Board 8 > zfs's Top 10 Games of the Year List -- 2011 Edition.

(+) Yeah! (+)

The AC series is weird to me. AC2 was a great game but it really left me burnt out on the concept in general - it's very repetitive. The games are quality, but I can't imagine playing these things yearly.

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Black Turtle did a pretty good job.

Can't say I agree there, that AC2 was repetitive. I've never found that to be the case, but that's probably because I enjoy them. We're reaching a breaking point in yearly releases, though, yeah. There are some nice rumors going around about AC3, though. Namely, that it'll be on Ubisoft's new engine that will be primarily used next-gen, and that it's been in development for a couple of years already.

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"When I was a young man, I had liberty, but I did not see it. I had time, but I did not know it."

Yeah, that's kinda how I feel with GTA games and probably explains why I'm not compelled to keep up with the AC franchise with every installment. I think that's kinda deal any sandbox type game is gonna get from a lot of people unless there are significant overhauls with each installment.

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I tried to have a fierce rivalry with SuperNiceDog, but he made me look worse than a GameFAQs Contest!

open world games mess with me. there are a lot of slightly different missions but ultimately what you're doing is the same. whenever I hear about variety in missions, I get a little uneasy. sometimes it feels like it's there to distract you from the actual game, increase the length or get a cool ability/item rather than it being actually fun.

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add the c and back away
iphonesience

AC2 was probably the least repetitive game I've ever played. At the very least, the least repetitive sandbox game.

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TheRock ~ Slow dramatic zoom-pan. Doesn't phase the hooded man.

Honestly, the core of AC2 was so good and there's enough meat in it that I didn't bother with many of the sidequests. Brotherhood took a step in the wrong direction there, I think. The core of the game isn't as good. It almost makes you need to do sidequests.

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"The great GF...Bahamut."
"...GF? I...? Using my powers...It is you humans...I fear..."

From: LeonhartFour | Posted: 1/6/2012 10:21:27 PM | #206
Honestly, the core of AC2 was so good and there's enough meat in it that I didn't bother with many of the sidequests. Brotherhood took a step in the wrong direction there, I think. The core of the game isn't as good. It almost makes you need to do sidequests.

That may be so, but Brotherhood's sidequest weren't too bad. In fact, Brotherhood I would say is in fact the better game in everyway besides the story.

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I do because I can.....and because I'm bored.

Yeah, Brotherhood's sidequests were pretty good, I admit, but I won't do sidequests every time I play a game. I judge a game by the core stuff, and Brotherhood comes up short compared to AC2 in that regard.

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"The great GF...Bahamut."
"...GF? I...? Using my powers...It is you humans...I fear..."

This feels like a good time/place to ask: I've never played an AC-game before, but Steam recently had some sales on their series. I almost bought AC2, but passed. Is there a better entry point in the series, or should I jump on the next chance I get for a good deal on AC2?

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http://img812.imageshack.us/img812/3492/eponaharr.jpg
Nominate SuperNiceDog's Guru-choice, then Epona.

Despite the fact that most people will tell you to skip AC1, I'd still recommend starting there. If you do insist on skipping it, then go AC2. Don't start with anything beyond that.

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"I can set you free, mate."
"My freedom was forfeit long ago!"

I think Brotherhood's problem with the core stuff was that Brotherhood's story simply wasn't strong enough to support a full-fledged game. I'm with HM in the sense that condensing Brotherhood and Revelations main stories together would have helped.

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TheRock ~ Slow dramatic zoom-pan. Doesn't phase the hooded man.

Also, you should play AC1 just because it makes AC2 and beyond look so much better.

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TheRock ~ Slow dramatic zoom-pan. Doesn't phase the hooded man.

I always recommend AC1 before any others, but if you just want to test the series out, you could jump in at 2. If you plan on playing the entire series, though, 1 is the best bet. I love the game despite what other people say.

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"When I was a young man, I had liberty, but I did not see it. I had time, but I did not know it."

From: ZFS | Posted: 1/7/2012 12:39:29 AM | #213
I love the game despite

Why? Sure it is pretty fun for the first 2 assassinations or so, but after that when you realize that you have to do the same s*** over and over and over again.....

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I do because I can.....and because I'm bored.

It's not a problem doing the same thing over and over again if you enjoy those same things.

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"I couldn't stand a day without a past or future. I need to live each moment to keep fighting here and now."

yeah. I'm way in the minority but I liked AC1 more than what I played of 2 because it focused more on killing people. AC2 is like 'go do this!' 'help him out!' 'find this treasure chest!' 'build up this town!' -- it just threw stuff in the way for the sake of variety. unpopular opinion, but eh.

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xyzzy

I don't think AC2 gets over the top with it. Like I said, it hits the sweet spot as far as providing a good mixture of everything. You're never veering too far off the main path with AC2 unless you want to.

I have started to get tired of the boring fetchquests though. With Revelations, I feel like I'd just reached the saturation point with it to the point that I just plain dislike "Go steal the key so you can unlock the door" and the like. I enjoy the main narrative, but all that stuff?

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http://www.gifsoup.com/view/593815/frasier-and-niles-dance-o.gif

I've only played a few hours of AC2, but I'd prefer if they condensed the narrative and made more stuff optional. optional assassinations seem like a good idea and you can have a more focused 5-6 hour storyline experience.

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xyzzy

Yeah, I really enjoyed the setting and mood of the original. It had nice progression, it focused on being an assassin, and let you setup how you wanted to do everything. People give it too much flak, I think, but what can you do. I played it again after ACR, had no problem with four years later!

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"When I was a young man, I had liberty, but I did not see it. I had time, but I did not know it."

From: transience | Posted: 1/7/2012 12:50:07 AM | #218
I've only played a few hours of AC2, but I'd prefer if they condensed the narrative and made more stuff optional. optional assassinations seem like a good idea and you can have a more focused 5-6 hour storyline experience.

There are optional assassination contracts on numerous rooftops.

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I do because I can.....and because I'm bored.

From: transience | #216
yeah. I'm way in the minority but I liked AC1 more than what I played of 2 because it focused more on killing people. AC2 is like 'go do this!' 'help him out!' 'find this treasure chest!' 'build up this town!' -- it just threw stuff in the way for the sake of variety. unpopular opinion, but eh.

I liked how the main storyline missions (from what I can remember) pretty much all focused on getting into a position to make an assassination.

This is the same as in 1 obviously, but the difference is 2's missions weren't repetitive and they were actually, y'know, unique to each individual assassination. Still probably top 3 this gen for me, AC2. I wanted to put Brotherhood over it but AC2 just had a far stronger story and Brotherhood feels far more like a sub-game, which is what it is I suppose. Everything about it is just cheaper, I guess? It's not Altair's armour, it's Brutus' armour. It's not three cities, it's one. It's not 13 DNA sequences, it's...8, or whatever. etc etc.

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http://www.funnycorner.net/funny-pictures/4834/big-boss.jpg

Honestly, it really doesn't make sense (especially in AC2) for Ezio to move from assassination to assassination.

For one thing, he wasn't really an assassin for much of the game.
For another thing, Ezio's goal was to unravel the mystery behind his family's death whereas Altair was given a list of targets that largely mean nothing to him.

In order for it to have a similar gameplay structure to AC1, you'd have to completely change the narrative surrounding it. It makes sense for Altair's goal to be the assassination and only the assassination. It doesn't make any sense for Ezio.

People give it too much flak

There's nothing wrong with AC1 narrative, the problem is how many stupid little things they screw up. The notoriety systems means if you don't walk as slow as a snail, the guards flip out (including on horses). This also sucks since there's no quick travel system and the country-side is boring as s***. The missions leading up to the assassination are the same three missions over and over.

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TheRock ~ Slow dramatic zoom-pan. Doesn't phase the hooded man.

AC1 has a lot of problems but when you compare it to the amount of extra s*** ACR now has (most of which is perfectly fine taken on its own, but there's a lot of extra fluff now), it's nice to just go back to something so simple. And AC completely nails the actual assassinations which is something, at least.

Brotherhood and Revelations have an overall weaker core, and like I said, most things about the games are that little bit...cheaper. Whereas I think AC3 will actually go balls-out and give us a new character/location/time period/engine etc, as well as giving us a renewed focus on assassinations - or at least, it had better.

Revelations and Brotherhood are both fine games but because they're not really about assassinations anymore (AC1 was, and even 2 was to a lesser extent), they threw a lot of extra stuff onto the game - the story in both games is weaker than 2 to the extent that the added side-stuff was very necessary to round out the game and actually make it worth retail value. And a lot of it is GREAT side-stuff, don't get me wrong, but 2 can stand alone while the others can't. So 3, for me, needs to strip some of those away. It's the last game in the main story so I would hope they don't attempt to drown it in even more additional features because this isn't some filler or addition - this is the game. So yeah, I'm asking for more story and less gameplay I guess >_>

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"whats a matter afried i might boobs punch you" - ertyu

All this discussion....just cause ACR was #3 on the list.

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I do because I can.....and because I'm bored.

And because another game has yet to be posted...!

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http://img600.imageshack.us/img600/8718/leonflowchart.png

Man, I'm a huge fan of the AC series, and I still think AC1 was basically garbage. >_>

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I have no idea who you are, but I thank you for arousing me. - Beruga
Brawl FC: 3823-8243-5663

This discussion is the whole reason to make a list! It's not much fun if people just make one line posts after each game.


As for AC1, the mission structure is the way it is to preserve realism. AC1 is decidedly more realistic than any other game in the series, even the general aesthetic reflects this. Gathering intel is what assassins do; it's not exciting, but I'm not sure it was intended to be. The payoff is at the end of each memory sequence. AC1 is unique, if nothing else, and I like that about it. It isn't as gamey.

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"When I was a young man, I had liberty, but I did not see it. I had time, but I did not know it."

Sacrificing fun gameplay for realism always is a bad idea.

Is it realistic how the guards react to Altair? Maybe, but it's incredibly annoying when the only acceptable speed is "slow crawl."
Is it realistic that there's only a handful of missions? Maybe, but it becomes repetitive and boring rather quickly.

I mean, if we were being realistic, guards should have no problem picking Ezio out of a crowd in AC2 considering his attire. You'd be constantly getting in fights throughout the game.

Plus, you're saying "it's realistic" to a game where you're reliving a person's life through "genetic memory" in a glorified time machine, and the final fight is use vs. an old man that uses alien technology to clone himself.

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TheRock ~ Slow dramatic zoom-pan. Doesn't phase the hooded man.

2) Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception (PS3)
Developer: Naughty Dog
Publisher: Sony
Release Date: November 1, 2011


Uncharted 3 was my most anticipated game of the year. It was my most played game of the year. It's a new entry in one of my favorite series this generation. Why isn't it Game of the Year? A few reasons, one of which is the total surprise of the number one game, but some of the things in Uncharted, on reflection, could have been better. I feel like, in some ways, Uncharted 3 was rushed out to meet a year old deadline. Naughty Dog have talked about this before, and I think I agree with that if U3 had been given a few more months to bake it would have been a significantly more polished product.

I'm not going to dwell too much on it, though, because what we got was amazing. I've been through U3 three or four times since it came out in November, even Platinum'd it just a week after starting it. I can't complain too much about it, because even after all those replays, I still come away with the same positive impression I had when I first completed it. That's the mark of a good game to me -- one that holds up on replays. The setpieces are every bit as enjoyable to watch and experience the first time through as they are the second or third.

I think Uncharted 3 really nails the feeling of playing an action movie. The best thing about Uncharted is that through almost every scene in the game you're still in control of Drake. You're still interacting with the game on some level, even if you aren't influencing everything going on around you. There's something to be said for that, and I don't think Uncharted gets quite enough credit for it. You absolutely cannot set your controller down to watch what's happening on the screen. My favorite setpiece is undoubtedly the cargo plane. Some of the impact of that scene might have been ruined by all the pre-release footage, but it was still so good. As far as pure gameplay segments go, there's no doubt that the Cruise Ship takes it running away. Everything about those few chapters was a pure rush of awesome that I can't say many games match.

I also thought the story and characters were their best here. There are some problems with the script, it's not quite as tight as U2's, but it's far more interesting. The narrative is still mostly straightforward, but the darker mood and more personal story about Drake made for something a lot more interesting and engaging to follow. I got into Marlowe's mindgames and taunts about Drake, his past, and the personal vendetta the two had for each other, as well as the relationship problems between Drake and Elena, and then Sully. I thought it was nice how they handled that, actually. They never dwelled on it for too long, and never made it a central focus of the story, but the exchanges between Drake and Elena were always tinged with bitter remarks and sharp words, a general feeling of 'what happened to us.' The scene where Drake just says "I'm sorry" before passing out on the couch is one of the high points in the series in terms of cutscene direction, in my opinion. Exploring the relationship between Drake and Sully was pretty good, too. It was all done without much exposition, which was nice.

Uncharted 3 might have been able to provide a more cohesive experience with time, maybe it could have dared to change up the formula a bit more, but the improvements that were made from Uncharted 2 are apparent (melee, puzzle design), and what it doesn't change never needed to be in the first place. It might not be the most innovative game this year, but it is damn near the best. Uncharted 3, for me, was excellent through and through.

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"When I was a young man, I had liberty, but I did not see it. I had time, but I did not know it."

It seems like I am one of the few people who thoroughly enjoyed the original Assassin's Creed

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"Anybody interested in grabbing a couple of burgers and hittin' the cemetery?" -Royal
"Oh sure, walk to the sun"- Guybrush

AC's realism is reliving Altair's life as an assassin, going through all that entails. It isn't to say the entire game and every bit of it is aiming for unprecedented realism, but it is much moreso than any other game in the series, no question. I do consider that a good thing to an extent, and I enjoy that it originally set out to accomplish those things. AC1 was an ambitious idea that didn't succeed every where it should have, but I like that it tried. It's actually the only game in the series that you can legitimately play without ever accessing the map to find out where to go -- and that's how it was meant to be played. Part of the game itself was finding who your target was, not just killing him. It became about that from AC2 on.

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"When I was a young man, I had liberty, but I did not see it. I had time, but I did not know it."

I loved UC3 but I felt that the first half was a much stronger game than what you experienced in the second half, despite having the incredible cruise ship chapters that you touched based on. I also felt that the ending chapters were a bit rushed because everything happened so quickly at the end.

I didn't feel satisfied with the fates of Talbot and Marlowe. I didn't understand why Talbot was screaming "no!" after Marlowe, suggested anyway, died. Was he not paid for his services yet? I honestly don't see why he would care if that wasn't the case

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"Anybody interested in grabbing a couple of burgers and hittin' the cemetery?" -Royal
"Oh sure, walk to the sun"- Guybrush

UC3, great game. It's got some big issues when compared to UC2 - worse stealth, worse battles, lack of polish in areas, but it's still an awesome game. That cruise ship segment was phenomenal.

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Black Turtle did a pretty good job.

And like I said, the "realism" completely sucked the fun out of it and made it a chore. Hence why the next three games easily trump it.

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TheRock ~ Slow dramatic zoom-pan. Doesn't phase the hooded man.

Yeah, the ending is very obviously rushed, which is a shame.

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Black Turtle did a pretty good job.

He was her right-hand man, and in the same secret society as her. It makes sense that he had some feelings for the person he had looked after and protected for so long. I don't think it had anything to do with money. I do wish the battle with Talbot was a bit better, but I liked the idea instead of a bad supernatural transformation. I do think it ended up a bit abruptly, like it was meant to go on for a bit longer but ended up getting cut short. Enjoyed the nod to U1 during the ending with Drake, Sully, Elena, and the plane, though!

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"When I was a young man, I had liberty, but I did not see it. I had time, but I did not know it."

Yeah. It was a bad idea to commit themselves to that November 1st date so far out. It could have been that much better of a game if it had come out in March instead of November.

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"When I was a young man, I had liberty, but I did not see it. I had time, but I did not know it."

That whole sequence with the pirates was rather jarring and pretty annoying personally. It's like, part way through the game they're like "OK, we're just going to dump you in this sequence that has nothing to do with the main plot points. Enjoy!"

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TheRock ~ Slow dramatic zoom-pan. Doesn't phase the hooded man.

From: ZFS | #565
He was her right-hand man, and in the same secret society as her

I guess I didn't know that he was in that society. Still, his reaction was a bit over the top

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"Anybody interested in grabbing a couple of burgers and hittin' the cemetery?" -Royal
"Oh sure, walk to the sun"- Guybrush

I really liked having the final battle be hand-to-hand combat instead of a gunfight, especially since UC3 vastly improved on that over its predecessors.

I remember the end of that fight. Talbot was going to knock Sully off with a large rock and you had to shoot Talbot until he collapsed and fell off the platform. I failed the first time and you should have seen the expression on my face when I was devastated that Drake narrowly missed Sully's arm/hand to save him. Hell, you should have seen my expression when I thought Sully had died from gunshot near the fountain. I literally quit the game out of disgust

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"Anybody interested in grabbing a couple of burgers and hittin' the cemetery?" -Royal
"Oh sure, walk to the sun"- Guybrush

From: TheRock1525 | #238
That whole sequence with the pirates was rather jarring and pretty annoying personally. It's like, part way through the game they're like "OK, we're just going to dump you in this sequence that has nothing to do with the main plot points. Enjoy!"

A lot of people complain about this, but I don't really get why I should care. They give you a good enough reason to be there, and then you just go.

The cruise ship is amazing. Best sequence of events in any Uncharted game.

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http://i43.tinypic.com/dgwh0.gif
http://www.majhost.com/gallery/atukam/OHWD/snownd.gif

1) Bastion (XBLA/PC)
Developer: Supergiant Games
Publisher: Warner Bros.
Release Date: July 20, 2011


Bastion.

I am convinced that having no expectations, no knowledge about about a game, is a better way to experience a game. The only thing I knew about Bastion before I played it was that there was a narrator who voiced your actions while you played. That was it. No videos, no screenshots, no word of mouth -- everything was a first-hand experience. Bastion, in so many ways, is my ideal game. Before anything else, it is fun. Rolling around is fun, attacking enemies is fun, discovering new weapons is fun -- everything is fun.

Between the visuals and style of gameplay, Bastion immediately reminded me of an old school Japanese RPG. Other people probably had different impressions, but that was mine. The combat isn't complex, and neither are the stages, but the way it flows and the way character progression handled won me over right away. It's always fun getting a new weapon, and Bastion rewards you frequently with new tools and gadgets to mess around with. As soon as I got one, I wanted to test it out to see whether or not it would make it into my rotation of weapons. Sure, they aren't all winners, and everyone has their preferred style of play, but who doesn't like getting new equipment? It's like Metroid on crack. Being able to upgrade your weapons -- as well as build up your home base with new improvements and buildings -- is always a good thing, too.

What surprised me the most, and also what I enjoyed the most, was the atmosphere and delivery of the story. I'm not going to sit here and try to sell you on the greatness of Bastion's narrative, because on the surface it isn't anything special, and if you didn't get into it there's nothing wrong with that, but the way it triggered my imagination is commendable, as no game has managed to do that in I don't know how long. In such a short time, Bastion created a full, rich world that I wanted to know more about. All you see in the game is what happened after the Calamity, an apocalyptic event that wiped everything out, but it's made clear that there used to be greatness. Once there was Rome, now the dark ages. It fascinated me, and those Who Knows Where segments were a nice touch that helped flesh out their characters and what role they had to play in the world before. Zia's story will always stick with me the most -- as will her theme!

Bastion may not excel in any one area, but it is more than the sum of its parts. It's the way it melds together the gameplay with the story with the music, and how those are presented to the player, that make it what it is. You can point to specific things -- the soundtrack, the narrator -- but those don't do justice to what Bastion is and what it accomplishes. It's a game I can pick up and play at any given time and immediately have fun. If there is any game from 2011 that I will always attach good memories to, it's Bastion. It hit me in a way that few other games do, and might be my 'game of the generation.' There aren't many games like this, not since Chrono Trigger. Highest praise.

Gon' build that wall up to the sky.

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"When I was a young man, I had liberty, but I did not see it. I had time, but I did not know it."

Bastion is amazing. Excellent choice.

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Black Turtle did a pretty good job.

I'll be trying out Bastion's demo later today...too late about having no expectations, but this should be fun anyway.

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http://img812.imageshack.us/img812/3492/eponaharr.jpg
Nominate SuperNiceDog's Guru-choice, then Epona.

terrible #1

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FF fans don't hang around the internet on a monday morning they are out doing shopping or asleep hungover from parties. They got lives. -The_Djoker

Haven't tried Bastion, maybe I'll look into it.

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I do because I can.....and because I'm bored.

Hopefully you enjoy it!

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"When I was a young man, I had liberty, but I did not see it. I had time, but I did not know it."

Full list:

1) Bastion (XBLA/PC)
2) Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception (PS3)
3) Assassin's Creed Revelations (360/PS3)
4) Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker HD (360/PS3)
5) Half-Minute Hero: Super Mega Neo Climax (XBLA)
6) Portal 2 (360/PS3)
7) Rayman Origins (360/PS3/Wii)
8) El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron (360/PS3)
9) Shogun 2: Total War (PC)
10) Outland (XBLA/PSN)

HMs: Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet (XBLA), From Dust (XBLA/PSN), Dynasty Warriors 7 (360/PS3), PixelJunk Sidescroller (PSN)

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"When I was a young man, I had liberty, but I did not see it. I had time, but I did not know it."

There are probably a decent number of people on B8 who have played none of those!

I've played:
1) Bastion (XBLA/PC)
2) Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception (PS3)
4) Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker HD (360/PS3)
6) Portal 2 (360/PS3)
10) Outland (XBLA/PSN)

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Black Turtle did a pretty good job.

Yeah, I figured there would be quite a few games on here people didn't play this year. Maybe I brought attention to a couple of interesting ones!

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"When I was a young man, I had liberty, but I did not see it. I had time, but I did not know it."