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GOTY 2011, One Year After

Looking back at my list I'd probably drop Xenoblade Chronicles down to slot 4 and move up Skyward Sword and Portal 2.

Spacechem is still one of the best games ever made and resolutely holds onto the #1 spot.
 
Man, I really don't get this Skyrim hate. When everyone was playing it, the loved it but now everyone seems to hate it.

Anyways, I didn't vote but Portal 2 was my GOTY.
 
I tend to take a different approach to top 10 lists that I personally make, as they're based on what I've played that year, rather than what came out that year. A good chunk of my list from 2011 would have been games from 2010, and this year's list is shaping up to be a repeat of that, with 2011 games being mixed in with 2012 games. Not that it wouldn't be impossible to come up with 10 games that came out in 2012 that impressed me, but I just feel much stronger about some of those games that came out in the previous year.
 
Portal 2 was a passing interest whose memes lasted much longer than the game itself.

I'm hard pressed not to name Dark Souls GOTY this year as well.
 
My favourite game of 2011 was Xenoblade, and still is.

I don't think I'll ever change my mind on that. Even if I really love games like Portal 2, Skyward Sword or Dark Souls, Xenoblade is easily mi favourite JRPG ever, and one of the games I have enjoyed the most since I started playing videogames.
 
LOL at people hating Skyrim. It was the second coming of Jesus at the beggining. It's interesting how fast people change their minds.

Batman Arkham City is my favorite game from 2011, easily.
 
Portal 2 still stands heads and shoulders above the rest of the year, with Rayman Origins next up. Nothing has changed for me.
 
(My list is my website, under my profile)

Serious Sam 3 probably could have been #2 or 3. I admit that rankings are not really strict, so whatever. Third Strike Online as a runner-up was silly, I guess I wanted to be a dick to Human Revolution. I remain happy with the list.

EDIT: I challenge GAF to put in similar effort this year.
 
I just find it hilarious how everyone will bitch about a game like Skyrim, then turn around and make it one of the top 3 games of the year. I also loved when MGS4 was voted GOTY twice even though if you talked to people here you'd think it murdered one of their family members.

Anyway, I still stand by Skyrim being my #1 for last year. I'm still playing that game and I got it the day it came out.
 
Yes, my list would be exactly the same.

  1. SpaceChem
  2. Portal 2
  3. Ghost Trick
  4. Xenoblade
  5. Deus Ex: HR
I'm probably more confident in that selection and ordering now than I was last December. In my opinion, that list makes for a good year in games.
 
1. L.A. Noire
2. Uncharted 3: DrakeÂ’s Deception
3. LittleBigPlanet 2
4. Deus Ex: Human Revolution
5. Yakuza 4
6. Batman: Arkham City
7. Rayman Origins
8. Portal 2
9. Alice: Madness Returns
10. El Shaddai: Ascension Of The Metatron
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Had just finished Deus Ex when I threw my votes in, so I must have been riding its high, but looking back I wouldn't put it quite so high now. I'd drop it by three places; that last portion and the ending were weak sauce and a middling way to sign off an otherwise excellent game. Shift El Shaddai a couple of spots higher and that looks fine by me. I think back on my time with L.A. Noire very fondly so that stays where it is.
 
Man, this fall feels so barren compared to last fall. I don't have a 360 so I'm missing out on Halo 4, not too interested in AC3, and am still talking a break from CoD. I've been waiting for Q1 2013 (Infinite/Rising) games for years now so it makes waiting through this fall even crazier.

Portal 2 is still an amazing choice for last year.
 
Jay-B said:
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.
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I can see that. I absolutely love 3D platformers, so this game and the Galaxies were like oases in a desert to me.
 
Evlar said:
Yes, my list would be exactly the same.

  1. SpaceChem
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borat-high-five.jpg
 
RoboPlato said:
Man, this fall feels so barren compared to last fall.
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I feel this year has been very strong for downloadable games. Journey, Walking Dead, Mark of the Ninja, Fez, 30 Flights of Loving, and Hotline Miami. Even though retail may have not impressed to the degree that 2011 or 2007 did, it was still a great year.
 
Let's see... My post...

1. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
2. Rayman Origins
3. Sonic Generations (console)
4. The Legend of Heroes VI: Trails in the Sky FC
5. Xenoblade
6. Radiant Historia
7. Tales of Xillia
8. Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together
9. Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective
10: El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron

And a hell of a lot of honourable mentions that I'm not going to bother posting here
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I can stand by my Top 3 for sure because I fell in love with those games and I certainly feel the same way playing them this year, but I might shift Xillia down under Tactics Ogre. I don't feel the same way about Sora no Kiseki FC as I did then because I played SC and it's generally a better game, so that could get shifted down, but I still enjoyed it enough to leave it in the Top 5.

2011 was such a good year. This year, I'm struggling to find a Top 3. In fact, a lot of the games I loved this year are ones that I was late to the party for (not last year, but several years or more than a decade for).
 
1. Dark Souls
2. Skyrim
3. Super Mario 3D Land
4. Deus Ex: Human Revolution
5. Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars
6. Bastion
7. Mario Kart 7
8. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D
9. Ghost Trick
10. The Next Big Thing

2010.Red Dead Redemption
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My list, I still stand by it. Maybe I'd move up Mario 3D Land one spot and I would have included Portal 2, Dead Island and Saints Row the 3rd instead of MK7, Zelda 3D and The Next Big Thing if I'd played them last year.
 
1. Resistance 3 Best SP and MP game i played this year.
2. Heroes of Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes Amazing Strategy game. Very engaging game with a lot of strategical options.
3. Uncharted 3 Great SP, did not like MP
4. Infamous 2 Good open world game. I liked it better than Infamous. Different powers have added a lot to the game.
5- Batman Arkham City Great game, but it did not live to AA imo.
6- Portal 2 Good puzzles and coop. I am not usually into this kind of game, but the coop was great.
7- Outland great 2D platformer with various powers, but i did not like level design much.
8- Infamous festival of blood the powers are very different and unique than Infamous games, but it´s very short. Very enjoyable none the less.
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I agree with my list. I really loved Resistance 3.
 
I have not bought a single that released this year, but i highly considered getting Twisted Metal and Kingdom of Amalur.

I bought RDR and C:LOS instead when i was on vacation in England. Games are much cheaper there.
 
catotheyounger said:
I feel this year has been very strong for downloadable games. Journey, Walking Dead, Mark of the Ninja, Fez, 30 Flights of Loving, and Hotline Miami. Even though retail may have not impressed to the degree that 2011 or 2007 did, it was still a great year.
Click to expand...

I was strictly talking about Q4. There has been some great stuff this year but it's all out already. I totally agree about dowloadable titles this year too.
 
Wow 2011 was so much better for AAA games. D3 and ME3 were major disappointments, and AC3 is currently short of my expectations.

Still happy with my picks for Batman: AA and DE: HR.
 
I think Hugh Mann Revolution is more than just decent. Even with its reliance on vents for alternate routes and the completely lackluster final act of the story, I would keep it pretty high up.

Even though I have a lot of problems with Xenoblade, and it technically came out in 2010, I would definitely put it above Skyward Sword.
 
2011 was a brilliant year for games.

Portal 2, The Witcher 2 and Spacechem are among the best games I´ve played.

Gray Matter had rough edges, but was still a quality title.

Deus Ex: HR and Skyrim have their problems also, but are still really good titles.

I had Skyrim as GOTY for a while, but I would probably say Portal 2 or The Witcher 2 now.
 
Already gave my GotY to Xenoblade in 2010, but damn, I bought it again in 2011 and enjoyed just as much as my first time, if not more so. There's just so much do discover and love about the game that, at this point, I don't think I can put Skyward Sword above it. Bought it again in 2012, and still loving the shit out of it. Probably going to get my 2012 GotY as well.
 
My list.
1- The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings - Great experience and a very solid narrative. It took some risks and they paid off.
2- Portal 2 - It's almost perfect with very few flaws.
3- Deus Ex: Human Revolution - It has some issues and overall i think Batman is a better game, but Deus Ex had an incredible difficult task at hands, and it was very successful at that.
4- Batman Arkham City - It's amazing and built from the excelent first game, however i think it played too safe and didn't took any risks.
5- Frozen Synapse - My indie of the year, so many hours playing it.
6- Minecraft - What can i say, it's a game that defines gaming history.
7- To the Moon - Best story of the year, also great soundtrack. Gameplay is almost absent though.
8- Total War: Shogun 2 - A good return to form from The Creative Assembly.
9- The Binding of Isaac - Very simple and very addicting.
10- Uncharted 3 - Very polished, but lack the awesome pace of Uncharted 2.
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I agree with it, would probably take Uncharted 3 out and put Driver: San Francisco in.
 
1. Deus Ex: Human Revolution
2. Dark Souls
3. The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings
4. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
5. Catherine
6. Portal 2
7. Dead Space 2
8. Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective
9. inFamous 2
10. inFamous: Festival of Blood
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I still mostly agree with my list, but I'm really not sure about the order. Had a hard time ranking them then as well. If I had played Saints Row the Third last year it would have been in the top three.
 
I would have put Deus Ex at #1 if a progress killing glitch hadn't kept me from completing it during the calendar year.
 
Yup, still agree with my list. Deus Ex and Gears are both absolutely fantastic.

But holy moly looking back at last year, it looks like the golden age of gaming compared to this year. Almost nothing but disappointments so far.
 
1. Bastion
2. Ghost Trick
3. Gray Matter
4. The Witcher 2
5. Gemini Rue
6. Dead Island
7. Sword & Sworcery
8. To The Moon
9. Back to the Future (season)
10. Snoopy's Street Fair
Click to expand...

Bastion is still my favorite game from last year so it's where it belongs.

Ghost Trick I would have pushed farther down the list, possibly taking it off completely. I tried playing it again this year and didn't enjoy nearly as much as I did the first time through. The characters are still incredibly charming and interesting but that's the only aspect that stands out for me.

Gray Matter was technically released before 2011 so I wish I would have never included it. I'm no longer considering ports, remakes, or games localized beyond the year they were originally released as candidates for my top games of the year. Excellent adventure game, though.

The Witcher 2, despite enjoying it, I would take off the list as I played many games this year that were released last year that I ended up liking much more.

Gemini Rue would stay but I'm not sure if it would be at that position.

Dead Island: I don't know what I was thinking by including this game. I did enjoy it quite a bit when it was released, but, as I think more about it I didn't like it quite enough to consider it one of my favorite games from last year. I think I threw it in there just for the sake of mixing up my list more beyond independent games.

Sword & Sworcery I would push up to the second place spot. It's actually pretty close to being my favorite game of last year.

To The Moon is still one of my favorite games of last year but I'm unsure of where I'd place it. Probably a bit higher.

Back to the Future I would eliminate completely. In my eyes it was the start of Telltale's downward spiral as there is absolutely no challenge at all in it and you just coast on through with the story. I guess I included it because I just love the movies so much and it was a pretty good continuation of them.

Snoopy's Street Fair: No problems with that being there but it should definitely be at the bottom spot. As I said in my original post, it's a casual freemium game and I don't care because it's about Peanuts. :-)

I've played a bunch of games this year that, if I played them last year, would have definitely been included. NightSky, Where Is My Heart, Corpse Party, and Stacking are few that I'd put on there instead of Gray Matter, The Witcher 2, Dead Island, and Back to the Future.
 
Wasn't a part of the polling last year, but looking back my 5 favorite games would be:

1. Portal 2
2. Batman: Arkham City
3. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
4. Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective
5. inFamous 2
 
It was a year of disappointment for me. Portal 2, Deus Ex, and Uncharted 3 were my top 3.

But I felt burned buying Skyrim, Skyward Sword, LA Noire, inFamous 2, Dragon Age 2, Arkham City...these all felt like a chore to finish.
 
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