DCEmulation

This year rekindled my love for gaming and made that whiney post I made last year total lies.

Skyrim, LA Noire, Skyward Sword, Deus Ex, Sonic Generations, Batman AC, Littlebigplanet 2, Rayman Origins and Saints Row 3 were all excellent for me. This year I also started and finished the Ezio trilogy of Assassin's Creed games which were all great. There's also Xenoblade Chronicles which I only just started and is shaping up to be sexysauce.

When all is said and done though, my Game of the Year award can only go to the most amazing and flawless gaming experience I had this year...Portal 2.

Your turn.

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Since I have yet to play Skyrim, I am also going with Portal 2. It did so many impossible things for me; it totally blew away the original and makes it feels dated, it made me enjoy a FPS which is a genre I almost completely ignore, it gave me a sense of scale that I've never experienced before despite playing games like Oblivion, and it made me want to play multiplayer online which is something I've only done three times in my life. I have played a few games this year that have been incredible experiences, but this is the only game out this year that changed how I experience a game.

The Legend of Dovahkiin: Skyrim Sword

Seriously, though, this has been a really good year for games. There are still several I want to get (Portal 2, LBP2, Sonic Generations, Rayman Origins, Arkham City, Catherine), but we've both got so many going already that there'd be no point in buying more games at the moment. I think the next purchase will be Sonic, but I've got three or four other games to finish first.

Honestly, the only game that I've really sat down and played for any large period of time this year (that came out this year anyway) is Ar tonelico 3. While its certainly not what most people would put down as their Game of the Year, it certainly ranks up there for me. I actually started last night on a second playthrough (which isn't something I normally do with any given RPG in the same year in which I beat it initially), and I still think its one of the better RPGs I've played in a while.

Of course, the Japanese version of it came out last year, so I guess it may not even fit the bill here anyway.

1) The Witcher 2
2) Elder Scrolls V
3) Total War: Shogun 2
4) Battlefield 3
5) Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad

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"He who cannot draw on 3,000 years is living hand-to-mouth." -Goethe

Gears of War 3.

No other game came close for me this year as far as surpassing my expectations with campaign AND multiplayer. Gears 2 lost my interest in the series and made me forget why I liked Gears of War in the first place, Gears 3 reminded me and then some. No matter how busy I am, I always make sure to fit in a few rounds online every weekend and participate in new events. The Thanksgibbing event was unlike anything I've seen/played in an online shooter lately.

Honorable mentions:

- Uncharted 3 (awesome campaign, though still the weakest of the trilogy, and blah multiplayer as usual)

- Saints Row 3 (rekindled my faith in sandbox games, but the lack of sandbox multiplayer, game-breaking glitches galore, and short story made me lose interest quickly)

- Portal 2 (great game, finished it once, not sure if I care enough to play it again)



I haven't played Skyrim, Modern Battlefield 3, or Skyward Sword, so I can't comment on those.

Batman all the way. So much content in that game, very enjoyable experience, and stunning visuals.

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Sonic Generations has little next to know DLC.

So Game of the Year edition would be redundant as the game was already a low price release.

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www.dreamcast-scene.com

It's been years now Bilal. It's really time to drop the "I'm so dense I don't get anything" routine.

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"He who cannot draw on 3,000 years is living hand-to-mouth." -Goethe

Last year I loved Arkham City, Portal 2 and Zelda. Each utterly brilliant, and would probably top my list any other year.

I only managed to get an hour or so into Skyrim before it got sidelined by Zelda, I definitely need to give it a second try though. I'm a virgin to the Elder Scrolls series, but it felt like an incomprehensible Fallout in a less enjoyable setting, I'm sure I'd change my mind if I persevered.

Gears of War 3. Worst of the three games for me, mostly because of the cringeworthy story. Still utterly linear, no gameplay developments at all. However it's as fun as it ever was to shoot people and chainsaw people in the neck, so I enjoyed it. Also it's the first game I've played in 3D on my new TV, which was a nice novelty.

Dreamcast Collection. Holy shit these have dated badly. I REALLY hope Jet Set Radio's HD remake holds up better.

Replayed Minish Cap, Links Awakening and Mario Picross on my 3DS, still all hold up as well as ever, the console appears to be a glorified emulator for me.

Stuff from last year still on my to play list: AC:Revelations, LA Noire, Super Mario 3DS, Mario Kart 7, Children of Eden.

MORTAL KOMBAT is my pick. Not just the best of the series, but easily the the most involved I've ever gotten into a fighting game. Gameplay is near-perfect, Story Mode is the best of its kind.

Another favorite: Shadows Of the Damned. Shame nobody played this; I loved it.

I know RE4 isn't new but it's my favorite game of all time and the HD re-release was my other most heavily-played game this year. Arkham City and Space Marine are a couple more great ones I've started but not completed yet.

And while I'm not exactly sure it's a game, Rocksmith is a great title that really broke new ground. What other game will teach you to play guitar? It has a pretty serious flaw though, in that it ramps the difficulty up too quickly instead of letting you practice and learn.

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@VforVashaw