Dark Souls is hard.  It’s a game that will beat you down, break your spirit, and kill you more times than you’re most likely able to count.  Darks Souls is an unforgiving bitch of a game, but my god do I love it!

Dark Souls is very reminiscent of games from the NES days, in that it doesn’t hold your hand and it requires a lot of trail and error in order to progress.  The game teaches you as you play and every death is a learning experience that only makes you stronger.

There’s a pattern to every enemy in Dark Souls and in it’s learning these patterns that are the keys to victory.  If you run up to even the most basic of enemy with your sword swinging you won’t last long in Dark Souls, it’s having a good defense and finding that right moment to strike which is the key to victory.  And while you’ll be faced with many defeats it’s the times when your victorious that Dark Souls really shines.

There was a boss fight where you need to fight two bosses at the same time named Ornstien and Smough.  For me it was the most difficult fight in the game, I was stuck on them for a good 2 days of nothing but death and defeat.  I could have given up but I didn’t because I noticed every time I fought them I would last a bit longer or cut their health down a bit further than the time before.  Every time this happened it gave me hope to keep trying and not give up.

By the time I finally beat them the feeling of victory that came over me was pure elation, it was a feeling I’ve never experienced from a video game and I had that feeling constantly while playing Dark Souls, but for me this moment was that feeling was at its max.

Darks Souls isn’t for everybody, while the challenge it presents is the reason I love it so much is the same reason it might turn a lot of people away from it.  But that’s the thing about a challenge it isn’t suppose to be easy.  So for being the most challenging and rewarding experience I’ve played in 2011 Dark Souls is number 2.

Among all the games I’ve played in 2011 I can say with the upmost confidence that Catherine is the most original and most interesting game I’ve played this year.  In all my 20+ years of playing video games I can honestly say I’ve never played a game quite like Catherine before.

Catherine is a game about relationships and infidelity a theme that really hasn’t been tackled by a video game before.  The relationship theme is all wrapped up in a horror/supernatural twist that helps make the story one of the most interesting stories of the year.

The voice acting throughout the game is also really well done, and it’s accompanied by my favorite video game soundtrack of the year which is essentially a bunch of remixed classical music.  All of this creates a great atmosphere that really draws you into the game’s world and story.

Catherine’s gameplay is just as unique as the story, in what can be described as an action-puzzle-platformer.  The goal is the guide main character Vincent to the top of  a series of towers while the ground falls beneath you or your chased by the demons of Vincent’s subconscious.  Creating a path is simple in concept, as all you need to do is push and pull blocks to create a path but this gets more and more difficult as the game goes on.

Catherine isn’t a game people can get through by just blindly playing it, it takes a lot of quick thinking, skill and luck to make it to the end.  I died many times before I reached the end of the game, but when I finally got there it just made my moment of victory even more meaningful.

In a market that is drowning in an overabudence of first person shooters and sequels, Catherine stands like a beacon of hope for the game industry.  It’s a truly original experience in a market I thought there were none and it offers a good challenge that few games these days offer.  Because of this Catherine more than earns its spot on my top 3 and it’s a game everyone should experience.

Batman Arkham City doesn’t just let you play as Batman it lets you BE Batman.

From using his many gadgets, to taking on a dozen of thugs single handed, and going toe-to-toe with anyone you could think of from Batman’s rogue gallery, no other game before has let you step into the shoes of the Dark Knight quite like Arkham City.

The game also sports a story that can rival some of the best Batman stories printed on paper, the story is only strengthened by the performances of Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill who return to reprise their roles from Batman: The Animated Series as Batman and Joker respectively.

Batman Arkham City isn’t just a good example of how to make a good superhero game, but it’s also a great example of how to make a great game in general and it more than deserves its spot on this list.

The original Infamous was one of my favorite games from 2009, so I had high expectations going into Infamous 2 and didn’t leave disappointed.   What Infamous 2 does so well is that it does what any great sequel should do, improve upon the original in every aspect.

Everything about Infamous 2 is an improvement over the original and that says a lot because there wasn’t much wrong with the original to begin with.  The world is bigger and more varied, the story and the way it’s presented has an overall higher quality to it, the characters are more likable and more developed, the controls are spot on and best of all there are a bunch of new powers to play around with.

Infamous 2 also brings back the morality system which is more impactful to the gameplay this time than in the original.  Deciding to play as good or evil effects which new powers you can learn, and it also has results in different endings making a 2nd play through well worth it.

I’m trying to find some sort of fault to say about Infamous 2 but it’s really hard because the game is just so finely crafted.  It’s one of my favorite games of the year and if you haven’t played it yet I can’t recommend it enough.

In a market filled with games taking themselves way to seriously or trying to portray themselves as some form of “art”, it’s refreshing to have a game that doesn’t try to do any of this.

Saints Row is loud, rude, immature and most of all it’s a hell of a lot of fun.  When it comes to making a fun open world experience Volition really knows what they’re doing.  They put the player in a big sand box, filled with a bunch of shinny toys to play with and let the player have as much fun as they can.

The main story is one of the most entertaining times I’ve had playing a video game all year.  By the time the end credits roll you’ll have taken part in Lucha libre match, visited a Tron-like computer world, drove a supersonic jet through city streets and caused billions of dollars in property damage.  It really has anything and everything you could think of for a video game.  It even has zombies!

A game’s first objective above all else should be about providing the player with a fun and entertaining experience.  If it does anything Saints Row the Third does just that and because of that it more than earns its spot on this list.

Now I know Mass Effect 2 originally came out in 2010, but the PS3 version came out this year and it was my first chance to actually play it.  So because of that Mass Effect 2 gets to sneak on to the list this year.

I can’t remember a time that I’ve been as emotionally invested in game than when I was playing Mass Effect 2.  It provides a story like few other games can making the story uniquely the players depending on how you choose play it and what choices you make. Because of this Commander Shepard becomes so much more than your avatar, but he/she literally becomes the representation of yourself in the game, making you more invested in the world and those who inhabit it.

I loved getting to know more about my crew members, to the point that I found myself truly caring for them by the end of the game.  When the end game scenario started I found myself genuinely worried for the safety of each member of my crew not knowing if I made the right decisions that would see my all crew survive to the end.

For as ambitious as Mass Effect 2′s story is I can’t really say the same about the gameplay, as it boils down to nothing more than a 3rd person squad based shooter with a few special abilities thrown in to mix it up.  While the gameplay is nowhere near bad it just isn’t as impressive as the game’s story.

So for emotionally investing me in a game like no other before, and one of the best stories I’ve experienced in a game Mass Effect 2 more than earns its spot on this list.

From the moment it was revealed Uncharted 3 was high on my list of most anticipated games of 2011, unfortunately Uncharted 3 didn’t necessarily live up to my high expectations but that doesn’t mean it isn’t a great game.

The main problem I had with Uncharted 3 is that it didn’t do enough different from the past two games in the series to really differentiate itself.  The gameplay was solid, the story in my opinion was the best in the series, and the visuals are some of the best your likely to see in a game.  But this is all something I’ve come to expect from Uncharted, while it did everything extremely well I couldn’t help but feeling like I’ve played this game before.

If it comes off like I’m criticizing Uncharted 3 a bit much that’s only because I love the series so much and expected a bit more from it.  It just hit to many of the same notes as past entries in the series to land a higher spot on this list.

All criticism aside Uncharted 3 is truly a great game that every PS3 owner should play as it offers a cinematic story experience that few games can really provide, accompanied by some truly awe inspiring action pieces that would put most Hollywood blockbusters to shame.

2D side scrollers are one of my favorite types of games, and it makes me sad that in this day and age we aren’t as privileged to as many side scrollers as we were in the NES and SNES days.  But every year we’re usually treated with one or two great side scrollers and this year that game is Rayman Origins.

The first thing to note about the game is just how beautiful it is.  Using a vibrant and colourful cartoon art style, Rayman Origins really sets it self apart from the usual grays and browns that plague most games.  I’m almost inclined to put Rayman Origins on this list for the visuals alone but the game is so much more than that.

The game is also one of the best platformers I’ve played in a long time, with great level design which is only complimented by the game’s gorgeous visuals.  Rayman Origins can stand a real test to your old school gaming skills especially in the later half of the game, which will also increase how often you yell at the game and tell it to “fuck off.”

So for that feeling of old school nostalgia and giving me something pretty to look at Rayman Origins earns its place on this list.

The original Dead Space was my Game of the Year for 2008, so needless to say I had a lot of expectations going into Dead Space 2.  For the most part Dead Space 2 delivered, it provided a bigger more action pact experience, but it still managed to maintain the great claustrophobic survival horror feeling of the first game.

The reason for Dead Space being on this list is not just cause it’s a great game but because it’s the only game this year that provided me with that genuine feeling of terror.

Cautiously walking down a small dark corridor, while every little sound makes my hairs stand on end.  And just when I think it’s safe BAM!!! a necromorph jumps out from inside a vent!  As the necromorph charges at me as I franticly stumble the controls trying to pull out my plasma cutter, as the necromproph gets closer.  In my panicked state I mange to get off a few good shots cutting off its limbs making the necromorph nothing more than a pile of rotting meat on the floor.  As I slowly walk away I breath a sigh of relief knowing that I’m safe… for now.

While Dead Space 2 isn’t the scariest game of all time it was the only game this year that provided me with that frantic OMG I’M GONNA DIE feeling as I played. So for that reason Dead Space 2 earns its place on the list.

It’s been a long time since I’ve updated this blog, but it’s a new year filled with new hopes, new dreams and renewed ambitions. Part of that ambition lies in reviving this blog after a long long break.

During my break I’ve tried starting a few new blogs, but I didn’t have the same drive and ambition to write things as when I was doing Mindless Babble.  It was not for a lack of ideas because I had a lot I wanted to write about, but my heart just wasn’t in it.

So I decided to go back to the blog that made me the happiest in hopes that this revival will motivate me into writing more and more things.   I already got a couple of ideas brewing the first being a my personal top 10 games of 2011.  I haven’t decided if I’m going to do the whole list in one big go, or split the list up into a couple of segments.  But you can expect the list in some form to appear in the next couple of days.

Also in the spirit of cross promotion I started a Mindless Babble tumblr during my time off from the blog that I still update and a fairly regular basis, so give it a look.