Feature

The Best of 1UP 2011: Reviews

Check out some of our best reviews from the year gone by.

By: 1UP Staff December 30, 2011

1UP's long-standing goal to provide the most in-depth and thoughtful reviews on the web was thoroughly tested in 2011 by a number of big releases. This year, gamers were treated to the mature subject matter of Catherine, the seemingly never ending boundaries of Skyrim's open-ended quest system, and a barrage of HD remakes that caused us to question our rose-tinted feelings of nostalgia. Regardless of the challenge, 1UP's reviews held true to that credo, bringing you a steady stream of timely, interesting critiques. Check out our 10 best below.

Jurassic Park Offers the Interactivity of a DVD Menu Screen
This demonstrates that perhaps the biggest fans can be the harshest critics. While there are certainly incidents of a fanboy's positive bias making everything seem rosy no matter what, sometimes your love of something means that what it does wrong just hurts even more. So even though Bob Mackey is an avowed fan of developer Telltale Games, the misstep they had with Jurassic Park was big enough that even he had to warn others to pass on it.
Mario Kart 7 Comfortably Settles For Silver
Given Mario Kart's multiplayer focus, we got all cute with our review format and had five staff members tackle the game. Not only did it make for one of our longest reviews of the year, but it earned hugely varied comments from readers.

Genre-Defining Tactics Ogre Returns to Define the Art of Remakes, Too
One of the best RPGs of 2011 hit the PSP of all platforms? Who knew? Apparently, Jeremy Parish did; his review of Tactics Ogre refers to the game as "the definitive edition of an RPG masterpiece."
Deus Ex: Human Revolution is The Best Stealth Action Game Since Metal Gear Solid
With Deus Ex being a game about choice, we figured we'd give readers a choice as well, offering up three different viewpoints from 1UP editors Jeremy Parish, Thierry Nguyen, and Ryan Winterhalter. The biggest difference here didn't come from disagreeing on the game quality, though, but rather approaching the game from different perspectives -- while Thierry played balls-out, Jeremy played stealthily.

The Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword Soars, But Struggles With Its Past
After five years without a proper console Zelda game, fans couldn't possibly rein in their anticipation over Skyward Sword. So after a half-decade of waiting and mystery, what did Nintendo give us? A flawed (though still great) game that doesn't quite meet the series' quality standard. 1UP's Jose Otero examines why this latest Zelda isn't quite up to snuff in his thoughtful review.
Catherine Reminds Us That Mature Content Can Sometimes Be Sincerely Mature
The build-up leading into Catherine signaled that it was clearly a game with adults in mind. In his review, 1UP's Jeremy Parish carefully examines Atlus's puzzle game and celebrates its mature angle.

Aliens Infestation isn't Perfect, but It's an Essential DS Game Regardless
1UP's Jeremy Parish examines all the reasons why Aliens Infestation is the best video game interpretation of the Alien source material yet and an essential purchase for the aging Nintendo DS.
Skyrim Spans 16 Square Miles of RPG Excellence
Pehaps the most talked-about game of 2011, Skyrim surprised fans and haters alike with it's revamped quest and character class systems. In their tag-team review, 1UP's Jeremy Parish and Theirry Nguyen discuss the open-ended structure of the latest Elder Scrolls game and how it contributes to one of the most engrossing video game experiences of the year. After spending a combined total of 125 hours with Betheda's latest game, the two had plenty to say.

Batman: Arkham City Reaffirms Itself as The Best Superhero Game
2011 gave us what may be the greatest superhero game of all time in Batman: Arkham City. The sentiments expressed in our review were echoed by pretty much every other gamer fortunate enough to experience Rocksteady's masterpiece. A great story, amazing combat, and copious amounts of fan-service combined to give us the game we deserve. As 1UP's Thierry Nguyen points out in his slug, it does what a great sequel should by trumping its predecessor in every way imaginable.
Shogun 2: Total War Makes Amends for Its Predecessor's War Crimes
The Total War series fell on tough times a few years ago, and reviewer Tom Chick went into this game bracing himself for another disappointment. Instead, Creative Assembly surprised him and Chick makes the case in this review for what just might be the best RTS game this year.