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bkbroiler

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bkbroiler's GOTY 2011

I've been playing a lot more video games since I started going to Giant Bomb, but I still don't play that many. However, I think this was a pretty strong year for games so I can still make a pretty decent sized list!

I still haven't played a lot of games I've wanted to. So that means Saints Row: The Third, Skyrim, AssRev, and perhaps a few others I've forgotten are not on this list. One day I'll get to them (maybe not Skyrim, though - we'll see).

I could only think of 9 games. L.A. Noire probably deserves a spot on there, and I played the shit out of that game, but honestly I'm so pissed off at how repetitive and rote it became over the course of the game that I'm leaving it off just to spite it. Take that, video game.

List items

  • Playing Valve games is such an incredible experience. The way they direct your attention, and teach you the mind-bending gameplay mechanics is amazing. Everything about the experience of playing this game is remarkably polished, from story to voice acting to the beautiful visuals (seriously, the lighting in this game made me stop and just stare around the test chambers. Might be my favorite-looking game of the year). And with a kick-ass friend, the co-op is some of the most fun I've had this year.

  • Definitely the game I've spent the most time with this year. It just completely absorbed a few weeks of my life. I think the combat in this game is perfect. The balance it has where nothing is particularly hard to kill but everything can kill you very easily is a nice one. Even making it through the most basic rooms is very satisfying.

    I think my favorite moments with Dark Souls are the first hours I spent with it. Walking around, scared of everything, constantly expecting to die. Before that period wears off and you realize that dying really doesn't matter that much is a spectacular one. Then you enter a new phase of gameplay, where you charge headlong into every situation, stategize and game the mechanics so that you win. So much fun.

    Another reason I love this game so much is the community, especially here on Giant Bomb. It's a very friendly, helpful community for a very unfriendly, unhelpful game.

  • This one is SOOO long ago, but the fact that I still remember it probably speaks to how good it is. Kind of like Portal 2, it does what it does in a very nice, tightly would package. The ending has one of my favorite moments of the year - plays very well off the first game. I will go back and get that hardcore achievement!

  • I really enjoyed this game. I don't think the story and everything got to me quite like some other people, but it was a very beautiful experience. Narration is perfect, and the combat is awesome. I stuck with the spear and teeth gun (forgot all the names now) for most of the game and felt it perfectly suited the way I wanted to play. A lot of other people played it completely differently, though, and swear by their method.

    I think the music in this game deserves special mention. It was catchy and perfectly suited to the world of Bastion while I was playing, and yet stood up to repeated plays on my drives to work.

  • Batman: AC took me a while to get into. I think at first I was confused with how much the game seemed to be allowing me to do (you're dropped into the open city with a ton of powers right off the bat) and what I actually could do. After I started just mainlining the story missions I really got into it. The combat in this game is unmatched. Looks incredibly fluid, and plays great. Can't wait to see what these Rocksteady guys do next.

  • Nearing the end of this game now, but it definitely deserves a spot on this list. Beautiful art, fun and crazy gameplay that constantly varies and never gets old. Chasing after those chests while the levels collapse around you is so much fun, no matter how many restarts it takes. The music in this game is awesome, too.

  • I think I can honestly say the Gears games have gotten better with every single sequel. Gears 3 topped them all by actually pulling off some good character moments, getting the single-player campaign down to a science, and nailing the multiplayer. Horde mode 4 lyfe.

  • Bought this after Patrick's insistence, and wasn't disappointed. A genuinely funny game with great characters surrounded by some solid-feeling gunplay. I liked the light-dark puzzly elements, and I think the look of this game is very beautiful and unique.