Giantbomb Community GOTY

EDIT: RESULTS HAVE BEEN CALCULATED AND ARE OVER HERE

**********SALUTATIONS DUDERS*******

The powers that be, for some reason, have chosen not to run a community GOTY this year! I don't know why this is, it all seems rather silly to me! Instead we can guess at the staff's GOTYs.

Betting and gambling is fun and all, but I liked having that sense of community we got from that big ass list compilation. And you know what, they don't want to provide it for us? Well fuck them. I have a rudimentary understanding of C# and I'M GONNA FUCKING USE IT.

HERE WE GO WEBSITE SOURCE CODE

No wait, shit, this was a mistake.

FUCK

NO.

AGH.

Okay. No it's okay. I'm alive. I made it.

I wrote a really, really hideous screen scraping code in 2 hours. I started at midnight. It's fucking garbage. Like holy shit. You have no idea.

But it works and I can read a lot of data from it and I can easily modify it. I'll clean it up later. But whatever, it doesn't matter if I do. It works regardless.

WHATEVER, THAT'S NOT THE POINT. THE POINT IS YOU CAN MAKE GOTY LISTS

FUCK DAVE*

FUCK COONCE**

HERE'S WHAT YOU DO!!!!!

MAKE A LIST TITLED "GOTY 2011"

NAME IT THAT. DON'T NAME IT ANYTHING ELSE.

YOU MOTHERFUCKER.

I'M SERIOUS.

IT WON'T WORK IF YOU DON'T.

NAME IT "GOTY 2011"

NOT WITH QUOTATION MARKS. YOU KNOW WHAT I FUCKING MEAN.

LIKE THAT

This is what it looks like!

OKAY, ONE OTHER THING

IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT YOU DO THIS SECOND PART

I'M SERIOUS

Go here and tell me your GB username!

here's that link again: https://docs.google.com/a/thatfrood.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dF9tUThRODFDd09iN180NXFSQzJObGc6MQ!!!!!

SPELL IT RIGHT.

SPELL IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME.

I have two options here. Either I go and screen scrape EVERY SINGLE USER ON GIANTBOMB to see if they have a list called "Goty 2011"... or I just screen scrape the people who input their username into that google doc!

I WOULD PREFER TO DO IT THE SECOND WAY.

the link a third time!!!!: https://docs.google.com/a/thatfrood.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dF9tUThRODFDd09iN180NXFSQzJObGc6MQ

And that's it!

That's all you gotta do! Make a list called "GOTY 2011" and then submit your username to the google doc! Please don't screw that up, it's really easy!

When January 1st rolls around I'll post the compiled results! It'll be rad! If you're a community guy and you want to make a little write up for each game feel free and pm them to me. You've seen the quality of my writing, it's the pits. Some of you writer types can do the word magic for me.

And of course, if there are any questions you can just post them... right the fuck in this thread!

*no actually Dave is super rad and the best and I would never want anyone to disrespect him

**ditto for Coonce

Thank you kind sir, you have saved Christm-uh-Giantbombmas. =/

Off to do my list.

Edit - my list:

GOTY 2011

	1. Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective
	2. Bastion
	3. Portal 2
	4. The Binding of Isaac
	5. Deus Ex: Human Revolution
	6. Hard Reset
	7. Alice: Madness Returns
	8. Dead Space 2
	9. Gemini Rue
	10. Dungeons of Dredmor

How many games should be listed? Just a top ten or a top five?

Can we write descriptions in the list or would that mess up your script?

Descriptions are okay! Write whatever you want!

Well actually... wait fuck. No. Don't write "1. " or "2. " etc. in your list. That would fuck shit up. The screen scraper finds what game you have listed as number one, two, three etc. by searching for the first instance of "1. " edit: no longer a problem

And you can have as many games as you'd like on the list, really! I'll only count the first 10, though. Less than that is fine too.

Well, I was about to this. Glad I'm off the hook.

Edit: piece of advice. Get this sticky

I had fun reading that.

Added my list.

@Winternet: 's a food idea

@ThatFrood: All my ideas are food ideas.

@Winternet said:

@ThatFrood: All my ideas are food ideas.

Fuck it's late.

I'll check up on this B tomorrow when I'm a little less sweary and unintelligible. foodnight everybody

@ThatFrood: Foodnight duder!

Let's get listin'!

Hi Frood, love what you're doing, so here's my list!

GOTY 2011

Giantbomb's Community GOTY List

Well, truth be told, I didn't play many games this year. From watching Starcraft 2 to writing about it, I didn't get to many of the big hits of this year. Add to the fact that I only really had a PC to work with, that took out a lot of the exclusives that were available, and I could only play a couple when I came back home from University. Anyways, here's my list!

	1. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim This is an obvious pick for many, although a lot of people have had troubles with it. To those people, I'm sorry for your technical difficulties, but I personally haven't had many. This was my first real Bethesda RPG. Sure, I dabbled in Oblivion or Fallout 3, but Skyrim was the first one I really sat down with and played to 'completion'. I got caught up in the hype of it all and blasted through the game along with everyone else. It was thrilling to be a part of the Zeitgeist for once, since I never really had a console and couldn't follow the Halo/Gears of War hype before. Skyrim really is something else, and I think this year would be very different without its release.
	2. Super Street Fighter IV Yes, I know this was released in 2010. Yes, I know it's an expansion of Street Fighter IV. HOWEVER, other than Skyrim, of which I've played 82 hours of, I've logged about 177 hours into SSFIVAE. That's a lot of Endless Matching and Training Mode. Street Fighter really hit a nerve this year with me, maybe it had to do with my slight boredom with playing Starcraft 2 and I wanted another competitive game. I really splashed into the game and spent hours wailing away on Dan in Training mode, trying to get one combo right (which I never did). Since I played so few games, I would be deluding myself if I didn't say SSF4 wasn't in my top 10 of this year.
	3. Saints Row: The Third Play this game.
	4. Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception Having really enjoyed Uncharted 2, hearing the comments and reviews about how this was similar and a bit underwhelming in comparison, I had hesitations going into Nathan Drake's third adventure. A lot of the criticisms were right, it was very similar, but the fact of the matter is, there haven't been any games that have come close to achieving what Uncharted is trying to do. This game is another visual masterpiece from Naughty Dog and the mechanics remain as solid and fun to control as ever.
	5. The Binding of Isaac I have a love/hate relationship with this game. At times, I feel amazing and feel extremely rewarded for my accomplishments. At other times, I feel utterly destroyed by the game's mechanics and luck-based item system. I hate that my shots tilt about. I hate that some items are completely worthless yet take up a spot in the possible item rooms. I hate that some enemies are so god damned annoying. I love that this game exists.
	6. Bastion Gah! I love this game so much. But god damn, the keyboard+mouse controls are really bad. Having my shield functionality severely dampered was a huge hindrance in my enjoyment of Bastion and kept me from completing any of the challenge rooms. Even after getting a HORI EX Pad (See: Street Fighter obsession), I never went back. I don't know why, but I just couldn't go back to try the challenges and new game+ again.
	7. Portal 2 This game is pretty good.
	8. inFamous 2 inFamous was one of my favorite games of 2009, and I truly loved how it controlled. However, it inFamous 2 was disappointing. I mean that in a good way, because I had high hopes for this game. The Misc powers, easily the most interesting new powers introduced, were subjugated into one small category. Why not allow for quick swapping between them? I would love the ice spike into tether while holding a frost shield. It was disappointing choice to bundle them all into one area and the game would have been amazing with the possibility to switch between them quickly. Melee still felt underwhelming and being forced to melee at certain points was annoying. The tacked on power bar for power moves was a bit arbitrary and wouldn't really activated even when the scenario was obvious that it should be able to. Overall, inFamous 2 was still a fun experience, zooming through a city hasn't been this much fun.
	9. L.A. Noire
	10. StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty IT'S STARCRAFT 2.

@ThatFrood: That's not true at all and I think you jumped the gun.

Last year I thought they forgot it too but I specifically remember them waiting until after they announce their game of the year to tell people to set their lists up.

Good job on putting the work into this. You the man, The Muffin Man.

You've done good things here frood. Very good things. I'll do this when I get home from worky.

So, wait, is it official that Giant Bomb is not doing a community GOTY feature? Why not?

Thanks for your hard work though, OP. I just... I don't remember them saying anything about this, and I can't understand why they wouldn't...

@Doctorchimp said:

@ThatFrood: That's not true at all and I think you jumped the gun.

Last year I thought they forgot it too but I specifically remember them waiting until after they announce their game of the year to tell people to set their lists up.

Last year's was put up on December 22nd

And the staff GOTY went up on Jan 1st. All the staff lists started coming up after the 22nd.

it's the 28th now, Jan 1st is 4 days away. Game of the Year lists rapidly become less and less topical and interesting once the New Year goes by, it'd be silly to think they'd put up the User 2011 GOTY List after 2011.

That being said, if the Powers That Be have actually had plans for this feature and have been working tirelessly on it (or just have been working on it)... I'd be more than happy to step down and defer to them!

I just don't want it to turn out that 2011 comes and goes and we end up with no community GOTY lists because we didn't do anything because we thought they'd do something.

@Duffyside: Yeah, again, I don't know! I'm erring on the side of caution. It does seem crazy that they wouldn't do the user lists again because those were rad and fun. Maybe they're really busy! I mean, I know they're really busy all the time, but maybe they're really busy.

ANYWAY. Jeez, that first post sure is sweary. I think I'll touch it up a bit before I head off to work. You know. For the kids.

You, sir, are a gentleman and a scholar. I'm glad someone else cares as much about the user GOTY feature as I do. I submitted my name and list, but here it is for quick reference:

GOTY 2011

My ten favorite games of 2011

	1. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Skyrim embodies almost everything I love about video games. Its vast open world encourages exploration and discovery, its rich RPG elements form a satisfying backbone to support the lengthy adventure, and there's always a new and interesting quest to discover. How Bethesda could've made a game so vast, yet so great, is beyond me, but I'm sure glad they did.
	2. Bastion I never expected this much out of Bastion and its handful of developers. Not only is this the best indie game I've ever played, it's also one of the most moving games I've ever had the pleasure of putting my hands on. Everything about Bastion - the beautiful artwork, the superb writing, the breathtaking soundtrack - blends seamlessly together to create a whole that can only be described as stunning.
	3. Batman: Arkham City Take one of 2009's best action games, add an open world, dozens of hours of side quests each backed by a cool story, and tons of memorable villains, and you have the recipe for the perfect brawler. The atmosphere in Arkham City is so menacing, so hopeless, that it made for a truly unique and thoroughly frightening experience. The fact that you have so many options for navigating and brawling through this urban wasteland is just the icing on the cake.
	4. Saints Row: The Third Saints Row: The Third knows that we play video games primarily for fun, and it delivers on that promise better than just about any game I can think of. Brash, loud, violent, and above all utterly ridiculous, Saints Row: The Third is easily deserving of a spot in my top ten.
	5. inFamous 2 Everything about Infamous 2 was an improvement over its predecessor. The city was vibrant and gorgeous looking, the powers were more fun to toy around with, and the gangs of enemies more varied and interesting than ever before. Coupled with a great story (even if it does kind of jump the shark in the end,) Infamous 2 is a big improvement. But the real fun in this game comes simply from moving around, as Cole's movements and powers feel incredibly fluid and natural. It hasn't been this much fun to just run around in a game for a long time.
	6. Rayman: Origins Rayman Origins proves that the classic 2D platformer can still destroy other genres in terms of quality, even if it didn't exactly light up the sales charts. With pixel perfect controls and some of the most fluid animations and catchiest music around, Rayman Origins is a treat for the eyes, ears, and fingers.
	7. Gears of War 3 I didn't like Gears 2 all that much, but this conclusion to the trilogy just feels like a better thought out product. The story is better, even succeeding in its few attempts to hit home some emotional resonance. The multiplayer is great fun and more balanced than it's ever been thanks to the inclusion of dedicated servers. But the real triumph of Gears 3 is its revamped Hoard mode, which supports up to five players online. There's nothing quite as intense as facing down those high level opponents with a team of dedicated players. It's absolutely fantastic.
	8. Bulletstorm Bulletstorm is the antithesis of the modern shooter. Placing a firm emphasis on combo chains and so-stupid-they're-clever dick jokes that wouldn't be out of place on a third grade playground, Bulletstorm certainly knows how to have fun. Couple the rock solid combo-based gameplay with a bright and gorgeous world, silky smooth controls, and a surprisingly good story, and you've got one of 2011's surprise hits.
	9. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Really? I know. No, really, I know. I don't like Activision's business practices any more than you do, but the fact of the matter is that Infinity Ward and the army of studios at their disposal have crafted on hell of a shooter this year. The campaign alone is enough for me to recommend this one, thanks to its plethora of jaw dropping setpieces. But even after that's done with, the new cooperative Survival mode is enough to drain hours out of your life. It's fast, addictive, and fun.
	10. Dead Space 2 Although I was a bit disappointed by Dead Space 2's reliance on action and jump scares over straight up horror, there's no denying that this is still one of the most polished third person action games on the block. The aiming and shooting controls are nothing short of perfect, and the graphics are stunning even almost a year later. This game had me on the edge of my seat more times than I dare to count, and I think that's worthy of placing it in the top ten.

I am onboard, even though it is a very short list.

Awesome post, made my day.

I was only able to think of 8 games I liked

No documentation in codes makes me a sad panda. Anyway great work.

After I record my video I'll drop my list in a traditional list format.

Dude, this is totally awesome. Stickied!

I'll showcase and tweet any Game of the Year lists you all have created if you drop a link on the current Community Spotlight.

@ZombiePie said:

I'll showcase and tweet any Game of the Year lists you all have created if you drop a link on the current Community Spotlight.

Who curates the community stuff that is displayed on the right side of the main page? Would it be possible for them to add this to it so that it could get some more attention?

@ThatFrood said:

@ZombiePie said:

I'll showcase and tweet any Game of the Year lists you all have created if you drop a link on the current Community Spotlight.

Who curates the community stuff that is displayed on the right side of the main page? Would it be possible for them to add this to it so that it could get some more attention?

@PerryVandell tends to do that stuff. Email interns@whiskeymedia.com

@Mr_Skeleton said:

No documentation in codes makes me a sad panda. Anyway great work.

Haha, yeah. My process tends to be to code garbage that doesn't actually work until I figure out what I'm actually doing, and then commenting that. Like that "parseGarbage" and "cleanGarbage" method, those didn't make it into the "final" code. Instead I have a class who's constructor cleans it all out. I just try a bunch of different things first until I decide on something I like. I got the habit from coding in Ruby.

@Vager: Thanks! Emailed!

I'm disappointed how many people seem to have overlooked / under-appreciated Resistance 3 and Tales from Space, but hey, opinions. Thanks to the OP for doing this for the community, glad somebody cares. Here's the link to my list if any one cares.

The community wide user list feature has IMHO been the most under used feature here at WM. Its very sad to me such potential lost.

Done and done

I really dont get how Skyrim gets a place on everyones top 10 but noone even mentions the Witcher which has nicer graphics, better gameplay, more interesting characters and a better story. All skyrim has is a big interesting world filled with crap gameplay, alot of stories but none of them really that interesting, and NPCs who dont exactly care for what you do at all. Skyrim is still a very enjoyable game of course, but personally i think it has way too many flaws to be a top10 game in a year where so much quality came out.

My list may be complete shit, but now it can affect a larger list and make it shitty as well! Praises all around!

I think I suffered a break down when I made this (it's all true by the way).

GOTY 2011

No one else will have any of my choices.

	1. Steins;Gate: Hiyoku Renri no Darling It's a game about SCIENCE. I bought a Japanese 360 for it. I'm pretty dumb.
	2. Atelier Meruru: Alchemist of Arland 3 Cute girls doing cute things.
	3. Daiteikoku You get to have sex with Hitler. That is all. It's also a pretty great S-RPG with Space Whales.
	4. CROSS†CHANNEL ~In memory of all people~ The 360 port came out this year so it counts. Imagine Persona with Adachi as the main character.
	5. Corpse Party: Book of Shadows More corpses, less party + lesbians
	6. The Last Story You people are in for a treat when this finally comes to Europe.
	7. Pandora's Tower Watch the vegetarian force down the Monster's meat.
	8. Dream C Club Zero You can look at the girls, you can make the girls eat your banana and put cream on their faces, you can get them drunk and watch them throw up. BUT YOU CAN'T TOUCH THE GIRLS UNLESS YOU PAY REAL MONEY. WHICH I DID, I SPENT MONEY ON WHAT AMOUNTS TO A VIRTUAL WHORE. AHUUGHUGHGUGUUTYIRUYUYTUTYIYUI.
	9. THE iDOLM@STER 2 I SPENT MORE THEN $150 ON DLC FOR THIS GAME. WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH ME? I NEED PROFESSIONAL HELP.
	10. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim ...this was pretty good too.

Cool. Thanks for putting that together. My name has been added.

@JackG100 said:

I really dont get how Skyrim gets a place on everyones top 10 but noone even mentions the Witcher which has nicer graphics, better gameplay, more interesting characters and a better story. All skyrim has is a big interesting world filled with crap gameplay, alot of stories but none of them really that interesting, and NPCs who dont exactly care for what you do at all. Skyrim is still a very enjoyable game of course, but personally i think it has way too many flaws to be a top10 game in a year where so much quality came out.

Witcher 2 is 1st on my list :) though I did put skyrim at 7...

@ThatFrood: Frood your alive!

I made my list.

This was the first year in a while where I was completely sure of my favorite game.

@Vager said:

@ThatFrood said:

@ZombiePie said:

I'll showcase and tweet any Game of the Year lists you all have created if you drop a link on the current Community Spotlight.

Who curates the community stuff that is displayed on the right side of the main page? Would it be possible for them to add this to it so that it could get some more attention?

@PerryVandell tends to do that stuff. Email interns@whiskeymedia.com

That I do...

GOTY 2011

Honorable mentions, El Shaddai, Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom 3, Skyrim and Sonic Generations 

	1. Bastion
	2. Portal 2
	3. Deus Ex: Human Revolution
	4. Saints Row: The Third
	5. Mortal Kombat
	6. inFamous 2
	7. Bulletstorm
	8. Batman: Arkham City
	9. Jamestown
	10. Terraria

Best of 2011

Skyrim wont be in it.

	1. Battlefield 3
	2. Dark Souls
	3. The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings
	4. Batman: Arkham City
	5. Bastion
	6. Deus Ex: Human Revolution
	7. Terraria
	8. FIFA 12
	9. Minecraft
	10. Football Manager 2012

@ThatFrood: Submitted! And since you're obviously working magic today, can you make my head cold go away? It's real annoying.

I'll just list mine out:

• Uncharted 3
• Batman Arkham City
• Assassin's Creed Revelations
• Catherine
• Alice Madness Returns
• Professor Layton and the Specters Flute
• The Witcher 2
• Gears of War 3
• Zelda: Skyward Sword
• Dead Space 2

Sure, why not?

GOTY 2011

	1. The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings
	2. Bastion
	3. Dark Souls
	4. Deus Ex: Human Revolution
	5. Saints Row: The Third
	6. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
	7. Catherine
	8. Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception
	9. Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine
	10. Rune Factory: Tides of Destiny

Done and done. It's cool that you're doing this, man.

I started making a list but it's too hard and I just don't have the drive. I never expected to not being able to answer the question of what game I enjoyed more this year; Skyrim or Saints Row.

Making this list made me realise I need to play and finish more games, also I play some old as shit games. Like I'm currently playing the shit out of Master of Orion 3.

	1. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim At the end of the day I had to stop playing this because I was worried I would actually die.
	2. Minecraft This is the game I have put the most into this year or ever, no competition. And at the end of the day, if I was stuck on a desert island, the only game I would need would be this one.
	3. Men of War: Assault Squad I haven't yet played MoW: Vietnam, but I can confidently say it would be in my top ten. I love the MoWs, and Assault Squad is no exception, even with its new fangled point capture system.
	4. Portal 2 Brilliant writing, brilliant gameplay, but I just don't have the urge to go back and play it again.
	5. Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad I'm ashamed to say I just haven't played this enough, and in true Eastern European style, it's buggy as hell. Having said that, it's exactly what I want from a FPS.
	6. Battlefield 3 I'm a primarily single player gamer, so this games shocking storyline and generally underwhelming singleplayer gameplay, including atrocious quicktime events really irked me. It's listed for its graphics and for the online, which I actually played a reasonable amount of.
	7. Total War: Shogun 2 I'm not a huge fan of the total war franchise, but Shogun 2 seems to have gotten what this series does right. It's challenging, and I really should play more of it.
	8. inFamous 2 This is a game much like its predecessor. I can't say I loved it as much as some others on this list, but I got a thrill. The problems, including the lack of ambient noise and some of the traversal still irked me a bit.
	9. Limbo So far this dark little game has managed to charm me. It probably deserves to be higher, but I haven't yet completed it.
	10. Crysis 2 Because I need ten games from 2011 that's why.

 I'm counting Mass effect as a 2011 game due to it coming out on PS3...Cool? 

anyway

Thanks for this Frood, still think you're awesome  

GOTY 2011

	1. Portal 2
	2. Driver: San Francisco
	3. Battlefield 3
	4. Mass Effect 2
	5. inFamous 2
	6. Frozen Synapse
	7. Achron
	8. Magicka
	9. Dead Island
	10. Dead Space 2