Game of the Year 2011

NerfedFalcon

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Mar 23, 2011
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Before I opened the article, I just knew you were going to keep praising Skyrim as the best game ever made, despite its numerous flaws (among them not one but two bad ports and the bugs in all three versions.) Either I'm psychic or every single game critic ever thinks that Plan 9 from Outer Space couldn't possibly be a better movie.
 

Mr. Omega

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Jul 1, 2010
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Greg Says: There is no wrong way to play Bethesda's fifth Elder Scrolls game
Sure there is: On a PS3!

But in all seriousness this was a good article. Also, good call on TOR. Also glad to see InFamous 2 get some love.
 

ResonanceSD

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Dec 14, 2009
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Fairly predictable, nice to see Minecraft in that list. I can't wait for the ZP version of this.
 

Varya

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Nov 23, 2009
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Prediction for this thread:
"whine, my favorite game was too far down on the list, you are all wrong"
"Minecraft is so overhyped and everyone who likes it is a tool. It has been out since 09 so it shouldn't even be here. Mojang are lazy bastards and therfore this sucks"
"why does everyone keep praising Skyrim, that was like, TWO months ago, get over it. It's because of your useless critcs that arrow to the knee jokes still lives"

In all seriousness, great list, worthy winner and worthy competitors, let's hope 2012 can top 11.
 

Trishbot

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May 10, 2011
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Once again, the game my PS3 refuses to play wins a GOTY award.

Honestly, as good as the game COULD be, I still think that if the damn game is so broken on my system of choice that it is unplayable, it should be disqualified. I feel giving it the HIGHEST PRAISE OF THE YEAR and saying EVERY COMPANY should strive for that same "excellent" level of quality is a disservice to all those people that made, well, a playable, functional, mostly-problem free FINISHED game.

As it stands, Skyrim, yes, is a good game at heart... but it's still an incomplete, poorly tested, technical mess of a game that goes beyond being "buggy" to being outright "broken" for many people, even now, nearly two months after we paid them full priced for it.

I shouldn't have to wait two months for my "game of the year" to realize its potential, especially when so many other quality games out there were far better made, more technically proficient, and the customers and fans treated with a lot more respect. Sorry, Skyrim, but not even arrow to the knee jokes means you deserve the highest gaming honors a website can give... not until I can PLAY the damn game, at least.
 

Elementary - Dear Watson

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Nov 9, 2010
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Surely predictable is good for a Game of the Year? The best game with the most hype and the biggest following,, that the most people play and get hooked to is surely going to win... If something else does, then isn't that odd...? Its like the Kings Speech, when that came out it was obviously going to win at the oscars, so when it did... It's not a surprise!

Why should the writers and editors pick a game they didn't enjoy as much just to please the people who 'want to be surprised by game of the year results?'
 

Assassin Xaero

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This is the reason why I never cared much for GOTY awards popularity contests. Dragon Age 2, the sequel to the worst game I ever had to force myself to finish (which from play the demo and what I've heard, DA2 is even worse than DA:O) gets "honorable mention", while my three favorite games of the year (Rage, Duke Nukem Forever, and Bulletstorm) are no where on the list. Oh well, not like the awards make the games better or anything, I still get to have my fun with games that I actually enjoy.
 

CapitalistPig

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yeah the job pretty easy. Good game good results. on another note. BARF all over infamous 2 to think it was a contender ew.
 

RJ 17

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Nov 27, 2011
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Minecraft is so over---
Varya said:
"Minecraft is so overhyped and everyone who likes it is a tool. It has been out since 09 so it shouldn't even be here. Mojang are lazy bastards and therfore this sucks"
Well then....neverminded. :p

But to everyone saying "So predictable god damnit!" come on, did you honestly believe that this or any other panel judging Best Game of 2011 would declare anything but Skyrim as the #1 game? If you did believe that some other game was picked, it's time to stop wearing those sunglasses while you're inside, give away your Starbucks gift-cards, and find something to do other than talking about how everything you've ever loved has in one way or another sold-out.

I mean come on...how many games this year feature mods that allow you to chase around Dr. Zoidberg after he scuttles out of a river bed? Or have you be saved from getting your head chopped off thanks to the timely arrival of a fire-breathing Macho Man Randy Savage (seriously, when you first hear that whisper echoing through the air at the beginning of that video...gets me laughing every time)? Or let you enjoy having your companions being launched into orbit thanks to the local giant's cudgel-based space program?

Skyrim does have its flaws, as someone else posted: all games do. The game is absolutely massive, so of course there's going to be some issues to iron out. The thing is that the game's goodness so vastly outweighs the bugs/problems that people STILL keep playing it for hours on end despite a backwards-flying dragon warping around, or the fact that every time I fast-travel somewhere there's ALWAYS a dead horse laying in front of me when I arrive at my destination, leaving me to wonder if my Khajiit is some kind of psycho who blacks out and kills livestock with no memory of the event.
 

CapitalistPig

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Assassin Xaero said:
This is the reason why I never cared much for GOTY awards popularity contests. Dragon Age 2, the sequel to the worst game I ever had to force myself to finish (which from play the demo and what I've heard, DA2 is even worse than DA:O) gets "honorable mention", while my three favorite games of the year (Rage, Duke Nukem Forever, and Bulletstorm) are no where on the list. Oh well, not like the awards make the games better or anything, I still get to have my fun with games that I actually enjoy.
Those are all the same style of game play and notoriously considered bad games in the gaming community. This website in particular and its fan base has a huge calling against cheap flashy games that are pushed out onto shelves. I don't see how you could ever except otherwise. Of course it's a popularity contest. Good things win contests. If your personal favorite lost then aw shucks.
 

irishda

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Dec 16, 2010
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We can't demand better quality from our gaming industry, and then give something with significantly less technical quality such unilateral praise. PS3 users can't even play it, dragons fly backwards, people shoot into the sky, quest givers disappear, but hey, as long as it's got a lot of stuff to do in it, it's awesome. Bugs are enough to take down games like Dead Island, but it's a good thing they're promptly ignored here.
 

Furioso

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It still boggles my mind that Dragon Age 2 made it anywhere near this list, I don't find the characters or story good at all, but that's personal, but there are so many things that are just simply wrong with the gameplay and design that it should not make any top 10 list
 

RJ 17

The Sound of Silence
Nov 27, 2011
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Assassin Xaero said:
This is the reason why I never cared much for GOTY awards popularity contests. Dragon Age 2, the sequel to the worst game I ever had to force myself to finish (which from play the demo and what I've heard, DA2 is even worse than DA:O) gets "honorable mention", while my three favorite games of the year (Rage, Duke Nukem Forever, and Bulletstorm) are no where on the list. Oh well, not like the awards make the games better or anything, I still get to have my fun with games that I actually enjoy.
We can all whine and moan about our favorite (insert contest subject here) isn't on some Top 10 list or something. One key thing I would remind you to keep in mind is quite simply no matter what the case, this is all based on someone's opinion. And indeed: opinions are like assholes, everyone's got one.

My point is you say you don't care about such things, but you certainly do protest when your personal favorites aren't mentioned. I'd suggest you do what you apparently always do: not care about these people's opinion.

But for the record, Rage was a great and fun game, but good god was it WAY too short and ended whiplash-inducingly too abruptly. The argument is that the ending sets up for a sequel, even so: that ending was just god-awful. I rented it, had my fun, and was ready to take it back in a couple days.

DN: F was only fun if you kept one thing in mind: This is a Duke Nukem game. There's going to be breast jokes, poop jokes, and over-all a rather immature sense of humor, just like DN: 3D. The problem is that after 13 years, people were expecting a lot more than just another DN: 3D game, which is basically what DN: F equated to, just with a couple more bells and whistles. Again, a game that I rented and did have fun with, but I laughed at anyone foolish enough to actually buy this game.

Never actually played Bullet Storm, so I'm in no position to say anything about it.

As for Dragon Age 2, I'll admit it's far from an ideal game. The fact that they literally copy-pasted every. single. dungeon. in that game over and over was depressingly lame and made it get very old. However, I do think that the merits the critic pointed out in the article are true: it has a great combat system and a very fun method of story telling.

The over all point of me giving these critiques is that the 3 games you've mentioned, by and far, are rental-worthy games. Something you pick up, have fun for a few days, then take back and trade in. I'd imagine one very important thing to consider when determining a "Game of the Year" list is "Was this a game that people actually wanted to go out and buy? Or did they rent it, beat it in a weekend, and despite enjoying it, decide that they were done with it?"

Keep in mind, though, that these are just my opinions. No need to get upset about someone thinking differently than you. No one will ever be able to take away the fact that you like the games you like.
 

OldNewNewOld

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Mar 2, 2011
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I'm disappointed that Skyrim is the game of the year.
It's a really nice game, but there are to many flaws that bug you all the time, bad design decisions and the long distance traveling that makes you forget that you have Skyrim on because you just pressed the auto-walk button.
 

ritchards

Non-gamer in a gaming world
Nov 20, 2009
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"Skyrim is a great game", fine, it's on my "one day" list, but... would it have been GOTY had it come out in Feb? [esp if, say, TOR had also been released a little earlier...]

(The same question of all games/movies/etc that win when they are released near the award date...)