2011 Community GOTY Results!

Jeff-66 wrote:

Good to see someone appreciated Crysis 2 as much as I did. I didn't have it #1, but I think it's definitely a top 5 game. I think I had it 3rd.

It's always hard to decide how to rank things so it could have gone many ways. Regardless, I do feel like Crysis 2 is very under-appreciated. I feel like a lot of PC gamers maligned it for not being as open as the first and console gamers didn't even know what to expect so they passed it by, which is a shame because shooters where every combat situation isn't completely scripted are increasingly rare these days.

kaptainbarbosa wrote:
Jeff-66 wrote:

Good to see someone appreciated Crysis 2 as much as I did. I didn't have it #1, but I think it's definitely a top 5 game. I think I had it 3rd.

It's always hard to decide how to rank things so it could have gone many ways. Regardless, I do feel like Crysis 2 is very under-appreciated. I feel like a lot of PC gamers maligned it for not being as open as the first and console gamers didn't even know what to expect so they passed it by, which is a shame because shooters where every combat situation isn't completely scripted are increasingly rare these days.

The phrase "jack of all trades, master of none" comes to mind with regards Crysis2. In my opinion it's not bad, but it doesn't really do anything remarkable to make me remember it. Graphics are often a case of throwing resources at it.

easy sunday wrote:
dejanzie wrote:

0. Civilizatoin V (I can't vote for Civ V anymore, but it still needs to be on top of my list)

1. Dragon Age: Origins
2. Portal 2
3. To The Moon (average gamewise, sublime writing and presentation)
4. LA Noire
5. Outland

Huzzah! Someone else who played Dragon Age: Origins for the first time this year. It was top of my list also.

For some reason, I play every big RPG a year or so after release. I buy them on release day, play a chapter, become distracted, leave and come back a couple of months later. Expect The Witcher 2 on my 2012 list, next to Bastion

Scratched wrote:

The phrase "jack of all trades, master of none" comes to mind with regards Crysis2. In my opinion it's not bad, but it doesn't really do anything remarkable to make me remember it. Graphics are often a case of throwing resources at it.

Funny, that's how I would pretty much sum up The Witcher 2, which would probably come up as my disappointment of the year since I loved the first one. But this isn't the thread for this discussion so I digress. Personal preference and all that.

It's just one way I use to gauge games for myself.

Comparing it to Crysis1, I think I could do a reasonable job of recalling the overall story, the weapons and how you'd use them, what levels there were, what order they were in, I could probably draw reasonable maps of a few levels and routes you could use to progress through them.

For Crysis2, I get lots of little disjointed fragments. If I was asked to describe it or a part of it (weapons, maps...) I would be ummm-ing and ahhh-ing a lot.

I ranked Crysis 2 (360) #5.

It's easily the best single-player FPS I've played in years. Phenomenal game.

easy sunday wrote:

Huzzah! Someone else who played Dragon Age: Origins for the first time this year. It was top of my list also.

I put it at #2 on my list. I did complete it previously but was left a bit unsatisfied. I played through it twice more this year along with a fair chunk of the expansion and enjoyed it a lot more.

Blind_Evil wrote:

That was my first ever Darksiders trolling, give me a break! Except when I honestly spoke in the game's favor before it was even a meme.

I used to play Darksiders like you. Then I took an arrow in the knee.

[size=1]Darksider sucks.[/size]

I made a rather amateur video to go with my selection. There are some audio mixing issues, but I think I explain things well enough. (I voted earlier, but did this for my site anyway)

1. Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword - This game also does an amazing job at being a Zelda game and taking it to the next level.
2. Portal 2 - It's already been said why it's so great. I even played through most of the commentary for a 3rd playthrough.
3. Batman: Arkham Asylum - Glad I finally got around to this game, but I'm terrible at the challenge rooms.
4. Prince of Persia (2008) - I never imagined I would like this game so much. It's just fun to play and I got all 1001 light seeds.
5. Donkey Kong Country Returns - The last world keeps this from being higher. I think I lost about 200 lives in world 8.
6. Borderlands - Tons of hours sunk in and I just got it during the summer sale. Now, if the general knoxx dlc wasn't such a pain...
7. Valkyria Chronicles
8. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
9. Terraria
10.De Blob 2

Honorable Mentions:
Dirt 3
HOARD
Kirby's Epic Yarn

Awesomeness started in December 2010 but spent most time playing in 2011:
Battlefield Bad Company 2
Burnout: Paradise

DIS-honorable mention (game I can't believe I played because it wasn't really worth my time)
God of War 3

1. Saints Row 3
2. Portal 2
3. Mass Effect 2
4. Batman: Arkham Asylum
5. Assassin's Creed 2
6. Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes
7. The Witcher
8. BioShock 2
9. Rock of Ages
10. Ticket to Ride (ios)

I haven't even played 10 games from this year, and I sure don't know how to rate them. I'd probably put Portal 2, Skyward Sword and LittleBigPlanet 2 in a tie at #1, and if I had played Skyrim and Super Mario 3D Land, I'd probably also put those in a tie at #1.

1. Portal 2, Skyward Sword, LittleBigPlanet 2
2. Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Ico & Shadow of the Colossus Collection, Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom, Ocarina of Time 3D and Four Sword Anniversary Edition, Uncharted 3

MechaSlinky wrote:

I haven't even played 10 games from this year, and I sure don't know how to rate them. I'd probably put Portal 2, Skyward Sword and LittleBigPlanet 2 in a tie at #1, and if I had played Skyrim and Super Mario 3D Land, I'd probably also put those in a tie at #1.

1. Portal 2, Skyward Sword, LittleBigPlanet 2
2. Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Ico & Shadow of the Colossus Collection, Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom, Ocarina of Time 3D and Four Sword Anniversary Edition, Uncharted 3

Mecha, you aren't limited to only 2011 games. Check out the 1st & 2nd posts in the thread for the rules, and if you want them to count, you'll need to order them. Disregard if you're just adding them for the sake of discussion

I've barely played any games this year, so my list is a short one.

1) The Witcher 2.

I loved the first game despite all it's flaws, the sequel was a huge advancement yet almost as flawed at release. It was finicky, buggy, difficult, beautiful and transcendent all at once. I like an RPG that is somewhat directed and this was right in my wheelhouse.

While the game doesn't allow you to choose any play style the way other RPGs, do the meaningful choices you make as a player have real consequences much further into the game. I finished my first play through and immediately restarted to make as many of the opposite choices as possible. The differences in the two games were astounding.

2) Atom Zombie Smasher

I picked up a few smaller Indie titles this year, but this one has given me the most enjoyment. The randomness keeps it fresh and challenging and the music and weird humour make it charming.

3) Swords and Soldiers HD

A simple side-scrolling RTS that is a relaxing dalliance.

Honourable mentions: Cool games that I haven't had enough hands on time to get a solid feel.

Star Ruler. A 4X game with the feature to automate a lot of the fundamental functions of empire management. Seems interesting, but needs time to really get my teeth in.

Frozen Synapse. Everyone knows (or should) this one. An interesting squad based tactical shooter, but again I need tome more time to form a solid opinion.

Grubber788 wrote:

I made a rather amateur video to go with my selection. There are some audio mixing issues, but I think I explain things well enough. (I voted earlier, but did this for my site ]

Nice video, Grubber788!

Okay, here's mine:

  • Dragon Age 2

    When I was thinking about my GOTY, this wasn't what first came to mind, but after I thought really carefully about everything else I played this year (and WOW has there been a lot of great stuff on offer), I think I enjoyed this one the most.

    DA2 has a much smaller plot than DA1, but I thought it was fantastic. There was one truly major irritant with the game, though, the constantly re-used levels. This is kind of a big deal, and I can see people being put right off the game completely. It was cheap of them to do that, in every sense of the word. The parent company did not give this game the time and money it needed.

    But their team is so goddamn good that they did a phenomenal game anyway. The re-use of levels was super-frustrating, and it's an irritant for the entire game, one that only gets worse as you continue, but the combat system is tight, the voices are first-rate, and I LOVED the plot. Absolutely loved it. I'm tired of saving the world, and I thought it was fantastic that I was just trying to make a place for my family in this one. It feels like pen and paper D&D again, run by a highly skilled DM. It's a little gem of a story, nearly flawlessly executed, and I would be completely happy to see more games plotted like this.

    I'm old enough now that I have trouble seeing myself as the Big Damn Hero off to save the cosmos, but I can totally identify with a wisecracking mercenary who's scrambling for food for his family. And I think it is just so freaking awesome that they silently change conversations around based on the way you're perceived, and they do it so flawlessly that you won't even realize, until your second playthrough, that people are reacting a LOT differently to you. I find that fascinating -- there's a HUGE amount of depth here, but it's hidden. You have to dig it out. The devs didn't whack you over the head with GEE LOOK HOW COMPLEX EVERYONE IS. Instead, they made them much more like real people, with hidden complexity.

    I don't think these guys got nearly enough credit for their design. This is a god**** great game, and you should buy it. Just don't expect Dragon Age 1.

  • Red Dead Redemption

    I got to this late, and wow was it fantastic. I can't say much without spoilers, but this is Rockstar's best game. The plots in the Grand Theft Auto games have always been their weakest point, they never made much sense. RDR makes sense, start to finish, and if you aren't empathizing with and rooting for the protagonist by the end, I think you're a broken, horrible human being.

  • Space Pirates and Zombies.

    What a great little game. It's the oldskool formula: simple, hot, and deep. I had SO much fun with this. Hell, I enjoyed just sitting there and watching the mining stations at work, seeing all the little parts of the game's engine ticking over like a tiny watch.

    They change things up on you often enough to be interesting... in a way, it's like three games in one package. Two guys in a metaphorical garage, and I had more fun with this than with games that took dozens or even hundreds of people to make.

  • Portal 2

    Cave Johnson. 'Nuff said. I didn't like the potato stuff much -- I really think they screwed up their surprise with the ARG. This game would have been better if people had just gotten it without any hype or marketing push at all. Lot of neat stuff to it, but the ARG had kind of a bad smell to it, and it seriously took the surprise and fun out of the discovery in-game.

    It would have been much more fun if everyone had been making potato jokes on their own, as an inside gag after playing... but with Valve preempting it and whacking us all over the head with HA HA POTATO FUNNY, the joke was old before we even knew what the joke was. They stole the joy of discovery to flog a few more copies out the door.

  • Deus Ex: HR

    This should have ranked higher, because it had all the elements of a Truly Great Game. It is absolutely uncanny how well they captured the feel of the original Deus Ex. There were some intensely talented people working on this game. Somehow, they deconstructed the original, learned its visual and audio languages, and then built a new game using those vocabularies, but rendered into modern graphics. Great levels, great gameplay, some very annoying boss fights that didn't really belong, but could be tolerated, medium-good story right up until the end, and then... oh god.

    Let's put it this way: imagine watching an excellent football game by your chosen team. It's a hard-fought game, but they've been executing very well. It's the last play of the game, they're a little behind, they hurl a Hail Mary... which the receiver catches! Huzzah! And then falls flat on his face at the ten yard line, breaks his neck, and dies.

    Human Revolution in a nutshell.

  • Skyrim

    I'm a little mixed on this game, because it's forty miles wide and about six inches deep. There's been a lot of general criticism of the game, so I won't repeat it here, but while I had a hell of a lot of fun with it, it kind of left me empty. As beautiful as it is, the game feels very mechanical and artificial, where Dragon Age felt far more coherent and consistent. Leaving all the quests and all the paths open to every character just makes it kind of weird. And I didn't even realize at first that I'd finished the main quest, because I found the Big Finale awfully easy.

    Definitely worth the buy, and Bethesda's best fantasy effort yet, but I'm not enraptured with it, the way I have been with Fallout 3, or the Mass Effect and Dragon Age games, which are the closest non-Bethesda games in overall feel. Skyrim's a bit too formulaic, and it just feels too mechanical to truly immerse me completely.

  • Orcs Must Die

    Action tower-defense-ish game, a bit like Trenched, but better.

    I'm getting too old now, and I find the hardest level too hard to handle, but I had a blast on the medium difficulty.

  • LIMBO

    What a wonderfully atmospheric and interesting indie game. Limbo is as much experience as game, and I think you're poorer as a gamer if you've missed it. It's not that long, so it won't slow down your pile consumption too badly, and it's not very expensive. It will have a much bigger spot in your memory than the purchase price would suggest.

  • Shogun 2

    A genuinely good TW game. The AI is finally good, the strategy aspects are good, the actual fighting is good. This is the game they were always trying to make, and have, after all these years, succeeded. There were always big problems with the other TW games, but this one doesn't have any that I can see. It is extremely tight, likely the best "wargame" ever done.

  • Ico/Shadow of the Colossus

    Great classics, flawless port. If you have any interest in gaming history, buy this.

MrDeVil909 wrote:

3) Swords and Soldiers HD

A simple side-scrolling RTS that is a relaxing dalliance.

I had a lot of fun with that game when it came out on WiiWare back in 2009.

1. Skyrim
2. Dark Souls
3. Bastion
4. Dragon Age II
5. Portal 2
6. Dead Island
7. Witcher 2
8. Total War: Shogun 2
9. Deus Ex: Human Revolution
10. Batman: Arkham City

Right on. Was hurrying a bit and didn't read the rules. I'll make a list later.

1. Dragon Age II
2. Skyrim
3. Arkham City
4. DC Universe
5. LA Noire
6. Trenched
7. Bulletstorm
8. EDF Insect Armageddon
9. Captain America
10. Full House Poker

I only played four 2011 games and spent a lot of time playing older games I skipped or had never finished (I didn't include the ones I restarted in 2011).

1. - Portal 2

Couldn't stop playing it, it was just too good.

2. - The Witcher 1

This is the first RPG that I've ever actually finished going
back to my many attempts at Ultima 4 on my C64. Loved it.

3. - Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands

I know this game isn't as good as say Batman farther down my
list but I had so much fun playing it and finished it in just
3-4 sessions because I couldn't stop.

4. - iRacing

First game since WoW that I found myself reading game forums
at work and studied how to get better, also it prompted me to
purchase 3 new 27" monitors just so I could have surrounding screens.

5. - Batman: Arkham City

I haven't finished this one yet, I replayed Batman AA right
before starting this and I had more fun replaying AA for the 3rd
time than I've had in AC. I liked the less open world feel of AA
over AC.

6. - Far Cry 2

Getting down to my games I played and had to put in some kind
of order. I like FPS probably more than other genres and sunk
a ton of time in this one completing all the hidden items. First game to
ever make me motion sick though.

7. - Shadow Complex

Enjoyed it enough that I wish they would have already released a sequel.

8. - Wolverine Origins

Closest Superhero game to Batman AA I've played so it makes the list.

9. - SWTOR

I've only made it to level 5 and while I might enjoy this for a couple
months after that I'd probably go back to WoW for my every 18
months fix of MMO play.

10. - Torchlight

I liked it more than the games that don't make my list so it goes here.

Games that I played the first time this year not making the list.

Half Life 2 - Each section of the game was needlessly drawn out longer and longer for no real reason other than to
make the game value appear like you got more for your money. I used to think I missed that in games
until I finally got around to playing HL2.

Rocksmith - Not really a game and not a good teaching tool for guitar IMO, it's a fun practice alternative to
structured lesson material though.

RockBand 3 Pro Guitar - if I could have entered just the pro guitar mode into my 2011 list I would have but since it is
part of RockBand 3 I left it off my list of 10. I think it does a better job of teaching than
Rocksmith does and feels more game like.

1) Saints Row The Third (PS3) This almost doesn't need explanation, but my affinity for the game comes in on small part due to the humor. The game is whimsical, in it's own way, and all of my favorite games are like that.

2) Minecraft (PC) I've never played a game so simple, yet so complex, and so flat out addictive. I don't bother with multiplayer, and I always think I'm going to build some grand project, but what I really love doing is digging, mining, and discovering. That a game exists that can cater to so many different styles of play boggles the mind.

3) Duke Nukem Forever (PS3) This gets back to the point I made in my top slot. DNF doesn't take itself seriously at all. It's also excellent satire on the game industry as a whole, and it happens to be (in my opinion) a decently crafted shooter. Any game I play through to completion twice in a row with no games in between gets into my top five. Period.

4) Borderlands (PS3) Another open world game with a sense of humor. This one appealed to my mad-max bone. The shooting was well done and I enjoyed the leveling up system, as well as the fact that for a few in-game bucks you could completely wipe and reroll your character without losing exp. Bravo Gearbox.

5) Portal 2 (PS3) More funny games-- are we sensing a trend here?

6) Game Dev Story (IOS) I played the demo about 27 times before committing the four dollars to this game, and then I proceeded to build several multi-billion dollar game companies. Something about watching the numbers go up appealed to me.

7) Bioshock 2 (PS3) I was prepared to hate this, but it turned out to be very well done.

8) Kirby's Return to Dreamland (Wii) What can I say? It scratches the nostalgia bone, and you should see my kids' faces light up when we play it. It's harder than Kirby's Epic Yarn by a good bit, but still excellently crafted. I like the new super powers too.

9) The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (PS3) I'm going to get hated on for putting this so far down the list, but it still makes my top ten because I can see the potential of where the game is going (I'm only level 20 right now, which means I'm not crapping my pants every time I see a wolf anymore). It's already leagues better than Oblivion was at this point, in my opinion, in both story and gameplay.

10) Far Cry 2 (PS3) Another open world mercenary game. I love them. It must be because I was raised on The A Team. FC2 kind of feels like one of those 2-parter episodes where the gang visited some far off country and drove around in a jeep a lot. The only thing missing is a great crafting system.

The award for Game-That-Most-Made-Me-Want-To-Put-My-Fist-Through-A-Brick-Wall-While-Still-Being-Addictive-As-Hell:

Rayman Origins

Best-Game-That-Nobody-Played-But-Everyone-Hated:

Duke Nukem Forever

The-Sequel-That-Was-So-Blah-It-Made-Me-Trade-In-Its-Prequel

Infamous 2

Game-I-Bought-On-Everyone's-Glowing-Recommendation-That-I-Didn't-Really-Enjoy-At-All: (There's one Every Year)

Deus Ex: Human Revolution

UPDATE:

Just reread the rules. I'll include notes about why each game made my list later, when I have time to do it.

EDIT: derp, forgot to include my reasoning!

1. Bastion (XBLA): One of only a few games I've ever finished and then immediately restarted in New Game+ mode. There's so much thoughtfulness and heart in the way this game combines its mechanics and aesthetics. Will have a blog post on it up soon.
2. The Darkness (360): I was already a Starbreeze fanboy, but this title really cemented my admiration for the studio. The Darkness has a number of flaws, but the way it treats the theme of control and the way it creates its bizarrely empty yet believable New York are remarkable.
3. Portal 2 (360): I liked the new story and puzzles and jokes and the goo and all, but Portal 2 ranks highly simply because making Portal co-op work had to have been a Herculean task. Also, the soundtrack/ambient noise integrates really beautifully with the gameplay.
4. Jetpack Joyride (iOS): By all logic, I should hate this game. I can't stand endless running games, usually, and meaningless achievements drive me nuts. But JJ is a thoroughly winning title for the creative ways it modifies objectives to encourage the player to try out new strategies and interact with the environment.
5. Batman: Arkham City (360): I'm Batman. Again.
6. SpellTower (iOS): I'll be damned if this isn't the cleverest, most accessible word game I've seen in the last decade. It takes less than a minute to learn but provides endless challenge.
7. Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine (360): For the Emperor! Although it's a little too linear, and the limited multiplayer & lack of co-op at launch hurt it a lot, this game absolutely nails the 40K universe, and combat feels glorious. Exterminatus (horde mode) is incredibly fun.
8. Toy Soldiers: Cold War (XBLA): It doesn't deviate much from the hybrid FPS/TD formula that made its predecessor a winner, but TS:CW is one of the most polished XBLA titles I've seen this year. It even had me chasing my friends' high scores, which is a big accomplishment since I normally couldn't be bothered!
9. Deus Ex: Human Revolution (360): I think I liked the art direction and music more than the actual gameplay, but that's enough to make the list. I'm not a Deus Ex purist, but from what I could tell they delivered a worthy successor.
10. Shadows of the Damned (360): There are a few ugly bits, like the Paula chase sequences and the, erm, "big boner" section, but otherwise this game is a joy to control. The humor mostly scans as more charming than juvenile, which is no small task.

Honorable mentions to a lot of others, but especially Mortal Kombat, Saints Row: The Third, Orcs Must Die!, Super Stickman Golf, and Avadon: The Black Fortress.

Friendly reminder: if you get an awesome new game in the Steam sale or for Christmas that changes your rankings, put up a new post letting me know that you've changed your original list.

1. Saints Row 3 (PC)
2. Skyrim (PC)
3. Portal 2 (PC)
4. Batman: Arkham City
5. Stacking (X360)
6. Assassins Creed: Brotherhood (PC)
7. Bastion (PC)
8. Anno 2070 (PC)
9. Tackmania 2: Canyon (PC)
10. VVVVVV (PC)

I've made 1 change to my list.

Just finished up Arkham City, that game is so good it pushed Defense Grid from the list.

What the hell, let's give this a shot:

1. Skyrim
2. Portal 2
3. Dead Space 2
4. Dragon Age 2
5. Uncharted 3
6. BulleteStorm
7. Space Marine
8. Saints Row 3
9. Deus Ex 3
10. SW:TOR

I'd like to give an honerable mention to DC Universe. Was very fun for a while, and may go back to that some time later.

Now of course this list is subject to change on whim, but a couple of notable games I might expect to push a couple of these off my list, but I haven't played yet are Batman AC, and The Witcher 2 (I think I was burned out by playing the Witcher 1 right before release) and Gears 3. I'm sure there are others I've missed, and TOR is likely to rise rapidly on my list as I level up, but will probably drop back down as it becomes grindy.

1 | The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
2 | Batman: Arkham City
3 | Rage
4 | Battlefield 3

1) Bastion Maybe the perfect little game. Beautiful. Shows the power of games to tell a simple story in a really effective way. And it plays so smoothly and knows not to overstay its welcome.

2) SpaceChem The game I have spent the most time playing this year. A fantastically hard puzzle game with a ton of content. The sort of game that makes you go "how in the hell is this puzzle even solvable?" and then lets you feel like a genius when you finally figure it out. And then you look at the high score table, and see that a friend has a solution that runs twice as fast that you now have to beat.

3) Portal 2 Spaaaaace! Also, co-op.

4) Trenched/Iron Brigade There were a lot of these action/tower defense games. This is the one that hooked me. Between the co-op and the loot and the customizability, I was hooked. Martian Bears can't come soon enough.

5) Metro 2033 Strapping on the gas mask and stepping out into the ruins of Moscow was the best, most intense use of the first person perspective I've experienced in years.

6) Deus Ex: HR One of the few times I've actually enjoyed being stealthy in a game. There's something about being thrown into one of the game's larger areas, with all your tools, and just being invited to figure out a way to get through. And while the boss fights do suck, some of the conversations in the game function as better boss fights than most games have.

7) Ghost Trick A neat puzzle mechanic. Expressive, quirky characters in an intriguing mystery.

8) Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime Every time I thought I had a handle on what this game was, the game would open up and there'd be some crazy additional mechanic layered on top of what had come before. Also wins the most awful puns of the year award.

9) Battlefield 3 The multiplayer is big and loud and crazy. I suck at it, but it's still loads of fun. A bit of a shame the co-op and single player are so half-assed.

10) Gears of War 3 I still don't give a damn about the story, and the competitive multiplayer hasn't hooked me, but as a relaxed co-op experience it's hard to beat.

1) Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
2) Star Wars: The Old Republic
3) Deus Ex: Human Revolution
4) The Witcher 2
5) Major League Baseball 2k11
6) Dragon Age 2
7) Bastion
8) Divinity 2: Dragon Knight Saga
9) Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine
10) Portal 2

This is subject to change. The only games I've beaten on the list are DA2 and DE:HR. Skyrim has made a huge impression on me. Witcher was fantastic and I need to go back to it to see if it can usurp Skyrim. I need to finish up Space Marine, Portal 2, and Bastion to see if they can move up in the rankings.

Edit: Updated