The Workshop: 2011 in Review

By: Nathan Hardisty Friday, 27 January 2012 09:00

Workshop 2011 In Review

It turns out that January has five Fridays. I didn’t really plan for this to be written but it seems like a fun thing to do anyway. I started writing this column back in April of 2011 and it seems perfect to just review all of the Workshops I did in 2011. It’s for the best, really, before we start Workshopping Half-Life 2 (starts next week) since, if you’re not a follower of the column, it requires a bit of ‘getting to know me’. It’s how I work.

I’ll guide you through each of the columns and commentate on which I thought were the strongest, weakest (which I might revisit at some point) and generally introduce you to Workshops you might have missed.

Let’s begin!

April Grand Theft Auto IV

Grand Theft Auto IV was the game that started my video-game journalism hobby. It kick-started cynicism inside of me, got my heart of critique pumping. I think I made a good first-stamp on the world of The Gamer Studio, but I did grow over time. The problem is that this Workshop was to be considered my ‘last’ critique of Grand Theft Auto IV; a game I devoted a whole month to on my first, defunct blog. Truth is that I doubt I’ll ever stop thinking about why this game ticks me in a certain way. This might deserve a revisit very soon.

Grand Theft Auto IV part 1

Grand Theft Auto IV part 2

Grand Theft Auto IV part 3

Grand Theft Auto IV part 4

May: BioShock

BioShock is still one of my favourite video-games of all time, even with one of the weakest third acts ever created by mankind. It’s still a monumental masterpiece of gameplay, narrative and the intertwining links between the two. What really separates it, above anything else, is just the outright brilliant writing and execution delivered by Ken Levine and company.

June: Metro 2033

One of my favourite games of 2011 had to get touched upon. Newly launched-ish, I decided to venture into truly ‘modern’ territory with Metro 2033. A game in the vein of S.T.A.L.K.E.R but absolutely a unique breed of video-game. Last Light releases later this year and you can expect it to get the Workshop treatment too.

July: Far Cry 2

Far Cry 2 is probably one of the most interesting experiences I’ve ever had the pleasure of having in my entire life. The flexibility of the game lends itself to political commentary, perma-death play throughs, multiple levels of approach and the absolute greatest show-boat of immersion. Truly just an incredible experience from start to finish, but one of the strongest ‘marmite’ games I’ve ever come across.

August: LA Noire

Barely on store shelves, I decided to give Rockstar Games another swing of the bat. Destined to be the second act in my “Rockstar Games and Cinematic Gameplay” Workshop trilogy, this game is probably the best effort Rockstar have stamped their name on. A really interesting if outright blatantly formulaic game.

September: Arkham Asylum

I prefer City, but Asylum started it all. It was once the greatest superhero video-game of all time, now it’s the second greatest. An absolutely ‘must-play’ experience, even more necessary than City, and ‘the’ guide to pacing gameplay along story. Still one of the best games of the last few years. A great Workshop, if a little repetitive on some of the points now and then.

October: Heavy Rain

In September I put up a poll asking people what game they wanted me to Workshop in October. The response was a hefty majority asking for Heavy Rain, and I assumed that’s just ‘cause they liked it so much. Probably the most controversial of any of the Workshops, including endless rants about the nature of video-game storytelling and David Cage. Some of my finest work here, I believe.

November: Red Dead Redemption

The final act in the trilogy of “Rockstar Games and Cinematic Gameplay” Workshops. A game I just could not stop referencing, comparing and lightly touching on in the previous Workshops. It just had to be done. I think this is probably my favourite out of all of the Workshops I did in the full year, because I led up to it. I think I finally boiled down why I dislike the game so much, definitely worth your time reading.

Red Dead Redemption Part One
Red Dead Redemption Part Two
Red Dead Redemption Part Three
Red Dead Redemption Part Four

December: Arkham City

This was the best way to cap off the year; my most anticipated game of 2011. It was a close game of the year for me too, and one of the strongest sequels I’ve seen since Half-Life 2. A true evolution of the Rocksteady formula and a fantastic way to end the year with; quality. I’m still playing this and Skyrim so who knows if I might choose to revisit City in the future.

Arkham City Part One
Arkham City Part Two
Arkham City Part Three
Arkham City Part Four

And that’s 2011’s Workshops in full. From City to Redemption to Auto to Shock. A great, fun year for video-games but a good start to the Workshop column. We’ll be continuing our video-game dissections throughout 2012, already with Deus Ex Human Revolution out of the way. Expect Half-Life 2, Infamous, Grand Theft Auto IV Revisited, Mass Effect and another fan-voted month ALL on the cards this year!
See you next week when we start Half-Life 2!

The Workshop is a weekly column written by Nathan Hardisty. Focusing on game design, narrative and overarching philosophy, a new title is run through the Workshop each month breaking down its formula into a 4-part series.

Catch up with these past Workshop columns:

Deux Ex: Human Revolution part 1: