The Long and Short (lists) of 2011.

So, does anyone feel ready to make a move on their Game of the Year yet? Still a month or so left yet, so some last minute revisions might be necessary, but looking over the release schedule, I’m basically done for the year, so I figured I’d cobble a list together now. There will be plenty of threads like this nearer the end of the year, with lots of specific categories, but do you at least have a shortlist of your favourite games of 2011 yet?

My list (in no particular order) currently looks like this:
1) Dark Souls.
2) Portal 2.
3) Dead Space 2.
4) Inazuma Eleven.
5) Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine.
6) Deus Ex: Human Revolution.
7) LA Noire.
8) Dragon Age 2.
9) Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.
10) Dead Island.

I don’t have a Wii, and all my mates who did have one have long since sold them on, so I haven’t been able to play Xenoblade or Skyward Sword, which is a shame as they would almost certainly factor in otherwise. I also wanted to play Catherine, but its not out over here until next year. Plus, there are a few games which didn’t come out this year but which I only played for the first time this year. If we include them, then I’d remove Dead Island and Skyrim, in favour of Persona 3 Portable and Fallout: New Vegas.

Games like Gears 3 and Arkham City simply offered too little that was new and felt like completely unnecessary and uninspired sequels. And many of the games I shortlisted fell short of what I was hoping for (only Dead Space 2, Portal 2 and Dark Souls are really in the running for my GotY, if I’m honest). The others may not have been as good as I wanted them to be, but they have their moments IMO.

So anyway, any thoughts on what your picks are likely to be? Shortlists like mine or longlists if you’re ready to commit that definitively are both fine at this point, given there’s still some time left for new releases. Just wanted to get a sense of where people’s thinking was at on this.

And there’s no wrong answers. If you like a game, then don’t be afraid to say so. I mean, I’m sure Zumba Fitness could really good, if you say so…

There are a bunch of games I haven’t put time into yet, so it’s hard to say. The games I want to check out but haven’t include Catherine, Skyward Sword (only a few hours in so far), Arkham City and probably several more I can’t think of right now. I’ll have to think hard about the smaller titles I’ve played this year too, since it might end up being them that I favour. I generally go about these sorts of things by just naming the games I’ve really enjoyed though, since I find ranking them impossible. I can say Portal 2 is probably the most fun I’ve had with a game that came out this year, though.

I find ranking impossible too, which is why I chickened out on doing it in my post. I think Dead Space, Portal and Dark Souls would be my top 3, but as to which one I would actually rank number 1… Because I mean, how can you say which is ‘the best’ game out of 2 or more great games which happen to be from different genres? Or which you enjoyed the most, when you really enjoyed them all?

So I just try to whittle it down to a Top 10 and be satisfied with that. How’s Skyward Sword by the way? I really want to play that game, but I can’t justify buying a Wii just to play that. I already bought a PSP a couple of months ago, just for Valkyria Chronicles 2 and Persona 3, and I don’t have the money to keep making crazy ill-advised purchases of basically dead consoles!

I haven’t put nearly enough time into it to say yet. I wanted to get Skyrim out of the way first because I knew once I stopped playing it I wouldn’t be able to go back. I’m done with that game now, so I’ll probably pick SS up again today.

So far, it’s alright. I think the intro was pretty well done and set up the characters pretty well. The swordfighting I’m still trying to get a hang of, because it’s a little more deliberate and slow than you’d think. The exploration stuff where you fly around has been pretty dull, but I’m hoping that will open up eventually. Honestly, it just takes a little too long to get anywhere and there’s nothing to do in the meantime. So yeah, the first few hours I played were charming but didn’t really drag me into the game all that much. I’m right next to the first dungeon though, so we’ll see how that goes. Ghirahim seems like a great villain too.

Edit: Put some more time into it. Still not great with the sword, but I’m getting better. Flying’s awesome, it isn’t really that slow once you do it properly. Lots of charm in the characters and the main town. Really liking it, you should play it somehow.