My favorite stuff of 2011 - Part IV

2011 Game #10 – The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword


Skyward Sword is the worst console Zelda game yet. Which means, it’s still a pretty damn good game, but there are some glaring problems that “It’s Zelda” isn’t enough of an explanation for me to gloss over anymore. Like, how come the game has to describe what a Monster Claw, an Amber Relic, and every other piece of trash I pick up is every time I restart the game after turning my Wii off, then bring up a menu showing me how many I have now? And what genius thought up breakable shields and the stamina gauge? Because that’s been my longest standing complaint of the Zelda series: that the shields don’t break and Link runs for longer durations than I can. Nitpickery aside, the clouds hanging over Skyward Sword do occasionally break and you get a glimpse of the kind of brilliance we saw in Zeldas of old (just about every moment of the Lanayru region is pure magic), but something needs to happen for Zelda soon or the magic isn’t going to override the stagnation underneath anymore.

2011 Game #9 – The King of Fighters XIII


Speaking of stagnation, King of Fighters has been fighting an uphill battle against it for the better part of a decade now. After a bout with bankruptcy and even a brief stint of handing their pride and joy off to another developer, SNK has been through hell and back. So it was tough, after all that fighting, to see them struggle and writhe to turn out something more relevant and up to current-gen standards in KoFXII, only to see it hit the market half-baked and fail to meet fan expectations. Well, KoFXIII is a solemn apology for all that. The excruciating growing pangs and identity crisis of a franchise grasping desperately for relevance are over. KoFXIII is everything XII should have been and more, and quite frankly, it’s a better fighting game than we deserve.

2011 Film #4 – Cave of Forgotten Dreams

 

A haunting documentary about the origins of mankind's artistic endeavors, Werner Herzog's latest piece will stay with you long after the credits roll. While coated with Herzog's trademark sense of highly personalized and often incommunicable enthusiasm, the message is still clear and the facts and images Herzog is providing us are no less mind-blowing.

2011 Game #8 – Deus Ex: Human Revolution


Robocop the Blade Runner: Ghost in the Flux

But seriously. This game was great. It didn’t set the world on fire, but it’s probably the best Metal Gear game we’ll get this generation. But was it really necessary for everything to have a golden hue? Either something’s wrong with Jensen’s optic implants or he’s looking at the world through piss-tinted glasses.

2011 Game #7 – Portal 2


Portal 2 would feel like plodding through familiar territory if it weren’t for the multiplayer. The multiplayer really adds a totally new dimension (har har) to the game, and is probably the most fun I’ve had with friends this year this side of Guardian Heroes.

2011 Show #2 – Louie: Season 2


You’re probably not watching the best show on cable right now, and it’s a fucking shame. Louie will give you everything you want from a TV comedy: laughs galore, Seinfeld-style stand-up interludes, and occasionally poignant social commentary. But Louie offers so much more. It’s one of those rare TV shows that really feels like a work of art. Louie is a brutally honest exploration of the plight of the disillusioned, American male and his wrestlings with his own existence and the clashings between instinct and society. It’s a show that challenges its viewers by sometimes peering a little to deeply into their hearts and smearing the truths found there all over the screen. You might laugh more watching an episode of Community or The Office, but like the density of a neutron star, the same serving size of Louie weighs infinitely more.

2011 Film #3 - The Ides of March


Seriously, FUCK George Clooney. No one should be that handsome, that great an actor, and still be that competent in a creative role. That said, Ides of March was an impossibly good film. It is a verging point for nearly every A-list, Oscar-bait actor in Hollywood, and they came here wearing their Sunday best. There's also more seething tension underneath every line of dialogue than a Mamet screenplay.

2011 Game #6 – Child of Eden


Back when I got my Saturn, Panzer Dragoon was the first game I picked up, and ever since, I’ve had a fascination with rail shooters. Naturally, I was drawn to Rez and ended up importing it on Dreamcast. So when Child of Eden came around, I was overjoyed. It’s hard to believe that with all the advances gaming has seen in relatively short periods of time, there is still room for intense, skill-based, arcade-style games like Child of Eden. I can only hope they continue to endure, though it’s hard to imagine them getting any more beautiful than this.