Game of the Year 2011

[Martel]

Same as last year, what game made your year, and why? If you want to do it by console/genre you can, but pick an overall favourite~

For me, there is absolutely no contest:

It has GOT to be Xenoblade. Nothing even comes remotely close in measuring up to this game this year. This was one exceptionally bright spot in what has otherwise been a terrible year for games: with Dragon Age II being the biggest disappointment I could ask for, and nothing but threequels to games that weren't even that good to start out with coming out, Xenoblade is one of the few games that has actually set itself apart from the mediocrity and shined. 2011 has nothing on 2010 in terms of games being released, but Xenoblade is better than any game that came out last year.

I saw a lot of the storyline twists coming, but the cast is easily the best JRPG cast I've seen in years. The battle system is perfectly balanced and highly engaging, levels don't matter that much at all for once, it's mind-blowingly long - jut under 60 hours for the story, and I only dabbled in side quests - and, one of the most important things for me, it had a spectacular OST. Not to mention the voice cast is easily the best in years, with the possible exception of Castlevania: Lords of Shadow. As far as I'm concerned, this is what RPGs should be like, and this shows just how far that genre has fallen. No current generation console has delivered an RPG experience that can come even remotely close to matching what Xenoblade offers. I really cannot praise it enough. For someone who is finding it extremely hard to have fun with all the mediocre and samey shit coming out, this is a breath of fresh air.

Go read my review on it if you want a detailed account. xD

Honourable mentions go to Atelier Totori: The Adventurer of Arland, for improving upon Rorona in every way imaginable and being a delightfully folksy experience, and El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron, for being absolutely stunning, and for having a unique premise in what is otherwise becoming a very stale genre filled with tedious muscular men with as much personality as a pea.

 

[Will Graham]

Daggerfalls

The game that made Mac OSX eat a bowl of dicks for not being able to run it, definitely the game of the year. All years

 

[Jack's Smirking Revenge]

i think i've only bought three games this year, so i'm going to have to say pokémon black it had the beautiful nostalgia feel to it that strongly reminded of when i was playing blue for the first time. a lot of the new generation ones are unoriginal and unimaginative, but i didn't really mind that too much.

my only problem with it was that you couldn't visit the worlds from the previous games.

 

[Tom Badguy]

That's a tough one. It's either Arkham City or Skyrim. I think I'm going to go with AC. The best Batman game ever made. I loved the atmosphere, the gameplay, the look, everything except for the Penguin's voice. Seriously, I never thought of the Penguin as Australian.

 

[Lirael]

I haven't had a chance to play Xenoblade Chronicles yet. However, it's been an extremely good year for games! The best games I've played are Portal 2, Uncharted 3 and Skyward Sword. Skyrim was a disappointment.

If I had to choose one, I'd probably choose Portal 2, purely because it's so different to anything I've played before. The puzzles are superbly devised; you have to spent time figuring them out and you often manage to just before it's about to get frustrating, which leads to a lot of satisfaction. The writing is extremely clever - there are only a couple of voiced characters, but their lines are witty and they feel surprisingly fleshed out. The environments are perfect for the game's theme and the concept - it's not a flashy game, but it doesn't want to be and it still feels highly artistic. The music isn't entirely memorable, but it did help create tension, mystery and calm.

I still thought Uncharted 3 and Skyward Sword were super!

Oh yeah, Pokemon White was also pretty decent, but that's also been done before, and could never match up to the achievement that is Portal 2.

 

[Sir Fratley]

Daggerfalls

The game that made Mac OSX eat a bowl of dicks for not being able to run it, definitely the game of the year. All years

I have a crazed Ranger and a Miniature Giant Space Hamster that says otherwise. Along with a powerful wizard villain that would make Sephy brown his undies. Baldur's Gate Series. Best game ever, of all years since its creation.

 

[Steve-O]

one game for me this year and it goes to

this game made my love for sonic the hedgehog come back and made me love my xbox for a few weeks again it was just sooo fun to play SEGA for once didn't just think about story but thought about gameplay which made the game soo much fun to play and the remixed version of the music was sooo amazing as well XD was just amazing a little gem of a game which alot of people didn't talk about :/