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Artie

I genuinely cannot believe the only way to search concepts/games in Giant Bomb's wiki is to pick a letter and scroll through dozen...

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GOTY 2011

This list is still pending as the year is not over and I plan to finish Skyward Sword and play more TOR before it ends. With that in mind, TOR is on this list despite me only reaching level 20 thus far. The reasons why are explained in the description for that game's placement

UPDATE 12/30/11 - I got far enough in Skyward Sword to justify it on this list. I also gave some consideration as to what to knock off the list. Numerically it was Gears of War 3, but I realized if I had to choose between playing Gears 3 multiplayer for 20 hours or beating Dragon Age 2 again, I'd rather play Gears. So I've fixed that positioning. I've also gotten further in The Old Republic (Level 21ish now) and feel justified if I want to move it closer to the top. I also thought about the positioning of Red Faction Armageddon and decided to switch it to number #10. It's a fun game, but I suppose not as memorable as everything else on the list. If any future changes occur, it'll probably be where Skyward Sword and TOR end up being.

List items

  • Developers don't make games like Deus Ex anymore and the fact that Human Revolution exists is a landmark in of itself. This game didn't have to be as sharply designed, approachable and expertly paced to be a success. Eidos Montreal went the extra mile, they not only made a game for fans of Deus Ex, they sought to make everyone become fans of Deus Ex. I never played the original two games for an extended period of time, but I did play through Vampire The Masquerade earlier this year (a game with remarkably similar mechanics, but vampires) and that game gave me a new found appreciation for that type of design. I loved every second of Human Revolution (boss fights included) and I can't wait to see what this developer does next.

  • If you know anything about me, you'll know that Grand Theft Auto is my favorite franchise. I'll take anything even remotely similar to GTA. That's why I picked up Saints Row back in 2006 and why I revisited Stillwater in 2008 with its sequel. Although those previous two games were good I never would I have imagined that Saints Row The Third would become what it is today. An onslaught of nonsensical missions and gameplay ideas that have no business being in a video game all come together in this blend of synthesized fun and unadulterated ridiculousness.

  • I really don't know how to describe Portal 2 other than "perfect." It's funny when it wants to be funny, it's challenging when it wants to be challenging, it's dramatic during drama sequences and every new story beat or gameplay add-on arrives exactly when needed. It's clear that Portal 2 was not developed by human beings, but mathematical/science geniuses who have created a formula for entertainment and perfected it. This is also a fundamental reason why I wouldn't feel great giving this game a number one spot (Despite all the character in the game, it lacks a soul... if that makes any sense) but don't mistake that statement as an indication you shouldn't play Portal 2. It's god damn fantastic.

  • Easily the biggest surprise for me this year was how much I enjoyed From Dust. A neat little puzzle game that uses environmental physics to help guide cavemen villagers to greatness. There was a twelve day period where I played one level of From Dust each day. It became the highlight of my routine. After accomplishing the campaign I went back for achievements, finished the challenge mode and replayed the campaign just for fun. From Dust just hit every note I wanted to hear as if it was fine tuned specifically for me.

  • I've hated every Total War game since Rome. Medieval 2 didn't have the same feel, Empire was insanely complex and Napoleon I didn't even bother with. So I had absolutely no reason to buy Shogun 2 outside of a summer Steam sale where it was discounted at $33 dollars. Bought on a whim, I was surprised that Shogun 2 enraptured my mind and consumed my life for a full week after purchase. Various stories of glorious victories, shameful defeats and numerous close-calls occurred within my very first playthrough. Easily one of the more enjoyable single player RTS experiences I've had. Only downside being technical limitations make it very difficult for me to run this game, so I don't play it as frequently as I'd like to. Just another reason for me to upgrade my computer in the near future.

  • Now, I've only made it to level 20 at the time of this writing (1:35am PST - December 29th) but I can already say I've enjoyed my 24 hours in The Old Republic moreso than games #8-#10, so I feel justified putting it on this list. So far I enjoy the great story writing, the importance of my character in the fiction, varied side quests that make the lore interesting and meaningful to my experience playing the game. I'm rolling a Sith Juggernaut and so far it's been great. Maybe more on this later this week.

  • This addition was a little late to the party and I haven't actually finished the game yet. However, from what I've played so far, my twelve hours with Skyward Sword have been the most fun I've had with a Zelda game since Wind Waker. I'm not completely sold on the Wii Motion Plus controls just yet and there's still plenty of room left in this game to make or break my overall opinion of it but it's nice to see Nintendo design a Zelda game with the Wii controls in mind instead of tacking them on at the end of the development cycle.

  • There's not a lot to say about Gears of War 3 that you can't already imagine. I enjoyed the story acts, horde is still cool and I can hold my own in the competitive multiplayer so that's cool as well. Gears 1 is still the best and Gears 2 is still atrocious, but Gears 3 is just all right.

  • Unlike the rest of the world, I actually REALLY liked Armageddon. Volition has a knack at making shooting controls that are tight and responsive. The guns were interesting, the destruction was added into the game in a meaningful way and even the cooperative horde multiplayer mode had some added spins to make it stand out. It's a shame the series has died (again) with this last installment which, in my opinion, was too heavily criticized.

  • [[[UPDATE - After revisiting this game, six months later, and realizing that I actively dislike playing it. I've bumped it down significantly. Originally #5, now at #10. It was a nice first runthrough, but finding a game unplayable months later is a pretty bad sign.]]] I recognize that Skyrim is better than Oblivion, with every mechanic improved upon and many superfluous aspects of its predecessor being dumped in favor of streamlined enjoyment. That said, I wasn't very impressed with the writing and design for many of the quests in the game. I eventually stopped playing long before I thought I would (only twenty seven hours logged). Despite this, I intend to return to Skyrim and finish the main story along with various other Daedra quests that I'm apparently missing out on.
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