5 Games I Didn’t Play Nearly Enough of in 2011

Hi, my name is Brett (“Hi Brett!”) and I buy a lot of games. This year was no different from 2010, 9, 8, 7, 6… you get the idea. Too many games were purchased under false pretenses of having the time to play them all to satisfaction. Here are my top five most deserving, but under played games of 2011.

5. Mortal Kombat (PS3)

I played Mortal Kombat in the local arcade which was located in the same shopping center as a gentlemen’s club and a Karate dojo. I must have been eleven years old – way too young to be playing something with decapitations and bodies falling into a pit of spikes, but my mom never paid any attention to the games I played (SCORE!). When I heard they were more or less rebooting the series with their new publisher I was thrilled to rekindle my passion for comedic violence. Sadly I only played through the first few characters in the very long story campaign and don’t have local pals to gore it up with. Now that I’m working in an office full of game developers and programmers (with access to a pair of amazing low latency projectors) I think 2012 will be the year of Kombat!

4. Alice: Madness Returns (360)

Like MK, American McGee’s Alice holds a special place in my dark, gooey heart. My wife and I played it through together in my college dorm. She forbade me to play without her there, so we vanquished the red queen and jabberwocky in romantic fashion. The new game continues the story, but for some reason I couldn’t get up the motivation to make it past the second major location. Jenny lent me her copy on PS3 for ages and I finally had to send it back apologetically. GameFly had it on the cheap, so here it sits in my pile of games I want to come back to next year.

3. de blob 2 (PS3)

This one was a purchase for my kids. I know the PS3 controller is probably still out of my oldest daughter’s comfort zone, but there’s Move support – whatever that means. I think this will get our full attention during some rainy day next spring when both daughters are bored and have played their Sesame Street and Disneyland Kinect games to death.

2. Dirt 3 (360)

I try staying away from racing games, but the Nukezilla Review for it sold me on the potential fun I could have sliding around on filthy tracks like a bat out of hell. Again, GameFly’s sale made this impulse purchase that much easier to tip the scales. I’ve played this one for maybe an hour, but racing games always lose their luster for me nearly immediately. I know this is a fantastic game as I had lots of fun during the time I played it, but with so many other tasks competing for my attention, I fear Colin McRae’s spiritual successor will have to wait patiently on the shelf until I can put aside an afternoon by myself (HA!).

1. Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds (PS3)

I would love to play MvC3 until the cows come home. It is a gorgeous fighting game with completely unbalanced play and ridiculous combos. Unfortunately, Capcom released UMvC3 already, adding Phoenix Wright to the character sheet. I can’t play MvC3 now. There’d be no point. If I can’t beat down my opponents with evidence, paperwork and a strongly worded “OBJECTION!” then it’s a waste of my time. Fuck you Capcom. Fuck you, very much.