TSA’s Top 100 of 2011 Recap: 50 – 46

Wooooaaaah, we’re halfway there. Livin’ on a recap of the Top 100 games that we detailed last December. So take my hand, and we’ll make it I swear… through the next 50 and down to our elusive number one (bet you can’t guess what it is – oh).

50 – Far Cry 3

Did I ever tell you what the definition of insanity is? Well, we certainly didn’t expect that to come out of E3. What, you ask? Well, the section of Far Cry 3 that we saw. Featuring a mysterious island, filled with apparent lunatics, we were thrust into the unknown – by the end you could tell it was Far Cry, but this was different – this looked great.

Insanity is doing the exact same, f***ing thing over and over again, expecting change. That is crazy. We’re told this by, presumably, the game’s antagonist. Given that he has a tendency to swear a lot, get very angry at small things and attempting to drown you in a pool of water after telling you that he’s already tried to kill you, it seems like that is the case.

Let’s hope then, that this approach means a more meaningful, immersive plot: you’re going to get killed at least once, after all. Let’s also hope for less exploring meaningless areas whilst taking tonnes of malaria shots and having weapons jam on you all the time; save that for a Hardcore mode akin to Fallout and I’ll be very happy. From what we’ve seen, the gameplay is promising: there’s some awesome melee kills, a cover system and lots of shooting. The game looks great, too – so you better get upgrading your PCs. Unfortunately, you’ll have to wait until next year to get your hands on the game; yet another one slipping past 2011.

Did I ever tell you the definition of insanity? Check out the aforementioned E3 gameplay section below.

49 – Virtua Tennis 4

Originally thought to be a PS3 exclusive due to the abilities of Move, Virtua Tennis 4 was confirmed to support Kinect and MotionPlus back in January, then released in Europe at the end of April. PlayStation fans didn’t completely lose out after losing exclusivity, however; the game was to be best on PS3 with exclusive characters and party games. Oh, and there were two exclusive demos, too.

Have you ever played Table Tennis but then decided to use your hands instead of a bat? Yes, that’s fun now and then, but have you tried it with real tennis? No? Thought not. Well, Kinect continuing with the you are the controller/bat/peripheral, did just this; as you’ll see with this trailer. It might have worked, however, there’s no way to tell at all, is there? It’s not like Dan put them head to head in a review, is it?

The results are in then, first of all, Virtua Tennis 4 is a good game – scoring an 8/10. Opinions will be split however, with Dan adding that it’s “only just” an eight; it’s a solid game with a fluid control scheme, no doubt. Ah, back to Kinect then; Virtua Tennis 4 simply isn’t better with Kinect. An awkward camera system, a clunky interface and a very imprecise system made it largely unplayable. Move, however, did the job: the accuracy is spot-on and it’s what Wii Tennis should have been, says Dan. A downside is that these motion controls are only available in certain modes – and not even in World Tour.

It seems as if when making the jump to Kinect, Virtua Tennis 4 missed out on more possibilities for Move – we expected it in every mode, defining the controls of a tennis game. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the case. It’s definitely worth a look at if you’re a tennis fan, though and it seems to be a lot of fun.

48 – Doom 4

It’s not a sequel and it’s not a reboot – so what is it? It’s Doom and we really don’t know much more than that. In fact, we should be getting news right now, as QuakeCon is in full swing. Unfortunately, that’s not going to happen; we’ve been told “there is really not any news” on the project and Rage seems to be all the rage right now.

The date being this side of the New Year looks very unlikely now, after id Software claimed that once Rage ships, the team will be moving over to “start making things happen on the Doom 4 project.” That’s right, start. We won’t see Doom 4 for a long time, it seems, and we really don’t know much more than we did last year.

Perhaps the shortest recap in the Top 100, then, due to lack of information; at least we know it’s not doomed.

47 – Lego Star Wars III

There’s no denying that Lego games are extremely fun, even if they do follow the same formula for the most part. They’re arguably better than the shameless movie tie-ins that we see with the release of a box office hit. Quirky, fun and downright hilarious takes on the properties they borrow from, with all the style of Lego that we know and love; how did the third Lego Star Wars game – which follows the events of the animated series, the Clone Wars – fare?

It earned a respectable 7/10 in our review; Dan praising the humour and high production values, although noting that the core combat levels haven’t changed very much from the other Lego Star Wars games and finding disappointment in the fixed camera, lack of hints and failure with the new modes. Perhaps this is the reason Traveller’s Tales always seem to stick to the same main formula. With lots of secrets and collectibles, the Lego games do offer a lot for the money.

Have the Lego games outstayed their welcome? There are some other franchises that could do with Legofying but we have seen a lot of them. Is Lego Star Wars being milked for all it has? Most definitely, but if it’s still fun then why should we worry?

46 – Bodycount

I remember Black. I was astounded by the graphics, shooting mechanics and fun gameplay for some reason. As I’ve grown into someone with a dislike for first person shooters, my memories of Black are still exciting and enchanting. A spiritual successor is the next best thing, then.

Not to be confused with Body Count, a rail shooter released in 1994 for the Sega Mega Drive, Bodycount (see, no space) is about Jackson – a soldier with a generic name but an interesting story. Jackson is recruited by The Network, who helps solve conflicts that even the UN can’t… and then lots of explosions happen.

That’s what I’ve gathered, anyway. Bodycount looks like a hell of a blast and according to Alex it is: he went hands on at E3, comparing it to an eighties action movie and a true saviour for the FPS genre for people – like me – who can’t stand most modern shooters. With powerful guns, colossal destruction and explosive action, Bodycount looks like a lot of fun. We’ll get to find out for ourselves when it releases on September 2nd.

Just take a look at this trailer if you’re having a hard time working out what we mean by “explosive action”: