- 9,295
- Duisburg
Best game of the year is a tough call for me, really, as there are three games that all have impressed me a lot, for different reasons, though.
Third place would have to be Forza 4. I've spend more time with that game in the two months after its release than I did with any other game over the course of all of 2011, so that alone would make me mention it here. I think it is one of the best racing related exoeriences I've had on a console, ever. It's very consistent in terms of graphics, sounds, gameplay, car list and multiplayer. All of the aspects are great, some are absolutely outstanding and probably the best to be found in the whole genre.
That said, I can't rate it any higher because, even though it is the game I've played like no other, it's basically more of the same, and not very, you know, innovative or unconventional at all. As brilliant as it is, I think some games just deserve to be higher on my list based on going against the mainstream alone.
Second place, that'd be Dark Souls. It has been mentioned in this thread a few times already, and I would want to chime in with that. Dark Souls largely goes against what is normal in gaming today. The challenge it offers is awesome, in my opinion. I haven't been challenged that much by a game since who knows when. The relatively empty world just adds to that... The feeling of desperation and desolation is getting across pretty well, I think.
A few things are still amiss with it, though. A few more NPC interactions here and there might help to improve the atmosphere even further, in my opinion. You're also wandering around without an idea of where to go at times and the progress you're making from actually leveling up is, dunno, mediocre at best. I guess this has largely to do with the weapon scaling, but, overall, it does feel a bit like I'm not really getting anywhere... And that some builds seem largely useless. I assume that Skyrim is a lot better in that regard.
My first place would happen to be a relatively small, low-budget indy game. I might be a bit weird to chose something like this over the blockbusters that have been released over the cause of the year, but I feel that it's just another reason to have this game at the top. The game I'm on about is Bastion.
It might be a bit short and actually pretty simple, overall, but it has so many great aspects that I can't think of a better game. The art design is top notch, with the hand drawn artwork and all. While the gameplay is pretty old-fashioned, it's the story telling that reallly impressed me. Having one single narrator to tell everything in retrospect is a pretty unusual take on it, and it works perfectly well. Commenting on everything you're doing is also a great idea. The game had me under its spell as soon as the narrator said "Kid just rages for a while" while I was demolishing basically everything with my hammer
They've probably gotten the best voice actor for the job, too. Combined with the incredible soundtrack and the aforementioned artwork, it makes for an incredible athmosphere.
The only downside I can think of is that the game is relatively short and the RPG elements are quite neglected and not in-depth enough. There is some DLC coming on the 14th, I think, but still. On the other hand, that has to be expected for a game that can be bought for 7$ (or so) on Steam.
Bastion is great enough that I went from a pirated copy (yeah, I tried it out that way, sue me) to buying the Pc version and I'll be buying the X360 version off of XBLA as soon as I get my internetconnection fixed. I wouldn't have dreamed about shelling out for a game twice, but SuperGiant Games deserve the support, in my opinion.
I'd love to see a full priced sequel to the game. Doesn't even have to change that much - just a lot more of the same, some more in-depth RPG elemts, and I'd be all set.
Third place would have to be Forza 4. I've spend more time with that game in the two months after its release than I did with any other game over the course of all of 2011, so that alone would make me mention it here. I think it is one of the best racing related exoeriences I've had on a console, ever. It's very consistent in terms of graphics, sounds, gameplay, car list and multiplayer. All of the aspects are great, some are absolutely outstanding and probably the best to be found in the whole genre.
That said, I can't rate it any higher because, even though it is the game I've played like no other, it's basically more of the same, and not very, you know, innovative or unconventional at all. As brilliant as it is, I think some games just deserve to be higher on my list based on going against the mainstream alone.
Second place, that'd be Dark Souls. It has been mentioned in this thread a few times already, and I would want to chime in with that. Dark Souls largely goes against what is normal in gaming today. The challenge it offers is awesome, in my opinion. I haven't been challenged that much by a game since who knows when. The relatively empty world just adds to that... The feeling of desperation and desolation is getting across pretty well, I think.
A few things are still amiss with it, though. A few more NPC interactions here and there might help to improve the atmosphere even further, in my opinion. You're also wandering around without an idea of where to go at times and the progress you're making from actually leveling up is, dunno, mediocre at best. I guess this has largely to do with the weapon scaling, but, overall, it does feel a bit like I'm not really getting anywhere... And that some builds seem largely useless. I assume that Skyrim is a lot better in that regard.
My first place would happen to be a relatively small, low-budget indy game. I might be a bit weird to chose something like this over the blockbusters that have been released over the cause of the year, but I feel that it's just another reason to have this game at the top. The game I'm on about is Bastion.
It might be a bit short and actually pretty simple, overall, but it has so many great aspects that I can't think of a better game. The art design is top notch, with the hand drawn artwork and all. While the gameplay is pretty old-fashioned, it's the story telling that reallly impressed me. Having one single narrator to tell everything in retrospect is a pretty unusual take on it, and it works perfectly well. Commenting on everything you're doing is also a great idea. The game had me under its spell as soon as the narrator said "Kid just rages for a while" while I was demolishing basically everything with my hammer
They've probably gotten the best voice actor for the job, too. Combined with the incredible soundtrack and the aforementioned artwork, it makes for an incredible athmosphere.
The only downside I can think of is that the game is relatively short and the RPG elements are quite neglected and not in-depth enough. There is some DLC coming on the 14th, I think, but still. On the other hand, that has to be expected for a game that can be bought for 7$ (or so) on Steam.
Bastion is great enough that I went from a pirated copy (yeah, I tried it out that way, sue me) to buying the Pc version and I'll be buying the X360 version off of XBLA as soon as I get my internetconnection fixed. I wouldn't have dreamed about shelling out for a game twice, but SuperGiant Games deserve the support, in my opinion.
I'd love to see a full priced sequel to the game. Doesn't even have to change that much - just a lot more of the same, some more in-depth RPG elemts, and I'd be all set.
