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GAF Games of the Year 2011 - Voting Thread - Voting's Over, Folks!

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A

ashk

Member
1. Dark Souls ; While very similar to its predecessor Demon's Souls, this one managed to draw me in even more for some reason. Excellent combat system, unique multiplayer and a vast and mysterious seamless world to explore.
2. The Witcher 2 ; The game that shows what is sorely lacking in most of today's RPGs - meaningful choices. A third of the game completely different because of my loyalties? Yes please.
3. Portal 2 ; Great characters, voice acting, dialogue, puzzle design, etc.... Great new mechanics introduced... Now that I think about it I can't really justify it coming 3rd on my list, I guess you could just put it down to personal preference.
4. Batman: Arkham City
5. Uncharted 3 ; While obviously technologically superior to its predecessor, with even more unbelievable set pieces and levels, it didn't feel as fresh as the second game and so Among Thieves remains my favourite in the series, which is why this game isn't higher on the list. It is still a very good game, and Naughty Dog have done their best to push the PS3 hardware to its limit.
6. Yakuza 4 ; The second best Yakuza game in my opinion, it managed to refresh the series by bringing in new playable characters. The majority of the game is still the same though, so 4th place is as high as it gets.

2010. Nier
 
ZeroGravity

ZeroGravity

Member
1. Pokemon Black/White
2. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
3. Super Mario 3D Land
4. Gears of War 3
5. Mario Kart 7
6. Sonic Generations
 
THE Caffeinated

THE Caffeinated

Member
1. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
2. Portal 2
3. Dark Souls
4. Saints Row The Third
5. Batman: Arkham City
6. Alice: Madness Returns
7. Bastion
8. Deus Ex: Human Revolution
9. L.A. Noire
10. Ghost Trick

Other than Skyrim a pretty lackluster year I thought compared to the past few.
 
C

Combichristoffersen

Combovers don't work when there is no hair
1. Alice: Madness Returns - The most amazing visuals this year, coupled with old school platforming and a great story.
2. Uncharted 3 - Not quite as good as its predecessor, but after the aim patch fixed its biggest flaw, it turned out to be an amazing game still.
3. Dead Space 2 - Like Uncharted 3 it's somewhat weaker than its predecessor, but still a great game.
4. inFamous: Festival of Blood - Vampire Cole with awesome new powers makes for an experience that surpasses inFamous 2.
5. inFamous 2 - Same as UC3 and DS2; great game, but the predecessor was sorta kinda better.
6. Sonic Generations - It's a great game, but sadly it's very short too, unless you play all the side missions.
7. Saints Row: The Third - Have barely started this, but shit's hilarious.
8. Gears of War 3 - Technically I didn't play this myself, but I watched my friend plow through it, and it was pretty darn fun.
9. Duke Nukem Forever - While definitely not a great game, I still had fun with it.


Buy Alice: Madness Returns, people.
 
D

Damon Bennet

Member
1. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword ; Simply the biggest game I played this year.
2. Dead or Alive Dimensions ; Always loved DoA
3. Sonic Generations ; Best Sonic in ages. Even better than Colours.
4. Ghost Trick ; So good.
5. Rayman Origins ; THIS is Nintendo Level jump n run. Maybe even better.
6. Super Mario 3d Land ; And this is actual Nintendo level jump n run.
7. Uncharted 3 ; Its worse than UC2 but is still fun to play.
 
J

jiggle

Member
1. Uncharted 3
2. Disgaea 4
3. Atelier Totori
4. Tactics Ogre: Let us Cling Together
5. Little Big Planet 2
6. From Dust

pretty cruddy year
 
R

Replicant

Member
1. Dead Space 2: It was THE game of the year for me. No contest. It has the perfect balance between storyline and game. It has tension like any horror game should and in addition, it now has event-like sequences which gave me some of the most memorable gaming moments in 2011.

2. Uncharted 3: Sucky aiming (I finished the game on Crushing before the patch was out) and lousy enemy waves almost killed my hype for this game. But thankfully the variety of the gameplay and the colorful and varied locales helped to dent it from falling even further on this list. I also appreciate not having to do as much shooting if I don't want to...at least not on normal mode.

3. Deus Ex: Human Revolution: Despite my fervent HATRED for FPS, for some reason I managed to overcame it just for this title alone. Of course it helps that half of the time I don't even need to do that stupid FPS gaming mode where you jump around like idiot but not knowing where or when your feet actually hits the ground. Not to mention the lack of having to do sucky FPS battles helps immensely. But I digress. This game is just pure style all over the place. I love how excellently designed Jensen was as far as character goes. The same can be said about the world that he lives in. Would kill for a TPS Deus Ex though.

4. Mass Effect 2: I don't give a shit about those haters. I LOVE this game. It's my first exposure to Mass Effect universe and I love almost all of the characters. I also usually don't like WRPG so the fact that I fell in love with this one was a surprise for myself. I really looking forward to continue my game with the 3 different Shepards that I created in ME2.

5. Batman Arkham City: The fighting got old so fast after the tens of clowns you get to fight for the N-th time. Also, those stupid Riddler's trophies are too annoying to bother with. But I guess there's certain charm to it.

I've played other games like Marvel vs. Crapcom 3 or Street Fighter 4 but I don't think they deserve to be mentioned in my GOTY list. They're so awful that I don't want to remember them at all.
 
R

Risk Breaker

Member
1. Dark Souls
2. Rayman Origins
3. Portal 2
4. Ghost Trick
5. Shadows of the Damned
6. Alice: Madness Returns
7. Corpse Party
8. Gears of War 3
9. Infamous 2
10. Uncharted 3

The distance between Dark Souls and the rest is very big. I'll explain my choices later.
 
B

boingball

Member
1. Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception
2. InFamous 2
3. L.A. Noire
4. Batman: Arkham City
5. Disgaea 4: A Promise Unforgotten
6. LittleBigPlanet 2
7. Driver: San Francisco
8. Trinity: Souls of Zill O’ll
9. Pixeljunk SideScroller
10. The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky

Honorable mentions: Back to the Future

2010. Read Dead Redemption
 
S

Stumpokapow

listen to the mad man
Huge thanks to anyone who has made the effort to explain their choices, even a little bit so far. If you're anything like me, the aggregate results to these things aren't that interesting, but hearing smart people explain themselves and talk about the unique things they saw in the games they played is great.

(As with last year, I'll be voting around January 4th or 5th to allow for any late game-changers. Two of my top ten last year I played between December 25th and January 5th)
 
C

capawe

Neo Member
1. Portal 2
2. Batman Arkham City
3. Skyrim
4. Bastion

Those are all of the games I have played this year, thought I had played more.
 
A

AngryMoth

Member
Gotta say I'm surprised to see deus ex popping up so much, I felt the reaction was fairly mixed at the time. Might be that I'll get myself a copy for christmas.
 
V

Vulcano's assistant

Banned
1. Portal 2
Best overall experience I had with a game in the year. The ending and dialogue won me over and the co-op was a lot of fun.

2. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
Most fun I had with gameplay. Best level designs this gen, and also pretty long game, but the bosses did not blow me away.

3. The Witcher 2: Assassin of Kings
Extremely beautiful and ambitious game. Regarding choices and depth it puts mass effect to shame, however the ending was underwhelming.

4. Deus Ex: Human Revolution
Great stealth game, and it deserves recognition for replicating the deus-ex-experience successfully.

5. Skyrim
Once modded it is a lot of fun, you can spend hours doing nothing but walk and appreciate the landscape.

6. Dark Souls
It has such a mysterious and tense atmosphere that keeps you in the edge of your seat. Dying a lot was never this fun since Diablo II.

7. Crysis 2
Awesome campaign, decent story, visually stunning. Underwhelming when compared to the original though.

8. RAGE

9. Dead Space 2

10. El Shaddai

LTTP Red Dead Redemption. Probably the best game I've played on 2011.
 
K

Kenshin001

Member
1) Uncharted 3
2) Battlefield 3
3) Dead Space 2
4) LittleBigPlanet 2

Er, that's it. Year of the sequels. Most games I played this year were disappointing or nothing special.
 
D

d1rtn4p

Member
1. Saints Row - The Third ; To me, Saints Row is still the best open world series to come out this gen. Even though this game felt like a big step backwards from SR2; it's still great enough to be my game of the year.
2. The Elder Scrolls V - Skyrim ; Never got into Elder Scrolls until around Morrowind. I lost interest a good ways into Morrowind but completed Oblivion and the expansions when it came out. This game, albeit a bit buggy. is hands and feet above Oblivion as far as quality content. It's ust a great, epic RPG with lots of good plot twists and writing; almost paralleling my current champion RPG Baldurs Gate 2.
3. Deus Ex: Human Revolution ; I never finished the original Deus Ex and regret it to this day; however I loved this game. This struck a great balance between action and stealth; and I don't care for stealthy games really in the least bit.
4. Rage ; Best first person shooter since Half-Life 2. The open world felt sort of half-baked, but it had tons of interesting locations to explore along with great enemies and gunplay.
5. Dead Island ; Loved playing co-op with my friend; still have yet to finish it. While it does feel rough around edges; the open world and Diablo-like RPG/loot system really stands out to me.
6. Batman - Arkham City ; A big step back from the story and pacing of Arkham Asylum, but still a great Batman romp for what it was worth. I thought the open city was a bit distracting, and it seems like it was loaded with baddies just cause it could be.
7. Littlebigplanet 2 ; Still my favorite platformer this gen.
8. Renegade Ops ; Great throwback to the old NES Jackal days; my favorite downloadable title this year.
9. L.A. Noire ; Not the most exciting game; but the investigating mechanics and open world kept me compelled long enough to platinum it.
10. Terreria ; Great fun playing local co-op with my friend. Love the direction this game is headed in.
 
A

Astery

Member
1. Xenoblade- I've played it last year and it's my GOTY last year, but it's still on this year's GOTY coz fu that's why. I kid, it's a 2011 title for the west right, so lol.
2. Skyrim- While I hate the number of glitches, bugs and some of the system mechanics are getting outdated, the scope and the story is soooo deep and crafted with care. Endless number of fairly interesting quests, there's almost none that bore me.
3. Final Fantasy Type 0- While it has its' flaws, it's definately a enjoyable Action RPG with every character having an distinct style of play. Comparing to FF13, it is a difference of heaven and hell.

2010. Red Dead Redemption: GOTY edition- does this count for 2011? Anyway I have decided to get this GOTY edition as there is no pc version after so long, and damn I love the feel of the world. It's also a nice simple hunting simulator to enjoy. Now, this only applies to the original RDR. Undead nightmares is not cool, I hated it as the pace changes from a relaxing outback ride into a zombie rush.

This is my list so far. While there are many nice games in my mind, I have ultimately decided that none of those are good enough as a GOTY game.
 
R

Raitosaito

Member
1. Super Mario 3D Land- A 3D Mario game that pays homage to 2D Mario games, and plays a lot like Galaxy? I was hooked from the start. The special worlds are the best part of this game. If you didn't get enough of a challenge from the regular game, don't fret because the special worlds will give even the veterans of Mario a challenge. Seriously a handheld platformer for the ages. And no people it's not a "super easy" game, the first 8 worlds are clever and imaginative OK!

1. Uncharted 3- The soundtrack, gameplay, story, and overall package is one of the best in the industry hands down. This is probably what Kojima wanted to do with cinematic games but Naughty Dog beat him to it.

2. Portal 2- Valve has a stranglehold on me since the original Half Life. All they care about is quality, and that level of polish is all over Portal 2. Seriously. While I did find some of the levels to feel like they have been over tested and simplify, it didn't take away enough from the other great puzzles or story.

3. Saints Row 3- This is what the casual market wanted out of GTA 4, and I think they were right on some level in asking for this. The sheer amount of things you can destroy, and what you can destroy with makes it a blast. Taking a jet in co-op to rampage a town while being air bombed by your friend in CO-OP because he doesn't like you is fun as hell.

4. Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim- Skyrim gives you so many things to do at the same time it's hard to know where to begin. While the scaling system did go to crap, and the bugs plague quite a number of players, crafting something on this scale is definitely a huge accomplishment. Everything about it is just BIG.

5. Legends of Heroes: Trails in the Sky- This games is what a lot of JRPGs should have been this generation, and it did it on a budget that was small. Also it was released like a long time ago so new JRPGs have no excuse really to suck. Falcom made a trilogy, but the first game alone can stand on it's own. Let's hope the localization of number 2 will come soon. Also Xseed should get a mention for their stellar localization efforts.

6. Batman Arkham City- It's more Asylum. Just forget about the crappy over world and you're good to go.

7. Dead Space 2- While I feel like Dead Space somewhat lost it's original identity with the sequel, it was an enjoyable ride nonetheless. And I'm a sucker for backstory.

8. Super Brothers: Sword and Sworcery- Bought this on the iPhone not realizing it was a game. For reals I thought it was like some kind of DJ pixel art app. One of the strangest experiment in game design that somehow worked. The soundtrack is freaking amazing, and you'll be humming those electronic tracks soon enough.

9. Jetpack Joyride- I don't see why iOS games can't be considered "real games." If we can judge games base on having pure and fun mechanics Joyride fits the bill. No need for story or fluff, people would steal my phone for a few hours just to beat my score.



Honorable mention:

Mass Effect 2 PS3- I'm not going to go through GAF's grievances with the game, because there are many, and I agree with quite a few of them. The thing is the PS3 version had something that change the overall feel of the whole ME package; those were the packed in DLC. Lair of the Shadow Broker and other cool side missions added more to the games core strength, and inevitably it overcame it's lack of RPG features for me. Basing it on just how much fun I had, ME2 PS3 version was a great time.

AC: Revelations- This game would have ranked on my list if it was any other year, but I am burnt out on the franchise. The slightly improve story did help my enjoyment. Luckily Ubisoft built a game base on a very solid foundation set by 2, and I doubt I used any of the new features in Revelations. It's definitely worth a pick up still, though; I'm not sure next time around I want to play another AC without some kind of break.

Edit: I wish I could afford a 3DS. I think a few Nintendo titles deserve to be in my list, but I don't have the time or money.

Edit: Got a 3DS so the list is definitely changing now
 
R

Ratrat

Member
1. Uncharted 3: Honestly, I didn't love it but out of the few 2011 releases I played it was the best.
2. Layton 4: Started off slow but ended up liking it just as much as the previous games
3. Trails in the Sky.
4. Mass Effect 2 ps3. Not as good as the first.
 
P

purg3

slept with Malkin
1. Dark Souls-played more than any other game this year. Amazing atmosphere and an incredible soundtrack. This game sucked me in and owned me like no other.
2. Deus Ex: Human Revolution-I think Eidos Montreal did the impossible and made a worthy successor to the original.
3. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim-Despite the bugs and glitches, Bethesda really knocked it out of the park.
4. Forza Motorsport 4-Turn 10 improves on their sim formula for an awesome racing experience.
5. Dead Space 2-Very cool set pieces stand out, but the last quarter of the game really started to sour me on the experience. Still one of my favorites and looking forward to see the franchise continue.

Played a lot of games this year, but these are the ones that stand out to me.
 
I

IamMattFox

Member
1. Portal 2
2. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
3. Rayman Origins
4. Bastion
5. Dead Space 2
6. Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP
7. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
8. Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception
9. Bulletstorm
10. Gears of War 3

I think those are actually all of the games I've had the opportunity to play this year. Obviously there are still a decent amount I need to get to that'd almost certainly replace some of the ones I have on there currently.

Edit: I picked up Rayman Origins the other day and am about halfway through it. Had to add it near the top of my list because it's so glorious.
 
S

shintoki

sparkle this bitch
Stumpokapow said:
Huge thanks to anyone who has made the effort to explain their choices, even a little bit so far. If you're anything like me, the aggregate results to these things aren't that interesting, but hearing smart people explain themselves and talk about the unique things they saw in the games they played is great.

(As with last year, I'll be voting around January 4th or 5th to allow for any late game-changers. Two of my top ten last year I played between December 25th and January 5th)
Click to expand...

Unlike you, I'm slow at playing titles. So I doubt I'll have as much success
 
S

Stumpokapow

listen to the mad man
shintoki said:
Unlike you, I'm slow at playing titles. So I doubt I'll have as much success
Click to expand...

(Caught your post pre-edit) I did Portal 2 in one (long) sitting because I got a snow day off work a few weeks back, so if you have time off for the holiday season you might be able to get it in. Good luck.
 
C

cosmicblizzard

Banned
Is it just me or is there more variety in the lists than in previous years? Seems to be all over the place to me. Should be an interesting top 10.
 
B

Berto

Member
1- The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings - Great experience and a very solid narrative. It took some risks and they paid off.
2- Portal 2 - It's almost perfect with very few flaws.
3- Deus Ex: Human Revolution - It has some issues and overall i think Batman is a better game, but Deus Ex had an incredible difficult task at hands, and it was very successful at that.
4- Batman Arkham City - It's amazing and built from the excelent first game, however i think it played too safe and didn't took any risks.
5- Frozen Synapse - My indie of the year, so many hours playing it.
6- Minecraft - What can i say, it's a game that defines gaming history.
7- To the Moon - Best story of the year, also great soundtrack. Gameplay is almost absent though.
8- Total War: Shogun 2 - A good return to form from The Creative Assembly.
9- The Binding of Isaac - Very simple and very addicting.
10- Uncharted 3 - Very polished, but lack the awesome pace of Uncharted 2.

Honorable mentions:
- Gemini Rue
- Rock of Ages
- Alice: Madness Returns
- Rage

2010- VVVVVV
 
S

shintoki

sparkle this bitch
Stumpokapow said:
(Caught your post pre-edit) I did Portal 2 in one (long) sitting because I got a snow day off work a few weeks back, so if you have time off for the holiday season you might be able to get it in. Good luck.
Click to expand...

Yeah, didn't want to get into my typical backlog rant so I removed it.

I definitely have time. I'm just kind of slow with finishing games. I still have about 4-5 choices I do think are solid(Two were betas and sadly removed from voting), but would really like to get in those two before the year is out.
 
T

Thunder Monkey

Banned
I would love to play, but I don't feel like it would be fair. I haven't bought any of the big releases that interested me this year except for Zelda. And I did really enjoy the game, but it doesn't seem right.

Every other game I got this year was a last year game for cheap.
 
S

SteveWinwood

Member
I have to think about it so this is my forever being edited post where I'll slowly build it up.

Deus Ex: Human Revolution
Portal 2
Super Mario Land 3d
Kirby Mass Attack
Catherine
Skyrim
Binding of Isaac
Super Meat Boy
Magicka
Dead Island
El Shaddai
Shadows of the damned
Rock of ages
You don't know jack
Bastion
Saint's row the third
Prof layton whateverthethirdiscalled
Tiny tower

Still going, some of those might not even make the top 10... Also have to try and explain...
 
J

JackEtc

Member
I don't think I've played enough games to make a list of 10 D:

1. Portal 2 - I've put more hours into Skyrim, but Portal 2 was truly amazing, an unforgettable experience. It also brought me and one of my best friends closer together. Probably one of my favorite games of all time.
2. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
3. Battlefield 3
4. Saints Row The Third
5. Bastion
6. Trackmania 2: Canyon

2010. Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit
 
S

ShironRedshift

Member
1. Kirby Mass Attack
2. Rayman Origins
3. Super Mario 3D Land
4. Pushmo
5. Portal 2
6. Professor Layton & the Last Specter
7. Pokemon White
8. Mario Kart 7
9. Nano Assault
10. Pilotwings Resort

x. Ghost Trick
x. Sonic Generations
x. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
 
S

Scotch

Member
1. Portal 2
2. Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception
3. Battlefield 3
4. Dead Space 2
5. Deus Ex: Human Revolution
6. L.A. Noire
7. Batman: Arkham City
8. Tropico 4
9. Mortal Kombat
10. Forza Motorsport 4

It was the year of slightly disappointing sequels for me. Portal, Bad Company 2, Uncharted 2, Dead Space en Batman Arkham Asylum - I all enjoyed them a bit more than this year's iterations. Still, this was a great year. Having said that, bring on the next-gen consoles.
 
L

Leon S. Kennedy

Member
1. Dark Souls
2. Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
3. 9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors
3. Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective
4. InFamous 2
5. Super Mario 3D Land
6. Portal 2
7. Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D
8. Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception
9. Professor Layton and the Last Specter
10. Kirby Mass Attack
 
C

CLEEK

Member
1. Dark Souls
2. Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together
3. Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary
4. Mario Kart 7
5. Tiny Wings
6. Daytona USA
7. Child Of Eden
8. Super Mario 3D Land
9. Jetpack Joyride
10. Galaga Legions DX
 
K

KuwabaraTheMan

Banned
I'll be waiting until the end to vote, since I'll probably be getting at least one new 2011 game over the holidays, and I'm still playing through a number of games from this year.

The LTTP category is an awesome addition. I'm glad I get to vote for 999 after not playing it last year.
 
theDeeDubs

theDeeDubs

Member
It's a work in progress. I will try and write more when the mood hits me.

01. Deus Ex: Human Revolution- Everything I hoped it would be. It masterfully combines my two favorite genres, stealth and rpgs. I even liked the color filter :).
02. Mass Effect 2- I didn't really care for ME 1, but this one blew me away. The combat felt a little janky my first few hours, but now I prefer playing a Vanguard or Sentinel on Insanity to any standard 3rd person shooter.
03. Star Wars: The Old Republic- KotOR + WoW is really all I need to say. I'm really loving it so far. The fact that I can play it like either, depending on my mood, is amazing.
04. Assassin's Creed: Revelations- Possibly one of my favorite IPs ever. I personally love the sci-fi aspect. I don't care if they're milking it.
05. Batman: Arkham City- Best combat ever gets a sequel? Yes, please!
06. Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception
07. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim- I never hit any of the problems on PS3 that a lot of people are having until right before I platinumed it at 100+ hours. I was surprised I loved it so much because I wasn't a big fan of Oblivion or Fallout 3.
08. Dragon Age 2- It gets a lot of hate but I loved it. Besides the reuse of maps and enemy wave spawning, I though everything else was great. I've never been a big fan of the silent protagonist, and the male Hawk was voiced quite well.
09. inFAMOUS 2- Loved the first and loving this one. Not much to say. It's just a damn good superhero/3rd person game.
10. Dark Souls- Haven't finished this yet but I'm not enjoying it as much as I did Demon's Souls so far. It's still great though.

xx. Dungeon Siege III- A competent little RPG. The scope isn't grand like Skyrim, but it knows its boundaries and it plays within them well. I found myself getting really engaged into the story once it got going. It has a few misses though. Combat could use a little more feedback as there is a distinct lack of "umph". I'm not big into online, but it would be nice to play your own characters in someone else's game and have that progress saved as well. That said, it is by far my favorite in the series. I doubt it did good enough for a part 4, but I would've liked to see where Obsidian would take it from here.
xx. Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine- I enjoyed this more than Gears 3.

2010. Red Dead Redemption- I didn't see what all the fuss was about last year but I took a week off from work during E3 this year and played this while watching live streams until I 100%'d it. I now see what all the fuss was about. I would've liked to vote for Alpha Protocol for 2010 but I played it at release.
 
B

Bowdz

Member
1. Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception - Despite the control issues right after launch I still played this game 6 times in less than a month (with massive helping of MP in between) and want to play it through a few more times post patch. I love the characters, I love the story, and I love the gameplay. It is the visual beast of the console realm and my favorite title of the year.

2. Portal 2 - This comes up just behind Uncharted 3 in my opinion. Gloriously paced and tweaked puzzles, some of the best writing in gaming, addictive co-op, and smooth gameplay made this an unforgettable experience. I have replayed it at least 4 times on the PC (twice on PS3) and still want to go through it again because I love the world Valve created.

3. Rayman Origins - The sequel to my favorite platformer of all time. The game has the same brilliance in level design, art, music, and fluid gameplay as its predecessor. Ancel outdid himself again (but he really needs to leave Ubisoft for a publisher that will actually allow his games to sell!)

4. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - Amazing design from the ground up and simply stunning attention to detail. It is a shame that all versions of the game are hampered with glitches (Bethesda really needs to get its act together in this regard).

5. Gears of War 3 - Despite another largely forgettable SP, the nearly flawless MP of the original GeoW has finally returned. The updated Horde mode is more than enough to tide me over for years to come.

6. Batman Arkham City - Expanded everything that made AA great.

7. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword - Its Zelda.
 
G

gdt

Member
Oh fuck me, I hate this time of year. I can usually pull a number 1 out of my hat, but coming up with numbering is absolutely brutul. I own pretty much every major game of the year (except Rayman and Battlefield), but I still have a few to start/finish (Zelda, Saints Row, Ass Creed, MW3, Skyrim sucked me right out of all of them. UC3 MP too) a couple.

I'm at 83hours in Skyrim, and I think it's losing steam for me. I'm level 53, and a major part of the fun for me was creating my character, now that I'm done (and practically broke the game with smithing/enchanting) I've lost a part of the drive. Time to wrap that up, I think. Still soooo many quests left.
 
B

Big-E

Member
1. Saints Row The Third; I thought I was done with open world games but this game constantly brought a smile to my face. Saints Row always had the perception of just being a GTA clone but now I see the light. GTA wishes it were as fun as Saints Row. I might even just finish everything in the game which is something I never do anymore.

2. Deus Ex Human Revolution; Put off playing this at launch due to lack of time but glad I finally got around to it. Stealth game play I thought was great and I felt the game looked awesome and ran really well on my PC.

3. The Witcher 2; Superb polish all around on what is a memorable RPG and certainly stands out even more since Dragon Age 2 was so horrid.

4. Bastion; Simple gameplay but I felt it all came together and was the perfect length where it did not drag on too long. Great job on a first effort.

I did not play a lot of games this year as I have been in China so I have been away from my consoles and I have slow internet so The Witcher 2 took me 10 days to download and play because of its stupid Steam updates. These are the game I feel are worthy of Game of the Year mentions off the top of my head though I am probably forgetting something.
 
T

Tilian

Banned
I didn't play much this year, but from what I did:

1. Dark Souls
For what it demands of and evokes from me: patience, skill, apprehension, fear, wonder, and even guilt. And respect for unknown fellow gamers sharing their kindness in helping me not only through rough areas, but for leading me into the hidden corners of the game for valuable items that did not benefit them nearly as much as me. The best experience a gamer like me could ask for.

2. Portal 2
I found it superior to the first in every way. In taking me into the
bowels of Aperature, it presented a tale not only of place, but of time and change. Spotting the origins of the cube and doors for the first time just blew me away.

3. InFamous 2
I am not a big open-world fan, nor a comic book guy. Nonetheless, very few games have evoked such a sense of place as this. Many worlds (a la La Noire) feel lifeless, but not this. And no game, not even AC, has ever made my stomach drop when I fall from the top of a building!

4. Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception
While the shooting mechanics had me frustrated, it was spending time with familiar characters that won me over. For the first time I felt a sense of the history with these characters.

5. Superbrothers: Sword and Sworcery
Enchanting forests, lurking evil, amazing ost, and Canadian!
 
J

JasoNsider

Member
This year was absolutely incredible, and I ended up playing a ton of older games along with new ones. For me it especially felt like a year of adventure; so many amazing Zelda games, Uncharted, Dark Souls, my first time playing FFVI, and more. So although I played a ton of older titles, here's my list for games of 2011

1. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword;
Everything about this game was just an amazing surprise. I went in 100% completely free of any information (except that it had Zelda in the title) and I was just completely swept away. It comprises everything I love; it's stylized art, beautiful animation, clever design, and a celebration of the act of playing. Just like the classics of old it's one of those experiences that makes me want to shoot for the sky on my own games. Amazing.

2. Dark Souls;
It's a tightly packed, laser-focused experience. An insistence on walking to the beat of their own drum leaves the game with an identity that can't be missed and will have people singing its name for years to come.

3. Mario 3D Land;
Again, another big surprise. EAD Tokyo have unquestionably proven themselves over the last couple years and now, again, with Mario 3D Land. It looks and feels wonderful and is playful throughout. Awesome!

4. Portal 2;
What could have been another retread with just more of the same ended up being an experience that takes advantage of its new breadth with grace. Yes, we're still thinking in portals from minute 1, but the scenario & wonderful characters bring it home. Excellent work on all fronts.

5. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D;
I don't feel ashamed in putting this on my list, really. This was, for me, the bar in which a remake will be measured against in the future. It's not a port - it's the game we fell in love with many years ago without compromise to any of the original vision yet meticulously polished in parallel. It even shows it can still teach some amazing design lessons for the year 2011 - especially those of restraint. Exploring in the night time with just the sound of birds in the distance and the glow of the houses, all in 3D, was one of the most memorable experiences of the year.
 
consoul

consoul

Member
1. Shadows of the Damned
2. Uncharted 3
3. Catherine
4. Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
5. Batman: Arkham City
6. Dead Island
7. Dark Souls
8. Infamous 2
9. L.A. Noire
10. Ghost Trick
 
C

Corto

Member
1. The Witcher 2 ; I bought the Witcher books, listened to the OST for a month through, dreamt of the game for a few weeks... I was hooked. The infuriating combat was not enough to sour me on this beautiful, gorgeous game. Ambiguous morality and unexpected results of your critical decisions, made it possible to play an ever engaging experience even when I was finishing simple fetch quests. I will replay this game for years to come.

2. Portal 2 ; What a joyous time I spent with this game! Funny dialogue, more cool mechanics added to the ones that we were used to, great example of a almost perfect mixture of a great mechanical game and story-telling. I was pleased to see that Valve was indeed capable of improving on Portal.

3. Frozen Synapse ; The tension of preparing your moves, waiting for your opponent to send his, and then watching it unveil in front of your eyes is exhilarating. The secret ingredient (not so secret) in this game is the asynchronicity of its multiplayer. You could be playing several games simultaneously, preparing your moves and then go on with your life and pick it up the next day or latter that day. Genius!

4. Uncharted 3 ; It reaches highest heights than Uncharted 2 in a few moments. Some of its set pieces are just incredible, the puzzles are more challenging and some fire fights are great fun. It's a bit more uneven though than Uncharted 2 and the aiming/motion blur problems dock it some points. In this game behalf I need to say that it's one of the very, very rare recent games that I started a second play through right after finishing it on normal.

5. Tactics Ogre ; First of all I'll never finish this game... The amount of content in this is just crazy. It was my go-to game this summer, with great art, music, and gameplay. The interface though was a bit opaque sometimes, but the OT helped me a lot in some instances when I was blocked.

6. Batman: Arkham City ; It's Batman. Melee combat perfection with the added brilliance of quick fire of gadgets. The Catwoman subplot and gameplay is just the cherry on the top.

7. Total War: Shogun 2 ; The return to form of the series. I love the historical setting so I'm a little bit biased. But I think I won't be needing a strategy game for a few years with this. Really curious to see what Creative Assembly will come up with next...

8. El Shaddai ; A flood of creativity and style. An exotic experience that felt and looked amazing through and through.

9. Panzer Corps ; I always love to read about war games, listen/read the emergent play stories of people that play this type of games, and just imagine myself playing this sort of games. I then try one of these and become completely frustrated by the complexity of the interface and the games. Panzer Corps just works for me. You could call it the gateway drug, or baby wargame, but the truth is that I loved it for finally letting me play a wargame without the need to study a manual of a few hundred pages.

10. Saints Row 3 ; Escapist fun in a concentrated no-holds-barred form. Impossible to play this game without a stupid smirk on my face. Sometime it feels nice to surrender to stupidity, turn off the brain and run havoc!

x. Killzone 3 ; Play it with Move.

x. Deus Ex: Human Revolution

x. Child of Eden

2010. Fallout New Vegas
 
S

spirity

Member
1. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
I love traditional High Fantasy, and The Elder Scrolls means I can live out my geeky Tolkien/Martin fantasies in a game. Skyrim's beautiful vistas, architecture and sublime score is the backdrop to a much improved combat, magic and animation system - and although it has a ways to go yet, I was more than satisfied with what we got. But The Elder Scrolls has never been about one or two features; it is more than just the sum of its parts.

2. Xenoblade Chronicles
Came back to add this. The best jrpg I've played this gen, and one of the best I've ever played. I'm only 10 hours in, but like Skyrim, I don't have to be any further to know I adore a game. The soundtrack is sublime, the combat is fun, the characters don't purposely grate. If you like jrpg's, you have to try this.

3. Uncharted 3
Not as good as 2! But 2 was a remarkable game. I don't usually warm to many video game characters, but the cast of Uncharted is different. The voice acting is unparalleled, the interactions between the characters I find charming, and the theme everytime I start the game up makes me smile.

4. Minecraft
This came out of nowhere for me. When I started playing I was like "wtf is this olol". But slowly, over the course of a number of hours I got sucked in. It went from being ugly as hell to being one of the prettiest games I've played. I still don't know why this is. I've got somewhat bored of it now and I've moved on, but for a while there I was completely obsessed.
 
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