GOTY 2011, One Year After

SM3DL is so much damn fun. I've been playing through it for the first time, recently, and I have to say beside it being a bit too easy (which I hear changes later on) it's pretty fantastic. The level design is great, the controls are fantastic, it looks amazing, and it's just damn, pure fun.

Yup, finally got my hands on a 3DS and I'm satisfied with my purchase just owing Mario 3D Land. Maybe the best portable I've ever played. I actually like the concept more than the Galaxy games and would love to see a home-console sequel. And yes halfway through the game there is a jump in difficulty. Still nothing too hard.

Also I removed Rayman in favor of FIFA. Just played that game so damn much.
 
My list: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=33560450&postcount=116

Revised:
1. Dark Souls (-)
2. Deus Ex: Human Revolution (^1)
3. Super Mario 3D Land (Hadn't played at time of voting)
4. Gears of War 3 (v2)
5. F1 2011 (^4)
6. The Witcher 2 (^1)
7. Portal 2 (v2)
8. inFamous 2 (Hadn't played at time of voting)
9. LittleBigPlanet 2 (v1)
10. Bulletstorm (-)

Skyrim, which was #6, seemed great 25 hours in. After that, all the flaws became apparent, and I slowly started to hate it more and more.

Uncharted 3 has also soured in my mind over time. LBP2 and inFamous 2 were much more enjoyable games, ultimately, and thus it's slipped out of the top 10.

Dark Souls is still one of the best games ever made.

Super Mario 3D Land is also one of the best Mario games ever made; glad my girlfriend bought a 3DS so I could play it this year!

A year or 18 months is probably the time I need to really digest what I feel about a game. My GOTY lists always change, certain games always seem less great as time goes by, or I realise I value something more than I thought I did (eg, multiplayer in F1 2011 shot it up the list - some of the best multiplayer action I've ever had in retrospect).
 
It gets worse the more you play it. So because we're all the mega nerds of the internet, we all played it the most, resulting in us all hating it the most.

When I started it I thought it was pretty good.

Then it just turned into another boring RPG where it's far too long for its own good and the interesting quests are few and far between

You know what, I can't argue with you, because I actually stopped playing a good bit through, and haven't gone back to it yet, but I found it to be completely fun and exactly what I wanted from a new Elder Scrolls.

It blows my mind how highly some people think of SM 3D Land. I 100% it and it was pretty boring, not much better than the NSMB games.

I don't know, I find it to be pure platforming joy, except being a little too easy so far. It's definitely much more fun to me than NSMB on Wii. Never played 2, or Wii U version though (obviously).
 
Yeah I'd still keep Dark Souls at the top of my list. Some of the last few areas were underwhelming but overall I fell in love with so many things about the game. It wasn't perfect by any means but it was the best game I played in 2011 with DX:HR close behind.

I probably would've added Bastion to my list since I didn't get to play it until earlier this year and that was a lot of fun with some neat storytelling. I probably would've reconsidered putting Skyrim on my list. It was a great game... for the first 10 hours. Then once reality settled in it became a chore to really care about the plot or even exploring the world anymore. I still hate the combat mechanics of the game too.
 
After playing through SM3DL a few more times since then, I'd probably switch it and Pokemon BW on my list (making it #2 and Pokemon #3), but otherwise, I still agree with my list for the most part. Skyward Sword is just as amazing as it was last year.
 
When I started it I thought it was pretty good.

Then it just turned into another boring RPG where it's far too long for its own good and the interesting quests are few and far between

Yup. Some of the guild quests saved it from being a total borefest though.
 
Pushmo should have gotten more GOTY attention, but it was kinda low-profile and released in December.

Crashmo will probably get the same treatment this year.
 
I don't know about a complete list, but there are tons I'm excited about, more than any other year. Ni no Kuni, Sly Cooper 4, Metal Gear Rising, God of War:A, Aliens:CM, Crysis 3, Metro: Last Light, Miegakure, SimCity, StarCraft 2-2, Stanley Parable HD, The Witness, Tomb Raider, Beyond, MGS:GZ (possibly), Puppeteer, Rain, Tales of Xillia, The Last of Us. The new Gears I don't care about, but I'm sure many will love, we might get Project Zwei too.

Unfortunately, I don't think it can top 2007 for me, maybe if The Last Guardian ships, but I could believe people thinking the highest of next year. Also, with more recent marketing trends, games are announced later, for all we know, Half-Life 3 is next year.

I mean that's definitely a good list for sure.

Out of that list, I'm excited for The last of Us, MGS: GZ (which as you said is only a possibility though), and The Witness (which I'm still not sure is coming out next year). I mean it's still going to be a great year, but I think 2011 will still have it beat in my mind.

It'll definitely be better than 2012 though. I enjoyed Witcher 2 (which was just a port from the 2011 PC version anyway), Borderlands 2, Walking Dead, and Sleeping Dogs. I haven't unwrapped Dishonored yet, and haven't given Journey or Darksiders II a try.

I feel like I would have been happy overall if Assassin's Creed III wasn't such a huge disappointment for me.
 
1. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
2. Portal 2
3. Deus Ex: Human Revolution
4. SpaceChem
5. Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective
6. The Binding of Isaac
7. Frozen Synapse
8. Orc Must Die
9. Warhammer 40k: Space Marine
10. Dungeon Siege III

2010. Sin & Punishment 2

Not happy with my list at all. First think would be removing all the games I haven't finished yet, add RAGE and Bastion and reorder them a bit.

Portal 2
Deus Ex: Human Revolution
RAGE
Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
Bastion

Skyward Sword certainly didn't hold up as well as I remember it while I immensely enjoyed both Portal 2 and Deus Ex.
 
I'd like to say Skyrim because it's the game I've put the most time into but Skyward Sword is the best quality time I had with a game.
 
I need to play this and 999. They both look very intriguing.
emot-panicdance.gif


If you can only play one, skip 999 and go straight for Ghost Trick. Phoenix Wright + Rube Goldberg Machines, aw yeah.
 
My GOTY list in 2011

My list now would be:

1. Dark Souls
2. Skyrim
3. Infamous 2
4. Crysis 2
5. Uncharted 3
6. Deus Ex Human Revolution
7. Portal 2
8. Modern Warfare 3

I moved Uncharted 3 down a few spots because in retrospect, it wasn't as good as I thought it was. I added Deus Ex and MW3 because they're two 2011 games that I got around to playing this year.

I'm still not that fond of Portal 2 and found it to be disappointing as a sequel. Other than the addition of gels they didn't go as far as they should have when it comes to adding to the formula of the game. There were also a lot of segments that were "Find the painted white wall to progress" which were really shitty and lame. Puzzles were also too easy. Most disappointing GAF GOTY since MGS4.
 
I didn't vote last year, but now having played Uncharted 3 and Skyrim [PC version], they definitely do not deserve to win any category. Specially U3.

Skyrim was only fun for like 20-30hrs, then it got pretty boring; beside visual design and some aspects of combat, even oblivion was better [at least it had much more interesting guild quests].

Uncharted 3 was way too linear and repetitive, and without a gripping story, to keep me playing for more than 8-10hrs.
 
2011 was great, and going in to 2012 it looked like we were going to have a bonanza... pretty much every big game (Mass Effect 3, Diablo III, Assassin's Creed III, etc.) aside from Borderlands 2 and Halo 4 (or so I hear) has been a disappointment. There's not even anything spectacularly novel about BL2 or H4 either, they're good competent games, not riddled with issues or story troubles. Is 2012 the most disappointing year in a while?

Oh yeah, Portal 2 and Deus Ex: Human Revolution were my primary picks for GOTY in 2011.
 
Skyward Sword still stands as my GOTY, yes it has a bunch of flaws, but I don't think I've ever had as much fun as I did playing that game.

The rest:
Dead Space 2
Super Mario 3D Land
Batman: Arkham City
Mario Kart 7
Skyrim
Portal 2

That's all I can think of at the moment. Man 2012 has sucked in comparison...
EDIT: I haven't played Dark Souls yet, will do it after I've finished(or at least started) Demon's Souls.
 
I plan on buying a 3DS soon, so I definitely will!

If you do just realize you're not getting into a game so much as an interactive visual novel with some puzzle segments thrown in. It's the first videogame I've played where the story is actually amazing for any medium.
 
Does it really? It's a fantastic platformer.

I thought it embarrassed the New Mario games.

I don't think it's bad by any means, I just found the levels very dull and simplistic. It oviously doesn't help that you have to finish the campaign once before getting to the meat of the game.

At no point in the game (safe perhaps the final fight) did I go "now that's really cool/unexpected/inventive", instead I zoned out pretty fast and finished the game without it leavin any strong impression. The 3D was really good though.
 
1. Catherine
Atlus artistry at its finest. Hashino and co better be making Persona 5 one hell of a game to top this.

2. Dark Souls
From Software are my #2. I'm glad they do more than dark fantasy, but with games like this, I somehow don't want them to.

3. Persona 2: Innocent Sin
Ten years late, still worth every hour.

4. Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective
Pure joy from start to finish.

5. Portal 2
I love it for what it is.

6. The Witcher 2
Even my broken computer knows this is something special.

7. Fate/EXTRA
Pleasant surprise.

8. Yakuza 4
My first exposure to the series, and what a ride.

9. Alice: Madness Returns
Just as delightfully twisted as its predecessor.

10. Corpse Party
It's nothing if not immersive, though relatively flawed.

Yep, still agree.
 
Hmm...I voted:

1. The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky
2. Atelier Totori
3. DoDonPachi Resurrection
4. Deathsmiles
5. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
6. Ghost Trick
7. Corpse Party
8. Hyperdimension Neptunia; While this mostly got average to bad reviews, I very much enjoyed all the tweaks you can make and the dungeon crawling as a whole
9. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D
10. Hard Corps: Uprising

I guess I can stand by that. Some things would probably switch positions today, but overall I'm happy with it.
I hadn't played some 2011 games by then like Yakuza 4 and To The Moon, maybe they could have made the list.
 
I still need to play Skyrim and 3D Land and both are going to be up there in my 2011 list for me. My list without those two:

1. Skyward Sword
2. Sonic Generations
3. Deus Ex
4. Portal 2
5. Arkham City
6. Bastion
7. Rayman Origins

Lot of games I just loved but few second-tier games for me in the year. Kind of a weird year.
 
Myself last year said:
1. Tactics Ogre: Let us Cling Together
2. Xenoblade Chronicles
3. The Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword
4. Deus Ex: Human Revolution
5. Batman Arkham City
6. Final Fantasy IV: The Complete Collection
7. Pokemon Black/White
8. Assassin's Creed Revelations
9. inFamous 2

I still agree with my list. Maybe knock Zelda down a few.
 
My 2011 list

Reading through it, I still feel pretty good about it. That said, if I had to make it now, I would probably include Driver: San Francisco in the #9 spot and omit Cities in Motion entirely. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Driver: SF, and wrote a short review of it here.
 
randomkid said:
I dunno, maybe it's my fondness for end of life system marvels but the handhelds really brought it in 2011, here's to Grand Knights and Eternal Punishment as the final final hurrah.

this post is so depressing haha
 
If I could change anything, I would change the fact that I never posted my list. I drafted it up with explanations/blurbs, but was too busy at the time to every actually post it. Here's my extremely belated list sans the brief write-ups:
1. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
2. The Stanley Parable
3. To the Moon
4. Batman: Arkham City
5. Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP
6. LittleBigPlanet 2
7. Bastion
8. Terraria
9. Deus Ex: Human Revolution
10. Child of Eden
x. Portal 2
x. Dark Souls
x. Inside a Star-filled Sky
Looking back, I'd probably modify the order here and there (in particular, I'd probably swap 1 and 2), but overall I'm quite satisfied with it.
 
I didn't have a 3DS back then, so I would add Mario Kart 7 (#2), Super Mario 3D Land (#3), and Steel Diver (#9) (really good when you start going for the time trial gold medals). Ocarina was just a port, and playing Star Fox 64 again made me realize I don't like rail shooters very much. Pilotwings was ok, but wouldn't be worth to include in the list.

But Kirby Mass Attack would still be my GOTY.
 
I'd put Skyrim way ahead of everything else, and then list Dark Souls, Gears 3, and maybe Portal 2. The only others I played on that list were Mario Land, which was good but nowhere near GOTY material, Uncharted 3 which was just abysmal, and Saints Row The Third which couldn't hold my attention for longer than an hour. It was a good year, I guess, but definitely nowhere near the best ever.
 
I'd honestly give it to Forza 4, I bought and played a lot of games last year but none of them offered more bang for a buck than Forza 4.
 
Top Bottom