1. Dark Souls ; Easily best game of the year. Awesome environments and setting, atmospheric music, very challenging but rewarding gameplay. Real sense of progression. Exploration is rewarding. Great boss fights. This game is a true challenge, the focus is on the gameplay, and the online interactions are awesome.
2. Portal 2 ; Great level design and puzzles. Good humor, although some of it is getting stale now. Was really impressed by the old 1950's Aperture sections.
3. Skyrim ; First 10 hours were mesmerizing. Impressive environments and exploration. Then the game starts to get stale. When exploring dungeons rewards you with better gear and items it is great, eventually (once you complete some quest lines) you have good gear and 90% of dungeons get you nothing. After you become powerful the game becomes less interesting. You spend time fast traveling completing fetch quests. It is still a great game, but in some ways the freedom is a hindrance as you end up losing focus and many areas become a waste of time to even explore.
4. Battlefield 3 ; The graphics wow, the feeling of being in a battle is so impressive here. It boils down to the same old FPS Battlefield game-play, which isn't bad, but also doesn't hold my attention for long.
5. Minecraft ; This was my top choice from 2010, I guess it is officially out now so I'll vote for it again.
6. Plants vs. Zombies ; Great puzzle/tower defense game.
7. La Noire ; Started out strong, but then the illusion of real detective work wears out. The fact that "doubt" actually means "accuse without proof" without the players knowledge is a big issue early on in the game (until you figure it out). The facial animations are the best I have seen, very impressive. The art style was done very well. However having an open world is almost pointless, I guess it does add to the realism though. Shooting an driving sections kind of sucked. The cases also start to get stale. This probably would not be on my list at all if I had played more games this year.
8. Crysis 2 ; Meh, this would not be on my list if I had played more games. Graphics were really nice, some good sections but ultimately it was a let down compared to Crysis and Crysis Warhead.
9. ...
10. ...
2010. Minecraft ; I played it much more in 2010 than 2011 but an amazing game.
Games I meant to play but didn't have time. Many of these would have probably made this years list if I actually played them. Oh well.
Batman: Arkham City
The Witcher 2
Gears of War 3
Resistance 3
Killzone 3
Deus Ex: Human Revolution
Dead Space 2
Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
Rayman Origins
Dragon Age II
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
Super Mario 3D Land
Mario Kart 7
Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon
Serious Sam 3
I am guessing, Zelda, Batman, The Witcher 2, and possibly Deus Ex would have all made the list if I had played them.
2011 Betas:
Tribes: Ascend ; Tribes is back! I was never a Tribes pro or elitist, so maybe I am less picky, but this game is plain fun. The mechanics are great, the maps are great, just pure fun. Still requires strong teamwork and players understanding their roles.
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive ; CS is back! ... almost. Game looks great and is quite fun. I just can't get used to the new sprays, honestly I suck ass at everything except the AWP. Gets really aggravating, my brain just can't learn new sprays it seems. The option of matchmaking and built in competitive mode are great steps to improve the community however.
2. Portal 2 ; Great level design and puzzles. Good humor, although some of it is getting stale now. Was really impressed by the old 1950's Aperture sections.
3. Skyrim ; First 10 hours were mesmerizing. Impressive environments and exploration. Then the game starts to get stale. When exploring dungeons rewards you with better gear and items it is great, eventually (once you complete some quest lines) you have good gear and 90% of dungeons get you nothing. After you become powerful the game becomes less interesting. You spend time fast traveling completing fetch quests. It is still a great game, but in some ways the freedom is a hindrance as you end up losing focus and many areas become a waste of time to even explore.
4. Battlefield 3 ; The graphics wow, the feeling of being in a battle is so impressive here. It boils down to the same old FPS Battlefield game-play, which isn't bad, but also doesn't hold my attention for long.
5. Minecraft ; This was my top choice from 2010, I guess it is officially out now so I'll vote for it again.
6. Plants vs. Zombies ; Great puzzle/tower defense game.
7. La Noire ; Started out strong, but then the illusion of real detective work wears out. The fact that "doubt" actually means "accuse without proof" without the players knowledge is a big issue early on in the game (until you figure it out). The facial animations are the best I have seen, very impressive. The art style was done very well. However having an open world is almost pointless, I guess it does add to the realism though. Shooting an driving sections kind of sucked. The cases also start to get stale. This probably would not be on my list at all if I had played more games this year.
8. Crysis 2 ; Meh, this would not be on my list if I had played more games. Graphics were really nice, some good sections but ultimately it was a let down compared to Crysis and Crysis Warhead.
9. ...
10. ...
2010. Minecraft ; I played it much more in 2010 than 2011 but an amazing game.
Games I meant to play but didn't have time. Many of these would have probably made this years list if I actually played them. Oh well.
Batman: Arkham City
The Witcher 2
Gears of War 3
Resistance 3
Killzone 3
Deus Ex: Human Revolution
Dead Space 2
Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
Rayman Origins
Dragon Age II
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
Super Mario 3D Land
Mario Kart 7
Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon
Serious Sam 3
I am guessing, Zelda, Batman, The Witcher 2, and possibly Deus Ex would have all made the list if I had played them.
2011 Betas:
Tribes: Ascend ; Tribes is back! I was never a Tribes pro or elitist, so maybe I am less picky, but this game is plain fun. The mechanics are great, the maps are great, just pure fun. Still requires strong teamwork and players understanding their roles.
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive ; CS is back! ... almost. Game looks great and is quite fun. I just can't get used to the new sprays, honestly I suck ass at everything except the AWP. Gets really aggravating, my brain just can't learn new sprays it seems. The option of matchmaking and built in competitive mode are great steps to improve the community however.