[Aptorian]

The year is nearly over so now is the time to look back and reflect on what we played and maybe throw out some recommendations for the other users. What did you play? What can you recommend? And what games would advise not to buy or play?

This is a 2011 thread but feel free to add games that came out prior to this year, it's about what you've been playing.

There's still a ton of games that came out this year that I haven't played but if I had to give out some nominations (feel free to make up your own categories):

Here is a list of the games released in 2011: http://en.wikipedia....in_video_gaming

Best RPG: Deus Ex: Human Revolution - No contest here.

Best sandbox game: Just Cause 2 - This game was fun. Pure and simple. 52 square miles of destruction and mayhem. Honorable mention for Dead Island.

Purtiest game: Crysis 2 or Battlefield 3. Crazy visuals in both games.

Games that surprised you: The Saboteur - A sandbox GTA style game that felt like a mix of Assassins Creed and Just Cause 2, where you're running or driving around occupied France, fighting Nazis and blowing up their installations. This was not a great game. For that it was too flawed in terms of game mechanics, handling, story, etc. But this game was fun and it felt like this could have been the beginning of a game franchise as big as Assassins Creed.

Most disappointing game: RAGE - Amazing visuals. Amazing atmosphere. Amazing gunplay. Extremely shitty story. Extremely shitty roleplay mechanics. I am still reeling from the realisation that a once top of the line developer, and a very prominent publisher, released a game with a story so bad it would make a 5 year old cringe.

Assassins Creed: Brotherhood - This was one of the most fun games I played this year, I loved the setting, but somehow it seems that each year the story just gets dumber and dumber. I am actually dreading playing AC Revelations. It's like M Night Shamalamalan of videogames.

My videogames top 10 would probably be:

LA Noire
Deus Ex Human Revolution
Portal2
Crysis 2
Resident Evil 4 HD
The Saboteur
Just Cause 2
Dead Island
Battlefield 3
Vanquish

[Tapper]

Pffff. It is odd, but I put a lot of time in games, yet I struggle to make a top 10. And it basically consists of RPGs, strategy, simulation/strategy and tower defense, which is rather odd given how Dungeon Defenders and defense Grid are the ONLY two tower defense games I ever played (browser games aside).

1. Skyrim
2. Minecraft
3. Total war: Shogun 2
4. Deus Ex 2
5. Defense grid
6. warhammer 40k: retribution (too short).
7. The Witcher 2
8. Tropico 4
9. Dungeon Defenders
10. Football Manager 2012 (didn't put in anywhere near as much time as in the 11, mostly due to Skyrim).

Stronghold 3 and Anno 2070 disappointed me a bit, and of the ton of other games I bought, I am not so sure if they'd rank. They're more or less 'oh, hour to kill, let's play.'

If I would include the Xbox, then Demon Souls would have made it to spot 5, most likely.

This post has been edited by Tapper: 23 December 2011 - 02:11 PM

[Hocknose]

Dont think I could give a top 10 but for me they are as follows:

Joint 1st: Dark Souls/Skyrim - Both classed as RPG's but so different in playstyle...yet both I have manged to put over 100 hours into and loved every minute of them. I just can't pick between the 2.
2nd: Battlefield 3 - Everything I was hoping for with this release, just haven't been able to invest enough time into it yet (reason: please see above).
3rd: Dawn of War 2 - Retribution Last stand mode is ace...all I ever played it for!!
4th: Witcher 2 - Huge improvement over the 1st one and a great story to boot.
5th: Space Marine - huge armour clad space marines kicking the shit out of orcs and chaos...need I say more!!

Biggest let down: Dragon Age 2 - Was so excited for this game, the story was OK but it was just a hack and slash with re-used interiors...massively dissapointing.

Games I haven't had chance to Play but really wanted to: Arkham City, Uncharted 3, FIFA 12

Great year for gamers all round though I would say...

[D'rek]

The only 2011 games I played:

Portal 2 - almost as good as it could have been considering the impossibility of it matching the first one. A lot of fun to play, was still very funny, had more intense moments that the first and did manage to have some pretty challenging puzzles (albeit mostly in the co-op).

Minecraft - While the switch from Beta to Full Version might not have been a big difference to some people, I had stopped playing for about 6 months and so when I came back to it for version 1.0 it was a huge change. Still as addictive as ever and some of the new systems like enchanting and brewing really give it life by making all the random monster drops and otherwise-useless items useful. The only major problem right now is that since there is no in-game tutorial or direction you have to look online to discover what items/crafts/magic/etc is even possible, but those same online resources tell you all the optimal ways to do things taking away the joy of discovery and making the "main quest" really easy. Then again, there's hardcore mode now for those who want a challenge.

[Mentalist]

played 5 '11 releases:

DXHR--very solid. not quite, DX, but mostly enjoyable (the boss fights!)

Witcher 2--surprisingy runnable on POS laptop. I stopped playing halfway through Act 1, though, b/c the framerate was still annoying. the precious components for a new PC should be delivered today, and I shall judge it later next week, oh yes.....

Arkahm City--Got this yesterday. the DRM sucks, but i've sunk 10 hours into it, 7% completion, and this game makes me want to hit 100 my personal GOTY of all the 2011 games.

E.Y.E: divine cybermancy.I pickid this up at release, got frusrated with it, since I wasn't in a patient mood during the summer. Having given it another shot early this week, it's surprisingly fun, definitely best 2011 shooter i've played this year (not saying much, since this was the summer I discovered S.T.A.L.K.E.R. OH, and Bioshock)

Dawn of war 2: Retribution--what Tapper said, too short, too similar. I've played it through once, and started the campaign a second time...and that was it.

2011 games I still wanna play: LA Noire, Portal 2, Saints Row: the Third, Serious Sam 3: BFE

This post has been edited by Mentalist: 23 December 2011 - 04:56 PM

[Aptorian]

I don't know what all the fuss about the bosses in Dues Ex was about. Just load up on ammo for the Typhoon or the Grenade launcher - Spam explosions - ??? - profit.

[Illuyankas]

It's that whole lack of options for dealing with them thing. You know, the opposite of how a Deus Ex game should be. Also outsourcing them to a team who'd never even played the original.

Converting candy to punches is the best though.

[JLV]

Starwars Battlefront II.

Counterstrike: Source.

Er.. Portal 2, Borderlands.

Those are the games I've played this year, all amazing.

[Stalker]

My top 5 of the year go to...

1. Skyrim- hands down the best game I have played this year.
2. Modern Warfare 3 -Provided a good end to the story, and multiplayer is still fun.
3. Arkham City- Great story, immersive world and challenges galore!
4. Gears of War 3 - another good finish to the trilogy, addition of beast mode and much expanded horde mode were great with friends.
5. Rift- for the MMO goodness. The company that made the game has been providing a lot of additional content and has been fun.



Need to finish- Crysis II, Battlefield 3, Space Marine
Need to start- Dragon Age II, Dawn of War II retribution
Want to get/play- Dark Souls

[Mentalist]

Aptorius, on 23 December 2011 - 05:35 PM, said:

I don't know what all the fuss about the bosses in Dues Ex was about. Just load up on ammo for the Typhoon or the Grenade launcher - Spam explosions - ??? - profit.

Nonlethal bosses are hard ridiculous.

though I must admit, grabbing the minigun in the previous room to gun down Fedorova was kinda fun.

[Silencer]

Well, I haven't actually played that many games this year. But from what I have...

1. Skyrim. No, seriously, it's best RPG this year. Kicks the living crap out of DX:HR, by virtue of open-worldness alone. *shrug*
2. DX:HR. Second, because it was pretty good, barring a few flaws.
3. Battlefield 3. Finally, something not-COD that had solid multiplayer and a mediocre story.
4. Saints Row: The Third. And wins the 'most surprising' award - this game is AWESOME. Crazy, but AWESOME. And the customization options? Skryim could learn a LOT from the options here.
5. DoW2: Retribution. Haz Inquisitors? 'Nuff said. But yeah, too short.


And that probably covers it. If I'm forgetting anything awesome, I haven't seen it mentioned above.

On my 'to get' list: Dark Souls. Just 'coz. Guess I should buy that soon, but the hours left I can squeeze from Skryim, and plenty of mayhem to be had in SR:The Third...and I need to play more BF3 multiplayer...gah...gah...

[Obdigore]

Games I loved this year:

Skyrim
Deus Ex Human Revolution
Minecraft
SW:TOR
Witcher 2
DA2

Games I wanted to love but have flaws that need to be worked out
MW3
RAGE
LA Noire
BF3

Hmmm I know I played a lot more games than this. Oh well those are the ones I thought of.

My top 5 right now would probably be:

SW:TOR
Skyrim
MC
Deux Ex Human Rev
Witcher 2

My only problem with MW3 is the lag compensation, it is turned up too far which makes you too strong when you are 3-baring. I do better with some lag then I do when I host.

Problem with RAGE was as detailed by someone above, the guns and gameplay were a lot of fun. The RPG-ness wasn't really there and the Multiplayer was vehicles only, which made it highly meh.

LA Noire -> I really wanted to like this game, and I did like it, but the fact that you really cannot fail a mission was annoying, and I juts couldn't REALLY get into the game like I can with others.

BF3 has huge FPS issues on the 360 and the vehicles are still invincible. Get me a chopper or a tank or one of the mobile AA's and I can dominate a map.


PS -> @ whoever called it Deus Ex 2, a pox upon your house!

[Illuyankas]

I believe they meant Deus Ex 2 as in it is the second Deus Ex game in existence, which it is.

[Obdigore]

Illuyankas, on 24 December 2011 - 03:59 PM, said:

I believe they meant Deus Ex 2 as in it is the second Deus Ex game in existence, which it is.

It's cute how you try to ignore history as if IW never happened.

[Illuyankas]

YOU SHUT YOUR WHORE MOUTH

[Obdigore]

Hahahahahaha.

IW wasn't as terrible as it could have been. Like for instance the X-com reboot looks like its going to be... and possibly Syndicate, I'm not sure.

[Mentalist]

IW had some interesting ideas.... destroyed by poor execution of the whole thing.

oh, and Universal ammo. what were they thinking with that?

EDIT: running Witcher 2 on the new PC. SO PWETTTY!!!!!

This post has been edited by Mentalist: 25 December 2011 - 03:44 AM

[Lucifer's Heaven]

Silencer, on 24 December 2011 - 12:17 AM, said:

Well, I haven't actually played that many games this year. But from what I have...

1. Skyrim. No, seriously, it's best RPG this year. Kicks the living crap out of DX:HR, by virtue of open-worldness alone. *shrug*
2. DX:HR. Second, because it was pretty good, barring a few flaws.
3. Battlefield 3. Finally, something not-COD that had solid multiplayer and a mediocre story.
4. Saints Row: The Third. And wins the 'most surprising' award - this game is AWESOME. Crazy, but AWESOME. And the customization options? Skryim could learn a LOT from the options here.
5. DoW2: Retribution. Haz Inquisitors? 'Nuff said. But yeah, too short.


And that probably covers it. If I'm forgetting anything awesome, I haven't seen it mentioned above.

On my 'to get' list: Dark Souls. Just 'coz. Guess I should buy that soon, but the hours left I can squeeze from Skryim, and plenty of mayhem to be had in SR:The Third...and I need to play more BF3 multiplayer...gah...gah...

It's funny what you said about Saints Row: The Third. As it actually has less customisation than number SR2 (probably not with face adjustments, but witht the rest). In number two you had multiple layers of tops/jackets, and while the sex appeal slider is great, it's nothing on having your actual gender on a slider

Ummm... there are a whole bunch of more recent games on my to play list. Don't have a lot of spare cash for games at the moment, and the one I did shill out for expecting it to tide me over has yet to arrive

Having said that:
Dungeon Defenders - has been a lot of great fun.
EYE Divine Cybermancy - is awesome. Has quite a few flaws and the english has been terribly translated. However, maps are much larger than expected, there are so many ways to approach a situation, the setting, style and visuals are great, story is pretty cool so far, the stuff you can do is fantastic, it's a lot of fun and can be quite a bit of a challenge. And to be fair, it was made by a team of twelve people
Oh and Ass Creed: Bro was a lot of fun
Other than that, I've been catching up on a lot of games, and played through a fair few great little indie games.

[Silencer]

Yeah, I know - it's actually kinda a shame about the reduction of options, but having only *read* about the variety in SR2...
Still, the ones in The Third are plenty. Though more choice in clothing via layers is ALWAYS a plus. XD

[Traveller]

I played some really good games this year.

I really didn't get much time to play though, so I had to be more selective about what I did play, to make the most of my time.

Here's what I played, although not necessarily in order of preference.

1) Demon's Souls. Started the year with this, after hearing about it on the forum. Totally impressed with it; great look and bags of atmosphere, and a sense of satisfaction after beating each level or boss. Reminded me of back when being careless in a game got you killed - a lot.

2) AC Brotherhood. Well, I enjoyed most of it, but I did start getting a bit bored by the end, with the repetitive gameplay and in-game pointers to every goal making it easy to walk through without a hitch. The city is beautiful, but just lacks something for me - the animus 'animations' throughout just make it look even less real imo. Was fun blowing up all those towers though.

(My ideal AC game would have the same cities, but hundreds more interactive NPCs, shops and buildings - so you start by getting a room to rent; trawl taverns for contracts, then creep out at night to carry them out, all across the city. Stealable, buyable upgrades for equipment and for the room/house, with speech levelling getting you better contacts to deal with. Each mission/assassination would require a bit of location scouting, with more freedom to carry it out how you like, using what you like. And, a choice of missions from the contacts, each with varying degrees of difficulty and reward money. You could have a shitload of different clothes and equipment for use disguising yourself to get into restricted areas. Poison food dressed as servant, dagger in the dark dressed as vagrant; single-shot from roof..
Ah well, a man can dream..)

3) Mass Effect. What to say? Fucking awesome, I which I'd found this sooner. I really like the dialogue options in these games - the way you choose from options that are almost like 'thoughts' which Shepard then elaborates on when he'she actually speaks, rather than just reading out what you've picked. (Bethesda, take note.) The Mako was a bit iffy, and I found the upgrade options/menu a bit time-consuming, but can't really fault it. Could it be improved?

4) Mass Effect 2. Yep, turns out it could. What a great game. If you've played, you know. Loved all of it. Yay, no Mako. Better equipment menus, more streamlined in general. Great score, too. (Couldn't understand why EDI couldn't feed my damn fish though).

5) Dark Souls. Sheer brilliance. Just what I was waiting for - a game that plays like Erikson writes. No hand-holding, get in there and DIE until you learn how to to it properly. Great world/level design, inventive bosses, and weapons and armour upgrades that actually feel different to use. No arrows pointing to goals, no high-lighted, flashing weak-spots, and no saving anywhere/when you like. (Fall through floor into room with giant Demon - get killed in one hit; go back, remember to roll, survive just long enough to fire some magic; get hit, die... go back. So satisfying when you finally get in there and kill the bastard though).

6) Skyrim. Currently playing this, and am pretty hooked now. I've got quite far into it, and having just bought another house, I'm getting into alchemy, to help with my enchanting, which I've been using to upgrade the armour and weapons I've found.
There's just so much to do, so many ways to play - my only beef really is the dialogue options are, well, shit. There's sometimes a choice of two things, neither of which would suit my character. They should really have a good look at ME - I want a voice! I hate those one-sided conversations with NPC's.

Also, it really is pretty easy, whichever setting you put it on. I got to the end of a dungeon yesterday, single-shotted two lurking nasties, only to find out that they were the bosses. A big surprise nasty in the deep would break things up - all the dungeons, like Oblivion, seem to be filled with necromancers.

Nit-picking really, I can't wait to get back home to put it on.

7) Batman - Arkham City. I can't really comment on this much, as I only played about an hour of it yesterday. I was a bit miffed not to get a manual to flip through, as I never played AA, so i was unfamiliar with the controls. It looks nice, the batcomputer/scan thing is nice, and it's fun bashing up beefy men wearing clown masks - but I must admit I'd prefer a better setting, the whole 'Arkham prison city' thing just populated by goons for different enemies and green collectable question marks doesn't do it for me. maybe I need to give it more time...

But for now, back to Skyrim.

This post has been edited by Traveller: 27 December 2011 - 01:35 PM