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2011 Game of the Year Media Picks Thread

mxgt

Banned
DS is not fun to play.

How, exactly?

It has fantastic combat that takes a steamy dump on Skyrim, a beautiful seamless world, challenging gameplay that teaches you as you play and makes you a better player, great online integration and masses of content

More to the point, if it isn't fun for you why are you playing it?
 
GamesRadar just gave their GotY to Portal 2. They said Skyrim was just too damn glitchy to award Best Game of the Year.

Portal 2, though, is an experience we feel could and should be enjoyed by everyone – literally everyone. Portal 2 defies genre. To label it as a “puzzler” diminishes the genius with which those puzzles have been blended into the fabric of the world, so seamlessly that you don’t even realize you’re solving them, or how genius you’re becoming yourself through doing so. Portal 2 transcends the tropes, conventions and limitations of what we’ve come to expect and accept from interactive storytelling. You meet hugely memorable characters voiced by hugely talented celebrities, you uncover a deeply developed mythology, and you learn mind-shattering secrets about your own protagonist, yet all of this is accomplished without cutscenes, without excessive menus or prompts, and often without dialogue – the immersion is whole, complete, never broken. Portal 2 is exactly the right length. Every moment serves a purpose and no part is unnecessary padding, yet if you feel it’s too short, you can always lose hours finding the meticulously conceived Easter eggs or joining a friend for the equally one-of-a-kind multiplayer.

Portal 2, in other words, is as close to perfect and pure as a game can possibly get. At least this year. Your move, 2012.


http://www.gamesradar.com/platinum-chalice-awards-2011-part-3-game-year/?page=2
 

spirity

Member
How, exactly?

It has fantastic combat that takes a steamy dump on Skyrim, a beautiful seamless world, challenging gameplay that teaches you as you play and makes you a better player, great online integration and masses of content

More to the point, if it isn't fun for you why are you playing it?

Because everyone can have different levels of tolerance, and in DS challenge can give way to frustration. And frustration isn't fun. Overall I really enjoyed DS, but its pretty clear why some would have an issue with it.

The who thing about combat and a seamless world doesn't mean anything if you're making that run through the same 7 mobs again, only to defeat that encounter and find you're making -another- run through -another- 7 mobs to die multiple times to the next boss. Challenge can give way to frustration pretty quickly.
 
how can a game with Crap gameplay mechanics, horrible animation, bad voice acting and shit ton of bugs be GOTY?

Because it's one charming mother fuckin' pig.

Seriously.

It's buggy as hell but when it's good...it's fucking awesome. (playing on 360 and short of two freeze ups...zero issues here)

If they somehow managed to put Dark Souls combat into an Elder Scrolls world...oh my.

Uncharted 3...wow...pretty much no love.

Battlefield 3...huzzah for it getting even one mention. Hands down, my favourite FPS ever. I can be good at that game and still suck at FPS'.


I dont why the love for Skyrim they nothing unique about it looks like the last one they made, and I find that type of game boring

I suppose if you find a game boring then it must be, right?
 

Derrick01

Banned
Because everyone can have different levels of tolerance, and in DS challenge can give way to frustration. And frustration isn't fun. Overall I really enjoyed DS, but its pretty clear why some would have an issue with it.

The who thing about combat and a seamless world doesn't mean anything if you're making that run through the same 7 mobs again, only to defeat that encounter and find you're making -another- run through -another- 7 mobs to die multiple times to the next boss. Challenge can give way to frustration pretty quickly.

It's not the challenge that bothers me, I grew up in the NES and SNES era so I've played and beaten harder and more unfair games when I was 5. I don't really know how to explain it other than it's not fun and it's boring. I run to one bland looking gothic area after the next and all I do is kill things. There's extremely limited story, next to no human interaction and for whatever reason when I kill a boss I'm just like :| and I move on to the next. It's just not bringing any fun to me at all.

mxgt said:
More to the point, if it isn't fun for you why are you playing it?

Well that's kind of the thing, I haven't in at least a week. I'd like to go back and try to see if it gets better though. I don't like putting 10 hours into something and getting nothing out of it.
 

lucius

Member
Skyrim with most so far only Batman AC even coming close with less than half votes. I personally like to see a few Deus EX HR and Infamous 2 wins, considering Catherine and Bastion already got a couple.
 

alr1ght

bish gets all the credit :)
AP
http://news.yahoo.com/portal-2-skyrim-top-thrilling-games-122355168.html

1. "Portal 2" (Valve, for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC): It's based on a simple game mechanic: blasting holes and jumping through them. Its three main characters are mostly disembodied voices. It's essentially a series of abstract puzzles, and yet, "Portal 2" delivers one of the year's most satisfying — and malevolently funny — stories.

2. "The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim" (Bethesda Softworks, for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC): This sprawling role-playing epic is all about choice. Wizard or warrior? Hero or jerk? Vampire or werewolf? The possibilities seem endless, and after more than 100 hours I'm still discovering dazzling new areas to explore.

3. "Deus Ex: Human Revolution" (Square Enix, for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC): The Eidos Montreal studio revives a beloved, long-dormant series with this cyberpunkish tale of corporate intrigue. Fans of classic stealth games such as "Thief" and "Splinter Cell" will adore it.

4. "Bastion" (Supergiant Games, for the Xbox 360): The setup is nothing new: A boy hacks and slashes his way through a post-apocalyptic landscape. But droll narration and a mournful soundtrack hint at something deeper, and "Bastion" builds to an emotionally haunting climax.

5. "Batman: Arkham City" (Warner, for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC): The Dark Knight returns, along with just about every criminal mastermind in the DC Comics universe. Soaring among the skyscrapers of Gotham is awe-inspiring — plus, you get to punch a shark in the face.

6. "InFamous 2" (Sony, for the PlayStation 3): Once-reluctant superhero (or is it supervillain?) Cole McGrath has developed quite the skill set: He can skitter up tall buildings and shock enemies from a distance. Sucker Punch's loose-limbed open-world sequel is electrifying.

7. "The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword" (Nintendo, for the Wii): Twenty-five years in, the "Zelda" team is still creating the most diabolically clever puzzles in video gaming.

8. "Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception" (Sony, for the PlayStation 3): Nathan Drake, the Indiana Jones of the PlayStation, climbs, brawls and shoots his way through another breathless, globetrotting adventure.

9. "Rayman Origins" (Ubisoft, for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii): French designer Michel Ancel livens up the 2-D running-and-jumping genre with exuberant weirdness.

10. "Dead Space 2" (Electronic Arts, for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC): Monsters lurk around every corner of an abandoned outer-space facility. Don't forget to breathe.
 
It's not the challenge that bothers me, I grew up in the NES and SNES era so I've played and beaten harder and more unfair games when I was 5. I don't really know how to explain it other than it's not fun and it's boring. I run to one bland looking gothic area after the next and all I do is kill things. There's extremely limited story, next to no human interaction and for whatever reason when I kill a boss I'm just like :| and I move on to the next. It's just not bringing any fun to me at all.



Well that's kind of the thing, I haven't in at least a week. I'd like to go back and try to see if it gets better though. I don't like putting 10 hours into something and getting nothing out of it.

I don't think it's going to speak to you if you've already put 10 hours into it. I think it draws most of the people in who have loved it almost immediately(or at least within a couple hours). It's not for everyone...a lot of the things you hate are what some of us think are its best features. Its stillness, what you call its blandness(I know what you mean, though I would describe it as minimalism), its solitude and its silence. That's just on the presentation side; and then I love the mechanics side for completely different reasons(though they complement each other). It's an odd little creature to be sure.
 

Dr.Hadji

Member
Looks like Portal 2 might have a slight advantage being released earlier in the year. You can almost be sure that everyone of the editors played the game. Its pretty clear some others aren't getting the recognition thanks to being crammed into this holiday season.
 

Salacious Crumb

Junior Member
Looks like Portal 2 might have a slight advantage being released earlier in the year. You can almost be sure that everyone of the editors played the game. Its pretty clear some others aren't getting the recognition thanks to being crammed into this holiday season.

That's pretty funny, cause most people make exactly the opposite argument. Portal 2 may be forgotten slightly thanks to the mad rush of games at this time of the year.

I don't think either argument holds any water.
 
Yeah, you're going to have to lump me in with the "I don't get Skyrim's appeal" group of misfits. It just looks and feels that archaic. It's exactly why I hate Skyrimesque RPGs; they seem to be jacks (barely) of all trades and masters of nothing.

By the same sentiments, I'd probably give my GOTY to Gears of War 3, as it is simply - thanks purely to its MP - one of the most satisfying and sublimely controlling games ever.
 

Lakitu

st5fu
It too bad Skyrim wasn't released earlier so the wow factor could wear off and people can see that the game just ins't very good.

Jesus. Assassin's Creed: Revelations / MW 3 / Skyward Sword were all released around the time of Skyrim. So where are these so called 'wow factor' for those games? Maybe people like Skyrim, believe it or not.
 

AgentP

Thinks mods influence posters politics. Promoted to QAnon Editor.
Jesus. Assassin's Creed: Revelations / MW 3 / Skyward Sword were all released around the time of Skyrim. So where are these so called 'wow factor' for those games? Maybe people like Skyrim, believe it or not.

Are they huge open world games with near endless quests? No, Skyrim is all quantity and little quality. It is Oblivion and GTA4 all over again. Mark my words, in a year people will scratch their heads over the media cricle jerk and the 96 or whatever metacritic.
 
It's not the challenge that bothers me, I grew up in the NES and SNES era so I've played and beaten harder and more unfair games when I was 5. I don't really know how to explain it other than it's not fun and it's boring. I run to one bland looking gothic area after the next and all I do is kill things. There's extremely limited story, next to no human interaction and for whatever reason when I kill a boss I'm just like :| and I move on to the next. It's just not bringing any fun to me at all.



Well that's kind of the thing, I haven't in at least a week. I'd like to go back and try to see if it gets better though. I don't like putting 10 hours into something and getting nothing out of it.

I can't be the only one who thinks DS isn't that hard? It's a very slow game so it doesn't require quick reflexes or blind luck. It's just extremely fair. Enemies can kill you as easily as you can kill them (and after a little while you pretty much waltz through any place). And if you die it's not really a big deal, since you don't lose anything you picked up. It's no where near as punishing as old school NES sidescrollers. Only thing I find unfair in this game are some of the very large bosses that fuck up your camera angle.

I honestly find UC3 more difficult so far, and I'm only on normal difficulty. Some of the fight sequences are brutal.

Also, how the hell did KZ3 get one? That game is pathetic.
 

Durante

Member
Are they huge open world games with near endless quests? No, Skyrim is all quantity and little quality. It is Oblivion and GTA4 all over again. Mark my words, in a year people will scratch their heads over the media cricle jerk and the 96 or whatever metacritic.
Except it's not. The massive, gaping flaws in Oblivion were obvious after 10 (or, at most, 20) hours of play time. A lot of people have put much more into Skyrim, and it's clear that many of those flaws were either fixed completely or at least greatly reduced in impact. I was extremely skeptical of Bethesda going into Skyrim due to Oblivion, but the game shows that they did take a lot of the criticisms to heart. Sure, there are still plenty of problems, but none of them are game-breaking and it's one of the most fun games I played this year.
 

ghibli99

Member
Not a single Super Mario 3D Land nod yet, but the Ocarina remake does. I get it, but it doesn't mean I have to like it. At least the SMG games were in the top 3 both times in years past.
 
Are they huge open world games with near endless quests? No, Skyrim is all quantity and little quality. It is Oblivion and GTA4 all over again. Mark my words, in a year people will scratch their heads over the media cricle jerk and the 96 or whatever metacritic.

No. The notion that people are raving over Skyrim just because it's a huge open world game is pathetic. You said you spent, what, 35hours on the game? What have you even done? I have 200 hours split between the glorious 360 and PC versions and I STILL run into amazing questlines, unscripted WTF moments and hilarious/awesome encounters. I still find little gems Bethesda put in the game, and I still haven't done/explored even close to everything. I went down the stealth/archery/dagger route (bows are so amazing in Skyrim, best bow gameplay I've played) and then I spent 10-ish hours on a mage character and absolutely love it. I still haven't used most skills but am astonished on how you can mix and match them to suit your style of play.

Stop being salty. This is coming fron a dude who has a shit ton of hours in Dark Souls and loves that game, as well. Both games have flaws, but what game is perfect sans nostalgia?
 

spirity

Member
Are they huge open world games with near endless quests? No, Skyrim is all quantity and little quality. It is Oblivion and GTA4 all over again. Mark my words, in a year people will scratch their heads over the media cricle jerk and the 96 or whatever metacritic.

I marked your words when you called the 4gb mod "a placebo".
 

Dresden

Member
The flaws in Skyrim were pretty obvious to me after 30 or so hours of play. That said I don't begrudge it the acclaim it's getting; it's a good game still.
 

Sullichin

Member
Put me in the camp of where the fuck is the Dark Souls and Deus Ex love? I am not fit for this world.

Me too. Definitely the best games I've played this year. Can't believe so many are giving it to Skyrim. Really can't believe that there's not a SINLGE nod for Dark Souls though wtf.
 

Guevara

Member
Posted yet? Wired:

20. To The Moon
19. The Witcher 2
18. Gemini Rue
17. Jetpack Joyride
16. Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky
15. Bulletstorm
14. Uncharted 3
13. Superbrothers Sword & Sworcery EP
12. Rayman Origins
11. Resistance 3
10. Dead Space 2
9. Deus Ex: Human Revolution
8. Dark Souls
7. Bastion
6. Super Mario 3D Land
5. L.A. Noire
4. Portal 2
3. Batman: Arkham City
2. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
1. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2011/12/best-games-2011/?pid=2338&viewall=true
 

LOCK

Member
I understand why Skyrim is winning so many GOTYs but after playing a PS3 copy I still can not come to the conclusion that it deserves those honors.
 

zethren

Banned
Are they huge open world games with near endless quests? No, Skyrim is all quantity and little quality. It is Oblivion and GTA4 all over again. Mark my words, in a year people will scratch their heads over the media cricle jerk and the 96 or whatever metacritic.

Except that a lot of people agree with the media "circle jerk" that Skyrim is GOTY quality. After putting 100s of hours into the game already, a year's time won't likely affect that opinion to the same degree as happened with GTAIV. Not to mention that Skyrim is far and away a better game than Oblivion, in almost every single aspect.

The game is definitely not just "quantity over quality", and with only 35 hours put into the game (yes, only) I don't see how you're much qualified to make that assessment over the others here who have logged 100+ and yet still find intriguing new quests/events/etc.
 
I also think that Skyrim's combat is crap, I've done the same stuff since Morrowind. It's also pretty damn ugly and seeing how every building I enter is an almost exact copy of others completely ruins my immersion. Too much MMO crap as well.

Then again, I had played Dark Souls before.

Sad that Gears 3 is being completely ignored, it's the most polished and 'complete' game I've played this year.

Polished? It has a shit ton of glitches and weird shit on the campaign, specially online.
Complete? DLC galore with obvious content cuts.
 

Riposte

Member
I also think that Skyrim's combat is crap, I've done the same stuff since Morrowind. It's also pretty damn ugly and seeing how every building I enter is an almost exact copy of others completely ruins my immersion. Too much MMO crap as well.

Then again, I had played Dark Souls before.



Polished? It has a shit ton of glitches and weird shit on the campaign, specially online.
Complete? DLC galore with obvious content cuts.

Hmm, hasn't the DLC so far been really unrelated to the campaign? Almost like expansions.
 
Hmm, hasn't the DLC so far been really unrelated to the campaign? Almost like expansions.

Well, there has been a couple of horde "fortifications", character skins that (some of them) were already on the disc, and the same with maps. There has also been a 1200MSP campaign add-on that lasts around 2 hours.

My xbox just hung when attempting to quit a match, for example, and you run the risk of getting your rank reset. Something that has been happening since Gears 2 and they STILL can't fix.

And there, it just hung again! Bravo. And it's not only happening to me, it's crashing quite a few xbox lately.
 

Ysiadmihi

Banned
Skyrim getting so much praise is just embarrassing.

Tip for all devs: Gamers are telling you that awful combat and bugs are GOTY material as long as it's open world. Follow Bethesda's example!
 

Riposte

Member
Not as embarrassing as Dark Souls getting no love... at least it's doing well in the NeoGAF voting.

Dark Souls is getting a lot of love, relatively speaking. The majority of publications just place it below Skyrim and few other titles.

Also Skyrim will be the winner of the NeoGAF vote, it is basically decided at this point.
 
Skyrim getting so much praise is just embarrassing.

Tip for all devs: Gamers are telling you that awful combat and bugs are GOTY material as long as it's open world. Follow Bethesda's example!
Playstation 3 version aside, Skyrim is a fantastic game. I'd rather have an emergent open world with some jank than a highly polished corridor shooting gallery.
 
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