TSA’s Top 100 of 2011 Recap: 55 – 51

We’re almost halfway there! Halfway through our Top 100, that is… not halfway through this article. If that was true, you wouldn’t be reading this bit… or this bit, or maybe even this one. Well, let’s continue our countdown from 55, so we can start on Monday with number 50.

55 – Mortal Kombat

What happens when you reach the ninth instalment in a series? Well, if you’ve not entered the realm of roman numerals like Final Fantasy, you simply remove the number all together – or it could be that Mortal Kombat 9 effectively goes back to the roots with a retelling of the plot of the first three games. The game has been and gone, releasing back in April, but don’t let yourself forget how much of a gem it is.

Lee said it in the original Top 100 and I’m going to say it here: Mortal Kombat is iconic. Everyone knows the old days of arcade Kombat; it has a lot of fans and followers, so it makes sense to revive the series with this version. And thankfully, it seemed to live up to the fans’ expectations. The brutal fatalities, the gripping story mode and the gritty, sublime fighting – it’s all there. Our very own fighting game aficionado, Delriach, delivered us an incredible review, telling us just why we shouldn’t miss out and scoring it a frankly excellent 9/10. And the world seems to agree that it’s more than mere Mortal, with an 86 and 84 metacritic score for the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions respectively.

Why, then, is it so good? Well, for starters, there’s a lot of content – one reason for Del’s colossal review: lots of different modes, unlockables, secrets and a roster large enough to please all Kombat fans. “Mortal Kombat brings new life to an old franchise that has been around for nearly two decades.”, he concludes. It truly has, Mortal Kombat is reborn as a visceral, M-rated fighting game that strays away from the norm with the engaging story, engrossing gameplay and much more.

Finish him! No wait, there’s more – whilst Mortal Kombat is close to perfection, there are some things that could have been improved according to our fighting man, Delriach, once again. Mentioning control changing in-game, a record/playback option in practise mode, more options in King of the Hill mode, increased server stability and more communication in the form of patch notes – though even the best of games need improvements. I think it’s easy to say that Mortal Kombat rebooted the series with a bang, and a crack (of a spine)!

54 – Marvel Vs. Capcom 3

Two fighting games this close together in the list? That’s right, though instead of being a straight-up fighting game, it’s a crossover. Actually the fifth instalment in the Marvel Vs. Capcom series and the eighth in the larger Vs. series (not quite at the ninth yet, unlike Mortal Kombat), MvC3 is the first game to feature three dimensional graphics on a 2D plane.

Released way back in February, the game was met with critical acclaim; Delriach’s review being so comprehensive that if you took the number of words and divided it by ten, it would be longer than all three Lord of the Rings books combined. Scoring an impressive 9/10, it’s just as good as Mortal Kombat, and deserves all the acclaim it gets: Del stating that it’s a game you “shouldn’t miss out on”, with near infinite possibilities and a lot more to offer, it hands-down beats MvC2 in every way. Metacritic ratings currently sit an equally impressive 85 for the Xbox 360 version and 84 for the PS3 version.

Sublime gameplay, glorious graphics, ultimate fan-service and few problems – what more could you want? It even has something called the X-factor, and we all know that’s popular. Clearly a game that fighting fans shouldn’t miss, then. Our anticipation seems to have been met well; 2011 is the year that this genre fought back.

53 – Driver: San Fransisco

Ah, Driver. There seems to be a certain theme in this part of the recap with re-imaginings of old series. It’s not just fighting games, after all: the latest instalment in the Driver series takes the old concept of Driver, puts it in a car and drives it as fast as it can until it crashes and falls into a coma. Until Tanner, rather, the main character of the original Driver trilogy falls into a coma and into a dream induced altered world, in which he can warp into any other car with the power of ‘Shift’ (no, not Need for Speed).

We’ve played it – well, Lee has – and he was quite impressed: the Shift, whilst being undeniably wacky, is a good addition and works brilliantly in the Tag mode; Shift straight into another car to ram your opponent unexpectedly from elsewhere. A Tag mode sounds good to me, and the frantic swapping of cars sounds like an excellent addition to a sublime multiplayer mode. As for the singleplayer? We’ll have to wait and see how that pans out, though I imagine it could be very fun in chase scenes, if a little cheap.

From what we have seen though, it looks like pure driving fun. And that’s what we want, right? Take a look at the trailer below if you want to see for yourself.

52 – Ratchet and Clank: All 4 One

I’m really not sure about All 4 One; unlike some people, I’m just not convinced that this is the way for Ratchet & Clank to go, so forgive my cynicism. It’s true that we can’t possibly know just how it will fare until it’s released on the 16th of October, and what we’ve seen and heard so far looks like a lot of fun.

But of course, we’re not here to see my opinion – we’re here to recap the game since we covered it last November. We stated back then that the big, new feature and a new direction for the series was the focus on four-player co-op, and that remains. Qwark and Nefarious join the franchise’s main characters in order to escape the Creature Collector, where they have been trapped.

A host of weapons join Ratchet and friends in All 4 One, and they do certainly look awesome. That’s to be expected from Insomniac, of course. Actually, I have no idea why I’m not excited for this game: it’s Ratchet & Clank (Plus Nefarious & Qwark) and Insomniac haven’t disappointed with the series so far. This game could be excellent – actually – sitting with three friends and playing this sounds like an absolute blast. If it keeps all of the collectibles, weapons (it’s got that), exploration and the awesome yet quirky storyline that we’ve come to know, without the co-op factor detracting from it, it could be an incredible new direction for this series.

It looks like hardcore Ratchet fans will love this, as Alex said in his hands on. The game is a “joyous affair” and the co-op elements actually add to the game rather than taking away from it as “equality is key”. All 4 One, then, is for all Ratchet fans, rather than just one sub-group that loves co-op action. And it’s one game we all should look out for. Yes – even cynical me.

51 – Ni No Kuni

I’ve enlisted the help of News Editor and Japanese fan, Dan to recap you on Ni No Kuni; the sublime game from acclaimed developer, Level-5:

As Lee mentioned at the time, those who have Ni No Kuni on their radar are literally beside themselves with anticipation. Due out on both PS3 and Nintendo DS (although the gameplay style will differ), this RPG stars Oliver, a young boy whose mother has just passed away.

Grieving, Oliver clings to ‘Shizuku’, which is a doll his mother gave him. Shizuku actually turns out to be a fairy from another world, and he gives Oliver a magical book which allows the boy to travel to this parallel universe inhabited by alternate versions of people Oliver knows. It’s here where he’s told he may be able to revive his mother. Prepare to be emotionally beaten about the head.

Coupled to this intriguing storyline are visuals by the legendary Studio Ghibli, and as one might expect they look absolutely outstanding, blending almost seamlessly between cutscenes and in-game engine.

Ni No Kuni may not have the huge following of titles such as Battlefield 3, but listen carefully and you’ll hear a very eager group of fans clamouring for a western release.

Now we’re halfway there, thanks to the help of Dan pushing us down to number 50. Join us on Monday for another week of recaps. We look forward to seeing you there!