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[shintoki]

AWESOME AWESOME GAME

way ahead of its time

edit: very strange pics lol

Not strange pictures. Its why Videogames will never be as good as they were again. People want realism now. Not Catapulting Jeeps.

 

[Eideka]

2000 :
Deus Ex :

2001 :

2002 :
Mafia

2003 :

2004 :

2005 :

2006 :

2007 :

2008 :

2009 :

2010 :

2011 :

 

[ghibli99]

I'm just going off of the lists on Metacritic to jog my memory. I'm sure there are games from those years I played more or would hold in higher regard, but for the sake of not spending too much time on this.

2011: Portal 2 (PC)
2010: Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Wii, Game of the Generation)
2009: Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride (DS)
2008: Rock Band 2 (360... bought an Ion kit, Rock Pedal, and eventually a Roland kit because of this game)
2007: Super Mario Galaxy (Wii)
2006: Mother 3 (GBA, first play in 2012)
2005: Shadow of the Colossus (PS2, first play in 2009)
2004: Half-Life 2 (PC, first play in 2009)
2003: Call of Duty (PC)
2002: Couldn't tell ya... guess this wasn't a good year for my kind of games
2001: Final Fantasy X (PS2)
2000: Descent 3 (PC)

Good, good memories...

 

[JordanKZ]

This is tough. Real tough. Mostly because I'm terrible at remembering years that stuff came out.

2000 - Jet Set Radio

2001 - SSX Tricky

2002 - Metroid Prime

2003 - The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

2004 - Unreal Tournament 2004 (just pipping Half-Life 2)

2005 - REALLY HARD TO DECIDE. But I guess Resident Evil 4 just takes it

2006 - The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

2007 - Super Mario Galaxy

2008 - Banjo-Kazooie - Nuts & Bolts

2009 - Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

2010 - Mass Effect 2

2011 - Sonic Generations

or Rayman Origins

 

[Beck]

2000: Valkyrie Profile

2001: Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty

2002: Resident Evil (Gamecube)

2003: Silent Hill 3

2004: Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater

2005: Resident Evil 4

2006: Hitman: Blood Money

2007: Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3

2008: Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4

2009: Demon's Souls

2010: Mass Effect 2

2011: Dark Souls

 

[ScraftyDevil]

2012: Kid Icarus Uprising

2011: Pokémon White/Ghost Trick (tie)

2010: Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep

2009: Batman: Arkham City

2008: Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots

2007: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations

2006: Kingdom Hearts II/Elite Beat Agents (tie)

2005: Shadow of the Colossus (also favourite game of all time)

2004: Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater

2003: The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker

2002: Kingdom Hearts

2001: Final Fantasy IX/Ico (tie)

2000: Marvel Vs. Capcom 2

 

[Dantis]

I've cheated and listed a few close contenders for each year. I play a lot of games, so narrowing it down to one for me is very tough. Also, I've put 2012 in because there's not much left that I'm interested in.

2012: Project Zero 2: Wii Edition
Honorable mentions: Darksiders 2, Uncharted Golden Abyss, Binary Domain, Persona 4: Golden, Yakuza: Dead Souls

2011: Witcher 2
Honorable Mentions: Catherine, Dead Space 2, Radiant Historia, Yakuza 4, Uncharted 3

2010: Alan Wake
Honorable Mentions: Trauma Team, Mass Effect 2, Darksiders, Persona 3 Portable, Yakuza 3, Nier

2009: Uncharted 2
Honourable mentions: Arkham Asylum, Resi Evil 5, Bionic Commando, Silent Hill: Shattered Memories

2008: Persona 4
Honourable mentions: Fatal Frame 4, Smash Bros Brawl, Ninja Gaiden 2, Fable 2

2007: Persona 3 FES
Honourable mentions: Mass Effect, The Witcher, Crysis, Uncharted, Halo 3

2006: Oblivion
Honourable mentions: Dreamfall, Tomb Raider Legend

2005: Fatal Frame 3
Honourable mentions: Digital Devil Saga 1+2, Shadow of The Colossus, Fahrenheit, F.E.A.R, Condemned, Resident Evil 4

2004: Ninja Gaiden
Honourable mentions: Halo 2, DOA Ultimate, MGS3

2003: LoZ: Wind Waker
Honourable mentions: Fatal Frame 2, KoTOR, Beyond Good and Evil, PoP: Sands of Time

2002: Metroid Prime
Honourable Mentions: REmake, Mario Party 4

2001: Soul Reaver 2
Honourable mentions: Halo: CE, MGS 2, Golden Sun, Final Fantasy X, The Longest Journey

 

[revolverjgw]

2000- Thief 2- The Metal Age
2001- Silent Hill 2
2002- Splinter Cell
2003- Manhunt
2004- Metal Gear Solid 3
2005- Resident Evil 4
2006- Mother 3
2007- Warhawk
2008- Metal Gear Solid 4
2009- Uncharted 2
2010- Super Mario Galaxy 2
2011- Deus Ex- Human Revolution

 

[Omikaru]

2000: Deus Ex
2001: Metal Gear Solid 2
2002: Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
2003: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
2004: Half-Life 2 (followed closely by MGS3)
2005: Shadow of the Colossus
2006: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (mostly in lieu of a better game, because 2006 was pretty dire for me)
2007: Hotel Dusk: Room 215
2008: Persona 4 (no game came close this year)
2009: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (again, another dire year for me)
2010: Bayonetta
2011: Pokémon Black (a good year, followed very, very closely by Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Catherine and Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective)

 

[Crash Station]

2000: Skies of Arcadia
2001: Final Fantasy X
2002: Animal Crossing
2003: Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker
2004: Tales of Symphonia
2005: Devil May Cry 3
2006: Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
2007: Super Mario Galaxy
2008: Metal Gear Solid 4 (Persona 4 VERY close)
2009: Little King's Story
2010: Final Fantasy XIII
2011: Legend of Zelds: Skyward Sword

That's a lot of Zelda.

 

[BeauRoger]

Baldur's Gate II

Metal Gear Solid 2

Neverwinter Nights

Star Wars: Knights of the old Republic

World of Warcraft

Civilization IV

Neverwinter Nights 2

Mass Effect

Fallout 3

Uncharted 2

 

[legacyzero]

2008 - Left 4 Dead

Hmmmmmmm..

 

[Shadoken]

2000 - Phantasy Star Online

2001- Shenmue 2

2002 - Warcraft 3

2003 - Viewtiful joe

2004 - Ninja Gaiden

2005 - Resident Evil 4

2006 - Okami

2007 - Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations

2008 - Street Fighter IV

2009 - Demon Souls

2010 - Yakuza 3

2011 - UMvC3

 

[Mileena]

It wins every year.

 

[Anteater]

2000 - Jet Set Radio
2001 - Ico
2002 - Resident Evil Remake
2003 - Final Fantasy XI
2004 - Final Fantasy XI: Chains of Promathia
2005 - Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening
2006 - God Hand
2007 - Mass Effect
2008 - Persona 3 fes
2009 - Dragon Age: Origins
2010 - Bayonetta
2011 - Minecraft

 

[Osietra]

In no real order:
TOLUCT
TW2
SD
DS2
VC

 

[RPGamer92]

2000- Majora's Mask
2001- Super Smash Brothers Melee/Final Fantasy X (Tie)
2002: Animal Crossing
2003: Wind Waker
2004: Metal Gear Solid 3
2005: Resident Evil 4/Shadow of the Colossus (Tie)
2006: Twilight Princess
2007: Super Mario Galaxy
2008: Persona 4
2009: Uncharted 2
2010: Red Dead Redemption
2011: Uncharted 3

 

[SpartanForce]

2011: Deus Ex Human Revolution
2010: Red Dead Redemption
2009: Assassin's Creed 2
2008: Grand Theft Auto IV
2007: Mass Effect 1
2006: Call of Duty 2
2005: Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King
2004: Metal Gear Solid 3
2003: Silent Hill 3
2002: Resident Evil Remake
2001: Silent Hill 2
2000: Syphon Filter 2

 

[Busaiku]

I'm so unique.

 

[Incendiary]

2011: Dark Souls
2010: Super Meat Boy
2009: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
2008: Persona 4
2007: Bioshock
2006: Persona 3
2005: Shadow of the Colossus
2004: Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
2003: Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando
2002: Metroid Prime
2001: Conker's Bad Fur Day
2000: Final Fantasy IX

 

[Randdalf]

2002 - Golden Sun

2003 - Pokemon Sapphire

2004 - Pokemon FireRed

2005 - Mario Kart DS

2006 - Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney

2007 - The Orange Box

2008 - Left 4 Dead

2009 - Football Manager 2010

2010 - Golden Sun: Dark Dawn

2011 - Portal 2

This is not me picking the best game I've played from each year, but rather the best game based on the games I played that year at the age I was. For example, Half-Life 2 would have probably been 2004 if we're backdating GOTYs, but I was 12 years old then.

The 2010 pick could have been Just Cause 2 or Red Dead Redemption but neither of those games held my attention as much as Dark Dawn did, no matter what you think of it as a game or a sequel.

 

[ViewtifulJC]

Hmmmmmmm..

I thought of you when I made this!

I find these lists fascinating. You can really get a sense of a user's preferences by what they pick. All-Nintendo, lots of RPGs, big PC titles, sandbox games, shooters, etc. There are a LOT of great games made in the last decade, I'm really glad I was able to experience so many of them around the time of their release, especially the older ones which might seem a little out of date in 2012.

 

[Yawnier]

2011 - Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception

2010 - Red Dead Redemption

2009 - Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

2008 - Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots

2007 - God of War II

2006 - Kingdom Hearts II

2005 - Shadow of the Colossus

2004 - Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater

2003 - The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

2002 - Animal Crossing

2001 - Super Smash Bros. Melee (so many to choose from though)

2000 - Smuggler's Run (can't think of much for this year)

 

[Fjordson]

2000 - Diablo II

2001 - Grand Theft Auto III

2002 - Grand Theft Auto: Vice City

2003 - Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne

2004 - *see below*

2005 - Battlefield 2

2006 - Resident Evil 4

2007 - Bioshock

2008 - Grand Theft Auto IV

2009 - Assassin's Creed II

2010 - Red Dead Redemption

2011 - Deus Ex: Human Revolution

Most of these were pretty easy choices. Except for 2004...holy shit. GTA: San Andreas versus World of Warcraft. Such a tough choice.

Both are personal classics. Though as much as I love GTA, I think I have to give it to WoW. As I said, I think San Andreas is a classic, but it's probably my least favourite GTA game. And the amount of time I've put into WoW over the last 8 years is insane. I actually just resubbed last month :lol I'm not sure if it's fair to factor in all of the time I've spent playing after 2004, but I remember being totally sucked right away that first week.

 

[Shahed]

2000

Runners up include FF9 and Skies of Arcadia

2001

Runner up is MGS2: Sons of Liberty

2002

Runners up include Kingdom Hearts and GTAIII

2003

Runner's up are Wind Waker and Soul Calibur 2 (Gamecube)

2004

Runners up are GTA San Adreas and Tales of Symphonia

2005

Really good year. Res Evil 4, God of War and Dragon Quest VIII

2006

Runner up is FFXII

2007

Runner up is Halo 3

2008

Another really good year. MGS4, Valkyria Chronicles and Tales of Vesperia

2009

Runner up is Assassin's Creed II

2010

Runner up is probably Halo: Reach

2011

2011 was an awesome year. One of the best I've ever experienced as a gamer. So many brilliant games. But ultimately, Deus Ex HR, and Xenoblade lead the pack. Couldn't separate them,


What I find quite notable is that there are loads of RPG's at first. Then they slowly get replaced by other genre's. How the mighty have fallen...

 

[Burning Justice]

2000 - The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
2001 - Advance Wars
2002 - Metroid Prime
2003 - Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga
2004 - Paper Mario: The Thousand: Year Door
2005 - Resident Evil 4
2006 - I... can't really think of any games that came out this year that I felt strongly about. (EDIT: Wait... Mother 3. I was going by US release dates, but since it wasn't released in the US, I'll go by the Japanese one here.)
2007 - Super Mario Galaxy
2008 - Persona 4
2009 - Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
2010 - Super Mario Galaxy 2
2011 - Portal 2


Note that in the first half of the 00's, I pretty much exclusively played Nintendo systems.

 

[HueyFreeman]

I made a similar thread once:

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=414634

Oh hey, Guy with the exact same taste as me. Um... keep up the good work, I guess

 

[Feindflug]

2000 - Jet Grind Radio (Perfect Dark)
2001 - Halo: Combat Evolved (Silent Hill 2)
2002 - REmake (Metroid Prime)
2003 - Beyond Good & Evil (Zone Of the Enders 2)
2004 - Half Life 2 (Ninja Gaiden)
2005 - Resident Evil 4 (Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater)
2006 - Okami (God Hand)
2007 - Bioshock (Halo 3)
2008 - Ninja Gaiden 2 (Mirror's Edge)
2009 - Demon's Souls (Batman: Arkham Asylum)
2010 - Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Vanquish)
2011 - Dark Souls (Deus Ex: Human Revolution)

Edit: added Runner Ups.

 

[Noi]

2000 - Legend of the Dragoon
One of my gateway games to the world of RPGs. I'll admit it doesn't hold up as well nowadays, but I can still replay it without a problem and have fun with it.

2001 - Tie: Smash Bros. Melee / MGS2

It's too hard a split this year because both games threw me for a loop in very different way. Melee skirted the line between competitive fighter and party game, and I'll admit that I had my core group of friends who constantly tried to one up the other. MGS2 was... well, MGS2.

2002 - Tie: Kingdom Hearts / Metroid Prime

An action RPG with disney characters? A first person Metroid game? Both of these were hard sells, but the exection was simply magical. Hell, Kingdom Hearts was my reason to own a PS2... the Final Fantasy cameos helped!

2003 - Fire Emblem

"lol, is this the game with Roy??" is a phrase I'll never stop shuddering it cause of this game. Fire Emblem's GBA venture is arguably still the best.

2004 - Katamari Damacy

This game taught me that a simple, refined concept polished to perfection can end up a better game than a complex game that plays like shit. It helps that the world of Katamari is fucking nuts... the good kind, anyway.

2005 - Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening

Kinda cheating here since the Special Edition is the one I really love, but this game put Dante on the map for me and still is my favorite action game of all time, no contest. I'll never be as good at it as the likes of other players, but that doesn't stop me from striving to up my game when I can.

2006 - Tie: Kingdom Hearts II / Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War

While not the ideal the direction for the series, KHII is an absolute joy to play, improving on the first game in nearly every aspect. Ace Combat Zero is the best game in the series in my opinion, with the tightest controls, perfect balance in difficulty, short enough but highly replayable, and music that gives Ace Combat 4 a run for it's money.

2007 - Persona 3

Not an entirely popular opinion, but this is my favorite between P3 and P4, for minor reasons for another thread on the matter. I do credit it for introducing me to SMT in general, so there's that.

2008 - Persona 4

...Not to say that I also don't really like P4.

2009 - Tie: BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger / Demon's Souls

The former is probably an uncommon opinion, but BlazBlue was what got me into fighting games period. I didn't bite on Street Fighters of years past, I didn't think of 3D fighters like Tekken as more than an occasional game with friends, and I simply didn't find much interest in the practice. That all changed with this game, and I've been a fan and supported of the genre ever since.

Demon's Souls is... well, Demon's Souls.

2010 - Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep

Three KH games on the list may seem like overkill, but I really like this series ok.

2011 - Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3

The greatest crossover of all time returns. It's mahvel baby.

2012? - Tie: Gravity Rush / Persona 4 Arena / Katawa Shoujo

Too many feels with too many games.

 

[shintoki]

2000

Winner: Diablo II(PC). To say how great this game is, it's been 10 years and there still isn't a loot whore game that does it better

Runner Up: Pokemon Silver(GB). Series is lightning in a bottle, there really isn't much to say. Gotta collect them all

2001


Winner: GTA III(PS2). The first game ever where I could jack a car, kill the person, then use that car to get a hooker to have sex with. Birth of the sandbox

Runner Up: Devil May Cry(PS2). This was in for action games. The genre that never made the proper transaction on consoles from 2D till now.

2002

Winner: BF1942(PC). Wake Island. Online game where I could launch a with explosives to take down a plane.

Runner up: Warcraft III(PC). Introduced me to Aeon of Strife(Eventually become DOTA), Tower Defenses, and some 5k+ custom maps.

2003:

Winner: Zone of the Enders 2nd Runner(PS2). High speed mecha combat. Completely gorgeous and fixed nearly every problem the first had. One of the few games were I beat, just to replay again.

Runner up: Final Fantasy X2(PS2). This was the one that clicked with me. For the one that was the spin off. They finally managed to actually make a great ATB system.

2004:

Winner: Unreal Tournament 2004(PC). I loved the original, but I loved this more. Wasn't as refined, but the sheer scope of it immersed me fully. Also, I was always fantastic with the snipers. So it was shooting fish in the barrel

Runner up: World of Warcraft(PC): Blizzard brought their charm to the MMO market and changed the industry forever.

2005

Winner: RE4(GC). It belongs here. Not much else to say. An shooter that actually had a 20 hour long campaign, and never once felt boring. It was Mikami on God Tier.

Runner up: Ninja Gaiden Black(Xbox): First game to actually give DMC a run for it's money on combat

2006.

Winner: DMC3SE(PS2). DMC came back and took it's crown. Managed to turn the game into something else. Evolved it without Kayima.


2007

Winner: Orange Box(PC): A great single player experience, puzzle side quest, and glorious MP. It was the full package.

Runner up: Witcher(PC): Combat lacked, but they manage to create a fantastic world.

2008

Winner: Lost Planet: Colonies Edition(360/PC). Mechas, giant bugs, and one of the most badass weaponary ever. Every fight in Akrid hunter was the end of Aliens.

Runner Up: Tales of Vesperia(360)

2009

Runner up: Mirrors Edge(PC). It's everything I love about gaming. A completely creative take on an old genre. Turned out to be one of the most amazing platforming titles yet.

Winner: League of Legends(PC): It's a DOTA clone that does it's own thing, yet it's also exactly what makes PC gaming awesome. I put in nearly 250 hours and haven't paid a cent.


2010

Winner: Mount and Blade Warband(PC): The game is rough, but one of the most awesome experiences I've had as of late. Having a 60 v 60 match, where 60 players are storming a castle while you rain arrows down on them. Getting in massive scuffles and battling it out in your last line of defense. Same as LoL and KF. It's exactly why I came back to PC gaming

Runner Up: Vanquish(360)

2011

Winner: Deus Ex Human Revolution(PC)

Runner Up: Witcher 2(PC)

 

[HigherLevel]

2000: Majora's Mask
2001: Halo CE
2002: Starfox Adventures
2003: GTA Vice City
2004: Halo 2
2005: Dragon Quest VIII
2006: Gears of War
2007: Halo 3
2008: GTAIV
2009: Assassin's Creed II
2010: Mass Effect 2
2011: Gears of War 3
2012: As of right now it's Mass Effect 3, but Halo 4 and AC3 will likely change that

 

[Ridesh]

2000 - Diablo II

2001 - Silent Hill 2

2002 - Metroid Prime

2003 - Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

2004 - Metal Gear Solid 3

2005 - Resident Evil 4

2006 - The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

2007 - BioShock

2008 - Dead Space

2009 - Batman: Arkham Asylum

2010 - Mass Effect 2

2011 - Deus Ex: Human Revolution

 

[AngmarsKing701]

2000 - Diablo II
2001 - Halo CE
2002 - Splinter Cell
2003 - Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
2004 - Halo 2
2005 - God of War
2006 - Kingdom Heart II
2007 - Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
2008 -

Spoiler

Too Human ha ha ha

Gears of War 2
2009 - Batman Arkham Asylum
2010 - Mass Effect 2
2011 - Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

 

[human onion]

2000: Deus Ex
GOTY every year for me.

2001: Diablo 2: Lord of Destruction
Not a game, really, but improved an already good game to legendary status.

2002: Metroid Prime
Better than 2d Metroid. Come at me.

2003: Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
Great game with a great twist and a great Star Wars feel.

2004: Unreal Tournament 2004
Sorry Half-Life 2, but your episodes are better anyway.

2005: Call of Duty 2
Admittedly the only game I played from that year, still a great campaign with fun bolt-action multiplayer.

2006: Half Life 2: Episode 1
Although it's objectively worse than Ep2, I liked the setting much more, epecially returning to the Citadel.

2007: Team Fortress 2
I have played no game longer than this. Constantly updated and addictingly fun. And hats.

2008: Sins of a Solar Empire
Not usually into RTS games, but 4X really appealed to me and this game satisfied.

2009: Dragon Age Origins
Great game with fun combat, cliche story but nice characters. Origin stories and how they affected the game were the main draw.

2010: Mount and Blade: Warband
Nothing like charging into battle, kicking ass in arenas, laying siege to castles, and much more. Love the melee combat.

2011: Deus Ex: Human Revolution
Much of what is great about Deus Ex 1 is here. Artstyle, open level design, characters.

 

[Chamber]

2000: SSX
2001: Devil May Cry
2002: Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
2003: Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner
2004: Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
2005: Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening
2006: Gears of War
2007: Uncharted: Drake's Fortune
2008: Devil May Cry 4
2009: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
2010: Bayonetta
2011: Batman: Arkham City

 

[Spieler Eins]

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

 

[Hobbestetrician]

2000: The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
Runners-up: Perfect Dark, Banjo-Tooie

2001: Silent Hill 2
Runners-up: Super Smash Bros Melee, Pikmin, Metal Gear Solid 2, Paper Mario

2002: Timesplitters 2
Runners-up: Metroid Prime, Super Mario Sunshine, Eternal Darkness

2003: Beyond Good & Evil
Runners-up: The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, F-Zero GX

2004: Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
Runners-up: Pikmin 2, Paper Mario: Thousand-Year Door, Metroid Prime 2: Echoes

2005: Resident Evil 4
Runners-up: Timesplitters: Future Perfect, Shadow of the Colossus, Psychonauts

2006: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Runners-up: Oblivion, Wii Sports

2007: Super Mario Galaxy
Runners-up: Bioshock, The Orange Box, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, God of War II

2008: Fallout 3
Runners-up: Metal Gear Solid 4, Super Smash Bros Brawl

2009: New Super Mario Bros Wii
Runners-up: Wii Sports Resort, Resident Evil 5, Assassin's Creed II

2010: Super Mario Galaxy 2
Runners-up: Red Dead Redemption, Fallout: New Vegas, Enslaved, Donkey Kong Country Returns

2011: The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
Runners-up: Skyrim, Portal 2

 

[-Stranger-]

2000: The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

2001: Pikmin

2002: Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty

2003: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

2004: Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door

2005: Resident Evil 4

2006: Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

2007: Bioshock

2008: Persona 4

2009: Batman: Arkham Asylum

2010: Mass Effect 2

2011: Battlefield 3

 

[NotoriousLynx]

2000: Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2 -- This game is seriously god-like, I feel like the reason its not shown on a lot of favorite lists is probably just because of the brand, but I may be very wrong. More games need to be like this and the original SSX (they have a really great Arcade feel to them). Crash Bash also came out in this year, which I enjoyed, but definitely not more than THPS2, no where close.

2001: Final Fantasy X -- Favorite game of all-time; Probably third game I ever played as well. Metal Gear Solid 2, SSX Tricky and Jak & Daxter are extremely close runner-ups. Man, this is probably my favorite year in gaming ever, actually. Although its no where close to the other games that came out in this year, I'm a huge fan of Zoo Tycoon.

2002: Kingdom Hearts -- Combine two amazing (and unlikely) canons (would this be the appropriate word?) to create one of the oddest, most lighthearted, and greatest experiences ever. Runner Up: Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3, take THPS2 and make it 10x better, some how. Honestly, this game is the definition of a game being "perfect", what happened to you, Pro Skater? Sly Cooper is an alright game, great character, but the game itself isn't anything special imho. Ratchet & Clank, one of my favorite and most played series.

2003: Dark Cloud 2 -- A very tough choice because this year was amazing, especially with its sequel. DC2 is, as GameSpy puts it, "short of being a classic". Tons of great features that improved on the first game, voice acting, no more QTE's, and my favorite aspect was the beautifully done camera and crafting mechanic. The only problem I had with it was the dungeons (tedious and boring). Other great games: Beyond Good & Evil, Silent Hill 2, SSX 3, Final Fantasy X-2, Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando, Jak II, Tony Hawk's Underground, and Soul Calibur 2

2004: A tie between Jak III, Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal, and Sly II -- These are the greatest games in their respected series (well, I prefer Jak & Daxter more, but Jak III was a better game I guess). If I had to choose, I guess Up Your Arsenal. Guess I should mention Metal Gear Solid 3, but I honestly liked Metal Gear Solid 1 & 2 more. MGS3 has a great story, and they are all pretty much perfect, but I found the first two to be more interesting.

2005: Devil May Cry 3 -- This year kinda wasn't that interesting. DMC3 is hardly close to any of my favorite games of all time. Destroy All Humans! and Killer7 were interesting as a nine year old (probably didn't have a clue what was going on on the screen at the time). Ratchet Deadlocked is my least favorite Ratchet. Honestly never played Resident Evil 4, and I haven't checked any one's list before posting this, so I'm guessing that RE4 is everywhere in this topic.

2006: Final Fantasy XII -- Say what you will about this installment, but I think its amazing. Great backdrop, characters (besides the supposed "main" character), and gameplay was cool. Kingdom Hearts II was amazing and had much more interesting worlds, but also less memorable and the non-disney worlds/stories were boring. Okami is right next to FF12 with best game of this year, but I just liked FF12 more. However, I've honestly never beaten FF12 and beaten all of Okami.

2007: Super Mario Galaxy -- Best Mario game I've played (haven't played Galaxy 2 sadly); great platforming and co-op mode, played through it twice, once with Mario and Luigi. Halo 3 is my first FPS I really got into, but not until about two or three years later, but the game was still kickin' and forges got so much better by then.

2008: Super Smash Bros. Brawl -- It really does anger me when people say Brawl is a bad game. I never was into Melee (obviously, I grew up on the PS2), but Brawl is wonderful as a standalone experience and doesn't necessarily needs to be compared to its predecessor. Even then, the game was definitely not as competitive as it is a social experience, but that is how I play it, so its perfect for me. Pretty much every summer for the next three years would be my friends and I staying up all night playing Captain Falcon-only Final Destination. Didn't even have to touch a game until Fallout 3 was released, which brought me to the Fallout series. FO3 was breath taking upon release and having ignorance to the rest of the series, but after I played FO1, FO2, and NV, Fallout 3 is sadly not that good anymore. The World Ends With You was a pretty cool game, definitely my favorite DS game.

2009: The Beatles' Rock Band -- Rock Band is a fantastic game and I forgot to include Rock Band 2 in my list, but I don't care now we got the Beatle's Rock Band here. Truly the best band ever (hell, that's a fact), this was one of my personal favorite experiences I had (especially going for the Day Tripper achievement with my family). Runner up would be Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, my favorite online multiplayer experience. Great arcade-like, chaotic gameplay, and very fun map design. Don't care about single player at all. MW3 was very boring imho because they removed all the chaos and made the game very slow, even if it did balance the game out for the most part. If you play CoD competitively, you're doing it wrong.

2010: Fallout New Vegas -- Thanks to Fallout 3, I became a hardcore Fallout fan. Thanks to New Vegas (as well as the first two), I found out that Fallout 3 is a rather poor Fallout game (by itself, its great; I just feel like it ruins a lot of the Fallout lore, as I'm assuming most hardcore Fallout fans believe).

2011: LA Noire -- Great experience, but the game drags on and missions, especially during homicide, are redundant and become very, very boring.

2012: I haven't been playing games a whole lot unfortunately, but I've been following PlayStation Allstars Battle Royale very closely and I believe its going to be amazing. Halo 4 and Black Ops 2 look like they could be good, but with every game I consider, I wait til reviews to see if its worth my money.

 

[jett]

2000 - Shenmue
2001 - Metal Gear Solid 2
2002 - Metroid Prime
2003 - GTA: Vice City
2004 - Metal Gear Solid 3
2005 - Resident Evil 4
2006 - Final Fantasy XII
2007 - Uncharted: Drake's Fortune
2008 - Fallout 3
2009 - Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
2010 - Super Mario Galaxy 2
2011 - Deus Ex: Human Revolution

 

[Semblance]

2000 - Jet Grind Radio
2001 - ICO
2002 - No One Lives Forever 2: A Spy in H.A.R.M.'s Way
2003 - Silent Hill 3
2004 - Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines
2005 - F.E.A.R.
2006 - Dark Messiah of Might and Magic
2007 - Half-Life 2: Episode 2
2008 - Yakuza 2
2009 - Mirror's Edge (PC)
2010 - Bayonetta
2011 - Portal 2

 

[Shahed]

Okay I ended up getting bored, and having way too much time on my hands. So I got curious, and decided to kind of tally these. I allocated 1 point per title chosen as GOTY, and 0.5 for each runner up. I didn't bother listing anything that scored less than 3. It won't be perfect, there might be a few mistakes, but they'll only really be at the lower numbers and Half Life 2/Half Life 2 Episode 1. I may have got confused there. Other than that, it should be largely okay.

Uncharted 2: Among Theives - - - 25
Resident Evil 4 - - - 24
Metroid Prime - - - 21.5
Shadow of the Colossus - - - 18.5
Super Mario Galaxy - - - 18
Zelda: Wind Waker - - - 17.5
Super Mario Galaxy 2 - - - 16
Deus Ex: Human Revolution - - - 14
MGS3: Snake Eater - - - 14
Persona 4 - - - 12
Zelda: Majora's Mask - - - 12
MGS2: Son's of Liberty - - - 11.5
Mass Effect 2 - - - 11
MGS4: Gun's of the Patriots - - - 11
Zelda: Twilight Princess - - - 11
Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - - - 10.5
Red Dead Redemption - - - 10.5
Bioshock - - - 10
Demon's Souls - - - 10
Super Smash Bros Melee - - - 9.5
Final Fantasy X - - - 9
GTA: Vice City - - - 9
Half Life 2 - - - 9
Silent Hill 2 - - - 9
Dark Souls - - - 8.5
Devil May Cry 3 - - - 8.5
Mass Effect 1 - - - 8.5
Assassin's Creed II - - - 8
Fallout 3 - - - 8
World of Warcraft - - - 8
Okami - - - 7.5
Diablo 2 - - - 7
Gears of War - - - 7
Halo: Combat Evolved - - - 7
Star Wars: KotoR - - - 7
Deus Ex - - - 6.5
Final Fantasy IX - - - 6.5
Half Life 2: Episode 1 - - - 6.5
Orange Box - - - 6.5
Paper Mario: TTYD - - - 6.5
Portal 2 - - - 6.5
Resident Evil: Remake - - - 6.5
Final Fantasy XII - - - 6
GTA: San Andreas - - - 6
Kingdom Hearts - - - 6
Kingdom Hearts 2 - - - 6
Persona 3 - - - 6
Fallout: New Vegas - - - 5.5
GTAIII - - - 5.5
Animal Crossing - - - 5
Battlefield 1942 - - - 5
Bayonetta - - - 5
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare - - - 5
Dragon Age: Origin's - - - 5
GTAIV - - - 5
Halo 2 - - - 5
ICO - - - 5
Mirror's Edge - - - 5
Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception - - - 5
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune - - - 5
Batman: Arkham Asylum - - - 4.5
Beyond Good and Evil - - - 4.5
Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion - - - 4.5
Left 4 Dead - - - 4.5
Braid - - - 4
Prince of Persia: Sands of Time - - - 4
Shenmue - - - 4
Shenmue 2 - - - 4
Xenoblade Chronicles - - - 4
Zelda: Skyward Sword - - - 4
Super Smash Bros Brawl - - - 4
Batman: Arkham City - - - 3.5
Dragon Quest VIII - - - 3.5
God of War 2 - - - 3.5
Hitman Blood Money - - - 3.5
Ninja Gaiden - - - 3.5
Pokemon Black/White - - - 3.5
Soul Calibur 2 - - - 3.5
Star Wars: KotoR 2 - - - 3.5
Valkyria Chronicles - - - 3.5
Final Fantasy X-2 - - - 3.5
Bully - - - 3
Civilisation IV - - - 3
Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind - - - 3
Halo 3 - - - 3
Max Payne 2 - - - 3
Phoenix Wright x Ace Attorney - - - 3
Pokemon Fire Red/Leaf Green - - - 3
Kingdom Hearts: BBS - - - 6
Rayman Origins - - - 3
Splinter Cell - - - 3
Tales of Symphonia - - - 3
The Witcher 2 - - - 3
Warcraft 3 - - - 3
Zone of Enders 2: the Second Runner - - - 3
Ratchet and Clank: Going Commando - - - 3


Results are pretty much as expected really. There's nothing there that's really surprising. Feel free to correct me on anything

 

[saveweyard]

2000 - Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2
2001 - Final Fantasy X
2002 - Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
2003 - Final Fantasy X-2
2004 - Rome: Total War
2005 - Gran Turismo 4
2006 - Kingdom Hearts II
2007 - Super Mario Galaxy
2008 - Super Smash Bros. Brawl
2009 - I would say Uncharted 2 but I haven't actually played it yet
2010 - Super Mario Galaxy 2
2011 - Xenoblade Chronicles

I really wasn't into gaming from 2005 to 2009, so didn't really know what to put for those years.

 

[ZeroRay]

2000 - Majora's Mask
2001 - Grand Theft Auto 3
2002 - Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind
2003 - Zone of the Enders 2 (sands of time and MGS2: Substance really close behind)
2004 - Metal Gear Solid 3
2005 - Resident Evil 4
2006 - Final Fantasy XII
2007 - Super Mario Galaxy
2008 - Mirror's Edge
2009 - Uncharted 2 (just edges out Demon's Souls)
2010 - Vanquish
2011 - Deus Ex: Human Revolution

Some of these are retroactive, one or two are changed from what I voted on in the GOTY threads.

 

[Joe Lee]

2000 - Pokemon Gold
2001 - Super Smash Bros. Melee
2002 - don't really remember
2003 - Xenosaga Episode I
2004 - Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
2005 - God of War
2006 - Okami
2007 - Mass Effect
2008 - Grand Theft Auto IV
2009 - Assassin's Creed II
2010 - Mass Effect 2
2011 - Batman: Arkham City
2012 so far: Xenoblade Chronicles

Of course, some of these are kind of thrown in there after getting them out of my backlog years later, but whatever.

 

[Ricky_R]

2000 - Counter Strike
2005 - Chaos Theory
2009 - Uncharted 2
2010 - GOW3

Everything else is a toss up.

 

[Eric Hall]

2011 -- Batman: Arkham City

2010 -- Mass Effect 2

2009 -- Uncharted 2

2008 -- Rock Band 2

2007 -- Mass Effect

2006 -- Final Fantasy XII

2005 -- Lumines

2004 -- Half-Life 2

2003 -- Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

2002 -- Super Mario Sunshine

2001 -- Halo: CE

2000 -- WWF No Mercy

 

[Jimrpg]

2000: SSX

2001: Silent Hill 2

2002: Final Fantasy X

2003: Project Gotham Racing 2

2004: Burnout 3: Takedown

2005: God of War

2006: Titan Quest

2007: Uncharted

2008: Valkyria Chronicles

2009: Demon's Souls

2010: NBA2k11

2011: Yakuza 4

2012: Sleeping Dogs so far

 

[Randolph Freelander]

Ah, heck if I know. I feel like some years could support 3, other years none at all. Some years' GOTY might be a game I didn't even play until years later.

2000 - no idea.
2001 - Halo
2002 - Eternal Darkness
2003 - Knights of the Old Republic
2004 - Ninja Gaiden
2005 - God of War
2006 - Gears of War
2007 - Mass Effect
2008 - Gears of War 2
2009 - Dragon Age
2010 - Mass Effect 2
2011 - Gears of War 3
2012 - ???

I assume I have the years right. And hindsight being what it is, I could be forgetting games I actually liked more, but whatever. I should note that I didn't play the 2001 GOTY until 2003. Other candidates for that one might be Final Fantasy X, which I also didn't play until 2003 (and didn't play all the way through until 2004) or SSX Tricky (a game I actually did play in 2001). The 2006-2008 GOTYs... didn't play any of them until 2009.

 

[Ken]

56k warning chug chug.