1)
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
This is almost exactly what I wanted in a Zelda game. Tons of puzzles of everywhere. More interactive combat. Beautiful art style. A good story with good characters. The list goes on and on. I'm going to do my
playthrough soon, which I'm sure will bring an better challenge. Even though I found two major flaws (Fi not shutting her mouth and some padding in the game's length), but neither of them were enough to dethrone it as my GOTY for 2011.
2)
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
I had been in a gaming slump before this came out. I had only played Oblivion, so Skyrim was nowhere on my radar. I watched my friend play it some after he picked it up from a midnight release. It was love at first sight. I found myself downloading Skyrim from Steam at 4 o'clock in the morning. I hadn't realized it, but it was exactly the kind of game I was needing to play. I never felt like I was just chugging along a predetermined path. I could do whatever the hell I wanted. The world of Skyrim is so gorgeous. I love to find views that make me want to stare at them. I've now played more than 50 hours and I still want to play more. If it weren't for some horrible bugs, I might have put this above Skyward Sword.
3)
Batman: Arkham City
Arkham Asylum was my GOTY 2009. Arkham City is better than Arkham Asylum. AA was great, but I prefer the large open environment in AC. Everything that was good about AA was improved in AC. Combat brought more variety in both Batman's moves and enemy types. Boss battles were actually fun, with
being pretty ingenious. There were more Riddler challenges to complete (which I've yet to finish). Catwoman was a great character and felt good to play as. I hope Rocksteady goes on to become an even greater developer in the future. I bet they could do wonders if they created a new IP.
4)
Portal 2
The funniest game of the year. The additions of Stephen Merchant (Wheatley) and J.K. Simmons (Cave Johnson) to the voice cast were perfect. Nolan North's performance as the defective turrets and personality cores were also wonderful. As for the game itself, it was finally a full length Portal. A lot of the puzzles were more linear than from Portal 1, but the whole game felt more like a journey. Co-op was also a great addition to the series that I hope to see expanded through more DLC.
5)
Deus Ex: Human Revolution
This game came out of left field for me. I hadn't played the prior Deus Ex games, so I only had a few ideas of what to expect. I was shocked to see how open it felt. Being able to tackle a mission in multiple ways was something I hadn't really experienced in many games. I decided to play action stealth, although I definitely was not going for the Pacifist achievement. I got halfway through the game and put it down for some other game, but I believe I played enough to award it this position.
6)
Super Mario 3D Land
Best portable Mario ever. Also best use of 3D on the 3DS. For the first time, it felt like the game was made for 3D. Being able to judge distances helped in landing jumps properly. I enjoyed that each world was not themed which led to each level feeling individual from all the others. The
added challenge to game, although it was still fairly easy to me. I beat the game 100% and still had close to 300 lives.
7)
Bastion
First off, this game deserves best soundtrack of the year and best downloadable title of the year. I can listen to it for what feel like days. The game's visuals were also a treat. The hand drawn worlds were beautiful. The narrator was a neat idea that I would love to see used in other games. There needs to be a sequel in the future.
8)
Saints Row: The Third
This is the most over-the-top game I've ever played. Any game that forces me to play a text adventure to advance in a quest deserves to make my GOTY list. While everything outside the campaign is fairly standard sandbox stuff, it's the main story that makes the game. Zimos the auto-tuned pimp had me in tears every time. Chainsawing luchadores at a wrestling match with "You're the Best" playing the background might be the single funniest moment in a game this year. (Portal 2 was just funnier overall.) I don't see how Volition can make the next game even more over-the-top, but I still want to see them try.
9)
Trine 2
This game makes the list for two main reason. 1) I'm a sucker for physics based puzzles. 2) Trine 2 has to be the prettiest game I've ever played. The use of color everywhere hits all the right notes for me.
10)
Mario Kart 7
I picked a good time to jump back into the Mario Kart series after being absent sent Double Dash. There's still some item spam, but everything else feels tight. The new tracks are great, and most of the retro tracks were great picks. It's Nintendo's first serious online title for the 3DS, and they seemed to have done a fantastic job with it. While the game itself is not a graphical showcase for the system, it looks super clean running at 60 fps in 3D.
x)
Bulletstorm
Bulletstorm was such a guilty pleasure for me. I had too much fun with it to not at least mention it. It felt a lot like an arcade shooter mixed with modern design choices. It's also a nice showcase for Unreal Engine 3.5. I doubt it will get a sequel, but I think it deserves one (especially with the cliffhanger ending.)
x)
Pushmo
Best game on the 3DS eShop by far. It's a fairly simple puzzle game that involves pushing and pulling blocks to reach a goal. Intelligent Designs executed the idea perfectly. I played the game for hours on the first day I bought it. Pushmo also lets users create their own levels, and then put the QR code for that level for others to download in the game. The |OT| for this game already has ton of mindblowing levels available to scan. For only $7, anyone with a 3DS should own this game.
x)
Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy
I wasn't expecting to add any late additions to my list, much less a PSP game. My brother just up and gave me his PSP for Christmas, and I immediately bought the number one game I wanted a PSP for. This game is freaking amazing. It's pure fan service, but I've made an exception in this case. I'm not going to get to play this enough in order to give it a fair judgement for the Top 10, but it definitely deserves at least an honorable mention.
2010)
999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors
I just bought the game yesterday, but it's already better than my other choice for 2010 (Heavy Rain). If I remember, I'll edit in some more thoughts once I beat the game at least once. (Multiple endings FTW.)
EDIT: I beat 999 a couple of days ago. It easily takes the cake for the 2010 award.