What is your GOTY so far?

[Reveras]

Strangely enough I'm torn between several titles. Black Mesa for the fact that the game on hard difficulty is brutal at times and I enjoyed that, Borderlands 2 for the writing and some of the characters like the guy who was almost content on calling a mob type "Bonerfarts". I excluded large f2p titles despite pouring many hours into 2 big ones: World of Tanks + Dota 2. Gotta say what they've done with WoT and Dota 2 respectively is amazing.

 

[Headdrivehardscrew]

I've been constantly underwhelmed by the new Final Fantasy offerings, and all they did was to make me miserable and go back and play the original (SNES) titles.

Borderlands 2, while plenty of co-op fun, some good writing and a genuine 'shooting range' feeling, just doesn't qualify. It's a good game, but the things that are (still) broken are just not GOTY material. The driving sucks hairy donkey bottom, shooting at flying things will turn your hair grey from frustration, some bigger/badass enemies charging at you will kill you just about no matter what, with your player character uselessly 'running' (hobbling) about... no, it deserves respect and first place in several categories, it's pretty good showcase material of what you can (and can't) do with the engine, but that's definitely not GOTY material!

My current favourite still is

Dishonoured

Why? Well, it's a new IP, which already deserves buckets of kudos and hat tips these days. The art style is... daring, but I think it's really, really well done and a lot of the stuff that could have just been rehashed was all pretty fresh. The 'special powers' certainly reminded me of, say, Bioshock, and I plain wouldn't mind if Dishonoured was the Bioshock 3 we've been promised for quite a while now. The story, albeit quite short, is also not too shabby and I really, really liked the freedom of finding out other ways to complete the missions.

To be completely honest, I wouldn't have minded if some Skyrim DLC would have made it to top candidate position, but the vampires weren't enough to qualify and the Castle Grayskull construction set really isn't much of a proper expansion, so, there, it's got to be Dishonoured.

 

[havoc33]

Mass Effect 3 for me. I've played Borderlands 2 and Resident Evil 6 and all that, but Mass Effect was just better all around. I liked the story(even the ending), the gameplay was a lot more smooth than the previous 2, and the multiplayer contributed rather than detract from the game.

As for runner-up, I'm having a hell of a lot of fun with Binary Domain right now. Reminds me a lot of Gears of War in some ways.

Finally, someone who recognizes Binary Domain! Picked it up dirt cheap, and I loved every minute of it. It's not the GOTY, but highly underrated IMO.

Also, with all the talk about that BioWare has "lost it", and that ME3 was shit, there are remarkably high number of people that still picked it for game of the year.

I know. It's a shame that it probably wont sell enough copies to warrant a sequel.

ME3 was actually my favorite of the trilogy. Sure the ending wasn't the greatest, but it doesn't negate how extremely awesome the other 99% of the game is.

Yeah, I always felt the issues people had with the ending was greatly exaggerated. And in the end it's up to the developer as well how they want to end their story. With all the negative feedback BioWare got, it would seem they produced a real turd, but actually most people loved it. Fans need to realise that they gotta tone back on this sort of stuff, because ultimately it can put such strain on a company that it affects future releases, and NOT in the way you want it.

 

[viranimus]

Most likely something that came out in 2011 that I still hadnt yet worked out of backlog.

Ok foine... something made this year.

Mass effect 3. By far and away the single best game4 I encountered this year despite its horrendous glaring flaw...of basically being forced to play multiplayer matches to finish the single player campaign. Makes perfect sense why there was so much outrage when it came out now. Having to pay money to finish the game pissed me off too. Fuck Pay to win.

None the less, that outlandish flaw was still not enough to undo the awesome 40 or so hours that kept me fully engaged from the first splash screen to the end of the credits. every bit of it was phenomenal, and if it ISNT game of the year, No game would qualify.

Im being dead serious here. And No I am talking pre "fixed/caved" ending, I m talking the RGB endings that everyone was bitching and moaning about from basically march till may.

 

[Metal_Head]

Medal of Honour: Warfigh................. pfft HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Seriously though, I would have to say Hidden:Source Beta. I only recently downloaded it but it is so fun.

If I had to pick a game from this year, Borderlands 2.

 

[BaronIveagh]

It's still a few days till it's been a year, so I say: Skyrim.

 

[eevangoh]

Max Payne 3, I guess. I'm a die-hard fan of the series, and Rockstar got the gameplay exactly right, and the story and Max's character almost right. Plus, it had really good writing and voice acting.

Either that or the Walking Dead series as a whole (again, story and writing). All of the other contenders kind of fell flat, especially Dishonored and XCOM.

 

[Athinira]

I'll go ahead and say Mass Effect 3. Yes, the ending was shit, but the content leading up to that point was beyond great, and the game and combat design was absolutely awesome, and the storytelling aspect and length was more than adequate. I don't think I've ever been that immersed since playing Baldur's Gate 2.

 

[Devil_Worshipper]

MAX PAYNE 3
*EXTENDED GUITAR SOLO*
AWESOME GAME
ALL THE POINTS
Dishonored is a close second.

 

[Randomperson9999999]

assassins creed 3 but hitman is coming soon so my opinion might change.

 

[Someone Depressing]

I haven't been playing much new games, but Dishononored was good.

I'm looking forward to P4: The Golden. That's pretty much it.

 

[Korolev]

An interesting question - nothing has stood out for me this year in a very big way. Oh, certainly, we've had good games which I would unhesitatingly put in my Top 10 list of 2012, but so far, I haven't found a good candidate for Game of the Year, and I'll be very interested to see what major publications pick.

If, at gunpoint, I was forced to pick one, I'd say....XCOM. Second place I'd give to Mass Effect 3 - don't get me wrong, disliked the ending immensely, but the game as a whole is pretty good. It's just... we haven't had many "stand-out" stellar games this year.

Maybe when I play Dishonored, I'll change my mind, but so far, probably XCOM, simply because it's difficult, well-made (except for some bugs) and it's really really, really fun.

My Top 5 are:

1) XCOM
2) Mass Effect 3
3) Journey
4) Fez
5) Borderlands 2

 

[Jimmy T. Malice]

Probably Dishonored in terms of gameplay. It's innovative in an endless sea of sequels, but it is way too short and the story never really goes anywhere interesting.

 

[Kyle Donovan]

1. Dishonored
2. The Darkness II (Really underrated)
3. Max Payne 3
4. Sleeping Dogs
5. Fez

 

[tiur]

Most likely AC III, even though I haven't beaten it yet. I keep meaning to start the last memory but get lost doing random stuff like running through trees hunting, or just killing guards. Easily the most fun I have had with a video game this year. Disclaimer: have not played dishonored, it was either that or Borderlands 2 co-op with my friends.

 

[Von Dean]

Dishonored, i think it's fu*king excellent,a little light on story maybe but nonetheless a joy to play

 

[UsefulPlayer 1]

Mass Effect 3 came out this year? I totally forgot. Especially since its already pretty cheap now.

That would be my pick since it was a massive ending to a great series. But that's probably because I didn't play many new games this year. Plus I don't really like that choice because they didn't do much in the area of new or innovative. Great finale to such a rich universe though. A great ride through and through.

I imagine a better pick would be something I didn't play, probably on the PC so that it wouldn't be a generic AAA title. Probably obscure or Japanese.

 

[Ashcrexl]

Disclaimer: I have been too busy with classes to have bought a single not-indie game since Summer.

That said, Max Payne 3. Pure fun, balls to the walls shooting action, excellent locales, just love Max's grim, no joy at all, cynical narration, and the multiplayer is surprisingly not awful or tacked on feeling.

 

[Nihlus2]

Hmmm tough one really.

Will probably end up falling on Dishono(u)red so far. If judging by what it set out to do and what it accomplished. Very rich world does not stick any of its lore in your face at all. Was refreshing really. Although the NPCs suffered fromt the usual lack of depth problems, but oh well, no one is perfect.

My money were originally set on Mass Effect 3 before it was released but... I have had a change of heart. Besides Tuchanka and Rannoch, the arcs were too lazy and uninspired, the exploration and depth was none existent and it was a jack-of-all-trades that tried to be everything other games had done... instead of just running its own thing. Felt more like a linear action adventure game with weapon customization and a good/evil conversation system at times.
That and it relied on a lot of fanservice and almost no innovation. I am keeping the ending out of this whole judgement because that has resigned itself to the permanent archives of gaming history anyway, but is still not what the game as a whole should be judged by.

Dishonored did not really set itself up for much, but gives you a lot of variety, albeit a bit short and limited in some cases - it is still the best attempt at a stealth game I have seen in a long time. Now if these guys at Arkane Studios can just get together with Eidos Montreal and combine the rpg conversatios aspects and customization of Deus Ex: Human Revolution, and the stealth mechanic/combat, experience gain and morality system of Dishonored, I am sold, utterly and completely.

 

[easternflame]

Dishonored: Such a rich and enthralling experience. It lets me play how I want and reacts to it but never complains, never. It's such a beautifully crafted experience from aesthetics, to narrative, to gameplay.