Games of the Year 2011

[Azisien]

As we enter 2012 it is time to look back at the, if I may be so bold, fabulous year of gaming that was 2011. Of course, not everyone may share my view, or any of my views about anything, but everyone at NPF that finds this thread probably had a game or two they adored. Something they might consider their personal GAME OF THE YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What was your Game of the Year? Oh, don't limit it to a single entry either. This ain't no awards ceremony.

Personally, I have thought for over a month about how I would rank this year's games. I finally narrowed things down to a workable list for me, but they are all of course astonishingly close in terms of the enjoyment and entertainment they brought me.

Games of the Year - IN ORDER

1. Portal 2

It was a tough brawl within my heart for the top spot. I daresay there were times where Skyrim occupied it. I certainly played Skyrim more, but I finally realized that there was no greater feeling from entertainment this whole year than the number of hours I played Portal 2. I thought it even improved upon its remarkable predecessor. As soon as I had had my fill of Wheatley, they threw me Cave Johnson. For me Portal 2 went beyond just a game, it was an EXPERIENCE. I'll be damn lucky to play a thing so fine in 2012.

2. Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

But of course, Fus-Ro-Dah! I clocked my 90-some hours of Skyrim in about 2.25 weeks, and a good 60 hours of that was in the first week. The first Saturday after launch was a 16 hour play session. My whole life suffered, but I didn't care! Skyrim improved upon Oblivion in every single way. In fact, after I completed my 50 hours in Cyrodiil, I didn't even look at it all that positively anymore. So, it's addictive, and improved, and I've come to enjoy TES lore. Bullshit on the whole "new engine" thing they were talking about though. Skyrim is running on the same buggy horsecrap engine the other TES and new Fallout games run. Maybe they painted it a little here and there. A good deal of my fun with Skyrim was outside the game too, and because of that engine. I have enjoyed hours of hilarious Skyrim glitch videos. I didn't encounter too many personally, but the ones I did encounter only added to the experience, if not to the immersion.

3. Total War: Shogun 2

I thought Mount and Blade Warband would rule my Steam list forever in obsessive hours played, but Shogun 2 came in and gave it a run for its money. I had played very little of the TW series before Shogun 2, so this was my first major entry. It's fabulous, it's the opposite of StarCraft II as far as RTS games go, and that's what I love about it. I logged about 2 hours in singleplayer and 90 hours in campaign co-op. The co-op programming is far from ideal, there were many annoyances to deal with, and some questionable design decisions. Still, I loved it, and I'm looking forward to my next romp through Japan. To summarize how epic the game is, at almost 92 hours clocked, I have only completed two campaigns.

4. Warhammer 40k Dawn of War II: Retribution

This game took me by surprise because of how rote and mundane my experience with it is. It is my first Warhammer game, and my first DoW II game. I didn't get it for the campaign, in fact, now nearing 40 hours of play, I still haven't a clue what the game is about. So what have I been doing for 40 hours? The confounded Last Stand survival mode, where me and two buddies pick heroes and level them and tweak builds. How the game can keep me so hooked over the exact same waves and slow trickle of gear, I don't even know at this point, but it has. Retribution isn't the most technically successful RTS game on the market, in fact it looks a good deal worse than SC2, but I like it's style. Also, I still haven't beat Wave 20, on any of the maps. Gah!

5. Battlefield 3

I was in the trenches for the MW3 launch and hosted a tournament for it at my work, and it was a blast. It didn't give me too much excitement for the game, though. All year I've had my eyes on BF3. I've been a huge fan of the series since I got BF1942 as a teen. The shit my friends and I got up to on Wake Island was irreplaceable. BF2 was another amazing entry into the series, but it was out of date and I didn't follow the series onto the consoles. Mainly because I didn't have a console until 2008, and then I got my gaming PC in 2009. BF3 is my top shooter of the year because it is, well, it is BF2. But it took the last five years of evolution in shooters and merged them flawlessly. I get a different feeling when I play BF3 than other shooters. I want to squad up, because I need to, and because I know I need allies in WAR. When I play Call of Duty, I'm paintballing. When I play BF3, I'm in a BATTLE. It is a shame EA kind of shat all over gamers and DICE with the game's accessibility, or it'd probably be higher on my list, instead of at the bottom.

Honourable Mentions - and in no particular order

Magicka
Deus Ex: Human Revolution
Pokemon Black
Dead Rising 2: Off the Record
Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3
L.A. Noire

A SHAMEFUL DISPLAY - Games I did not get to play in 2011

Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
Saints Row 3
Batman: Arkham City
Catherine
Witcher 2
Orcs Must Die! (Well, I played it only long enough to get the Steam achievement)
Uncharted 3
Anno 2070

[Aerozord]

Deus Ex would probably be my top pick if those boss battles didn't lock the entire premise of the game in a closet for the duration.

Now if we are talking how well made. I agree with Portal 2. While not as flawless as Portal one, it was funny, challenging, and it kept surprising me.

Though if its on how much personal enjoyment I got out of it.

Minecraft, which did technically come out this year

[Doc ock rokc]

The DLC boss makes up for all the real crappy bosses in Deus Ex. You can kill it sneak past it talk it out of killing you and hack everything to make it attack it...Its what It should be.

[Revising Ocelot]

I don't like picking an absolute favourite, so here's an unsorted list of what I've PLAYED in 2011 - these certainly haven't all been released in 2011. Also, I'm not including my usual multiplayer staples:

Deus Ex: HR
Bastion
Amnesia: TDD
Arkham City
Terraria
Psychonauts
Portal 2
Assassin's Creed 2


I might have added New Vegas and Skyrim to this list, but I never got around to playing them after initial setup to get them working properly.

[Aerozord]

Originally Posted by Doc ock rokc

The DLC boss makes up for all the real crappy bosses in Deus Ex. You can kill it sneak past it talk it out of killing you and hack everything to make it attack it...Its what It should be.

yea, but that doesn't change the fact in the game proper, you cannot.

Honestly it wouldn't bother me so much years ago, but after games like Fallout, Mass Effect, arguably Bioshock, there is no excuse for this kind of thing to happen. These are bosses that belong back in the 90s

May have to check out the DLC though, still working through the game. Seriously those boss battles make me go from this

To this

Rather quickly

[lazy man]

I'd personally have to name Skyward Sword as my game of the year. That game really had a lot going for it in my book. Of course it was one of the few new games I played in 2011, so it's also a bit of an unfair comparison, all things considered

And another game from 2011 that everyone seems to forget: Dead Space 2. Probably helps that I'm a big fan of the series, but it really was a pretty great game.

Other than those... yeah, I never really played anything. Stupid lack of cash. Although now I have Witcher 2 and Space Marine, so I have some stuff to get to eventually.

[Ramary]

I still have not played many games from this year, but so far Portal 2 is my GOTY.

Special mentions:
Magicka
Bastion
Binding of Isaac
Terraria
SHMFUR DISPRAY (Shogun 2)
Saints row the 3rd
Mortal Kombat Reboot

Still need to play:
Sonic Generations
Deus Ex
Skyrim
Skyward Sword
LA Norie
Batman Arkham city
Serious Sam 3
Dark Souls