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From Kanto to Hyrule, Mobius to Santa Destroy, Planet Reach to Little Big Planet, Cinema Student, Screenwriter, and all around gamer, Eric Parra is a bad enough dude to bring you your weekly fix on relative gaming. Whether it’s reviews, previews, or FAQ’s, matters that are professional or just personal, make sure you check Neon Tommy every week for all sorts of interesting tidbits in the world of video games. And remember, it’s dangerous to go alone.

There is a world full of vibrant colors and monotone grays, characters of every culture and background dealing with daily doses of love and happiness, distraught and confusion.  It is a world of intergalactic romance, adventures in the Arabian desert, beast taming, street fights, jail breaks, and holocausts; it is a world of entertainment, of communication, of interaction.

You can't deny my love (squidoo)

Of course, I’m talking about the world of video games.

TV shows, books and movies can take you on a journey through a different pair of eyes, but games do so much more than that. A good game gives you complete control, making you become the character on the screen.  When the character succeeds, you succeed. When you fail, the character fails. When the character grows a strong sense of attachment to an inanimate cube with a heart drawn on it, you grow an unbreakable bond of love and compassion for the greatest companion you’ve ever known which only makes it more painful that you have to eventually throw your single friend into a raging inferno in order to proceed. 

Etcetera.

Anyways, I really like video games. I think they’re kind of cool. Last year, something around 50 critically acclaimed and commercially successful games were released, only furthering my point that gaming is becoming a more recognizable force. There was also the Playstation Network hacking that cost Sony a pretty penny, but it was soon forgotten in late November when a flurry of games were released in rapid succession. Perhaps you’ve heard of Skyrim? Call of Duty? The Legend of Zelda? Either way, 2011 was a great year for players and publishers alike, despite all of the setbacks. 

Isn't it adorable how scared he looks when you drop him in a lion's cage? (creative commons)

The year started out with a great title that some people may have forgotten about already, the sequel to Little Big Planet, a Playstation exclusive. Take one Sackboy, throw out some Ikea construction tools, mix in a dash of your own creativity, and viola! You’ve got hours of self-produced fun time. This game didn’t just put you in a different world, it helped you create your own world. Feel like a paintball war? Dress up you little sack-person to look like you or anyone else and give them a paint-loaded gun. Feel like a swim? Make a pool and toss in that same little guy along with a handful sack-eating sharks for a good time. Tetris? Just drop a bunch of exploding blocks on your Sackboy and watch him jump for his life. But as someone who’s always pressed for time, such a benevolent and endless world grew tiresome. 

Then Marvel vs Capcom 3 and LA Noir came out. Unfortunately I spent more time on the classic-turned-simple fighting game “10 years in the making” and missed out on a very cinematic experience of living through a cop-thriller based mystery similar to all of the classic noir styled films, but I did get to shoot laser beams at Spiderman. I’ve heard plenty of good things of LA Noir: that the characters look amazingly realistic, the story and cinematics are stunning and the game-play feels like you’re controlling a movie, but also that the game hardly feels like an actual game. I love how close gaming is getting to movie-like realism, but….that’s why we have movies. Cinematics are awesome, and I love a good story, but I also tend to play games so I don’t have to watch them. That being said, I still haven’t played LA Noir, so maybe it plays really well or something. I’ll get back to you on that.

Now you too can enjoy the wonders of interrogation! (Creative Commons)

When November hit, it became attack of the 3’s. Battlefield 3, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Serious Sam 3, Uncharted 3, Postal 3, Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3, Saints Row the 3(rd), and of course, Just Dance 3.

Actually, I haven’t played any of these games for an extended period of time, so I’m just going to say that the best game of the list was Sonic Generations.

Seriously, it’s awesome. Go play it. 

"Hey, that's not 50 games" I imagine you saying in a whiny, agonizing voice. "And Sonic games suck!" Well, I’m sure you’re a busy person and you’ve got other things to do then read my video-game ramblings, so I won't bore you with a complete list of games that I actually haven't even played yet.

And in regards to Sonic games sucking....shut up. Go play Sonic Generations. 

Hopefully I provided you with some form of lasting entertainment and insight, and so you'll continue to hear from me. If that were the case, then next time I'll give you a look at what party games are like in the dorms and maybe even an inspection on the legal custody battle between NC-Soft and Tera Online, just to mix things up.

Feel free to share your own preferences in 2011, what was too cool for school and what was just a waste of memory space!  

Reach columnist Eric Parra here or follow him on Twitter.

Check back next Saturday for Eric's next column.