Underrated games of 2011

What games of 2011 do you think need more attention? Maybe not GOTY material but just something that you feel got overlooked or shit on by bad reviews. This could also serve as a recommendation thread for games you may have overlooked last year. Here's a few of mine:

Alice: The Madness Returns - Never played the orginal but this dark creepy Wonderland concept always intrigued me. Amazing environment pieces that just draw you in. Plus Alice has some of the best hair physics in a game ever. I would often just sit around for a few mintues looking at the background.

Captain America: Super Soldier - Every once and a while I'm surprised by a movie tie-in game and last year it was Cap. The developers obviuosly took a cue from Arkham Asylum. My favorite part: Combat never gets boring. And for those achievement hunters it's a fairly easy 1000/1000. Compared to the massive P.O.S. that Thor was Cap was refreshing.

Shadows of the Damned - Three words best descride this game "bat shit crazy." Countless WTF moments in Shadows. Think Resident Evil 4 meets No More Heroes. Besides, what other game has you walking across a nekkid lady's bare ass?

Catherine - Wasn't sure whether to put this on the list or not. I wouldn't recomend Cathrine to just anyone but it sure was a unique experience, good enough for a playthrough. But do you know the difference between Whiskey and Sctoch? Play Cathrine to find out, it's educational.

Dragon Age II. Aside from the environment recycling, which admittedly was terrible, I kind of don't get what people didn't like about it. The character interaction and storytelling were vintage BioWare and the gameplay was honestly not all that different from Origins.

Dead Space 2. Not that this didn't get great reviews, but I just think this franchise should be even bigger than it is. It's got gorgeous graphics, airtight gameplay, great story, everything. I think Dead Space should be up there with Halo, Gears, and Uncharted.

La noire just because its something different. I know it got great reviews but it didn't take off like RDR or GTA but La noire is like a work of art. Its so beautiful, faces are amazing and its just a great game with a good story.

I think Killzone 3 was fantastic and Resistance 3 is def. a great game

Mafia 2 is my last underrated game. If u love mafia type games its awesome. It catches that 1940-1950s theme perfect. plus u can get it for like $12

and an honorable mention is Driver: SF. I hate racing/driving games but this game is fun even if its storyline is a bit wierd.

Yakuza 4.

[quote name='snakemaster2389']

Mafia 2 is my last underrated game. If u love mafia type games its awesome. It catches that 1940-1950s theme perfect. plus u can get it for like $12 [/QUOTE]
That came out in 2010.

Otherwise didn't beat or start too many 2011 titles, but I'll definitely say Shadows of the Damned is easily there for underrated. Sold like crap and advertising was non existent for that game, but I enjoy Resident Evil 4 type gameplay and the dialogue and the situations...AMAZING. Plus best Evil Dead game that doesn't have Evil Dead in the title.

Bulletstorm. Incredibly fun, though got a bit too serious in the end, but still great fun gameplay wise with the skillshots and weapons. The simple joys of slide kicking people into things will never tiresome for me, nor wrapping a grenade belt around someone's head and hearing them scream in horror before it goes off.

Ilomilo. Charming in every sense of the word. Though it maybe cute it did have some great puzzles and gave me a few "Oh snap!" moments when figuring out what to do.

Dance Central 2. It may have sold well, yes, but it can't compare to the juggernaut of Just Dance franchise or will it ever get an audience of people who just want to bitch about the Kinect so I always feel it's one of those Harmonix titles that doesn't get the love they need. Great party game and it fixed many of my complaints about the interface with the first game (though full view change of moves in break it down would be nice). Plus like Rock Band it just opened up my mind to more music and not just hate on random groups of musicians and artists.

[quote name='Ryuukishi']Dragon Age II. Aside from the environment recycling, which admittedly was terrible, I kind of don't get what people didn't like about it. The character interaction and storytelling were vintage BioWare and the gameplay was honestly not all that different from Origins.

Dead Space 2. Not that this didn't get great reviews, but I just think this franchise should be even bigger than it is. It's got gorgeous graphics, airtight gameplay, great story, everything. I think Dead Space should be up there with Halo, Gears, and Uncharted.[/QUOTE]

Agreed on both. And as for Dead Space, I personally like the series even more than Halo, Gears, and Uncharted.

As for me, I'd have to add these to the thread:

Ghost Trick - Everyone who has played it seems to like it, but it didn't get very much attention, even though it was from the creator of the Ace Attorney series.

Ghost Recon Shadow Wars - The 3DS launch lineup was pretty terrible, but this is the one game from that lineup that I feel is actually worth playing. Most people who bought it only bought it because there wasn't much else to buy, but I think it's worthy of a purchase even as the 3DS library grows.

Kirby's Return to Dreamland - I don't even know anyone else that played the game, but I really enjoyed it a lot. The Wii has been a great system for platformers the past few years.

Aliens Infestation - With the 3DS out now, people probably aren't looking at the DS releases as much, but this game was easily one of my favorite sidescrollers in years. Hopefully more people will give it a try.

my mistake on Mafia 2. I guess Dead Island is a great game if its a little repetitve, and Rayman: origins was fun too. as for Shadows of the Damned i beat it twice once on xbox and once on ps3 and i didnt really like it that much. i love the no more heroes and resident evil 4 gameplay but shadows was just ok but i didn't really care for it much. EA destroyed that game.

Resistance 3, I just don't get why it won't sell good.

Dead Space 2 is really good from what I've played so far, not sure why so many were disappointed when it improved on every aspect over the original. Neither were very scary after the first 30 minutes -- just great shooters.

And The Witcher 2, but I guess no one talks of that since PC gamers don't exist on CAG :lol:

I just don't get why it won't sell good.

Deus Ex: Human Revolution- My GOTY and I love the fact that instead of just making this game running down straight hallways like shooters are turning into, Deus Ex offers choice. There are multiple ways to attack a situation and multiple paths to take in the areas, and I love that I can be stealthy or go gun crazy or however I want to play.

Dungeon Defenders- It's a mixture between a tower defense game and an Action RPG. Fun as hell if you got friends.

Shadows of the Damned- While the gameplay might of not been really innovative, the story and whole atmosphere is just incredible and ed up.

The Witcher 2- The Retail box of The Witcher 2 (PC version) has as much stuff included as most special editions of games in today's world and it only cost $50. Plus they stripped all DRM from the game.

[quote name='TooPoor']Resistance 3, I just don't get why it won't sell good.[/QUOTE]

[quote name='panzerfaust']And The Witcher 2, but I guess no one talks of that since PC gamers don't exist on CAG :lol:[/QUOTE]

Sometimes I feel like one of five people who play PC games regularly on CAG.

If you enjoy digital board games, Fortune Street was absolutely fantastic. It takes all the things that make monopoly kind of irritating and improves on them. The strategy to the game is fantastic, and there is just the tiniest bit of luck thrown in that you always feel like you have a chance.

What is this? A school for ants?

Resistance 3

WWE All-Stars

[quote name='Draekon']Sometimes I feel like one of five people who play PC games regularly on CAG.[/QUOTE]

You should hang around the Steam thread. There are plenty of us in there.

I didn't play any new games in 2011, so nothing really to contribute.

[quote name='bardockkun']Bulletstorm. Incredibly fun, though got a bit too serious in the end, but still great fun gameplay wise with the skillshots and weapons. The simple joys of slide kicking people into things will never tiresome for me, nor wrapping a grenade belt around someone's head and hearing them scream in horror before it goes off.[/QUOTE]

Second this. I'd go so far as to say it's on of the best shooters of this generation. It saddens me that so many people wrote it off for being a "dude-bro" game like Gears.

Even though Epic said it didn't make a lot of money, I'm still hoping we'll get a sequel. After all, Two Worlds got a sequel. And so did that Sniper: Ghost Warrior game (Although the sequel to that does look pretty great).

Radiant Historia. The best RPG in 2011 (yes, including Skyrim), I loved pretty much everything about this game... outside of fact that it was kinda short.

[quote name='TooPoor']Resistance 3, I just don't get why it won't sell good.[/QUOTE]

This would probably be my second choice... I would guess the game went unnoticed because the FPS market is so saturated, especially since the PS3 has a marquee FPS in Killzone. I thought this game had a style/atmosphere that other FPSes lacked...

[quote name='bilbobagins3']If you enjoy digital board games, Fortune Street was absolutely fantastic. It takes all the things that make monopoly kind of irritating and improves on them. The strategy to the game is fantastic, and there is just the tiniest bit of luck thrown in that you always feel like you have a chance.[/QUOTE]

Agreed, fortune street is excellent, especially if you can get in a room with 3 other people to play. Hell, even playing on the Internet isn't bad, because few people Rage quit, believe it or not.

I agree on Dead Space 2, Dead Island.... and not mentioned: LOTR: War In The North. one of my favorite games of 2011. Not a good single player game I'm sure, but play couch co-op with someone, or online co-op with friends, and it'll click. It had good voice acting, decent graphics, and addicting gameplay. Along with an amazing soundtrack. Easily one of the most underrated games of 2011 IMO.

Rayman Origins. The reviews were really good, but this game is literally the greatest thing since sliced bread in my opinion. So addictive, so much fun. First game I have literally EVER wanted to keep playing to get everything.

Dungeon Siege III.