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[Zero-Crescent]

Good list, Portal 2 is a great GOTY choice. I'm surprised Deus Ex made it that high, but I guess it had a pretty widespread appeal, even if it did falter in a few areas. I'm also glad that Radiant Historia is up there on the portable list, as it really is a great RPG.

 

[SatelliteOfLove]

Lessee, from my list (yes, 999 is a 2010 game. no I didn't know it at the time. yes, I now know I threw that vote away. imagine Persona 2:IS, Dungeons of Dredmor, or Trine 2 there)

Mine -> GAF's
#2 -> #4

#8 -> #8

#3 -> #12

#4 -> #14

#7 -> #17

#9 -> #19

Good job, GAF!

2011 was probably the biggest year for gaming ever IMO.

Great job, guys.

Well one is a single player only game, and one is a multiplayer only game.

Still ain't no 1998. Nothing will be. Ever.

 

[Snuggles]

Good list, Portal 2 is a great GOTY choice. I'm surprised Deus Ex made it that high, but I guess it had a pretty widespread appeal, even if it did falter in a few areas. I'm also glad that Radiant Historia is up there on the portable list, as it really is a great RPG.

Argh, I would love to play this, but I'm hoping Atlus does a re-print first since the cheapest copy I can find is $56 used.

 

[Opiate]

Good list, Portal 2 is a great GOTY choice. I'm surprised Deus Ex made it that high, but I guess it had a pretty widespread appeal, even if it did falter in a few areas. I'm also glad that Radiant Historia is up there on the portable list, as it really is a great RPG.

This is another consistent and obvious preference in the GAF community relative to the community at large; that is, a preference for console games, over either dedicated portables or phone gaming.

It would also be interesting to see how GAF preferences for social game mechanics rate relative to the general populace; I think they are profoundly less popular here than amongst the consumer base as a whole.

 

[SatelliteOfLove]

Argh, I would love to play this, but I'm hoping Atlus does a re-print first since the cheapest copy I can find is $56 used.

Atlus Tax back in action from the cartridge effect; that probably cost it spots.

 

[SuperBonk]

Wrong MK in the top 20!

Glad it got fighting game of the year though.

 

[OpinionatedCyborg]

Not a bad list. The inclusion of Bastion puzzles me a bit. It has fantastic visuals, a cool gimmick, and lovely presentation, but the actually gameplay -- smashing baddies, evading attacks, etc. -- bored me. I can't complain as I got it for a couple bucks during the steam sale, but aside from the presentation I found it quite mediocre.

 

[Felix Lighter]

I don't want to get too involved with this single player/multiplayer game value discussion but, in my experience, when I purchase a single player, I either find a very good deal or wait months or years for a significant price drop ($5 - $10 steam sales mostly). I'm not perfect, so there are times when I can't resist the hype and i pay more than i should but at this point those times are the exception. When it comes to a multiplayer game that I want to get into, I feel compelled to jump in at or near launch.

 

[The Librarian]

This is another consistent and obvious preference in the GAF community relative to the community at large; that is, a preference for console games, over either dedicated portables or phone gaming.

It would also be interesting to see how GAF preferences for social game mechanics rate relative to the general populace; I think they are profoundly less popular here than amongst the consumer base as a whole.

You know, I wish I could get into handheld gaming or Acrade-type games like a lot of people here on NeoGAF. I dunno what it is about either, but whenever I pick up and play them, I lose interest after a certain amount of time, and I don't finish them. The most recent example is Limbo. It's a great game from what I played of it, but I haven't touched it in a week or two despite me enjoying it. It's the same story over and over again. I finished Braid but I haven't had any desire to go back and play it again. I wish I could pin down what it was. :/

 

[randomkid]

I've noticed this "Opiate is a robot" meme several times recently, and I'm not sure I follow it. I'm a passionate person; I love my girlfriend, I have many close friends, I'm passionate about my interests (Astrophysics, Neuroscience, Behavioral Economics, Game Theory), I run my own charity, and I try to very hard to be kind and considerate to other people. Can you explain precisely what you mean by this? Because I believe there is strong evidence that I feel things like compassion and love, if you were suggesting their absence.

Haha don't take me seriously dude, I'm not questioning your capacity to love your fellow man, you just kinda sound like a robot sometimes. I'm sure you are a lovely human being, I wish I ran my own charity!

 

[cj_iwakura]

Solid list. Catherine got a bit reamed, but I'm happy it charted.

 

[Opiate]

I don't want to get too involved with this single player/multiplayer game value discussion but, in my experience, when I purchase a single player, I either find a very good deal or wait months or years for a significant price drop ($5 - $10 steam sales mostly). I'm not perfect, so there are times when I can't resist the hype and i pay more than i should but at this point those times are the exception. When it comes to a multiplayer game that I want to get into, I feel compelled to jump in at or near launch.

This is a compelling argument, although it hasn't applied to me personally. Most of the multiplayer games I play launched a long time ago (TF2, Natural Selection -- which was free at launch, and Starcraft 2) or a long, long time ago (Chess, Go, various word games).

I think this is a valid criticism of the types of multiplayer games which can only expect to maintain sales for a few weeks or months, and can expect multiplayer to die off subsequent to that.

 

[SciencePilot]

This topic makes me happy for video games. Looks like there's a lot of great stuff up in there.

This definitely makes me want to play through Portal 2 ASAP, too. I bought it, but haven't gotten around to it, yet.

 

[NullPointer]

I finished Braid but I haven't had any desire to go back and play it again. I wish I could pin down what it was. :/

That's exactly me with Portal and Portal 2, any puzzle games really, and ultra linear games of all kinds.

When I finish a game I'd like to go back to it not to re-experience the same thing, but to approach the gameplay in a wholly different style, and try to defeat a game's challenges with other alternate approaches.

Its one of the reasons I love games designed around new game+, because you get to re-experience early game challenges with all of your unlocked abilities. It'll be the same game challenges to overcome, but not the same game experience.

And this is why linear/puzzle games aren't very high on my list, even if I recognize how well crafted they were. The value for a replayable game always trumps the ones with a single solid runthrough.

 

[Grakl]

And I'm saying that's unfortunate for you, because your hobby tends to be significantly more expensive than mine. Taking this to the extreme, imagine the people who are obsessed with cars; that's the sort of hobby one can easily spend 10,000-20,000/annum on. It's the sort of hobby that prevents most people from accruing significant savings throughout their entire life (obviously the extremely rich are exempt from most of these problems).

Do you not feel sorry for them? I do. It's a financially crippling addiction.



There is never a point where objective analysis is inappropriate -- only points where subjective views are. My posts in this thread, for example, are an attempt at objective analysis of the subjective preferences of GAF, and that should be a valuable, interesting addition to the conversation. Do you disagree with my analysis? If so, why? Provide evidence and logic to support your position.

Sounds like an essay question, haha.

An objective analysis of people's preferences (as well as failures to be efficient, money-wise) is absolutely fine. The question should be whether a person cares, other than you, if what they get is efficient compared to the amount of hours they spend playing a game. This very conversation between you and I shows why your objective viewpoint doesn't matter, because I subjectively feel happier playing Mother 3 without multiplayer than with it.

Would you say paying $10 is too much for As I Lay Dying when It by Stephen King is $5? Clearly the latter spends more of your time, and is much longer to read. Objectively, this can be considered more cost-effective, but ultimately it should be looked at subjectively - one is most definitely considered more artistic and cultured than the other, sure, but AILD can also be a more interesting and fulfilling read to a person. He/she may spend less time reading it than It, but to that person AILD still provided them with a better experience and something to remember. The same scenario applies to a video game, and the cost-effectiveness doesn't matter when it comes to experience. You will see, empirically, that people do things that don't make sense objectively, but to them it matters an incredible amount.

This may result in what you call a financial addiction, but one again, it's the subjective that matters to each individual. We're all selfish in some way, and our hobbies only reflect this. I don't care whether or not I spend more money than you. Why should I? I'm not saying this discussion is without merit, but writing off single player games because of the rise of the multiplayer shouldn't result in the idea that single player games are automatically inefficient. It's the subjective experience, not the objective analysis of a cost-to-benefit ratio that determines the worth of something to a person.

 

[Frost_Ace]

Portal 2 definitely deserved it.

And OMG wasn't expecting ghost trick so high!

I'm so happy!

 

[Dark Schala]

This is another consistent and obvious preference in the GAF community relative to the community at large; that is, a preference for console games, over either dedicated portables or phone gaming.

It would also be interesting to see how GAF preferences for social game mechanics rate relative to the general populace; I think they are profoundly less popular here than amongst the consumer base as a whole.

Perhaps it's because I commute or am not home often in general that I prefer handheld gaming to console gaming (and if I want to exercise and continue gaming, I generally use an exercise bike). I find it very convenient, and it's nice to be able to play in bursts and then save or leave the handheld in sleep mode when I have to do something else. In that manner, 2/5 of the games I voted for were handheld titles, with the majority of my honourable mentions falling into the handheld category... because I mostly have time to play handheld stuff... and I play consoles almost exclusively during weekends or vacations.

A lot of people I know game on phones more than consoles, or they play games on phones/Facebook/browsers exclusively. But that's because they're either: a) fun little diversions prior to class/during class/on the bus, b) they can work with other people to finish things in the game faster, c) they can talk about aspects of certain games with each other to get through any hurdles they may have. Most of them seem to play games for the communal/social aspect of the game rather than the competitive aspect. It's kind of fascinating to watch. I guess GAF is kind of different in terms of what players expect from games as a whole, or how they approach various titles altogether.

 

[The Librarian]

That's exactly me with Portal and Portal 2, any puzzle games really, and ultra linear games of all kinds.

When I finish a game I'd like to go back to it not to re-experience the same thing, but to approach the gameplay in a wholly different style, and try to defeat a game's challenges with other alternate approaches.

Its one of the reasons I love games designed around new game+, because you get to re-experience early game challenges with all of your unlocked abilities. It'll be the same game challenges to overcome, but not the same game experience.

And this is why linear/puzzle games aren't very high on my list, even if I recognize how well crafted they were. The value for a replayable game always trumps the ones with a single solid runthrough.

I can't point to the linearity of such arcade games as the example. As I've said previously, I replayed Portal 2 four times when it came out (original play-through plus three more times).

And as I said, this applies to handhelds too. Even games like Pokemon, which are fucking awesome, succumb to the same results.

 

[Yoona]

Saints Row not even in the top 10?! Come on GAF.

 

[Haunted]

Saints Row not even in the top 10?! Come on GAF.

It was good, but not GOTY good.

#11 is pretty high as is.

 

[NullPointer]

As I've said previously, I replayed Portal 2 four times when it came out (original play-through plus three more times).

See, now I wish I could appreciate that game on multiple playthroughs, but it just doesn't work for me. Its like reading the same book of riddles back to back a few times.

 

[Snuggles]

It was good, but not GOTY good.

#11 is pretty high as is.

Yeah, I hate to say it, but it didn't do a lot for me. I got a good fifteen hours of mindless fun out of it, and the character creation is great, but I lost interest way faster than I did with SR2.

 

[Yoona]

It was good, but not GOTY good.

#11 is pretty high as is.

I'd say the same thing about Skyward Sword.

 

[The Librarian]

See, now I wish I could appreciate that game on multiple playthroughs, but it just doesn't work for me. Its like reading the same book of riddles back to back a few times.

It helps that I can't remember every solution to every puzzle presented to me, so it's almost like doing it again for the first time.

 

[shintoki]

It was good, but not GOTY good.

#11 is pretty high as is.

I ended up dropping it out of my list. The core mechanics for an open world title felt so good. Shooting, driving, and a good variety of missions. Yet it was too small and not much fun to mess around in after the main game was down.

If they could knock it up to SR2's scale, while keeping the polished mechanics. Then I think we'd have a clear winner for the best Sandbox title to date(Even topping SA).

 

[Haunted]

Yeah, I hate to say it, but it didn't do a lot for me. I got a good fifteen hours of mindless fun out of it, and the character creation is great, but I lost interest way faster than I did with SR2.

Same here. I can appreciate that they're continuing the over-the-top parts of GTA, but having sampled all of the side activities, it's all "just" good. I didn't really feel compelled to repeat any of them.


Just Cause 2 remains the best "fucking around in an open world" game this generation, imo.

I'd say the same thing about Skyward Sword.

Sure, yeah, I can see that argument and heard a lot of people saying just that.

The excellent dungeon design and combat mechanics reserved it a spot in my list. Nintendo fans rallied behind the title or it probably wouldn't have made it up that high in the overall list.

 

[Loxley]

Holy crap, this is the first time in my 3+ years on GAF where I'm actually cool with GotY choice. Perosonally I would swap Portal 2 and Skyrim, but hey I'll take it. Portal 2 was a great game, even if it didn't make any goddamn sense. Rest of the top ten is pretty solid, glad to see The Witcher 2 there.

I'm also elated (and shocked) that Skyrim is at #2. Given how there seems to be a new "Skyrim is dogshit" thread every week now, I expected the game be stone-dead last. Guess that teaches me for believing in the GAF hive-mind theory

/bro-fist GAF

 

[jim-jam bongs]

Saints Row: The Third is a masterpiece, crazy people all up in this bitch.

 

[Riposte]

I think it's funny that Marvel vs Capcom 3 basically came out twice this year, and still couldn't win best fighting game of the year.

xD

That only decreases its chances. I don't know why people bothered to vote for vanilla unless they thought Ultimate sucked. Mortal Kombat also appeals to a wider audience than UMvC3 because its single-player focus and stronger brand recognition.

 

[Yoona]

Sure, yeah, I can see that argument and heard a lot of people saying just that.

The excellent dungeon design and combat mechanics reserved it a spot in my list. Nintendo fans rallied behind the title or it probably wouldn't have made it up that high in the overall list.

They should have rallied behind SM3DL instead. A game that actually doesn't suck. If more people had a 3DS it would be top 3 no doubt.

 

[Sober]

I wonder how GAF will react in a year.

Hate it, hate it, hate it, will be a classic, hate it, hate it, YMMV, hate it, hate it, wait for the sequel, don't buy the DLC, the DLC sucks, GAF is sheeple for giving this a GOTY award, hate it, hate it, hate it ad infinitum. (not in any particular order)

 

[Grakl]

Hate it, hate it, hate it, will be a classic, hate it, hate it, YMMV, hate it, hate it, wait for the sequel, don't buy the DLC, the DLC sucks, GAF is sheeple for giving this a GOTY award, hate it, hate it, hate it ad infinitum. (not in any particular order)

What games do you like?

 

[Wallach]

A five dollar indie game and a ten dollar iOS game were by far the hardest and most complex games I played this year. Kind of makes the $150-ish bucks I spent on the other three games on my list feel like a pretty shit value.

 

[Seda]

What games do you like?

He's predicting future-GAF's opinions on current-GAF's listing

 

[Grakl]

He's predicting future-GAF's opinions on current-GAF's listing

Ah, alright.

 

[jim-jam bongs]

A five dollar indie game and a ten dollar iOS game were by far the hardest and most complex games I played this year. Kind of makes the $150-ish bucks I spent on the other three games on my list feel like a pretty shit value.

If you really want to feel miserable, remember that Dwarf Fortress is still free.

 

[spirity]

Saints Row: The Third is a masterpiece, crazy people all up in this bitch.

Its stupid fun. I like car surfing with a big head and insurance fraud. And falcon punching.




And streaking.

 

[ghibli99]

Of course, if you don't like multiplayer at all, then all bets are off. I pity such people, from a purely objective viewpoint; your gaming hobby is much, much more expensive than mine.

What does one person's spend on gaming relative to yours have to do with anything?

 

[jett]

Good enough list. Glad my #1 game Outland made some sort of appearance in there.

opiate there's a tortoise lying on its back in the desert. you're not helping it. why?

LOL

 

[Hot Coldman]

Sure, yeah, I can see that argument and heard a lot of people saying just that.

The excellent dungeon design and combat mechanics reserved it a spot in my list. Nintendo fans rallied behind the title or it probably wouldn't have made it up that high in the overall list.

I thought long and hard about swapping it with Arkham City on my list (they're 3rd and 4th respectively). But when Zelda was good... man. Nothing else like it. Like you, it was the dungeon design and combat that sold it for me. If it had been getting the best out of those all the time, it would have been my GOTY, its tangents into fun if not terribly interesting fluff kept it away from the top 2 though.

You're probably right about Nintendo fans propping it up, but I think there's enough GAFfers who recognise exactly that EAD brought their A-game to SS. There's unfortunately a lot of GAFfers who couldn't get over the slow-ass beginning.

 

[Fredescu]

This is another consistent and obvious preference in the GAF community relative to the community at large; that is, a preference for console games, over either dedicated portables or phone gaming.

It would also be interesting to see how GAF preferences for social game mechanics rate relative to the general populace; I think they are profoundly less popular here than amongst the consumer base as a whole.

People that find video games interesting enough to discuss on a forum (and also, people that find them interesting enough to write about for a living) are more likely to appreciate the games that push interesting boundaries in some way. Video games, perhaps more than any other medium, is highly iterative. Each new game has small improvements over the last. Enthusiasts enjoy seeing this process of improvement and their tastes are based to a large degree on what has come before.

Social games and phone games exist mostly outside of this process. They're not a part of the evolutionary process that video game enthusiasts have been following. They can be fun, but votes on a message board of this nature will always skew towards improvements on what has come before, rather than mere fun.

 

[Unhandled Exception]

I don't remember what I voted for.

 

[Dark Schala]

They should have rallied behind SM3DL instead. A game that actually doesn't suck. If more people had a 3DS it would be top 3 no doubt.

I had my own little issues with Super Mario 3D Land. I don't think it's as perfect as people were saying it was, but it's competent enough. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to do anything exciting with the level design (though the level aesthetics were nice, but it just feels like they aren't pushing the envelope far enough), the worlds aren't themed, the tanooki suit can break the game (especially if you keep one saved for later), and Mario feels a little sluggish to me (and the level design does not faciliate getting things going well like it did in Galaxy 2-- where I also felt that Mario was a little off). Other than those issues, the game works as a nice bridge between the NSMB games and the Galaxy games.

Compared to other platformers released this year like Kirby's Return to Dream Land, Kirby Mass Attack, Rayman Origins and Sonic Generations, I didn't enjoy 3D Land as much as I did those. I'm a little disappointed that I couldn't shower the same accolades upon 3D Land that I did with the other platformers I had listed because it has some nice aesthetics, uses 3D well, and it can be rather long if you want it to be.

However, Skyward Sword, despite its flaws, was a game I enjoyed from start to finish. I do not regret voting for that game at all. It's a matter of opinion, I guess.

 

[Zeouterlimits]

I must say I'm quite happy with the list, save for Dead Space 2 at number 10.

Really happy Child of Eden (& DC2) got their Rhythm props. Fantastic games.

 

[Haunted]

opiate there's a tortoise lying on its back in the desert. you're not helping it. why?

holy shit :lol

 

[Raw64life]

3 of my top 5 and 5 of my top 10 are in the top 10 so I seem to be fairly in line with GAF. Thought Skyrim had this in the bag and I'm glad to see a better game beat it out even though it wasn't my personal GOTY.

 

[kswiston]

I don't know if it's been mentioned since I haven't had time to peruse the whole thread yet, but I find it funny that in the GOTY thread Skyrim beat Xenoblade by a handy margin, but in the Essential RPG thread Xenoblade topped Skyrim.

My essential rpg threads mainly attract people who are big fans of the genre, and a lot of jrpg fans in particular. The GAF GOTY threads catch all types of gamers. If you not really into rpgs, chances are you have not played Xenosaga. Especially since it is an import to a huge chunk of GAF. I was surprised that it ranked as well as it did.


5 of my top 10 were in GAF's top 10 this year. The other 5 were indie titles (and Tactics Ogre) so I am not surprised that they missed the cut. Bastion did well though!

Great job on the thread BTW!

 

[Kazerei]

I'm please with the results. I think Portal 2's only real fault is the amount of content. Everything else: gameplay, controls, puzzles, story, atmosphere, presentation, etc. are really amazing.

 

[PinkCrayon]

Deus Ex at number 3? Fuck yeah.

 

[kswiston]

I've noticed this "Opiate is a robot" meme several times recently, and I'm not sure I follow it. I'm a passionate person; I love my girlfriend, I have many close friends, I'm passionate about my interests (Astrophysics, Neuroscience, Behavioral Economics, Game Theory), I run my own charity, and I try to very hard to be kind and considerate to other people. Can you explain precisely what you mean by this? Because I believe there is strong evidence that I feel things like compassion and love, if you were suggesting their absence.

Your posts are well thought out, logical and often intellectually stimulating. Even when I don't agree with what your are writing I typically think you make good points. You also call people on their BS and ask them to back up their statements. However, some people like saying whatever one liner pops in their head without giving it too much introspection. I can see how you asking these people to back up gut reactions with facts and logic can give you a Spock vibe. People hate being asked to back up opinions when said opinions are groundless and based on a feeling.