mario Bros. Wonder
- Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (I’m an old-school Zelda fan, but didn’t really enjoy this game)
- Alan Wake 2

I mean, honestly I’ve never seen a year of major IP releases like that, ever.

Profchaos8h ago(Edited 8h ago)

Isn't it just a generational thing realistically.

I've been gaming since way back and I some of my favourite games go as far back as the late 80s for me each generation has a year or two of game changing releases one after another before an inevitable dry spell.

I kind of agree gaming had a different feel games hit different because we didn't have the internet nothing got spoiled and you really had to put in the effort to beat a puzzle which could set entire groups of people looking for a solution. But most importantly games were experimental and not as cookie cutter as today even basics like controls were not universal today r2 is shoot l2 is ads garunteed you can't deviate from that in a shooter back then it could of been square, R1 or R1 and circle nothing was standard.

But as time moves on a new generation picks up their controller they are going to be interested in different things that PS1 demo disc with the t Rex blew our primitive 16 bit brains back on launch but to kids today it's laughable.
The new gen of kids coming into to hobby seem to value different things to us there seems to be a huge focus on online play, streamers, gaming personalities, and social experiences, convience of digital downloads. To me I value none of that but that's ok like my parents not liking the band's I would listen to its just the natural cycle.

120°

6 Fun Games Where You Actually Play As The Bad Guy

While the mainstream media always sees things turning in favor of the hero, here are 6 games that own being a bad guy.

Profchaos17h ago

Pretty much all of these games listed are based around a morality system you don't have to be bad and you don't have to be good.

It seems to have left out some real amazing games like red dead redemption 1/2,ass effect and true crime la/ny

Tacoboto16h ago

Armored Core VI?

Ok, I'm really missing something here. Just beat chapter 3 earlier this evening, unlocked A-rank Arena fights. I'm not seeing or sensing any branching paths or morality system and I've done every side mission and arena fight available to me up to that fight.

Is something big coming soon to branch the story?

banger8816h ago

No mention of Grand Theft Auto? Saints Row (original trilogy), Manhunt? Also The Suffering (depending on the ending you get).

ChasterMies6h ago

Trevor in GTA 6 is a sadist and psychopath who dabbles in cannibalism. Should be top of the list. These game “news” sites should hire people that know games.