2011 Community GOTY Results!

ClockworkHouse wrote:

They made Dance Central in Japan?

touché.

I don't know if I should modify my list for Bastion, assuming I'd even be able to beat it in time for the year to end.

It feels like a Super Nintendo game, or an evolution of such a thing. It's not retro for the sake of being retro, but is simply fun. Plenty of excellent design ideas, depth, challenge, and story. It's not trying to be artistic for the sake of being artistic, it's not trying to fool me into loving it with nostalgia, and it's not trying to rely on some "innovative" gimmick to be fun. It's just plain fun.

So at the very least, I give this game an honorable mention.

ccesarano wrote:

I don't know if I should modify my list for Bastion, assuming I'd even be able to beat it in time for the year to end.

It feels like a Super Nintendo game, or an evolution of such a thing. It's not retro for the sake of being retro, but is simply fun. Plenty of excellent design ideas, depth, challenge, and story. It's not trying to be artistic for the sake of being artistic, it's not trying to fool me into loving it with nostalgia, and it's not trying to rely on some "innovative" gimmick to be fun. It's just plain fun.

So at the very least, I give this game an honorable mention.

I've only played the first two levels (saving it for when I've finished off some other games), but you've nailed one of the reasons I like it so far, it's selling itself on it's own merits, not trying to 'checkpoint on the box' it's way to success.

You don't think the Narrator is the big gimmick? Serious question.

The narrator (at my current progress through the game) doesn't seem like that big a deal, and it's been overblown for how significant it is. It's something that contributes to the atmosphere of the game, but it's a very obvious thing people can point to because it's different, unlike most other games that do it right where it's a dozen or so little contributing factors. Maybe I'm wrong and it turns the game on it's head later on, but I don't know that yet.

Another factor for me, coming to the game late, is that I quickly got tired of the masses of people on the internet posting things like "Kid goes to the toilet, gets some relief" forum posts thinking they're very clever and funny, but it saps my enjoyment from the game. Similar with "Would you kindly" a few years back, and a whole load of other things the internet beats to death.

ClockworkHouse wrote:

You don't think the Narrator is the big gimmick? Serious question.

I've been trying to come up with an answer to this and really all I can come up with is it's a fine line between innovative feature and gimmick. I'm not sure what that line is but I'm leaning towards revolving the game around it makes it a gimmick. The narrator is just a feature added on top of the game.

gregrampage wrote:
ClockworkHouse wrote:

You don't think the Narrator is the big gimmick? Serious question.

I've been trying to come up with an answer to this and really all I can come up with is it's a fine line between innovative feature and gimmick. I'm not sure what that line is but I'm leaning towards revolving the game around it makes it a gimmick. The narrator is just a feature added on top of the game.

I agree, the music, story and art go a long way to adding to the game. The Narrator is just a part of all of that.

If Diablo III was just Diablo II with blocks that came together as you walked that would be a gimmick. Bastion does a lot right, and it's not just the narrator.

The problem I see with everyone pointing at Bastion's narrator as though it's a massive advancement in the development of good games, is that other developers might look at the pointing and decide that "narrator = good game" and just blindly add narrators to their games without thinking that it's just one part of a whole.

Maybe lots of games are suited to narration but were too afraid to try it before Supergiant did it. The thing also I see is that lots of games are narrated already, mostly by the player character ("Those alien b'stards are gonna pay for shooting up my ride") or some other character you interact with in the game, or the voice in your ear. It's just the form the narration takes in each game that's important.

I think the bottom line is someone is going to beat you over the head with exposition. I prefer Bastion's approach to pages of text in JRPGs and NPCs that want to talk at you in WRPGs.

1) Saints Row: The Third
2) Portal 2
3) Trenched/Iron Brigade
4) Gears of War 3
5) Tiny Tower
6) You Don't Know Jack
7) Bastion
8) Batman: Arkham City (I haven't gotten to play too much of this)
9) Rayman Origins
10) Skyrim (I have only played an hour or so of this game, but I really like it)

Games of not-2011 I want to give a nod to: Mass Effect 1 & 2 (yeah I'm working on the backlog), Enslaved, Uncharted 1 & 2.

DSGamer wrote:

I think the bottom line is someone is going to beat you over the head with exposition. I prefer Bastion's approach to pages of text in JRPGs and NPCs that want to talk at you in WRPGs.

See my post below, I found that was not the case in several games.

I meant to mention (but don't want to edit my post), I have a few games that I didn't get a chance to get to this year that may make the rankings, like Saint's Row 3 and, if I'm unrealistically optimistic, Skyrim. But that's for next year, I suppose.

I had a really difficult time coming up with my top ten this year. Unlike last year, though, it wasn't due to lack of decent games I played, but rather a surfeit of incredible digital comestibles. A top 15 would have been just about perfect; deciding what game slipped in as #10 took longer than anything else, although deciding the specific order of the top ten wasn't much easier. They are closely bunched, indeed.

Trends:

For all people have decried the downfall of Japanese developers, I managed to find a lot of content in the Games of the Rising Sun. My top four and six (almost seven) of my top ten hail from Japanese developers. Oddly enough, all of them took chances that I would have a difficult time seeing Western developers take -- during a time when they're criticized for being too conservative with their design choices. Go figure.

The top four games (and #8) all had interesting stories that were told in sometimes unusual and subtle ways, and most importantly they assumed some level of intelligence in the player. I guess I've been beating that drum a bit lately, but I'm sick of narrative and meaning being pounded into my skull with a 20-pound sledgehammer. Most gamers aren't idiots. Allow them to infer! Take a cue from books and movies!

This was a year where innovation was rewarded. Almost every game on the list took some big chances that mostly paid off.

Anyway, on with the show:

  • Catherine -- It was truly a fight for the coveted #1 slot, but after more consideration I'm sticking with Catherine for my GOTY choice. A really, really bad marketing campaign tried to make this a survival horror game drenched in T&A, but it really isn't at all. It's a surprisingly subtle and deep relationship story surrounded by a unique puzzle game with almost perfect difficulty progression. The Persona team had to throw in their crazy supernatural elements in the end, but this was easily the most realistic and nuanced portrayal of adult relationships that I've ever experienced in a video game.
  • NIER -- Wow, what a ride. I think I've written plenty already.
  • El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron -- A late challenger emerges! I started this Monday and finished it late last night. It could sink a bit in the rankings due to the luster wearing off, but since I'm sure I'm the only person with it on their list I'll keep it here. Beautiful. Simply stunningly beautiful. Unequivocally the most gorgeous game I've ever played -- sorry, Okami. It's primarily a platformer, not a DMC combat game, and the platforming is executed very well. The camera always pans to exactly where you need it to be to make a jump -- when was the last time you could say that about a 3D platformer? The combat is relatively uninspired, but doesn't get in the way, and boss fights are still quite interesting. The story surprised me quite a bit, and there's a lot that's left open to speculation. Also, crazy light-speed motorcycle level. Also also, crazy dancing boss battle. You get the idea.
  • Dark Souls -- So I'm only to the Gaping Dragon, which means I'm probably not even halfway finished, but wow. The most viscerally satisfying combat I've ever experienced. Plenty of others have written about this and I don't have much to add, but the weight and feel of everything is quite a pleasant experience. You really do feel as though you've legitimately died or earned your victory; nothing's cheap. I did have several cheap deaths in the beginning, but that's mostly due to a very unusual control scheme. Press X to atta-- oh wait, I just drank a potion and died. And why is the run button the same as the roll button? But once I worked through that, it's really shining.
  • Brutal Legend; and, DoubleFine in general -- Being the huge Schafer nut I am, I have no idea why I waited so long to play this. Really wanted to put this higher, but every game above it did something unique that I wanted to commend. Just tons of fun from start to finish, and plenty of laugh-out-loud moments. A+++, would play again. Also gave me more of an appreciation for metal than I previously had. As to the rest, I played through both Stacking and Trenched/Iron Brigade this year, and (more recently) Once Upon a Monster. This is a studio that just oozes charm and togetherness in their art direction and story-telling. Love 'em.
  • Dance Central; and, the Kinect in general -- I really wanted to just make this slot the Kinect-a-thon slot, but I think Dance Central deserves special recognition for using the hardware to its fullest and least buggy. Also, it's just so much fun to play, especially with friends. Or by yourself; I played enough to five-star every song on hard. Anyway, despite lag issues and typical first-gen hardware wonkiness, the Kinect has been a surprise in my house this year, from DC to Kinect Adventures to Once Upon a Monster. I will be one of the first in line to get the Kinect 2 (or whatever it's named) -- I can't wait to see what they do once their hands aren't tied together with a 15Mb/sec throughput.
  • Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom -- Like El Shaddai, I barely sneaked this one in, though the other direction: TA says I popped my first achievement January 1st. It is simply charming. And beautiful, though a bit low-res. It's a very fine line between creating a character with a childlike innocence and creating a character who sounds mentally {ableist slur}, but they managed to make it happen. A bit of metroidvania backtracking required, but not much. Simple and sweet. "...Bear? I not bear."
  • Resonance of Fate -- I didn't know what to expect with this one. Some sort of action/J/SRPG hybrid thingy? I dunno. All I know is the combat system is crazy deep and takes a long time to really figure out, but once you do, you feel awesome. Also note a lack of hand-holding in the story, which was more than interesting enough to keep me going.
  • Portal 2 -- There are a few things that kept this game from ranking higher. Though Stephen Marchant's character was humorous for a bit, eight hours or so of him was far too much. Far too much. I disliked that the game was a lot more locked-down than the first version -- there were often times only a handful of small areas in a room on which you could actually place portals. And Acts I and III simply felt stale. Had they made the game that, IIRC, they said they were originally going to make, that was all about the Cave Johnson section, that I would have enjoyed. The open vastness and feeling of creating your own solutions in that section were far more enjoyable, as was the voice acting. C'est la vie.
  • de Blob 2 -- If you asked me on five different days I would probably put five different games in the 10th slot, but today this gets the nod for its tight and focused gameplay, and the fact that it never stopped being irreverently humorous and, y'know, fun. It was exactly the right length and, though it didn't do anything particularly outstanding, it didn't do anything wrong at all, which raises its caché quite a bit.

Just missed the cut:

  • The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword -- It kills me to not have this in my top ten. The puzzles are picture-perfect and the combat is mostly satisfying with the WMP, but I just can't do it. The game feels so derivative of OoT that it's scary; as I said, this is a year in which innovation is rewarded. There are too many extra-combat controller issues, notably re-calibration problems with the beetle and flying...and don't even get me started on swimming. Whoever okay'd those controls should be fired. I've stopped playing at the beginning of the Water Temple and I'm having such a hard time motivating myself to finish. I feel like it's my own child, and I know I'm supposed to love it unconditionally, but...I don't.
  • Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands -- Fun game, and a very tight and compact experience. No wasted space here. Combat still not so great, but I enjoyed it thoroughly.
  • Bully: Scholarship Edition -- The best Rockstar game I've played to-date (still waiting on RDR and L.A. Noire). Again, a bit of a tighter experience, and it felt like it hearkened back to their more whimsical days before everything got all serious and scowly. The high-school hijinks were so fun. It missed the cut due to the oft-bemoaned Rockstar tendency to try to cram everything but the kitchen sink into a single game.
  • Prototype -- to be honest, I was not expecting to like this game. It didn't seem like my sort of thing. But despite an overly-scowly protagonist and Yet Another Manhattan Setting, I enjoyed the heck out of it. You really do feel like some crazy-powerful dude, and dashing through Times Square has never been so fun. Even the story turned out to be kinda-sorta okay. The gliding missions were some of my favorite moments -- sort of like a super-serious version of Monkey Ball.
  • Darksiders -- haha, just kidding.

(Dis)honorable Mentions:

  • Tinker -- Why is this game so long?!
  • To the Moon -- As subtle as a flame-thrower but less fun to play with. This had the most bizarrely discordant setting and story I can remember.
  • Kinectimals -- cute, and your three-year-old will probably like it, but some poorly-designed mini-games, an extremely repetitive main game, and a horribly-designed menu system make for a bad experience. Speaking of three-year-olds, I'm pretty sure mine could have designed a better inventory/menu than this.

I wasn't going to vote, but I am, all the same. I limited myself only to games I had finished this last year, which knocks a few beloved RPGs out of contention.

  • Super Mario 3D Land (3DS) — This game has more ideas packed into its eighty-odd levels than nearly every other game on this list combined. Endlessly inventive, Mario 3D Land is perpetually renewing itself, presenting players in almost every level with some new variation on basic platforming ideas, a playful use of the 3D display, or a challenging twist on established the series' established formulae. But as delightful as the main game is, this wasn't my game of the year until I dove into the special zones that are unlocked once you've finished it. Diabolically challenging at times, but always satisfying, the special zones are the model for perfect post-game content.
  • Bioshock 2 (360) — While its predecessor didn't thrill me, Bioshock 2 is a gem. It improves on the original in every way with tighter shooting mechanics; more interesting and more varied gameplay; a Rapture that genuinely feels like a city underwater rather than an underwater-themed spaceship; and, most of all, a deeper, more personal, and more satisfying story. In some ways, it's fitting that Bioshock 2 should be overlooked in the wake of Bioshock, as life in the shadows of Andrew Ryan, of Frank Fontaine, and of the dream of Rapture is among the game's primary themes. Bioshock 2 delivers a smaller, more intimate experience than most games dare to, casting you in the role of a father-figure to a young woman held captive in a squalid, mundane corner of a city by a mundane and unimaginative leader. The locations aren't as grand, the personalities not as out-sized, but that's the entire point.
  • Batman: Arkham Asylum (360) — Leveraging the Batman universe into a coherent, captivating game couldn't have been easy, but Rocksteady mostly manages it here; there's a reason this game shows up on so many list two years after it's release. At long last, the Batman is actually a fun character to inhabit, and the asylum is an interesting place to explore, with Easter eggs for comic fans unobtrusively tucked into almost every corner. While the campaign loses all its momentum long before it limps across the finish line, the post-game combat and predator challenges more than make up the difference with rawly mechanical gameplay that's extremely satisfying. The Freeflow combat system is a fully-formed masterpiece. It's immediately useful enough to get players through the storyline, but it holds enough depth to make the score-chasing challenge rooms really interesting.
  • Deus Ex: Human Revolution (360) — No game I played this year created a world as interesting and as visually rich as Human Revolution, and only Bioshock 2 came anywhere close. This game gives us a stunning vision of the future that like the best science fiction stretches out beyond the confines of its plot to show us a living world stretched out in every direction. It's easy to imagine even the things we never see, like suburban homes and the people who live in them, down to the clothes they wear, the cars they drive, and the topics that dominate their watercooler talks. If its mechanical foundations had been as carefully refined as its amber-soaked visuals, this could have achieved even more, but it achieved so much that it's hard to be left wanting.
  • Glow Artisan (WP7) — Deceptively simple, Glow Artisan was the best pure puzzle game I played this year. The puzzles ramp up in difficulty nicely, gradually introducing you to new techniques and new ways of thinking about the puzzle board while at the same time not leaving you feeling as though your hand was being held, your moves too carefully guided. The game's gold medal challenges for move count often require you to think deeply about how to execute something as efficiently as possible, while the gold medal time challenges have you blazing through the puzzles at truly ludicrous speeds. When I finally cleared the last puzzle with thousandths of a second remaining, I whooped with joy. When was the last time a game made you do that?
  • Ico (PS2) — Quiet and contemplative, Ico is that rare thing in gaming: a singular vision brought to fruition. Although it's shamelessly padded with dull combat, and the controls for both the boy and the camera show their age unflatteringly, the grand design of the game and its strong aesthetics are not to be missed. By winding the player's path over, around, and deep into the castle, Ico creates one of the great spaces in gaming. It becomes a space both knowable and complete, somewhere that when your path twists you around so that you're overlooking somewhere you've already been, you can think to yourself: I remember that place, and I know what's next to it, beyond it, and below it.
  • Tentacles (WP7) — At its heart, Tentacles is a platformer, but it's a platformer that's had its insides torn out and rebuilt from the ground up for touchscreen controls. Rather than making a traditional platformer with an emulated d-pad and buttons, developers PressPlay devised a control scheme that's perfectly designed for mobile devices and built a devilishly difficult world around them. I still don't believe that smartphone gaming is going to send traditional handhelds packing entirely, but if that does come to pass, I hope that someone, anyone, picks up the ideas laid down here by PressPlay and pushes them bravely forward.
  • Limbo (XBLA) — Dark, cruel, and hypnotic, Limbo stands as one of the most memorable gaming experiences I had this year. Like Ico, Limbo is a fairly rote platformer buoyed by stunning atmosphere and aesthetics. While it's second half doesn't stand up to its first, where every encounter is carefully tuned into a thrilling, nail-biting experience, it's a remarkable work of art.
  • Dante's Inferno (360) — Lambasted from the outset for reinterpreting a classic work of literature as an action game, Dante's Inferno is a surprisingly intelligent, engrossing experience that reaffirms Visceral Games' reputation as home to the best sound designers in the business. The pained and mournful cries of the damned that accompany Dante on his descent into hell are emotionally exhausting and the perfect accompaniment to the game's nightmarish visuals. Smart references to The Divine Comedy abound, from tortures recreated in excruciating detail to the stories of the damned souls you find in each level, huddled naked and alone. This game would rank much higher on my list if not for the lackluster final third of the game when the developers ran out of time, money, or inspiration and phoned in a series of bland levels unequal to what came before them.
  • Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars (3DS) — Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars might have the most face-palmingly stupid characters and storyline of any game I played this year, but it also featured brilliant tactical gameplay that kept me hooked throughout the campaign. I hope that this game spawns a sequel where designer Julian Gollop is allowed to incorporate some of the squad and character customization that defined his best known work: X-Com.

Notable Absences:

  • Portal 2 (360) — Here is a game that would have been twice as good if shrunk to half its length. Starved for ideas, there was no character, joke, mechanic, or setting in this game that wasn't allowed to linger long past the point where it had grown stale and unwelcome. This was a game that played it too safe, confusing sterility for polish and refinement.
  • Batman: Arkham City (360) — In contrast to Portal 2, Arkham City is a sprawling, unfocused mess where seemingly no idea, no matter how half-baked, as allowed to fall to the cutting room floor. Rather than ironing out the flaws in Arkham Asylum and leaving well enough alone what was already perfected, the developers at Rocksteady repeated many of their previous mistakes and packed unneeded bloat into systems that were already well-refined. A disappointing sequel to a great game and one that doesn't give much hope for the inevitable Stunning Conclusion to the Best-Selling Trilogy.

Honorable Mention:

  • Braid (XBLA) — I played Braid when it was first released on XBLA, but this year, motivated by that one unclaimed achievement, I replayed the game and did a speed run of it. Running through each puzzle at a break-neck pace really made me appreciate the elegance and depth of their designs. There isn't a poorly-made puzzle in the game, and the master solutions for some of them are really clever. This is a game I will most certainly revisit in the future.

If I had finished them this year, Persona 3, Lost in Shadow, Skyward Sword, and Devil Survivor Overclocked likely would have all made the top ten.

ClockworkHouse wrote:

You don't think the Narrator is the big gimmick? Serious question.

I thought about it, but two things kept me from labeling it as such.

1) I read an article where the guy was only supposed to narrate select moments from the game, but they liked it so much they decided he'd narrate everything.

2) They managed to execute something that could be annoying just right, and as such it adds to the game's atmosphere.

However, it's not a technique I'd like to see used everywhere. It fits Bastion well, but there are a lot of ways it could have been done wrong. In the end, the narration doesn't necessarily improve the game in terms of gameplay, and there are plenty of moments where I'm too busy concentrating on combat to be listening to the narrator, but it was executed in such a manner here in Bastion that it works rather than being annoying.

1) The Witcher 2 - This game has brass balls. Viva la PC RPG!
2) Portal 2 - Only number 2, because of number 1.
3) Deus Ex: Human Revolution - It gave me the glow.
4) Batman: Arkham City - The best decision I made was to ignore all of the side content.
5) Bastion - Loved it!
6) Frozen Synapse - Too intense for me to finish, but it left it's mark.
7) Orcs Must Die - Just great.
8) Trine 2 - Good, but not quite what I was hoping it would be.
9) Renegade Ops - I've quit playing until I can get some couch-coop going, but so much fun.

A very special mention to Demons Souls. Very special.

After all the praise lumped on Demon Souls, I am surprised I've not seen it much in the voting. Then again, I am overdue for an eye exam...

trueheart78 wrote:

After all the praise lumped on Demon Souls, I am surprised I've not seen it much in the voting. Then again, I am overdue for an eye exam...

Demon's Souls was the original from two years ago, Dark Souls was this year. The latter was number 4 or 5 for me.

Hearing other people talk on podcasts and the like about Portal 2 again makes me think it should be a little higher on my list, maybe.

I think I should have named my "notable absences" section "clocking like a motherclocker."

Having my firstborn arrive in February hasn't allowed me anywhere near as much gaming time as I would have liked. I honestly can't come up with ten games I played this year which I feel are worthy of consideration. If it looks dominated by short, casual indie games, it's because those fit my available gaming time best this year.
I feel like I should cheat and vote twice for Isaac since I enjoyed it so much. It's one of those games that just clicked with me from the very start.
1) The Binding of Isaac
2) Portal 2
3) Jamestown
4) Atom Zombie Smasher
5) Terraria
6) Bastion
7) Dungeons of Dredmor
8) Puzzle Agent

Nope, can't do it. I tried, but I just can't seem to assign numbers to gaming experiences. It all seems too arbitrary to me. Not knocking the idea or anything, it's just not something I'm able to do any more. Ignore my previous list, I'm out of the voting.

MechaSlinky wrote:

Nope, can't do it. I tried, but I just can't seem to assign numbers to gaming experiences. It all seems too arbitrary to me. Not knocking the idea or anything, it's just not something I'm able to do any more. Ignore my previous list, I'm out of the voting.

I am this way with my all time favorites. I can barely even pick a top five there without pulling out my hair and I can't decide on an order for them. Games played this year was easier but mainly because I barely played 10 new games this year

Okay, last statistical update before the end:

  • Any further lists that are posted could change the ranking of the top ten. It's going to be a close finish!
  • The top ten looks really different if you sort it by number of #1 votes, number of weighted votes, and number of unweighted votes.
  • I was totally right in my guess of what would be the top-ranked classic game. I should have told you all up-front so you could be more impressed with me.
  • 257 unique games are represented. Good job, Goodjers!

1) Dead Island: With the zombie genre dying, this was probably the perfect send out. Gave me many of the things I felt was missing from many other zombie games (good melee combat that actually feels like you aren't smacking a piece of paper and RPG elements).

2) Terraria: Perfect blend of sandbox and RPG. The support from the developers has been phenomenal.

3) Skyrim: Filled with many, small disapointments that are completely overshadowed by the fact that's it's another Bethesda RPG that I'm going to play for 10 trillion hours. Would almost certainly be #1 if the creation kit were out already.

4) Portal 2: So well made but the single player got tired for me quickly, about 3/4ths through I was ready for it to just be over. The coop is probably the most fun coop ever.

5) Batman Arkham Asylum: banananananananananananannanana

6) The Witcher 2: I feel like my judgement on this would be better if I didn't buy this game on Steam and got it on GoG instead. All the patching issues put a real bad taste in my mouth. The performance issues didn't help either (same stuttering no matter what settings I put it on). Anyway, tech issues aside, the game felt so different and refreshing from the typical western RPG style.

7) Just Cause 2: Almost certainly the most pure fun I've had playing a game.

8) Dungeon Defenders: A really solid and fun game that makes you think both in tactical defense placement along with playing your class in combat, either by doing damage or supporting/ Lots of support from the developers post release as well.

9) Assassin's Creed 2: Leonardo is such a cutie

10) Sonic Generations: I put this here last because I haven't finished it yet. I've actually only played 6 acts; however, from just what I've played so far it's already the best Sonic game since Sonic Adventures. The visuals are really well done and fit perfectly with the game, the gameplay is a cool mix of the old school and new school (and the 3d parts actually dont suck), and the sound is probably my favorite thing of it all. The music for the first 3 games is one of the most memorable things about them (I still listen to the soundtracks all the time) and Generations goes back to the roots of great, clean, flowing music and away from the random Japanese punk rock they seem to gained a taste for.

edit: added Arkham Asylum, I forgot I played that this year
edit 2: added Space Marine
edit 3: removed Deus Ex HR and Space Marine, added Just Cause 2 and Sonic Generations

Made a couple significant edits to my list, see edit 3:
http://www.gamerswithjobs.com/node/1...
Last ones, I promise :p

I don't play a lot of games the same year that they release, however here were the 2011 releases that I'd consider worth including on the list of the best games I played this year:

1. Dark Souls

(insert huge margin here)

2. Radiant Historia
3. Sequence
4. Dungeon Siege 3
5. Frozen Synapse

ClockworkHouse wrote:

257 unique games are represented. Good job, Goodjers!

And 50% of those came from my list.

AndrewA wrote:

I don't play a lot of games the same year that they release, however here were the 2011 releases that I'd consider worth including on the list of the best games I played this year:

The games don't have to have been released in 2011, just played in 2011 (for the first time).

garion333 wrote:
AndrewA wrote:

I don't play a lot of games the same year that they release, however here were the 2011 releases that I'd consider worth including on the list of the best games I played this year:

The games don't have to have been released in 2011, just played in 2011 (for the first time).

That'll teach me for being a filthy skimmer.....

http://www.gamerswithjobs.com/node/1...

Edited my list. Thanks to the Steam Holiday Sale i picked up Psychonauts and holy mother of zeus, that game is awesome. And amazingly good looking and well controlled on PC all these years later.
It took the #2 slot, bumping everything else down, and knocking Skyward Sword off my list.

1. Portal 2 - Had i not had the chance to play through the co-op campaign with my non-gamer brother, this would have been a few notches down on the list.
2. Psychonauts - Thank you Steam Holiday Sale! So those fantastic Scarecrow bits from Arkham Asylum? Here's an entire game that mind bendy, but funnier
3. Batman: Arkham Asylum - Yeah, i'm cheap. I waited.
4. Bastion - Massive bonus points for the music and art style.
5. Mass Effect 2 - See above. I'm still cheap.
6. Game Dev Story
7. The Stanley Parable
8. Atom Zombie Smasher
9. Carcassonne - Yay for Android versions of games i'd never have the time to play on a real table.
10. The Wonderful End of the World

Knocked off the list

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword - Still fantastic, but held back by an almost slavish devotion to the wiimotion plus controls. I would have no problems if i controlled the beetle or flight with just the thumbstick, as opposed to fighting with the balance sensors in the wiimote.