Games of the Year/Dissapointing games of the year thread

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  • 2011 was kind of a rad year for gaming. Let us discuss our faves:

    Portal 2 (PC/360/PS3)- This game was legit funny. Valve delivers once again.
    Catherine (360/PS3)- Despite some control issues, the story was definetly one of the best I've seen all year.
    Jamestown (PC)- AN EXCELLENT US SHUMP?!?! COLOR ME SUPRISED!
    Gears of War 3 (360)- Meh story, but DAT MULTIPLAYER!
    Bastion (360/PC) So very,very, very good.
    Batman Arkham City (360/PS3/PC)- The story was kinda over the top in a not fun way, but it played like a dream.
    Deus Ex: Human Revolution: Boss fights aside, a RAD rpg/shooter.

    And I haven't played Skyrim yet, so I can't really say anything about it.

    Dissapointing games of the year:
    Sony 1st party games ie Killzone 3, Resistance 3, Uncharted 3- Sadness all around. In KZ's defense though, it was never good.
    The fact that UMVC dropped 9 months after MVC- Dick move Capcom
    LoZ: Skyward Sword* -Alright I'm only like 3-4 hours in, but man, this thing has been a chore so far.

  • For me -

    Game of the Year, possibly Game of All Time - Dark Souls. Gorgeous environments, fabulous enemy designs - both terrifying and hilarious, pure precise game mechanic. Mysterious story and character elements add to the theme and allow you to connect some dots but leave enough room for you to be creative about filling in the blanks. Not a perfect game - though not broken, some aspects are definitely breakable - but close enough for me.

    Runner-up - Catherine. A one-of-a-kind game. Massive points given for originality and creative thinking. Loved how the story of Vincent's conflict and torment was told via the gameplay.

    Honorable Mention - Portal 2. Only HM because I can't play 1st person due to vertigo issues. So my husband played while I watched and we worked out the puzzles together. Another game that used the gameplay brilliantly to tell the story.

    Biggest Disappointment - Dragon Age II. I did enjoy it but after Origins, it felt like a letdown. After the beautiful and varied world of DA:O, fighting hoards of enemies through the same environments again and again and again became exceedingly tedious. The game was saved for me only by the quality writing and characters.

    Second Biggest Disappointment - for the second year in a row, there was almost nothing for the DS that I enjoyed. With the big exception of -

    DS GOTY - Ghost Trick. Again points for originality. It had a really different mechanic and a charming story with a surprise ending that I didn't see coming at all.

  • I haven't played Skyrim, Dark Souls, or Arkham City yet, even though I really want to. So my opinions might change later.

    For consoles/PC, I really enjoyed Catherine and Portal 2. Both told a story in an interesting way while mixing in fun but often challenging puzzles, and as soon as I finished each game I wanted more and went back to play them again. They both seem a little short, sure, but I think they're the perfect length to keep the games from becoming repetitive.

    Handheld games:

    Ghost Trick!! I honestly only bought this to support the creator of Ace Attorney without really thinking much about this game. Okay, so you possess objects and then...? Well, turns out I was very wrong. The first half of the game seemed like a drag with an unlikeable protagonist who barely spoke with the other characters, and a vague plot consisting of convenient amnesia. But once the story gets going and more characters get introduced it's easy to get hooked. The story ended up being amazing with a crazy twist ending that I didn't see coming.

    Radiant Historia. I thought I don't like JRPGs any more, but I guess I was wrong. I was really impressed with the combat system in this game. In most turn-based combat games like this, I end up simply mashing the "attack" command until I need to heal or use magic during a boss fight. Well, this game punishes you for doing that. Characters have attacks that can push the enemies around on a grid, so there's actually a lot of strategy involved in trying to figure out how to move the enemies around so you can attack them all at once. And to better set up your attacks, you can actually swap turns with any character, including enemies, that character who swapped will just be more vulnerable to damage. Of course, later on in the game you get a powerful attack that attacks all enemies at once, dealing impressive damage and pretty much one-hit-killing them all. But by that time I was at the point where I just wanted to finish the damn game so I didn't care.


    And the game I'm not sure how I feel about: Skyward Sword. Last I checked I clocked around 20 hours into this game, and I'm having fun with it. I like that it seems to have more of a story than most Zelda games. I like seeing Link and Zelda interacting for once. But I hate the controls, and more importantly, I'm starting to feel like I don't like Zelda any more. I feel like it's a little "grade school" or something. Then I remember that I was in grade school back when I first played Zelda! It just seems like it's more of the same to me. But I'm still having fun with it though, it just reminds me of something like, you know when you're too old for something but still secretly enjoy it, you just feel guilty about it? Like when middle schoolers watch Teletubbies or something. For the first time, Zelda feels like that to me. Like a guilty pleasure. Like something I'm too old for, something I shouldn't be enjoying but somewhat do anyway even when it feels below me.

  • [QUOTE=DarkFujin;4244975]I haven't played Skyrim, Dark Souls, or Arkham City yet, even though I really want to. So my opinions might change later.[/QUOTE]

    Yeah, there are a lot of big name titles that I didn't play. Some due to time and some because, while I can recognize that they are quality games, I know that they just aren't going to be my thing. After watching my husband play Skyrim and LA Noire, that's how I feel about both those games. Arkham City I think I would like and hope to get around to someday. Bastion is another one that I think I'd like but haven't played yet.

    [QUOTE=DarkFujin;4244975]They both seem a little short, sure, but I think they're the perfect length to keep the games from becoming repetitive.[/QUOTE]

    But you know, having just poured pretty much every minute of my entertainment time for the last three months into a single game, I think that there's a lot to be said for shorter games. I really like the chapter structure of Catherine, Portal 2 and Ghost Trick. It made it easy for me to sit down after dinner, play through a section or two and then turn it off and go to bed at a reasonable time.

    [QUOTE=DarkFujin;4244975]*Have I outgrown Zelda?*[/QUOTE]

    Dude. I was just thinking all this same stuff. Weird. O_O After playing things like Dark Souls and Catherine that assumed I was an adult and treated me as such, I'm just not sure Skyward Sword is going to have the same impact on me that earlier Zelda games did. IDK - I can't say now because I still haven't gone back to it. Will probably do so next week.

    I should also add, that two of my favorite games this year - Catherine and Ghost Trick - are titles that I first heard mention of here in the coscom vg subforum. I might have stumbled across Catherine on my own, but sincerely doubt that I would have picked up Ghost Trick if it hadn't been for DF and UNIT's rave reviews. So thanks guys! *brofist*

  • [QUOTE=The Hag;4245089]Yeah, there are a lot of big name titles that I didn't play. Some due to time and some because, while I can recognize that they are quality games, I know that they just aren't going to be my thing. After watching my husband play Skyrim and LA Noire, that's how I feel about both those games. Arkham City I think I would like and hope to get around to someday. Bastion is another one that I think I'd like but haven't played yet.



    But you know, having just poured pretty much every minute of my entertainment time for the last three months into a single game, I think that there's a lot to be said for shorter games. I really like the chapter structure of Catherine, Portal 2 and Ghost Trick. It made it easy for me to sit down after dinner, play through a section or two and then turn it off and go to bed at a reasonable time.



    Dude. I was just thinking all this same stuff. Weird. O_O After playing things like Dark Souls and Catherine that assumed I was an adult and treated me as such, I'm just not sure Skyward Sword is going to have the same impact on me that earlier Zelda games did. IDK - I can't say now because I still haven't gone back to it. Will probably do so next week.

    I should also add, that two of my favorite games this year - Catherine and Ghost Trick - are titles that I first heard mention of here in the coscom vg subforum. I might have stumbled across Catherine on my own, but sincerely doubt that I would have picked up Ghost Trick if it hadn't been for DF and UNIT's rave reviews. So thanks guys! *brofist*[/QUOTE]


    -The only reason why I got a chance to play Arkham City was because a friend beat it in a week, and I had time to kill between Gear 3 and Uncharted 3. In retrospect, should have skipped out on UC3.

    -THE DS IS CHARGING AND GHOST TRICK IS IN IT I SWEAR, I'LL START PLAYING IT THIS WEEKEND! And yeah, I'll admit the praise GT got here was a deciding factor, as well as some local friends. Catherine was a game I wanted since the Japanese announcement, and easily something I'm glad I dropped $80 on.

    -Controls aside, Zelda feels crazy dated. "A FETCH QUEST AFTER A BORING ASS VILLAGE INTRO, IT'S LIKE TP ALL OVER AGAIN!!!". I'm REALLY hoping it picks up again, otherwise I can mess around with PC games instead until Soul Calibur 5 drops.

    -Really glad to see Portal 2 getting some love. It was the best. THE BEST AT SPACEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

  • GOTY (overall): Saints Row: The Third
    Best PC only game: ???
    Best Xbox 360 only game: Halo: Anniversary
    Best PS3 only game: Tekken Hybrid
    Best Wii only game: ???
    Best handheld game (3DS, PSP): Dead Or Alive: Dimensions
    Best mobile game (iPhone, Android): ???
    Best RPG: ???
    Best Action/Adventure: BloodRayne: Betrayal
    Best Fighting Game: Mortal Kombat
    Best Racing Game: Daytona USA
    Best Sports Game: NBA JAM: On Fire Edition
    Best Puzzle Game: Catherine
    Best Multiplayer: Call Of Duty: Mordern Warfare 3
    Biggest surprise: Saints Row: The Third
    Biggest disappointment: Battlefield 3

  • My GOTY is a toss-up between Dark Souls (for the overall experience) and Catherine (for the versus mode alone). Most disappointing game was The Third Birthday, and even that wasn't awful, just the story was. The gameplay kind of carried it through.

  • [QUOTE=The Hag;4245089]Bastion is another one that I think I'd like but haven't played yet.
    [/quote]

    Honestly, I think I would enjoy Bastion, but I don't know if it's worth $15. After buying games like Limbo and Braid that I spent full price on and then only played once, I'm getting a bit jaded. I still want to play it, I'm just kind of nervous.


    [QUOTE=The Hag;4245089]
    I should also add, that two of my favorite games this year - Catherine and Ghost Trick - are titles that I first heard mention of here in the coscom vg subforum. I might have stumbled across Catherine on my own, but sincerely doubt that I would have picked up Ghost Trick if it hadn't been for DF and UNIT's rave reviews. So thanks guys! *brofist*[/QUOTE]

    *brofist*
    I honestly bought Dark Souls because of you and Zwei and whoever else posted about it here. I still haven't played it yet though (RROD, yadda yadda) but I'll play it as soon as I can and I'll tell you how I feel about it!

    [QUOTE=Starwind824;4245114]
    -THE DS IS CHARGING AND GHOST TRICK IS IN IT I SWEAR, I'LL START PLAYING IT THIS WEEKEND!
    [/quote]
    YOU BETTER! DON'T MAKE ME BEAT YOU!

    [QUOTE=Starwind824;4245114]
    -Controls aside, Zelda feels crazy dated. "A FETCH QUEST AFTER A BORING ASS VILLAGE INTRO, IT'S LIKE TP ALL OVER AGAIN!!!"
    [/quote]

    The thing that's really pissing me off about Zelda is that I can't enter a dungeon without having to dowse for Kiwis/key shards/power nodes/etc. I can't even get dowsing to work right, most of the time I move the cursor every which way and it never activates, or it shows that whatever I'm whatever I'm looking for is under Link's feet, when it obviously isn't. And I don't mean it's under a dig spot that I'm standing on or something, I mean no matter where I am, it says I'm standing on top of my target. So I just never use dowsing and try to find everything on my own so I can enter the damn dungeon!

    Speaking of dungeons, is it just me or are they really short? Do they get longer later on? Do you have to revisit all of them later? I swear it takes me forever to get into the dungeon, then once inside it's really easy and takes a short amount of time to complete. Is that the point of the game, actually? I honestly feel like I have my priorities in the wrong order or something.

  • [QUOTE=DarkFujin;4246508]

    Speaking of dungeons, is it just me or are they really short? Do they get longer later on? Do you have to revisit all of them later? I swear it takes me forever to get into the dungeon, then once inside it's really easy and takes a short amount of time to complete. Is that the point of the game, actually? I honestly feel like I have my priorities in the wrong order or something.[/QUOTE]

    No, they're all quite short. The longest is probably the last one, mostly due to the fact that it has a (admittedly cool) gimmick to it.

    Actually, I take that back, the longest one is the pirate ship because there is an absolutely stupid amount of backtracking.

  • [QUOTE=DarkFujin;4246508]Limbo and Braid
    [/QUOTE]

    I tried the demos and didn't like either enough to buy it. I can appreciate the game design of both, but the whiny emo-ness of the text in Braid set my teeth on edge. In Limbo, I just couldn't stand to see my little black and white child avatar die gruesomely over and over while I tried to figure out how to get past the giant spider. Maybe the developer is trying to make some statement about the horrible things that happen to children who are left to wander alone in the world. Or maybe he just really hates kids? IDK but it was really unpleasant for me so I stopped.

  • Lets put it this way. At the very least, you will play through bastion at least twice.

  • best: Skyrim, Mortal Kombat, and Dungeon Defenders.

    dissapointing: everything else, 2011 was a year of "change the graphics and call it a sequel, maybe tweek a few things, add a crappy story", Dead Island gets special mention, the game turns into complete shit really quick.

  • Dead Island is worth playing, if only to see examples on how to completely break your game archetecture in a matter of minutes. All broken trucks, all the time.

  • I'm very surprised with how many "new" titles I actually played this year. My faves are Portal 2 (too short though), MW3, and MK9.
    My biggest disappointments are
    SR3 - Shaundi, who was one of my favorite characters in SR2, was completely changed from laid back stoner to high strung beotch. My absolute favorite SR character gets killed in an anticlimactic way. The game was far too easy and short. It could have really benefited from having multiplayer which was removed during production. Don't get me started on the platinum edition. *sigh*
    Battlefield 3 - strange glitches, cutscenes starting over and over, lost saves and that stupid ass multiplayer passcode (I am now OFFICIALLY boycotting EA).
    Homefront - Just not as good as I thought it would be. :/ Plus, another damned multiplayer passcode. Ugh.
    Dead Island - The environment looks great, the survivors movements are hideous, the zombies are livelier than the NPCs, driving is terribad, voice acting is funny when it really shouldn't be.

  • [QUOTE=Zweihander;4246221]My GOTY is a toss-up between Dark Souls (for the overall experience) and Catherine (for the versus mode alone). Most disappointing game was The Third Birthday, and even that wasn't awful, just the story was. The gameplay kind of carried it through.[/QUOTE]

    THIS. I really dug T3B's game mechanics, but god damn, that plot.

    [QUOTE=DarkFujin;4246508]Honestly, I think I would enjoy Bastion, but I don't know if it's worth $15. After buying games like Limbo and Braid that I spent full price on and then only played once, I'm getting a bit jaded. I still want to play it, I'm just kind of nervous.

    YOU BETTER! DON'T MAKE ME BEAT YOU![/QUOTE]

    As someone who was never big on Limbo or Braid, Bastion is definetly it's own thing. D/L the demo when you get the chance, you'll understand what I mean.

    STARTED GHOST TRICK, MET MISSLE, ALL IS GOOD ON THAT FRONT!

    [QUOTE=Mesoian;4247187]Lets put it this way. At the very least, you will play through bastion at least twice.[/QUOTE]

    THE KID IS READY!