Summertime means humidity, cookouts, swimming pools, baseball, and a slowdown in game releases as we gear up for the holiday rush where companies glut the marketplace with so many games that some are sure to be missed.

It’s also time for our six month look at the year that…still is…but it’s also a chance to look back to see how the year is shaping up and to give you a chance to check out some games that you may have missed. We have quite the eclectic staff here at GameShark so we hope to uncover some gems along with the obvious blockbusters. Here’s our look at the Best Games (so far) of 2011.

William Abner, Editor in Chief:

Shogun 2: Total War

The game that got the Total War series its groove back, Shogun 2 is the best game of this long, illustrious series, surpassing my personal favorite: Medieval 2. I would love to see The Creative Assembly branch out into a new era, or the company could even go back and redo other games in the series and I’d be excited about it. From a far superior AI compared toi its older games and a multiplayer suite that finally makes sense, this remains a must play and proof that strategy games are, in fact, still relevant.

FEAR 3

What can I say? I didn’t expect this either, you know. I don’t know jack about the FEAR universe other that it involves that little girl from The Ring, I think. All I know for certain is that FEAR 3 has some of the best shooter gunplay in recent memory. It’s really not all that “scary” but if you want a great corridor shooter with neat multiplayer FEAR 3 is an awesome choice.

Dead Space 2

I was one of the few who really didn’t care for the original Dead Space. I thought it poorly designed and filled with “jump” scares and shoddy gameplay. Enter Dead Space 2, which is a brilliant horror-shooter that not only gets the whole notion of what it means to be a horror game but it’s filled with great gameplay and less frustration.

Littlebigplanet 2

For this game to make my list you know it’s special. I’m not a big platform gamer but LBP2 is such a special piece of software that it deserves every award it receives at the end of the year. This is such a superlative game and one that I have spent countless hours playing with my daughter. That alone helps earn it big points.

The Witcher 2

No, wait, damn…I haven’t played this yet! I am in serious need of a PC upgrade. Stat.

The Sims: Medieval

Is this technically a sequel? I know everything else on my list has a number next to it so why break with tradition? Much like some of the other original games on my list, I was never a huge Sims fan. This game, however, is not like the virtual dollhouse sim, it’s more like an rpg inside a neat medieval world with Sims dressed like people from The Tudors. It’s a Sims game for people like me who don’t care about watching my avatar drive to work but loves watching my avatar throw people in a pit with a beast.