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Thread: Best Games of 2011 - 2011 Game of the Year Edition

  1. #1
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    Best Games of 2011 - 2011 Game of the Year Edition

    I think may have been one of the best years for gaming ever, right up there with good ol' 2007. The Market was flat-out saturated, and I occasionally had to make tough decisions about what I wanted to play. Here's what I thought:

    Narrative:
    Infamous 2:
    Infamous 2 was a game that delivered on the promises on the original while improving on it's concept. I think it was easily the best action game of the year, outclassing more popular faire like Uncharted 3 and perhaps Dead Space 2. The developers behind infamous, first and foremost, are really good at connecting you to characters and to the gameworld. Relation ships between all of those components are very convincing, and the action in this game steps up a notch in these 3 or 4-way epic battles. It also had some pretty fun Halloween DLC.

    L.A. Noire:
    A lots of people had a bone to pick with something or other about this game, but it can't be denied that L.A. Noire gave us something we had never had. But I really think there were parts of it that escalated gaming to a new level.

    Portal 2:
    Aside from being a blast to play, Portal had a strong narrative, was mostly nonviolent, and featured 2 strong female protagonists, who never received the Lara Croft sexualization treatment. It's sad to say, but that's kind of a big deal in the world of gaming. Multiplayer took things to another level too, since you finally had to put two heads to those wacky puzzles instead of just one.


    Competitive:
    Mortal Kombat:
    In a competitive market saturated with Modern military shooters, Mortal Kombat revitalized the fighting game genre in full force with a fresh take to an old favorite.






    What do you think?

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    Battlefield 3, Portal 2, Limbo, Skyrim, Batman: Arkham City.

    It's subjective.

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    shooter-wise i'm going to have to go with gears 3. then you know. skyrim. cuz i've almost got 200 hours logged into that damn game and i'm only on the second quest in the main story.

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    Batman: Arkham City, Dark Souls, and Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 did it for me this year. My favorite has to go to Arkham City though, I've recently picked up Skyrim, Battlefield 3, and Madden 12 and still find myself letting those sit and collect dust while I run around collecting Riddler trophies. I love everything about that game.

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    Definitely put Batman: Arkham City at the top. Finally achieved the platinum trophy and loved every excruciating minute of it. Looking forward to getting into Skyrim, next.

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    Been loads of things I enjoyed this year. I think I'm gonna have to go with Catherine, Uncharted 3, Dark Souls and Portal 2. No hating on Skyrim, but I haven't really had a chance to play it that much as my partners been on it.

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    1. Skyrim - It's Skyrim
    2. Deus Ex: Human Revolution - Amazing open-ended, addictive gameplay. A little too short though
    3. Dead Space 2 - Chaotic, fun thrill-ride with a very satisfying array of weaponry
    4. LA Noire - Best story-driven experience I've had with a game in a long time. Plus Mad Men cameos!
    5. Portal 2 - Same great gameplay with a better atmosphere and focus on exploration

    I really enjoyed Dragon Age II as well.

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    Skyrim - So much to do, so many things to see. It's such an improvement over Oblivion it's ridiculous.
    Deus Ex- Human Revolution - Definitely lives up to the original. My only complaint is I wish it was a little longer.
    Dark Souls - The most fun I have had playing a game, and dying. The most rewarding experience I have had in gaming is accomplishing things in Dark Souls. You feel so good.
    Battlefield 3 - My go-to multiplayer game since it released.
    Total War: Shogun 2 - So much fun. Fuck. Simplified but added new layers to the already fantastic Total War formula. I wish I had a better PC so I could run it a little better, but it runs well at medium settings on my laptop.

    Indie Games:
    The Binding of Issac - Addictive, brutal, endlessly replayable. This game is awesome.
    Bastion - Narrative style is the coolest way of storytelling I have seen in a game.
    Frozen Synapse - One of the most interesting, unique, and fun strategy games I have ever played.
    Sanctum - Interesting twist on Tower Defense, adding first person shooter elements to it.

    I haven't played Portal 2, GoW3, Batman, or some others mentioned so far, but I'd like too.

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    This year has been amazing with the amount of quality games out there:
    Tough to choose between skyrim, uncharted 3, arkam city, dead space 2, portal 2, dark souls, ugh....
    How about instead of having a game of the year we just call this year of the games and let everyone have a piece of the trophy.

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    Yes. A really great year for games. Dark Souls, Arkham City, Uncharted 3, Dead Space 2, etc. I gotta give top honors to Skyrim as much I love Dark Souls.

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    Skyward Sword for showing us how motion control need not be a gimmick thus opening up a future of very well implemented motion control in gaming. (Watch Metal Gear Rising become the first to steal its thunder by the way)
    That and Skyrim for its sheer beauty.

    I will also add that The Old Republic will be a very, very, popular MMORPG next year. Mark my words, it's quite brilliant.

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    I'd have to say Minecraft now that it's actually a retail product.

    Other than that, a billion others (and no less) compete, but my five major picks:

    Batman: Arkham City for being the most advanced and captivating piece of non-comic Batman media since The Animated Series
    Battlefield 3 for its multiplayer, plain and simple. I haven't had such a fun time with friends in a long while.
    Dark Souls for its unrivaled subtlety, not assuming its players are idiots, and influencing the way I even think about games
    Deus Ex: Human Revolution for not sucking! It's so nice to have a modern Deus Ex game that doesn't hold back.
    Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim for the most obvious of reasons

    There are so many to pick from, but right now, that's what I'd pick if I had to truly narrow it down. Batman: Arkham City above all of the rest.

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    La Noire or Skyrim. Unless the new BioShock is just as killer as the first, those are the two I'm going with.

    I have to go with L.A Noire just because it's something NEW in a year full of sequels.

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    New bioshock is next year... and it looks increbible. But it has Mass Effect 3 to compete with

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    Quote Originally Posted by Wretchedest View Post
    New bioshock is next year... and it looks increbible. But it has Mass Effect 3 to compete with
    Mass Effect 3 > Bioshock: Infinite

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    Dead Space 2, definitely in my top spot. I've also enjoyed the hell out of Rocksmith, a game that teaches you to play guitar. I'm against the grain when it comes to Modern Warfare 3. I love it. I'm on my second playthrough and those epic set pieces and Die Hard-type storylines are just sooo satisfying. It's also fun as hell in multiplayer, of course.

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    1. Portal 2 It was everything I'd hoped it be and more.
    2. LittleBIGplanet 2 Took what was great about the first and expanded upon it.
    3. Outland Metroid meets Ikaruga perfection!

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    Quote Originally Posted by Iran_Ed View Post
    2. LittleBIGplanet 2 Took what was great about the first and expanded upon it.
    I actually forgot that was released this year! It was too similar to the first to be a real standout in my opinion.

  19. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by JessicaSarahS View Post
    I actually forgot that was released this year! It was too similar to the first to be a real standout in my opinion.
    me too, It was supposed to be out Nov 2010, but yeah, January 2011. I missed it due to Mass Effect 2 being out the same time.

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    I havent gotten to play too many games this year due to afghan. deployment. Im looking forward to skyrim and rage more than anything. Anyone have some rage feedback? im surprised no ones really mentioned it.

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    1. The Witcher 2 - If you have a PC than you should already own this game. If you have a 360, this should be your most anticipated titled next to Bioshock: Infinite. Brilliant story telling that sucks you in. While it falls in with other games that I have yet to beat for various reasons, this does not matter. Finally, with the 2.1 patch, this game is really, truly, playable. This is far more linear than Skyrim but compared to Dragon Age 3: this game is an open world. The environments change and a whole section of the game (there are about 5 sections) is different depending on which faction you favor. This Polish devs, which recently anti-pirates, are staunch opponents of DRM and are of the same branch that runs GOG. Worth all of your time and money.

    TIED WITH
    1. Dead Space 2 - While the structure may be too straight forward for some, I had more fun with this than any other game. While it was not scary I was always enthralled with the environments and loved the "Sprawl" and its dramatically open (as opposed to #1) environments. I'm about half way through a play-through on the hardest difficulty (not the three saves one) and will complete that eventually.

    2. Skyrim - While I just started this, I am pretty alright in saying that this game is amazing. Rarely does a game hold my attention for as long as this game.

    3. Portal 2 - Both the campaign and the Co-op add to an overall narrative that is just mindblowingly awesome. Games should not be this funny!

    4. Gears of War 3 - While the multiplayer is terribly forgettable, the campaign and horde modes are quite nice. Giant bros fighting monsters, nuff' said.

    5. Deus Ex: Human Revolution - While I've only played 13 or so hours, I've enjoyed them. Another game that I can beat now that I am graduated from college.

    Games I have yet to play for the most part.

    1. Arkham City - Watched my roommate play this and just couldn't spare the time with finals. Looking forward to playing this when I am away from my PC and only have an XBOX available to me.

    2. Uncharted 3 - Only about 3 hours in but I do enjoy it. A bit slower than the other two, do others agree?

    LA Noire - Played 2, 2 hour sittings and just never touched this again.
    Last edited by Zimbo; 12-21-2011 at 08:53 AM.

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