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[TwiztidElf]

1. Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
2. Forza Motorsport 4
3. Saints Row 3
4. House of the Dead Overkill: Extended Cut
5. Child of Eden
6. Gears of War 3
7. Sonic Generations
8. Halo CE Anniversary
9. Pokemon Black
10. Ticket to Ride (iPad)

x. Ico and Shadow of the Colossus HD Collection ; Would have slotted in at number 3 if it was allowed.

 

[DevilWillcry]

1. Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception
Naughty Gods did it again. I may still have a preference to UC2 but there's is still no doubt in my mind that UC3 is my GOTY for 2011.

2. Infamous 2
Best sandbox game this year, without a doubt. I foresee a very bright future for this franchise.

3. Dead Space 2
Survival horror with set pieces on the same scale of Uncharted. Nuff said.

4. Mortal Kombat
Old school versus Kombat gets an amazing reboot. The perfect balance of nostalgia and progressive design. Kudos Mr. Boon!

5. Resistance 3
My personal favorite FPS this year. Screw all that modern realism BS, I'll take sci-fi over that crap any day. Refined multiplayer, the return of split screen and the most well-paced campaign in the franchise make this a personal favorite.

6. L.A. Noire
Say what you want about the developer's work ethic, this game totally lived up to the hype.

7. Batman: Arkham City
How did Rocksteady manage to top Arkham Asylum? Absolutely spectacular piece of gaming nirvana.

8. Motorstorm: Apocalypse
The best arcade-style racing game this year. Seriously, check it out if you haven't already.

9. Portal 2
I may not have been as impressed with this one as everyone else. But I know a well made game when I play it and this is game design at its finest.

10. Killzone 3
Not quite as good as KZ2 (especially the multiplayer, ew) but it still has one of the best FPS campaigns this year and it deserves the nod over MW and BF simply for that reason alone

Honorable mentions:

x. Marvel vs. Capcom 3
It's the best fighting game this year that's not MK. But fuck Capcom for making people re-buy it again at the end of the year

x. Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
I love the concept, I love the music, but it's a Bethesda game so it's riddled with some of the worst bugs of the year. I really wanted to see past the bugs but they are impossible to ignore. Maybe it would be in my top ten if they could get their shit together

x. LittleBigPlanet 2
I love the new gadgets that were added as well as the more fleshed out campaign mode. However, I can't help but feel like this game came across as having a very "samey" feel when compared to the first.

 

[VideoMan]

1. Portal 2 ; Easily one of the finest games I've ever played. Story and characters were extremely well written and acted. After it was all over I truly felt like I had been through an incredible adventure.

2. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword ; Thoroughly enjoyed this one. Completed it 100% which I almost never do with Zelda games. I guess I was just looking for reasons to keep playing which is the sign of a great game indeed.

3. Minecraft ; After all the buzz about this game I decided to try it out for myself. For about two weeks I was pretty much obsessed with this game. Great mix of survival, collecting, crafting, exploring and building.

4. Super Mario 3D Land ; Was expecting something along the lines of New Super Mario Bros DS in 3D. What I got was much closer to Super Mario Galaxy on a handheld than I ever thought possible. WOW!

5. Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective ; Of all the games I've played this year this one remains closest to my heart. Quirky but memorable (and lovable) characters, eye popping art and animation, crazy fun story all wrapped around a cool new play style like nothing I've played before. Instant classic.

6. Pushmo ; Biggest surprise of the year. This game is friggin' awesome! Great, engaging puzzle/platforming game with tons of content. Creating and sharing levels via QR codes is a blast. According to my 3DS Activity Log I've spent over 35 hours with this game already and I see no end in sight. This may sound crazy to anyone who hasn't played it but I feel like Pushmo is to the 3DS what Tetris was to the original Gameboy. Yes, I'm serious.

7. Rayman Origins ; I'll be honest, I've only played a few hours into this game so far. What a poor choice for a release date by Ubisoft. I've been busy with so many other games I've not had the time to give this game the attention it deserves. But even just a few hours in I feel confident placing this game on my list.

8. Lost in Shadow ; One of the last games made by Hudson. *tear* It's practically a love letter to the old PC-style platformers like Prince of Persia, Flashback and Another World. The stiff, measured and weighty movement of the main character proved to be a divisive factor among critics and gamers but for me this was a wonderful return to a past era of my gaming life.

9. Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars ; The best 3DS launch title. True story.

10. de Blob 2 ; de Blob was a fantastic little game and the sequel improved on it in just about every conceivable way. I felt it might have been a little too long with not enough new ideas but even with those minor flaws it still secures a spot on my list.

Honorable Mention:

x. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D ; One of my favorite games of all time but it's a 1998 game and doesn't get a spot on my 2011 list.

 

[flabberghastly]

I'm finding it extremely difficult to narrow my list down to 10 games. Some truly great games deserving of accolades will need to be cut. And I still have one more game I want to play before I finish my list.

At the start of the year I never thought I'd be saying this, but I think 2011 might be the best year in gaming I've ever experienced.

 

[Mr_eX]

1. Portal 2
2. Skyrim
3. Dead Space 2
4. Rage
5. Gears of War 3
6. Uncharted 3
7. Deus Ex Human Revolution
8. inFamous 2
9. Dungeon Defenders
10. Saints Row The Third

Arkham City may have made the list but it decided to delete my save 5 hours in. I did enjoy what I had played of it though.

 

[Conrad Link]

1. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
2. Xenoblade Chronicles
3. Dark Souls
4. Super Mario 3D Land
5. Pokemon White
6. Bleach: Soul Resurreccion
7. Mario Kart 7
8. Battlefield 3
9. Dead Space 2
10. Terraria

Some really really fantastic games this year, I felt Pokemon White was a return to form which was nice, most fun I'd have with the series in awhile. The year had some disappointments too though, FFXI has turned to seriously shit (this coming from an addict), MW3 was shit, and we had not 1 but 2 rugby games come out for World Cup (Woo All Blacks!) and still neither really got it right.

Zelda, Xenoblade and Dark Souls make everything feel ok though, without doubt my top video gaming highlights of the year. Wonderful.

 

[Nyx]

1. Skyrim
2. Mortal Kombat
3. Trine 2
4. Battlefield 3
5. Batman Arkham City
6. Little Big Planet 2
7. From Dust
8. Plants vs Zombies
9. Disgaea 4: A Promise Unforgotten
10. WWE Allstars

 

[carbonbased]

one look at the steam sale thread should tell you all you need to know about the current deadline. wanting it extended has nothing to do with procrastination; savvy gamers are just plain better off waiting until this time of year to make their purchases.

 

[Mr. Robot]

1. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
2. Portal 2
3. Just Dance 3
4. Patapon 3
5. Mortal Kombat
6. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
7. Fight Night Champion
8. Dead Space 2
9. Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure (console/PC version)
10. Kirby's Return to Dreamland

 

[Radec]

I only got top 5:

1. Portal 2
Best game I've played this year.

2. Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception
Technical marvel. Goddamn.

3. Resistance 3
Best campaign on any shooter this gen.

4. Infamous 2
I really liked the leap over Infamous 1. Plus the powers are awesome as usual. Not to mention Festival of Blood DLC.

5. Killzone 3
Pretty underrated, but still one of the best epic campaign out there. Still the king on FPS graphics.

 

[GrotesqueBeauty]

I just want to chime in and say I support an extension as well, on the basis that the past month or two have been so heavily weighted with big releases, not to mention how many people will be only be playing them after Christmas. Better to give a little breathing and let the holiday releases sink in.

 

[Hazaro]

1. The Witcher 2
2. Bastion
3. Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky
4. Jamestown
5. Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3
6. Magicka
7. Patapon 3

No way would I have thought two RPGs would be up there. TitS was just... enjoyable. Witcher 2 felt engrossing and I loved it.
Bastion clicked so many buttons right. Owe it to yourself to play this.
Jamestown brought me back to shumps when I played co-op with a friend and it is a fantastically designed little game.
UMvC3 is a hype/salt factory and I love watching it.
Magicka and Patapon 3 were just fun and enjoyable to play.

This list feels like it should much bigger, but I haven't played too much this year and some games don't deserve to be on my list so that is all for now that I can think of.

 

[Misterinenja]

Top 3 right now.

1. Dark Souls
2. Minecraft
3. Deus Ex HR

 

[NHale]

one look at the steam sale thread should tell you all you need to know about the current deadline. wanting it extended has nothing to do with procrastination; savvy gamers are just plain better off waiting until this time of year to make their purchases.

This is my main reason for wanting an extension of the deadline. Add that to the crazy UK retailers price drops, where waiting 3 weeks means you can buy the same game for half the price or less and it's even a bigger problem for me.

I believe people are not trying to procrastinate and thus asking for an extension. I would just like to have a reasonable time to play the games that I bought in those crazy deals in the last 2 weeks, games that would probably end up in my top 10. I don't understand the rush but maybe there is a reason for not wanting to extend the deadline 1 or 2 weeks.

 

[carbonbased]

This is my main reason for wanting an extension of the deadline. Add that to the crazy UK retailers price drops, where waiting 3 weeks means you can buy the same game for half the price or less and it's even a bigger problem for me.

I believe people are not trying to procrastinate and thus asking for an extension. I would just like to have a reasonable time to play the games that I bought in those crazy deals in the last 2 weeks, games that would probably end up in my top 10. I don't understand the rush but maybe there is a reason for not wanting to extend the deadline 1 or 2 weeks.

there is no reason besides a misguided attempt to align our awards with those of the professional (as in "paid to play games for a living") media. vote counting is done by a computer program, so overwhelming them with too many ballots shouldn't be an issue. timetokill has been active in the thread but has remained silent about the calls for a more rational deadline.

my guess? he is waiting to announce a 1 week extension like we got last year, which still happens to be too little.

 

[Satanic Saint]

1. Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective
2. Professor Layton and the Last Specter
3. Pilotwings Resort
4. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D

2010. Last Window: The Secret of Cape West

 

[areal]

1. Shadows of the Damned ; In a world of pretentious and overwrought games that try too hard to be mature, this is a game that actually takes its audience seriously. The characters are well written and well acted and the style and tone are spot on. The shooting mechanics are rock solid, naturally, and the soundtrack and sound design are simply stunning. Made by artists.

2. RAGE ; Ironically, this game is like a breath of fresh air. The gunplay is so visceral and satisfying and the artwork is just beautiful. Of course, the story is disappointing, the levels are linear, the world is barren, and the game is too easy, but the Striker and the Wingstick make up for all that and then some.

3. Portal 2 ; I found this game disappointing at first. But, upon reflection, my expectations were simply too high. I do think the story meanders a little and the puzzles in the main game are pretty tame. But, the characters, the production values, and the attention to detail are all first class, and it's still such an intriguing concept for a game. Bonus marks for the care given to the PS3 version.

4. Catherine ; This game reminded me of Portal 2, in that it is quirky and stylish, features interesting characters and an intriguing plot, has great voice acting and sound design, and is altogether short and sweet. It also has a genuinely deep puzzle mechanic. A pleasant surprise for me.

2010. Vanquish ; Holy crap.

I spent much of this year catching up on past releases. Aside from Vanquish, the highlights for me were Fallout 3, Resident Evil 4, Ico, and Peace Walker. The biggest disappointment was the new Deus Ex.

 

[Diamond]

I'm finding it extremely difficult to narrow my list down to 10 games. Some truly great games deserving of accolades will need to be cut. And I still have one more game I want to play before I finish my list.

Same here. I won't even have the time to finish Skyrim and Xenoblade (so I won't include them in the list, glad they're supported well) and there's around 20 games I've played that I feel could be in the top 10. First time I have this problem. 2011 was a great year.

 

[CitizenCope]

1. Gears Of War 3
2. Skyrim
3. Orcs Must Die
4. Rage
5. Batman: Arkham City
6. Bastion
7. Tiger Woods: The Masters
8. Dungeon Defenders
9. Call of Duty MW3
10. Operation Flashpoint: Red River

Didn't show my PS3 much love this year.

 

[Melchiah]

1. Batman: Arkham City;
A great sequel, but I liked the atmosphere and the more confined area in the 1st one more, and there were far too many Riddler trophies. The Catwoman missions felt pretty trivial. The boss battles were definitely better this time though.

2. Mass Effect 2;
Spent about 70 hours with the game, all the DLC included. It was a good thing they simplified the equipment system from the 1st. The only thing I missed was that you couldn't enter the ME1 areas of Citadel. I should finish the 1st one on PC some day. =/

3. Resistance 3;
Played the game through two times, which I don't do that often. A fantastic comeback after the mediocre R2. Loved the return of the weapon wheel, and the fact they chose to use a health pack system instead of the trendy regenerative health. There was a wonderful sense of dread in some of the levels. The ending was a total letdown though.


4. Dead Island
5. Limbo
(I haven't played them through yet)


I should play more games. I did play Batman: Arkham Asylum in the beginning of the year, and it would go on the top of the list if it wasn't a 2009's game.

 

[Mr YuYu]

1. Skyrim
2. Zelda: Skyward Sword
3. Gears of war 3
4. LA Noire
5. Renegade Ops
6. Portal 2
7. Crimson Alliance (good couch coop game!)
8. Limbo
9. Dragon Age 2

Its all i have played this year sadly... Still have Dead space 2, Xenoblade, Bastion, Stacking and many others in my backlog but i have no time sadly :-( Especially since i now have begun (70 hours in) to play Skyrim.

2010: Game: Mass Effect 2

 

[Oneself]

1. LA Noire
You're right, it's not a perfect game. It gets my GOTY spot for its audacity, great storytelling, impressive tech, 40's ambiance etc. It tries different things never seen before in video games and I love the fact that it's not focused on shooting everyone in sight. Thanks (sadly) to the hundreds who've been shit on by McNamara.
2. Resistance 3
Resistance is back on track. This is what R2 should have been.
3. Uncharted 3
Not as good as Uncharted2 but still quite impressive. I like how characters interact between each others. It's also a treat for graphic whores out there since it's pretty much the best looking game ever.
4. Outland
Style, perfect controls, great animations, wonderful art direction... well, quality from start to finish. I didn't know how you could mix Metroidvanias with Ikaruga before playing that awesome game.
5. Rochard
UNDERRATED. It's such a shame that this game went unnoticed. Again, it's original, it has style, it's intelligent, well crafted, good looking... kinda like Portal meets Metroidvanias here.
6. Killzone 3
Quite underrated again, Killzone3 is a visual treat with awesome art direction and great gameplay. I'm part of those who enjoyed it more than K2. The shitty character design is not on par with the rest of the game though, but the meat of the game is the shooting and it's very, very well done.
7. Portal 2
Need I say more?
8. Motorstorm Apocalypse
This game had bad karma written all over it. It was set for release at the worst possible time, it bombed etc. I though it was the end of the Motorstorm series in fact...
Anyways, Pacific Rift is still my favorite arcade racer this gen but Apocalypse is an experience that no arcade racer fans should miss. The presentation is terrible, the cutscenes are probably the worst I've ever seen since the original Twisted Metal but the game itself delivers. It's also quite impressive visually.
9. Ghost Trick
Great writing, intelligent, original, executed with style and awesome animations.
10. Rayman Origins ; awesome game, awesome art, awesome awesome. IMO it should have been an episodic release on XBLA/PSN/Steam (let's say 5$ per world) and then, it could have been released as a full game at 30$-40$. The terrible marketing, the "sent to die" release date (and probably the price as well) killed any chance of seeing a sequel.


x. Monster Tale
Metroidvanias meets MegamanX and a monster breeding game. It sounds strange but it's very well done.
x. Little Big Planet 2 ; awesome game but it's missing some of the original's magic.
x. Crisis 2 ; I liked it more than Crisis, it's a really great 1st person shooter but it was up against too many great games of the same genre.

x. Skyrim ; Awesome game but that PS3 framerate bug (among others) disqualifies it from being in my top 10.
x. Trine 2 ; one of the best looking games ever. Great art direction, puzzles and gameplay. It feels better than the 1st game but I still think it's missing a little something, somewhere...
x. Rocketbirds: Hardboiled chicken PS3
Fans of Flashback, Blackthorne, Out of this World, GET THIS GAME. It's funny, very entertaining, it looks great and plays great. Another sadly underrated title of 2011.

 

[sixteen-bit]

1. Gundam Extreme Versus; A mechanically strong competitive game using my favorite license.
2. Dark Souls; best console JRPG in years.
3. Portal 2; fun, humorous, and engaging
4. Streets of Rage Remake; cute fan project that actually did the series justice.
5. Gears of War 3; excellent blockbuster, great co=operative and competitive multiplayer
6. Strania; Best original STG on XBLA
7. Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition Ver.2012; great update to one of my favorite fighting games this gen.
8. Catherine; interesting little visual novel/puzzle hybrid. Fun multiplayer too.

 

[Dyni Crippler]

2010. Last Window: The Secret of Cape West

Mm, love that game. You have good taste.

 

[eXistor]

This list is preliminary and I'll add comments later on.

1. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword ;
2. Dark Souls ;
3. Super Mario 3D Land ;
4. Deus Ex: Human Revolution ;
5. Portal 2 ;
6. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim ;
7. Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective ;
8. Shadows of the Damned ;
9. Xenoblade Chronicles ;
10. The Witcher 2 ;

x. Batman: Arkham City ;
x. Kirby Mass Attack ;
x. Saint's Row the Third ;
x. Uncharted 3 ;
x. Rayman Origins ;
x. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D ;
x. Bastion ;
x. Catherine ;

2010. Vanquish ;

 

[Schlomo]

1. Xenoblade Chronicles; Xenoblade was my goty 2010, and the localised version is my goty 2011. It's that good, and the British voices are really fun, even if you have played it in Japanese before.
2. Zelda OoT3D; Yes, it's old, but it seemed more modern to me than most games from 2011 in a lot of ways.
3. Super Mario 3D Land; Amazing level design with great and unique ideas in every single stage. Better than Galaxy 2.
4. Witcher 2; Great characters and story presentation, decisions have actual consequences, state of the art graphics.
5. Zelda SS; I still prefer Twilight Princess, but motion controls made it feel fresh and unique enough to place highly.
6. Stacking; Perfect art direction! And every puzzle has multiple solutions. I loved it.
7. Outland; I didn't really like the atmosphere, and the graphic style is cool but lacks in charm. Apart from that, it plays and controls perfectly, has a nice gameplay mechanic and great bosses.
8. Kirby's Epic Yarn (YES, it came out this year in Europe); Adorable graphics in a completely unique style, and a good game underneath, especially in co-op.
9. Cut the Rope (on Android - if Limbo counts, this should too, right?); In contrast to a certain game featuring enraged birds, this has intelligent level design and a very satisfying difficulty curve.
10. LittleBigPlanet 2; I still don't like the floaty controls, but apart from that, the sequel did a lot of things right.

x. Rocksmith; Far superior to Rock Band 3 Pro Guitar mode in many ways. I haven't seen more than a few songs yet because making progress is damn hard for a beginner, but I see myself playing this for a long time to come.
x. Portal 2; Great humour and puzzles, albeit a little to short and easy. I have yet to play the co-op though, so I have only experienced half the game so far.
x. Uncharted 3; Following Uncharted 2 is no easy task, and indeed I found part 3 to be slightly underwhelming. Still a good game though.
x. Infamous 2; It was fun, but didn't grab me like the first one did. Too similar to its predecessor maybe.

2010. Hydroventure/Fluidity; The best game on WiiWare period. It's like Mario 64, but in 2D and with a puddle of water instead of Mario.

 

[delta25]

My top six

1. Dead space 2 (A sequel worthy of the name and the new king of survival horror)
2. Killzone 3 (Amazing graphics, great FPS gameplay and an unprecedented art direction)
3. Gears of war 3 ( A great game to end a great trilogy)
4. Resistance 3 (This is what Resistance 2 should have been)
5. Uncharted 3 (The video game version of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.....nuff said)
6. Super Mario 3D Land (blending nostalgia with a new look has never been done so well and looked so good, the reason to own a 3DS)

 

[Saiyar]

1. Xenoblade Chronicles
2. Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling together
3. DoDonPachi Resurrection
4. LittleBigPlanet 2
5. The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky
6. Dark Souls
7. InFamous 2
8. Atelier Totori: The Adventurer of Arland
9. Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine
10. Ar tonelico Qoga: Knell of Ar Ciel

 

[Shepard]

1. Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
2. Portal 2
3. Batman: Arkham City
4. Bastion
5. Xenoblade
6. Might & Magic Heroes VI
7. Dark Souls
8. The Witcher 2
9. Crysis 2
10. Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective

Shame I won't play Skyward Sword till mid-January

 

[faridmon]

I only have top 5 since I haven't played many games that came out this year. most of my games that I have bought was released way before.

1- Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective
2- Legend of Heroes: Trail in the Skies
3- Persona 3 Portable (Got released in EU this Year)
4 - Battlefield 3
5 - Inazuma Eleven (Got Released in EU this year)

For my 2010 award: Call of Duty: Black OPS. I still play it today. The maps are way better than Modern Warfare 3.

 

[Siaynoqq]

1. Portal 2
2. Uncharted 3
3. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
4. Infamous 2
5. Bastion
6. El Shaddai
7. Deus Ex: Human Revolution
8. Child of Eden

Edit: swapped 1 and 2; added 6-8.

 

[Opiate]

1. Minecraft

 

[Brinbe]

1. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim; Skyrim was simply the most engrossing and entertaining game I've played this year. Unbelievably deep, gorgeous, with 100+ hours of content to uncover and discover, it's easily my GOTY.

2. FIFA 12; Absolutely superb simulation soccer/football gameplay, with a great career mode that continually keeps me coming back for more. Out of all the sports games of 2011, personally, FIFA 12 ranks at the top.

3. Saints Row: The Third; In some ways, when playing through Saints Row: The Third, I thought it felt a little disappointing in comparison to SR2. But in the end, after I completed all the content, I realized I had effortlessly breezed through 30 compelling hours of non-stop gaming and I still wanted more! So, even despite those disappointments, it ultimately delivered an unrivaled combo of pure fun and laughs that almost any gamer can quickly pick up and enjoy. And to me, that counts for a lot.

4. Football Manager 2012; FM will always be high on my personal top 10. Just straight-up crack, like FM always is. So while FM 2012 doesn't do much of anything different from previous games, it doesn't have to. It's that consistently good.

5. Bastion; Brilliant and beautiful. Top-class narration/voice work with memorable music, a cool story, and simple, yet fun, gameplay. Just love it.

6. Dead Island; There's no doubt that DI had an extremely rough launch, but the end product was worth it. Was just completely enamored with the amazing blend of outstandingly fun melee combat, free-roam environments and Borderlandsy mission structure.

7. Portal 2; Valve at its finest. Polished, funny, engaging, inventive and it hit all the right notes.

8. Batman: Arkham City; Took what was so exciting and memorable about AA and gave us more of it! Fantastic combat, tons of content, and well, you're the f'n Batman. No complaints with this one.

9. L.A. Noire; Definitely has its faults, but I loved that L.A. Noire aspired for something different from the norm, and at its best, it was really unlike any game I've played before. The facial animations were such a sight to behold, and I respect that ambition and I think it deserves some recognition in a sequel/retread-heavy year like this was.

10. NBA 2K12; Like most recent 2K bball games, it took a couple of patches until it reached its potential. But now, in late December, after playing it for a good while, I can appreciate the solid gameplay and vast multitude of modes available. From Association to My Player, to the legends and the great DLC, there's just a lot of game in here and it's all enough to satisfy what most NBA fans want out of a product like this.

x. Deus Ex: Human Revolution
x. InFamous 2
x. Dark Souls
x. Crysis 2

2010. Bayonetta

 

[oroboros]

1. Dark Souls ; Amazing. Even with the framerate and PvP/Co-op connection issues it's still one of my favorite games of all time.

2. Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition ; Put more time into AE then anything else this year. Now with the 2012 version update it's even better.

3. Skyrim ; This game sucked me in for a metric fuckton of enjoyable hours. Best open world gaming experience ever.

4. Portal 2 ; It's more Portal.

5. Valkyria Chronicles III ; One of my favorite game series.

6. Battlefield 3 ; Been waiting for and wanting this game a LONG time, and it didn't disappoint. Single player sucked, but who cares. It's all about Battlefield moments in those multiplayer sessions.

7. Mortal Kombat ; Best fighting game single player story mode ever. Multiplayer is a blast too. Glad this went back to 2D fighting and brought back all the ultra violence. What MK should be.

8. Jamestown ; I love shmups. This is a great one that came out this year.

9. NBA 2K12 ; Great basketball game that's so much fun even for someone who doesn't even really like basketball.

10. Magic: The Gathering: Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012 ; Never played Magic before I bought this randomly while it was on sale. Ended up really liking the game and having a lot of fun with it.


x. Bulletstorm ; Idiotic fun at its finest.
x. Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 ; Would have been higher if I didn't pay full price for the beta earlier in the same year. Also, fuck Wesker.
x. Batman: Arkham City ; Meh. Thought the combat was boring, and I think Batman is a lame superhero. But deserves a mention for the open environment exploration, the Catwoman gameplay, and the awesome rogues gallery you encounter.
x. Outland, Frozen Synapse, Magicka ; Just badass little games I absolutely gotta give a shoutout.
x. Melty Blood Actress Again Current Code ; Not even sure if this counts. But the PC version is finally dropping on December 31st, and I love it.


2010. Vanquish

 

[cj_iwakura]

Year of the PSP for sure.

1. Catherine
Atlus artistry at its finest. Hashino and co better be making Persona 5 one hell of a game to top this.

2. Dark Souls
From Software are my #2. I'm glad they do more than dark fantasy, but with games like this, I somehow don't want them to.

3. Persona 2: Innocent Sin
Ten years late, still worth every hour.

4. Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective
Pure joy from start to finish.

5. Portal 2
I love it for what it is.

6. The Witcher 2
Even my broken computer knows this is something special.

7. Fate/EXTRA
Pleasant surprise.

8. Yakuza 4
My first exposure to the series, and what a ride.

9. Alice: Madness Returns
Just as delightfully twisted as its predecessor.

10. Corpse Party
It's nothing if not immersive, though relatively flawed.

 

[PerZona]

1. Battlefield 3
2. Uncharted 3
3. Killzone 3
4. Yakuza 4
5. Skyrim
6. The Witcher 2
7. L.A. Noire
8. Deus Ex: Human Revolution
9. Gears of War 3
10. Modern Warfare 3

x. Crysis 2
x. Catherine
x. Infamous 2
x. Resistance 3

2010. Bayonetta

 

[Ferro]

1. Deus Ex: Human Revolution
2. Driver San Francisco
3. Alice: Maddness Returns
4. Bulletstorm
5. Catherine
6. Stacking
7. Shadows of the Damned
8. Rage
9. Portal 2
10. L.A. Noire

2010. Vanquish

 

[guest1321]

Well I've played 9 (been playing catch-up), so here is how I would rank them.

1. The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim ; I have never really been into RPG's yet this game managed to pull me in. The story and the quests are a lot of fun and I like that I am able to jump on and play for an hour or two and feel really accomplished. The world is a lot of fun to explore and sort of go "sight seeing".

2. Assassins Creed: Revelations ; will add later

3. Forza Motorsport 4 ; What can I say -- Awesome sim-racing game and the immense improvement of physics, graphics, and sound easily outweigh any bugs the game has.

4. Deus Ex: Human Revolution ; Never played the first two but I figured I would be fine as it was a prequel. I was blown away by the story and gameplay. I was extremely impressed with every aspect of this game.

5. Battlefield 3 ; I loved the graphic improvements and I really enjoyed the maps. However, out of the time I have spent playing it there is something about it that bothers me that I can't quite put my finger on.

6. Minecraft ; the easiest way to play digital LEGO's. The only downside to this game is that it is too easy to dump time into.

7. Portal 2 ; I haven't really played it that much hence it's position but from what I did play it was pretty good and I really enjoyed the first and it seems better than the first to some degree (disclaimer: from the 2 1/2 hours I have played)

8. L.A. Noire ; As some have said, this game did have set-backs, but looking back on the level of immersion it brought through a recreation of L.A., really cool cars, and the facial expression system, I have to give the game some credit. It did seem repetitive, but I think given the theme of the game Team Bondi did a great job. Looking back on it the story wasn't terribly bad either, but I do feel the flaws it had were critical enough to hold it down in my list.

9. Dead Space 2 ; again I haven't really played it that much but the levels seemed really detailed and graphically pretty. I'm not really into the thriller genre but it was actually pretty exciting.

2010. Bioshock 2 ; Finally got around to playing it (and then playing Bioshock), and I really enjoyed it. It was interesting to play out of order and without having played the first I thoroughly enjoyed it.

 

[LOCK]

there is no reason besides a misguided attempt to align our awards with those of the professional (as in "paid to play games for a living") media. vote counting is done by a computer program, so overwhelming them with too many ballots shouldn't be an issue. timetokill has been active in the thread but has remained silent about the calls for a more rational deadline.

my guess? he is waiting to announce a 1 week extension like we got last year, which still happens to be too little.

I want to also vote to have the deadline extended. It needs to be made known so many others and I can plan accordingly.

NeoGaf serious business.

 

[amar212]

1. Shadows of the Damned
2. Resistance 3
3. Killzone 3
4. Forza Motorsport 4
5. RAGE

2010. Gran Turismo 5

 

[El-Suave]

1. Rayman Origins ; A breath of fresh air. Beatuifully executed.
2. Batman - Arkham City ; What an amazing sequel - many new ideas based on a rock solid foundation.
3. Deus Ex - Human Revolution; The amount of choices surprised me. A real gamer's game.
4. Uncharted 3 ; Can not be ignored, can not be denied. Not as good as UC2 though.
5. Portal 2 ; Smart and funny, you can't ask for much more.
6. Fifa 12 ; Lots of good improvements.
7. LA Noire ; Heavily flawed in places, still great though.
8. Driver: San Francisco; Fun mechanics, I didn't think they'd work, but they do.
9. Fight Night Champion; Finally a decent story mode in a sports game.
10. Ghost Trick - Phantom Detective; Best handheld game of the year.

 

[neorej]

1. Saint's Row The Third; complete and total madness, topped of with awesomesauce
2. Anno 2070; A little uninspired in terms of factions, but beautifully executed and the underwater is a welcome addition
3. Batman; Arkham City; you are the goddamn Batman in this game. Best superhero game to date.
4. L.A. Noire; I loved the whole new concept
5. Infamous 2; leaps and bounds from it's predecessor, although the separation between Good and Evil karma seemed smaller this time around
6. Skyrim; beautiful, huge, immersive, but too many bugs in the main questline to be a serious GOTY-contender

That's all I have played which was released this year.
Sad but true.

 

[NEO0MJ]

1. Dark Souls
2. Skyward Sword
3. Arkham City
4. Rocksmith
5. Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective
6. Super Mario 3D Land
7. Portal 2
8. Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3
9. Pokemon Black/White
10. Radiant historia

2010. 999: 9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors

 

[Arnie]

All these votes for R3 are making me want to pick it up, enjoyed R1 but hated 2.

Yet the same people advocating the game are also listing KZ3 in their top ten, which, to be honest is one of the worst decisions I've ever seen. KZ3 is one of the worst shooters I've ever played, quite simply.

 

[Witchfinder General]

1. Xenoblade
2. Portal 2
3. Skyrim
4. LA Noire

...

Games I own but haven't finished/started:

Persona 2: Innocent Sin, Catherine, Disgea 4, Uncharted 3

 

[lljride]

1. Disgaea 4 - Really close between this and #2 on my list, but ultimately D4 was the most fun I had playing a game all year.
2. Dark Souls - Better than Demon's Souls, just as hard to get into, just as rewarding to complete.
3. Ar Tonelico Qoga - Extremely underrated, great JRPG.
4. InFamous 2 - Not quite as good as the first, but between this and FoB tons of InFamous fun was had this year.
5. Saints Row The Third - Just a stupid, fun game, and I mean that in the absolute best way possible.
6. Atelier Totori - Another really enjoyable JRPG courtesy of Gust/NISA.
7. Rocksmith - Somehow managed to make learning to play the guitar structured AND fun.
8. Hyperdimension Neptunia - Enjoyable characters and lighthearted story.
9. Wizardry: Labyrinth of Lost Souls - Punishing like a Souls game, just as rewarding to complete.
10. Assassin's Creed: Revelations - By far my least favorite of the Ezio trilogy, but the last half of the game/story made up for the dull first half. Still not a fan of just about every new gameplay element added.

x. Ratchet and Clank: All 4 One - Haven't played it enough to crack the top 10, but I have had a lot of fun playing local 4P multiplayer.
x. Catherine - My biggest disappointment of 2011. Not that the game is bad at all, but the gameplay was frustrating and not enjoyable to me. Shame, because I really dug the atmosphere, characters and story.

2010. Atelier Rorona - Finally went back and played through earlier this year and had a ton of fun. The time limit put me off originally, but once you realize it's not as dire as it seems at first it's a lot more manageable.

 

[zlatko]

Where is the OST of the year thread?

I googled up and the one that was started had someone complain to get it closed since they said they wanted to make it again. I can't find heads or tails, and the year is winding down.

Can I create the thread or what's up?

 

[cooljeanius]

1. Portal 2 - Kept up the creativity
2. Okamiden - Fun little action-adventure game with cuteness and humor
3. Blocks That Matter - The devs describe it as a mashup of Boulder Dash, Minecraft, and Tetris, but I'd say it's more like Block Dude for TI-83.

I think those are the only ones I really liked this year that actually came out this year, most of the others are old games re-issued (Twilight Princess: Player's Choice edition, Cave Story+)

 

[Grimmy]

Played ridiculously few video games this year...

1. The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky
2. Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together
3. Ys I & II Chronicles (mostly for Ys II, which is my favorite Ys of all time)
4. To the Moon
5. Gray Matter (released in NA in 2011)

 

[Vigilant Walrus]

1. Star Wars the Old Republic
2. Witcher 2
3. Battlefield 3(PC)
4. Skyrim (PC)