Be Excellent To Each Other

We've already had:

• Portal 2
• Dead Space 2
• Deus Ex: Human Revolution
• Dark Souls
• Gears 3
• FIFA 12
• Forza 4

All of which were generally highly-regarded and have Metacritic scores at the 9/10 level.

And we've still got to come:

• Skyrim
• Uncharted 3
• Batman: Arkham Asylum
• CoD8: MW3
• Battlefield 3 (thanks for the reminder, WTB)
• Saint's Row 2 III (bit of a wildcard, but some people seem to like it)

And probably plenty more I've forgotten (LA Noire, maybe, although I think that's not a stone-cold classic). Is this the strongest year in gaming for a long time?

Update: there's also a new Zelda for Wii, a new Super Mario for 3DS, and Football Manager 2012 too (thanks imtypingonakeyboard).

Update 2: Resistance 3 (thanks Ian Fairies).

Saints' Row III.

And it's no wildcard, it will be the greatest game ever created in the world ever ever ever.

And you could be right.

Uh, Battlefield?

It'll be a broken, buggy, blurry, ugly mess with far too many ill-conceived "comedy" features.

Like your face.

• Portal 2 - more of the same.
• Dead Space 2 - more of the same.
• Deus Ex: Human Revolution - more of the same.
• Dark Souls - more of the same.
• Gears 3 - more of the same.
• FIFA 12 - more of the same.
• Forza 4- more of the same.

All of which were generally highly-regarded and have Metacritic scores at the 9/10 level.

And we've still got to come:

• Skyrim- more of the same.
• Uncharted 3- more of the same.
• Batman: Arkham Asylum- more of the same.
• CoD8: MW3- more of the same.
• Battlefield 3 - more of the same.
• Saint's - more of the same.

So, while I think you are technically correct*, it is more through the progression of technology than any groundbreaking new thinking.

*the best kind

Good point Bobby... well made.

Where's the originality in any of these? Whilst they're all great games, we haven't seen much new stuff this year.

See I was going to post FM2012 in here, but it is an update of an update.

But by god I am excited.

2 was the best crime-em-up ever. And 3 will be better.

Assassins Creed the new one... could be good

FTFY

BTW I disagree that Portal 2 in particular was just 'more of the same' , however I do agree that there is a distinct lack of new IP / new ideas in a lot of the titles we're seeing.

What I would say is that its often the case that a new idea takes at least 2 games to 'get things right' so whereas the first in a series can be striking and new , it tends to be the 2nd or 3rd in the series which is the 'better' game.

Bayonetta wasn't released this year.

Resistance 3 should be on this list. Yeah, yeah, it was more of the same but done better too.

There must be some XBLA games that shook the world this year too.

There's enough good stuff that even I have acquired a new release or two without waiting months for price drops. So I'm tempted to agree. There's at least 3 games this silly season that I'm looking forward to, and that is at least 2 more than usual. Maybe I'm just feeling starved after spending so long earlier this year mopping stuff up in old games though.

We've got Daytona coming out don't forget!

When is there ever, though? What was the last genuinely new idea in gaming? It comes down to how fine you want to split hairs. I'd argue the more fluid stealth style of Splinter Cell: Conviction and Deus Ex are new ideas, myself. But if you talk in the very broadest terms, was any FPS after Doom "new"? If so, which ones?

Ah, if you only ever pay £20 or so for new games in the first place this might explain your "I don't get it" attitude to trade-ins in the Deus Ex thread.

I don't understand why "more of the same" is so frowned upon in video games, but is let off in film, TV and other mediums. Sure, I'm all for innovation and something genuinely new every now and then, but it's unrealistic to expect the majority of games to be anything other than the refinement of pre-existing ideas. If a game really is "more of the same" and suffers the same flaws as previous iterations, criticism is valid. But if we're talking about the difference between, I dunno, Ass Creed and Ass Creed II - which could easily be labelled "more of the same" - I don't think it stands up. Ass Creed II was great!

Surely there are only so many genres, niches and gameplay tropes that can be thought up.

I do agree that new IP is thin on the ground, but that's nothing new. We're well into sequel territory by this point any way. Who's going to drop a new IP this late on in a lifecycle?

But meh, I'm pretty pleased with the releases this year. I still have Deus Ex to finish, Dark Souls is quickly becoming Game of the Forever, FIFA 12 is genuinely good, BF3 and MW3 are coming to satisfy my multiplayer cravings and Skyrim should keep me occupied after Dark Souls and Deus Ex.

Quite. Almost every plotline about greed driving someone to do something unsavoury for gain before ultimately getting caught out is basically just Macbeth, after all.

More of the same but improved is absolutely no bad thing in my book.

It's not an attitude to trade-ins, it's an attitude on trading things in so soon after you get them. But that's another thread. Generally, I am able to wait because I usually have something on the go I am happy playing and I don't feel the need to get the latest new shiny because I know it will still be the same product several months down the line. Most people can't rationalise it that way though, so I know I'm odd. I just buy things when I fancy them, rather than letting the calendar tell me when I have to want it. Exceptions occasionally made for things loads of friends buy on release with great MP modes.

But yeah, lot of stuff around. Was Kane & Lynch 2 this year or last year?

Games released in 2011

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_in_video_gaming

I didnt see much about it here but Infamous 2 also got generally good reviews and in the 'still to come' pile Mario 3d plus Mario Kart 7



17th August last year

I don't think that's odd, I think it's highly rational. But it's also uncommon, as you note. I wish I was a little more like that!

I do really try to wait for stuff to hit the magic £20 mark but there are plenty of things i've grabbed this year before then - this might be a good time to remind people about the 'how much do you think you'll spend' thread

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=6653

My guestimate was 200 - 300 and i'm at just short of £200 with a definite purchase of MW3 on release and probably one other 'big' game before the year ends

viewtopic.php?p=506856#p506856

The most expensive things i've bought this year so far have been Dead Space 2 for £23 (which i think was worth it) and Deus Ex for £30 which i think probably wasnt (at least i didnt really get it the same way a lot of other people on here did) , i'm also sure i've missed things from my list but it wont have been any 'new high priced' games.

Best year ever for retailer-exclusive DLC, online passes and general fuckery too.

Not sure any of those games will be as good as Fallout New Vegas or Mario Galaxy 2.

Ditto. I can't remember waiting past release day for a single game I knew I wanted, to my utter weakness. But in the grand scheme, I still spend a ridiculously small amount on games, yet get so many hours of fun from them, so ultimately can't feel too bad about splurging £40 straight away.

That said, the number of great games this year has certainly dented my wallet somewhat.

I like 1993. Doom, Syndicate, Cannon Fodder, Secret Of Mana, Streetfighter II Turbo, Wiz 'n' Liz, Link's Awakening, Ganbare Goemon 2, Chaos Engine, Gunstar Heroes, R Type III, NBA Jam, Jungle Strike, Thunderhawk, Super Bomberman, Sonic CD, Shadowrun, Fatal Fury Special... and of course Voyeur.

Other than the games listed I would also have Bulletstorm and Driver: SF. For being the funnest FPS and driving games this year.

2010:
Split/Second: Velocity.

2011:
No new Split/Second games ever again.

No, 2011 is not the best year ever for games.

I've gotten steadily more fed up with current-gen gaming as the year has worn on, to be honest.
I've gone back to playing Animal Crossing on the Gamecube - apparently I'd last visited my town 6 years ago.

1994.

Neither was Arkham Asylum and Doc included that in his list.

Some corking iOS games released this year too, such as Magnetic Billiards. Was Dungeon Raid released this year? Or Solomon's Keep?

They have been doing it with cars for years...

it has been a good year for games... As for The lack of "originality" in games, can't the same be said for most things in life?

when does a truly new idea come along?

One for the kids, looks good though... Doctor Who: The Gunpowder Plot, Oct 31st

FEAR 3 was awesome too and pretty well received (albeit briefly) on here. So was Crysis 2.

And HD Colossus which was so improved as to make it worthwhile joining this list.

I was looking for a thread about Split:Second and this is the best I could do.

Y'see, I turned on my neglected 360 last night, determined to get into Dark Souls one final time. This meant I played the opening for perhaps the fifth time, before getting to the Fire Link or whatever it's called and getting no further. At a loss as to what I was meant to be doing, and feeling slightly queasy at the judderyness of the thing (did it always used to be so juddery?) I swapped discs for Split:Second, which I can't have played since forever. It is still a revelation. The sense of speed and the thrillingly overblown drifting and the insane set pieces, it was one of the most enjoyable 20 minutes of gaming (it was late, I was tired¹) I've had in years.

I'm sure there are good reasons for a sequel never being made, such as bankruptcy or pig-headed idiocy or whatnot, but fuck, can't they make a new one. It would make me sickeningly happy.

¹Now That's What I Call Disappointing Sextapes 69

Yeah, great game!

If you complete the single player season, it makes it blatantly obvious that a sequel was planned but I believe the developers went bump before it happened. It's a shame as it's an awesome game.

Blimey there's an oldie but goodie. I'd forgotten all about that game and how excellent it was so I just bought it on Steam for £3.29 hehe. Well, not on Steam I used Kinguin but it's a Steam key.

I'll have to install that tomorrow and give it a damned good thrashing once more

I played the demo of that way back in the day and did really enjoy it. I know though that driving games don't hold my interest* so I never bothered to pick it up.

*Historically the only exceptions were the first Mariokart and Wipeout 2097, both of which I played obsessively. I eventually though gave up trying to recapture whatever it was about Wipeout especially that utterly sucked me in. I'd love to enjoy a racing game as much as that again but just can't seem to.

One of the few games I maxed and then continued to play because of the all round level of awesome.

Same people that did Pure wasn't it? Which was also awesome.

I was going to say that earlier ! "Isn't this made by the same people who did that quad bike game that Trousers liked"

God, split second was so good. I really am going have to buy another 360.

As was pure.

I've been waiting for a proper PS4/One arcade racer and it's all just sim bobbins. Where have all the wonderful racing games for non-boring people gone?

I agree with Dr Lave.

I've got Pure but I don't think I played it for very long. I might have to go back and remind myself how good it is.

Pure is great. Never heard of split second so might give that a look if it floats past.

You can get it for £3 second hand on 360 from Amazon. There can be no excuses. Unless you are ethically opposed to Amazon. Or don't own a 360.

It's annoying as there's DLC for this which is admittedly, a bit pap. There's one extra track and an extra car but it's £7ish. It would have been nice to have a few more tracks.

I loved Split/Second but Pure completely left me cold. The tricks just seemed forced and the tracks weren't much fun.

It will have to wait until I've built my Special Entertainment Unit to house the 360 as currently it's jammed down the back of a sofa.