I'm leaning slightly towards Bastion, though Xenoblade Chronicles and Portal 2 are definite contenders. Definitely the three most original and artistically brilliant games of the year, Xenoblade Chronicles and Portal 2 in the catagories of storyline and gameplay, respectively, and Bastion in how it integrates the two.
To be fair, Skyrim and its previous iterations' only claims to fame are for having a shit load of things to do. The combat systems are objectively average, the story in the games are practically non-existent and the graphics are above average but not really jaw dropping, on top of that, they tend to be buggy.
So really all the ES games have going for them are a shit ton of quests, lore and options. Not really GotY material, imo.
That being said, I'm tempted to say BF3 is my GotY, but the single player just failed utterly to impress me. I haven't even gotten past the second level.
I usually choose my Game of Year based on how much I play it, how fun it is and if anything annoys me. As well, I choose it based on how many times I play the game and I don't look at the clock or wonder where my time is.
It's not critical in any means but that's what I do.
So I picked Skyrim. It has it's faults (though the combat system is perfectly fine) but overall, the game is fantastic.
Other games on my list are Portal 2, Crysis 2, Forza 4 and BF3.
Originally posted by RE: Blaxican
To be fair, Skyrim and its previous iterations' only claims to fame are for having a shit load of things to do. The combat systems are objectively average, the story in the games are practically non-existent and the graphics are above average but not really jaw dropping, on top of that, they tend to be buggy.So really all the ES games have going for them are a shit ton of quests, lore and options. Not really GotY material, imo.
That being said, I'm tempted to say BF3 is my GotY, but the single player just failed utterly to impress me. I haven't even gotten past the second level.
I feel that Skyrim fixes every problem you mentioned. It is miles better than Oblivion, and it doesn't just have a ton of content this time, it has a ton of excellent content.
Originally posted by BackFireIndeed.
I feel that Skyrim fixes every problem you mentioned. It is miles better than Oblivion, and it doesn't just have a ton of content this time, it has a ton of excellent content.
The combat is simple, streamlined, and much more enjoyable, the storyline thus far seems to be much better than Oblivion (As well as the various plotlines weaved into all the extra content), the game world is among the most beautiful and stunning I have seen (Dark Souls rivals it in that regard in terms of 2011 games), Bethesda seriously stepped their game up in the transition from Oblivion.
More the Demon's/Dark Souls type, personally. Call it masochism, but my fondest memories in Demon's Souls involved either tearing off one of my shirts, or defeating my first Black Phantom invader after having all my armor and weapons broken in addition to catching the plague while surrounded by Silver Skeletons.
Unfortunately, I haven't gotten around to actually playing either Dark Souls or Skyrim, though I admit Dark Souls is a priority now that I'd finally paid off and purchased Skyward Sword, which as a candidate so far hasn't presented any glaring problems for me to say otherwise, but I've just been dickin' around taking my time the past two days. Kinda feel the same way I did when I first played Okami. Which is by all accounts a good thing.
Genrewise, Mortal Kombat's probably become my favorite fighter this generation and for much of the past gen since Soul Calibur 2. Dumps all over MvC3 for damn sure, so I hope for the latter's sake that Ultimate is a decent improvement.
Originally posted by RE: Blaxican
To be fair, Skyrim and its previous iterations' only claims to fame are for having a shit load of things to do. The combat systems are objectively average, the story in the games are practically non-existent and the graphics are above average but not really jaw dropping, on top of that, they tend to be buggy.So really all the ES games have going for them are a shit ton of quests, lore and options. Not really GotY material, imo.
Cosigned. I friggin love Skyrim, but I won't allow that to make me ignore its faults. It may win some GotY awards, but it'll be because fanaticism blinds the fanbase. It may also be the one I personally enjoy the most, but that doesn't mean it would get my vote.
Haven't played BF3's multiplayer enough to say for sure. I've heard complimentary things about it in comparison to CoD though.
Portal 2 couldn't capture the wow factor of the first one. It was slick and awesome, but was lacking the ZOMG factor even with the new gimmicks. If the first one had the length and narrative of the second one, it could've/should've/would've won a lot of GotY's.
Minecraft deserves attention. It's the only one that you can point to and show exactly how it did something truly original and/or had a lasting impact on the development of games in the future (because, really, many will attempt to copy its appeal).
Batman and Zelda are likely candidates, but I can't speak from experience. I won't be getting Batman for a month or two.