With 2012 off to a good start, it’s time for us to take a look back at 2011 with our annual The Year in Screenshots feature that highlights our favorite games of the year. Rather than argue about awarding a single game as our game of the year, we here at SmashPad prefer to just tell you our 25 most favorite games of the year and give each game equal billing.

If you want a glimpse of the numbers behind the list, the game with the most nominations from our staff was Portal 2 with four votes and eight others received two votes each to cover the common games amongst our lists. The rest that received multiple nominations includes Bastion, Batman: Arkham City, Catherine, Forza Motorsport 4, King of Fighters XIII, Sonic Generations, Super Mario Land 3D, and Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception. The list below is ordered by release date to show you how spread out their releases were in 2011 with 13 of the 25 titles  on this list coming out between January and July.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Battlefield series has become one of EA’s most popular franchises, providing some of the most explosive and addictive multiplayer experiences in any shooter on the market today, rivaling even that of Call of Duty.  Battlefield 3 is no exception; marking the best entry in the series to date, DICE has gone all out to deliver a polished, one-of-a-kind multiplayer experience that you will have a hard time putting down. Read the rest of this entry »

Just when you think a game can’t possibly be topped, Rocksteady Studios rockets through the roof and takes off into the stars with Batman: Arkham City. The sequel to the award-winning title, Batman: Arkham Asylum, thrusts the player back into the cowl of the Dark Knight as the story continues beyond the massive destruction of the asylum. So for those who thought they actually were Batman, let’s get you out of those silly pajamas and into some real tights.

Read the rest of this entry »

Developer Naughty Dog’s Uncharted series has become Sony’s flagship franchise for its PlayStation brand of gaming entertainment systems. ”Uncharted 2: Among Thieves” received a monumental amount of success following its release in 2009, becoming Metacritic’s most critically acclaimed game of the year.  Anticipation quickly grew for the inevitable sequel.  These expectations were not in vain — Uncharted 3 is just as good, if not better, than its predecessor. Read the rest of this entry »

Microsoft launched their Kinect peripheral last year in hopes of broadening their user base and taking a chunk out of the Wii in sales. Though it’s debatable that the Kinect even had an impact with the year’s dip in Wii sales, what’s undeniable is the fact that the Kinect hasn’t really taken off since its release.

Dance Central has been the best game that made use of the accessory.  Harmonix has come out with the inevitable sequel, and it has replaced its predecessor as the best game available on the Kinect. Read the rest of this entry »

Lately, there has been a great deal of rebooting, both in movies and games, and our favorite pink mascot is in no way exempt. Nintendo gave the hero a shiny new gloss and a few friends in his newest adventure on the Wii.

Read the rest of this entry »

Over the course of video game history, we’ve seen Kirby’s round, pink figure float into our hearts. We remember fondly when he inhaled his first enemy and magically, donning a similar hat, adopt the same capabilities. The most recent title for the Nintendo DS reveals a side of Kirby we never knew existed.

Read the rest of this entry »

If looking at screenshots of the game immediately make you think of the first few minutes of the superhero blockbuster hit, The Dark Knight, you’re not alone.  Is it as good as The Dark Knight?  Definitely not, but PayDay: The Heist is a fun game to play that should surprise a lot of shooter fans. Read the rest of this entry »

2D platformers are nothing new, especially when they’re downloadable games available on services such as the PlayStation Network and the Xbox Live Marketplace.  Every once in a while, though, there are sidescrollers that are pleasing, and the PSN has a fresh one in Sideway: New York.

Read the rest of this entry »