Game of the Year 2011: Giant Bomb's Top 10

I think what it comes down to is that either Skyrim or SR3 could have been GOTY, but not both. It doesnt make SR3 any less awesome.

Dubstep Patrick wins my game of the year... all of it.

@ThatIndianGuy7116 said:

People still aren't getting, when Giant Bomb chose their games of the year, they didn't choose what other sites said was the best, they chose what they felt was the best, you ALL know that or else why would you be here? (other than the sites great content I suppose)

I need to stop reading these comments because i am going to tear my hair out if i read anymore butthurt bitching then i am going to kill myself

@ABK_92 said:

@DrMcKittrick said:

I'll be so glad when 2012 gets here so Giant Bomb can get off Bastions cock.

Seriously. Even as someone who played and enjoyed that game the thought of it being in the list of top 10 games of the year is just fucking stupid. It doesn't deserve it. It's just a bias because they're really good friends with those guys. I refuse to believe other wise.

Yeah, remember how they gave Tron: Evolution the same great hype just because they were good friends with John Vignocchi - oh wait. Your arguments would make far more sense if the game didn't also make the lists of several of the developers/producers who did top tens for the site and wasn't one of the highest rated games of the year - you know, facts.

In case you don't believe me: Erik Wolpaw, John Bellomy, Carrie Gouskos and Ed Boon all agree that you're crazy. Ed Boon.

Portal 2 is the only game I think should have gotten more GOTY consideration. Helps that I like puzzle games, but I think Skryim and Saints Row both had their weaknesses. Portal 2 was an amazing game in every facet and perfectly polished. Think the recency/length of them both helped pump them up over the shorter one-off games like Portal 2 and Dead Space 2.

Hard to argue too much though, because I had pretty much the same games in my top 5.

That was funny! Great list, btw.

Patrick brought down this list. Somehow he convinced the others his opinion was better. He might be a great debater but his opinions and mine differ.

All Adam Jensen ever asked was to be on this list :,(

@HatKing said:

@ABK_92 said:

@DrMcKittrick said:

I'll be so glad when 2012 gets here so Giant Bomb can get off Bastions cock.

Seriously. Even as someone who played and enjoyed that game the thought of it being in the list of top 10 games of the year is just fucking stupid. It doesn't deserve it. It's just a bias because they're really good friends with those guys. I refuse to believe other wise.

Yeah, remember how they gave Tron: Evolution the same great hype just because they were good friends with John Vignocchi - oh wait. Your arguments would make far more sense if the game didn't also make the lists of several of the developers/producers who did top tens for the site and wasn't one of the highest rated games of the year - you know, facts.

In case you don't believe me: Erik Wolpaw, John Bellomy, Carrie Gouskos and Ed Boon all agree that you're crazy. Ed Boon.

Bastion is also up for five nominations in the GDC Awards... GAWD DEVELOPERS!!!1 get off Bastions cock!!!

What a stupid thing to say.

Why'd you do that! Why'd you do that!

Hmmm, Skyrim. Why am I not fucking surprised?? :/

Jeff should win an award for being the best person on Giant Bomb. Every year.

Also, I'm surprised by number 1; I own it, have played a lot of it, still enjoy it - but even then would not rate it higher than a couple of others on the list. But hey, simply making the top 10 is a well earned feat.

Congrats to the winners and thanks all for another year of Giant Bombing!

It's so cute to watch people get butthurt because the staff's opinions differ from theirs. On the other hand, it's fucking insulting to see people accusing them of bias, such as with Bastion. Do you even fucking read this site? Do you watch the videos? Do you listen to the podcast? Do you not know a goddamn thing about the staff? These men are industry veterans -- professionals. They are not perfect, but if their track record has shown anything, it's that they seem to be forthright and honest. This whole damned site came into being because of their integrity (i.e., Gerstmanngate).

Bottom line: Act like adults and get off their dicks. Opinions happen.

What a great list of amazing games.

Two things:

1) I think Patrick can take notes from Vinny & Jeff (and the other guys to a lesser extent) on how to have your opinion and be able to back down gracefully and not have to relentlessly shove your crappy ideas into the discussion.

2) It's a shame that they didn't take skyrim to task for how busted that game was (and still is for PS3 owners), when they punished other games like MK for similar faults. Saints Row 3 was the complete packaged. That said, they're both great games and really there were so many great games this past year that my backlog is coming out of my ears, so I can't complain.

@Gordo789: I didn't notice Patrick being stubborn about any of his options in the debates towards game of the year. I felt the opposite way at time and thought some of them could of put up a more passionate fight for what they thought was right, like when Vinny just let Dark Souls die so easily and Patrick was ready to back him up, we never got to see that play though.

@PirateNeal said:

@Gordo789: I didn't notice Patrick being stubborn about any of his options in the debates towards game of the year. I felt the opposite way at time and thought some of them could of put up a more passionate fight for what they thought was right, like when Vinny just let Dark Souls die so easily and Patrick was ready to back him up, we never got to see that play though.

He couldn't shut up about Rayman. He just had to get it on there, and I don't think it belongs on that list as much as something like MK or Dark Souls. Still, it was more his tone than the actual list that bothered me. I didn't used to be bothered by Patrick but by the end of the GOTY shows I couldn't stand to hear him talk anymore.

That was amazing. Seriously guys, everyone has opinions and everyone voices them differently. can't we all just get along?

@LiquidPrince said:

@Archaen said:

Uncharted 3 not being on this list is proof of how jaded games criticism has become. Uncharted 3 lost because Uncharted 2 was so good. Lunacy. Game critics are prizing newness over quality and it's a disturbing trend.

I know, it's fucking mind blowing. By the time they reached number 6 I was like I don't think they're gonna have Uncharted on this list are they...? That game got shafted this year just because it was more of a similar experience to Uncharted 2. With Uncharted 2 being a fucking amazing game though, I don't understand why this was considered a bad thing. I mean Rayman over Uncharted? But whatever, their choice of top ten games for the first time is very different from my list.

Because Uncharted 3 was a fucking awful game.

@ABK_92 said:

@LiquidPrince said:

@Archaen said:

Uncharted 3 not being on this list is proof of how jaded games criticism has become. Uncharted 3 lost because Uncharted 2 was so good. Lunacy. Game critics are prizing newness over quality and it's a disturbing trend.

I know, it's fucking mind blowing. By the time they reached number 6 I was like I don't think they're gonna have Uncharted on this list are they...? That game got shafted this year just because it was more of a similar experience to Uncharted 2. With Uncharted 2 being a fucking amazing game though, I don't understand why this was considered a bad thing. I mean Rayman over Uncharted? But whatever, their choice of top ten games for the first time is very different from my list.

Because Uncharted 3 was a fucking awful game.

Ridiculous. It got 5/5 stars on this very site.

@ABK_92 said:

@LiquidPrince said:

@Archaen said:

Uncharted 3 not being on this list is proof of how jaded games criticism has become. Uncharted 3 lost because Uncharted 2 was so good. Lunacy. Game critics are prizing newness over quality and it's a disturbing trend.

I know, it's fucking mind blowing. By the time they reached number 6 I was like I don't think they're gonna have Uncharted on this list are they...? That game got shafted this year just because it was more of a similar experience to Uncharted 2. With Uncharted 2 being a fucking amazing game though, I don't understand why this was considered a bad thing. I mean Rayman over Uncharted? But whatever, their choice of top ten games for the first time is very different from my list.

Because Uncharted 3 was a fucking awful game.

Your opinion means nothing to me. Especially since it's such a stupid opinion. Even Giant Bomb (among many others) gave it 5/5. Beyond that I give it 5/5. Stop trolling.

I watched this in anticipation for this year. HOW CAN THEY TOP THIS!?

Expecting to see/hear some wub wub in this year's GOTY videos. Whatever that's good or bad, remains to be seen...

Going back... just needed to see more bloodshed...

I just want to feel again.

@Delex said:

@ABK_92 said:

@Branthog said:

So, it went down exactly like I said it was going to happen.

Duders have long drawn out discussion on how Skyrim was severely broken, severely glitchy, very repetitive, often very mundane and lacking variety, full of really underwhelming combat, and very much just a prettier and longer version of what you'd expect from a good modern RPG. (They also could have touched on the terrible character models and shitty voice acting, but that's okay). Attitude seems to be that it's great, but imperfect and the reason it gets a pass so often is that people approach it as "they're giving me what nobody else really is, right now". In other words "yeah, he beats me, but I can't find anyone else who loves me".

Duders have long drawn out discussion on how amazing Saints Row 3 is. It's fun, it has a ton of variety. It's insane. It's a blast to play. Great voice acting. Great absurd story. Clever self-aware writing. Tons of content. A game that you found yourself going back to repeatedly, even a good deal after you finished it.

... gives award to Skyrim, because internet ...

Fucking retarded.

Yeah and I find everything about Saints Row The third average at best and wouldn't even put it on my top 20 of the year. Skyrim is a better game so it won, you mad?

Yeah, see, you lose me with that kind of logic when you compare facts (Skyrim being broken in some instances, lots of glitches, bug problems ranging from light to severe) to opinions (you finding everything about SR:TT average).

I personally was surprised that they omitted the PS3 version of Skyrim and saying that it wouldn't have even placed if they didn't remove it, but listening to the 2009/2010 GOTYs, weren't there several instances where this wasn't excusable? One of the examples being that Bayonetta wasn't nominated because of the crappy PS3 verison.

Also surprised at how the discussion went as well. Patrick made a good argument for Skyrim and brought up some good points, but I am beside myself at how unprofessional Brad was throughout the whole thing, even to the point where it started to get on my nerves. Someone should talk to him about how to debate and argue on radio without looking like an uncompromising douche. Jeff presented the best argument and while I saw where Vinny was going on a few points, he never really fleshed them out enough to make a good argument, but looking back on it I wonder if he knew that it wouldn't matter anyway. Ryan played it smart for theatrics sake and held his tongue as the tiebreaker so we could get some 2v2 debate in, but I didn't understand. It seemed like everyone had their mind made up from the beginning and the only purpose the hour debate served was to... I don't know what, really.

In the past GOTY debates, I've always come out of listening to it with an understanding why that particular title won. They should have edited out the debate, because that debate didn't make me feel like Skyrim deserved the GOTY at all. Jeff and Vinny talked circles around Brad and dismantled his arguments almost systematically with only Patrick putting up a good defense. Even when Ryan chimes in to break the tie, one of his main arguments against SR:TT is that it ended too soon, which would be valid if "too soon" didn't mean around 30 hours, which almost is like he's arguing in favor of SR:TT at that point.

I don't know, I feel like that they should have done the debate and then heavily edited it. I should be encouraged and stoked to go out and pick up the GOTY like the past two years, but it with how that podcast went it makes Skyrim's win feel really undeserving.

A year old debate, but just because I got around to listening to this podcast and was randomly lurking comments. Brad's debate wasn't getting circled danced around it was something that even in the end Jeff himself couldn't find a loophole around. It's the same reason games like Bayonetta and others get bumped for technical reasons yet Skryim doesn't. There is nothing else like it.

Now let that sink in a moment. Don't just say it gets off on length or style points, or what have you. Bethesda produces games that some people think are flat out impossible. Cliff Blezinkski is quoted on a G4 podcast for being dumbfounded how Bethesda can actually fit the amount of quality content they produce onto a DVD to put into his 360. It is at this moment impossible to produce the type of game that Bethesda produces without some form of technical issues. It is why so many other developers and studios don't try it.

But the point stands. If the point of an open world game is to get you to feel like your in a "world" no open world game does it better than Skyrim. Jeff had personal complaints about the lack of great quests but when Brad started talking about some of his own great experiences Jeff grumbled but realized the truth in the end. He hasn't played the game to the point of seeing every quest. He does not know that there isn't going to be gems in there. Because that is the BEAUTY of Skryim. I can say for ever generic quest I ran into I also rand into Sheogorath and other deadric princes and just crazy nonsense.

Honestly in terms of their debates I felt Brad's point was just so global that while the others were working to refute it, Ryan and Patrick were simply finding other issues with Saints Row and counter acting some of their points about Skryim. Some of Vinny and Jeffs point about Skryim ring true. Ultimately they are both great games. However I got the feeling that at the end of the day, Jeff giving off the list was him reluctantly realizing that despite his love for Saints Row, Skyrim DESERVED to be at the top of the list. Which at the end of the day is the nature of their GOTY debates anyways. Personal lists are for what spoke to you the most. This list is for things that were the "best" from as unbiased as a perspective as possible. Saints Row took a few new ideas, repackaged them into some great on the line humor for one the best games all year. Personally I'd rate it higher than Skyrim, even though Batman was my personal game of the year for 2011. Hell I've even played more SR3 than Skryim now. But at the end of the day Saints Row was just a fresh great fun take on a model and theory it already has.

Skryim while being a updated version of Oblivion did so much right, so much inventive, so much new. It also has an advantage that very few game series has. It's sequels aren't really sequels. They take elements of the same game engine, but that is about it. Some of the core is there, but they make combat better, they make graphics better, they introduce new map features and inventory features and quest features. They pretty much revamp the entire thing. They add new enemy types. And if all that wasn't enough? They change the timeline and go to a completely different province in the universe. Preset with it's own history, it's own characters, it's own dialogue and it's own new cities and ruins to explore.

Saints Row The Third will always speak to me more than a game like Skryim. But I still think Skyrim is a better game. It is one of those dilemmas of putting my non biased critical perspective into play over my biased one. I will have had more fun playing Saints Row for sure. But it's fun I've experienced before. Ultimately, it's just and upgraded experience to one I've had before. One that I really enjoy. But even spending 5 hours in Skyrim...there is nothing. Not even previous Elder Scrolls games, to which I've sunk countless hundreds of hours into...that is like it. Skyrim to me and a lot of what Bethesda has the potential to do when they "hit" on a game, manages to be this mesh of so much. It can give you a hybrid mesh of the experiences you get from open world games, action games, rpg games, strategy games. It melds into it's own singular experience. You add that to the fact that on every single level it is leaps and bounds above it's predecessor, it isn't broken to the point that every one who plays it can't finish the game or can't continue and it doesn't matter my personal bias. It is a better game.

I'm re-listening to the podcast now, and I really feel like they're choosing Skyrim because a) Brad is literally just refusing to even have a rational discussion, and b) they are falling into the trap that you do of saying that "Saints Row The Third will always speak to me more than a game like Skyrim but Skyrim is objectively a better game and DESERVES to win, so let's pick Skyrim." That's like how GameSpot reviews back in the day was more from a "this is not my opinion on the game; it is a feigned objective viewpoint." We have moved past that in games criticism, thank god.

It doesn't matter if Skyrim puts in all this effort and crafts this amazing world if at the end of the day you just like Saints Row better. Saints Row put a lot of effort into crafting an open-world that allows you to do all sorts of amazing, funny hijinks and lose yourself doing dumb shit for hours, but for Brad the game "isn't even an open-world game... It's a series of linear missions in a city."So what? I fail to see how that's different than Skyrim or any other open-world game. There is always a linear progression of missions in an open-world game. That's the main quest. The open-world is there for you to explore and have fun between missions. Just because Brad didn't want to engage in Saints Rows' open-world doesn't mean it's not there. I could blaze through Skyrim and then say the same thing about it.

And then Patrick is literally making the same argument he called invalid for other games: he's saying that if Saints Row weren't funny, you wouldn't like it. Yeah, but, it is, so that's not a valid point, just like he called it out in another game when someone else made that argument an hour ago in this podcast and I can't remember which.

Brad keeps calling out Saints Row for being lackluster, but refuses to elaborate on any point. Vinny asks him what he expects out of an open-world and Brad simply responds with "more than what is there." That's not a point. That's a terrible argument. He does this over and over and over and it is immensely frustrating to listen to. He is making a terrible case for Skyrim and a terrible case for why Saints Row isn't deserving of it.

It's also unbelievably frustrating to keep Skyrim in there when the PS3 version was so busted, but throw out Mortal Kombat because the online is busted. I agree with throwing out Mortal Kombat for that. But you shouldn't give game of the year to a game that barely works on one platform. That's insane.

I really think Jeff and Vinny danced circles around Brad and Patrick. They were actually arguing points and having a discussion, while Brad and Patrick were just having an irrational, emotionally charged, one-sided conversation and refused to actually engage by elaborating on their points. Patrick was better, but they were both pretty bad.

To Ryan's argument that there wasn't enough Saints Row, I don't know. I didn't do most of the side missions, so I kinda understand where he's coming from, but again, he put 30 hours into a game that can be beaten in 8 and wants more. I don't understand how that's a bad thing. I don't think every game needs such a wealth of content that you never finish all of it or feel like you've completely had your fill of it.

This one is a bummer to listen to even now. I love all the guys, but still, it's a frustrating conversation to listen to. Saints Row should've won.

Aw man, this was the best year's theme. Or maaaaybe the TV show year. I get that it's a crazy amount of editing time so they don't do this sort of thing anymore... but I miss it a little.