2011 Community GOTY

[Zanbatou]

My Game of the Year is Skyrim. This is my first Bethesda game, and I'm loving it. I just passed the 100 hour point and the game is still going strong. I'm only at level 25 and I still have about half the map left to explore.

If I was allowed to choose a game from previous years I'd probably go with Mass Effect 2 as my GOTY instead, but it's a close call.


And now I think I'll dole out random custom awards, because that looks fun.

Best character:
Tali from Mass Effect 2
Runners up:
Mordin from Mass Effect 2, Wheatley from Portal 2

Most disappointing ending:
Mass Effect 2
(Spoilers!) What were they thinking with that end boss? That was the Collectors' plan all along? A giant skeleton flying superman style through space? And it was made out of people for some reason? You know what, if Skyrim can simply avoid an embarrassment like that, it will be my GOTY after all.
Runner up:
The "choose a button" climax of Deus Ex: Human Revolution

Best new mechanic:
The real time narration from Bastion.
It's such a simple thing, yet somehow the narration throughout that game literally doubles its appeal. I wouldn't be surprised to see dozens of games copying that mechanic in the coming years.

Best Nostalgia Trip:
Jurassic Park: The Game.
Apparently my love for Jurassic Park is stronger than my hatred for Real Time Events.
Runner up:
Replay of Riven

Most overrated:
Amnesia: The Dark Descent

Best game I'm happier watching than playing:
StarCraft 2

The Just One More Turn Award for game that kept me up far, far too late:
Spectromancer
Deciding you're not allowed to go to bed until you have a winning record for the night is a stupid, stupid decision.
Runners up:
Civilization V, Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes

Most improved sequel:
Bioshock 2


2011 games I'm most looking forward to playing in 2012:
Dark Souls, Batman: Arkham City

[Pedro]

Originally Posted by Zanbatou

Most disappointing ending:
Mass Effect 2

Absolutely, that ending was ridiculous. It's strange that something so creatively bankrupt got tagged onto what was a reasonably strong game up to that point.

Originally Posted by crackajack

It's really one of the very few if not the only one were my opinion is split half in love and half in hate.
Enough hate to never touch Dark Souls or any direct spiritual successor, enough love to hope for a similar game, like eg. Dragon's Dogma, to be what DS did actually not want to be.

I just looked at some Dragon's Dogma videos; looks interesting, though the screen can get very crowded.

You never know, you might like Dark Souls. It's a very different game to Demon's. The run-of-the-mill enemies are easier, while the bosses are slightly harder (I'm sure some think them easier), and there are a bunch of mini-bosses scattered through the levels. Also, there are three or four major objectives in the game, and it's up to you to choose what way you want to do them. The world tendency stuff has been replaced by the joining of covenants. It's interesting.

[RandomRob]

vote for DX:HR withdrawn. My GOTY is Radiant Historia.

[Pedro]

I'm also re-ordering mine slightly:

1. Dark Souls
2. Madden 12
3. Skyrim

Worst Game
Skyward Sword.

I've switched Madden and Skyrim. I still like Skyrim, and the 50 hours I've spent so far have given me a lot of pleasure.

However, if we're looking at the games I've enjoyed most, Madden challenges for the #1 spot. I know it's just the same thing regurgitated each year, with minor changes, but I find sports games to be among the most impressive from a technical standpoint (with the exception of golf). The AI programming alone - to make a bunch of sprites behave like an actual football/hockey/baseball team is something that is amazing to me.

And Madden is as deep and strategic as you want it to be. It's great.

Believe it or not, I'm not trolling when I name Skyward Sword my worst game. I spent 5 and a half hours on it, during which time absolutely nothing noteworthy happened. Fiddly controls, horrible mechanics (flying, for example), sitting through hours of idiotic text scrolling across the screen. Terrible. It's a travesty of a game.

I gave it away to my 7- and 9-year old nieces, and they're enjoying it. I'm afraid their dad will murder me though, as he's already had to sit through the opening hours twice, once with each child.

[Gog]

My GOTY is Rayman Origins

The art style is amazing, as is the quality of the animation; it's got the best soundtrack in any game this year; level design is varied and engaging; gameplay is solid (the swimming sections are handled beautifully); 2-Player Coop is a lot of fun... Hands down one of the best platformers I've ever played.

Runner-up is Catherine

Worst game of the year: Skyward Sword

I must agree with Pedro. It's just plain boring... there's so much backtracking and mundane crap to deal with. Graphically, it's ugly and blurry... Also, I've never had so much trouble with motion controls in any game before. I just gave up right before the end.

Worst story in a great game: Batman - Arkham City

I won't get too much into this because I fear spoiling anything... but yeah. Story wise, Batman is a disappointing mess.

[abfackeln]

Going by the GameCritics.com podcast categories:

Best New Franchise:

Nail in the Coffin: Zelda: Skyward Sword - Not that bad, but it is time to reinvent Zelda.

Indy GOTY:

Worst Story: Battlefield 3 - Zzzzzz

Best Story: Uncharted 3 - Love the characters and paced well

Too Human Award for Inexplicable Excellence:

The Internet is Wrong Award: Skyrim - Good, but not great



Worst Part of an Otherwise Fabulous Game: Deus Ex's ending

Non-2011 Game of the Year: Uncharted 2

Biggest Disappointment: Deus Ex: Human Revolution - Liked it a lot, but felt like it could have been more. Battlefield 3 is another one.

WTF Moment of the Year: 3DS

Made-Up Category: Best Art Direction: Rayman Origins

Made-Up Category: Best Song About Goonies II:

Worst Game of the Year:

Game of the Year: 3)(tie)Dark Souls, Yakuza 4 2) Uncharted 3 1) Radiant Historia

I'll finish filling it out later today. Have to think about it.



Back catalog of games that I own and need to play:

Dead Island
Trails in the Sky
Ghost Trick
Batman Arkham City
Portal 2
Catherine
Dragon Age 2 - I need to try it before I judge it. The internet may be wrong... maybe