Tell Us, Damnit!

76 responses to “Tell Us, Damnit!”

1. 

   Adam Ruch

   December 1, 2011 at 10:33 am

   Anno 2070 needs more attention… from me. Due to my total obsession with Skyrim (and Anno’s $80 price) I haven’t even played it. Really enjoyed the.. last one … I played. 1404 i think it was.

   Reply
   1. 

      McGarnical

      December 1, 2011 at 11:22 am

      You can buy a (non Steam) copy from GMG for $45: http://www.greenmangaming.com/games/simulation/anno-2070/

      Reply
      1. 

         Navi

         December 1, 2011 at 4:38 pm

         On launch day you could buy a steam copy for $50US though steam. I decided to buy it once I got home only to find it at $80. As you can imagine I was disappointed.

         Reply
2. 

   Glenn

   December 1, 2011 at 10:34 am

   Orcs Must Die, from the expert minds behind Age of Empires and Halo Wars (yes, I enjoyed Halo Wars!).

   It COULD have been better, could have incorporated multiplayer but the game is incredibly fun… really need to get back and finish it.

   Reply
3. 

   Dean

   December 1, 2011 at 10:35 am

   Shogun 2 is an amazing game that needs far to many hours devotion to catch the casual gamer but that does not stop me wishing everyone at least giving it a go.

   Reply
4. 

   Lobo

   December 1, 2011 at 10:39 am

   I think Skyrim went under the radar.

   Reply
   1. 

      HotDamn!

      December 1, 2011 at 10:40 am

      Damnit. I was way too slow.

      Reply
      1. 

         Lobo

         December 1, 2011 at 10:41 am

         I was going to post a serious response, but I couldn’t think of anything off the top of my head.

         Reply
         1. 

            HotDamn!

            December 1, 2011 at 10:43 am

            I was as well. However, I have only been playing games from 2010 and the bigger ones from 2011. I got nothing….NOTHING!

            Reply
            1. 

               Lobo

               December 1, 2011 at 10:47 am

               Aye, I was either playing AAA releases, or random stuff that didn’t really blow me away. To be fair, Skyrim probably is the game I enjoyed most this year.

   2. 

      Azza

      December 1, 2011 at 10:46 am

      Sky-huh?

      Reply
   3. 

      Morkai

      December 1, 2011 at 10:49 am

      what-rim?

      Reply
5. 

   masha2932

   December 1, 2011 at 10:40 am

   Ouland. More people should check out this game. The boss fights are a bit frustrating but the platforming and colour-changing mechanic are great.

   The game is currently $8 on the Aussie PSN so it’s a great time to get it.

   Reply
   1. 

      Bob

      December 1, 2011 at 11:08 am

      I second that. Was enjoying it right up until the last boss fight.

      Reply
6. 

   Trjn

   December 1, 2011 at 10:43 am

   There was a little indy game called Egress that was pretty decent but didn’t get anywhere near as much loving as it deserved.

   Reply
7. 

   Leigh

   December 1, 2011 at 10:48 am

   Witcher 2!

   I have yet to really play Xenoblades for real, I need to crack the tutorials first.

   I think I am just over RPGs at the moment. I am also confused by the combat mechanics in the game.

   Reply
   1. 

      Thom

      December 1, 2011 at 11:07 am

      +1. By all rights it should have outside DA2 three to one despite only being on PC. IT WAS THAT GOOD.

      Reply
8. 

   Effluvium Boy

   December 1, 2011 at 10:52 am

   Brink

   Reply
   1. 

      Glenn

      December 1, 2011 at 11:18 am

      No, just no… I tried to like Brink, I really did, but it’s clunky mechanics, slow paced combat, HORRIBLE AI and complete lack of proper single player or coherent story made it a no go for me.

      If the AI had been more intelligent I might have been able to play through the single player campaign, but when I can turn around and mow down 3 AI soldiers running at me in single file, I knew this game was no good.

      The Multiplayer would have been alright if more people had played it, but due to the factors above it’s very hard to get a game full of people… and also if I wanted to play team based objective games, there are heaps of better ones out there (BF and TF2 just to name a couple).

      I am usually very willing to forgive games with flaws, I played through all of Duke Nukem Forever (mediocre but for the $30 I paid I got what was expected) and Rage (really enjoyed this one, had no performance issues and I am really hoping for a sequel/DLC to expand the universe a bit)… but Brink was a game I just could not play.

      Reply
      1. 

         Effluvium Boy

         December 1, 2011 at 12:03 pm

         It was awesome.

         Reply
         1. 

            Effluvium Boy

            December 1, 2011 at 12:03 pm

            *is

            Reply
         2. 

            Wobwob

            December 1, 2011 at 1:31 pm

            I agree with Glenn, it was horrid. Played it during a free weekend on Steam.. stopped playing within an hour.

            Biggest disappointment for me this year, next to DNF.

            Reply
            1. 

               Effluvium Boy

               December 1, 2011 at 2:23 pm

               It’s awesome.

9. 

   Strange

   December 1, 2011 at 10:52 am

   Catherine.

   Reply
10. 

    Almighty Booka

    December 1, 2011 at 10:53 am

    Recettear: An Item Shop’s tale get’s my vote. Capitalism, ho!

    Reply
    1. 

       Roninski

       December 1, 2011 at 1:55 pm

       +1. I have sunk so many hours into that game, and most people I know haven’t even heard of it.

       Reply
       1. 

          scree

          December 1, 2011 at 8:19 pm

          I loved the game but was terrible at it XD Especially the dungeons. I’d probably have to start over and play with a walkthrough for the first payment XD

          Reply
11. 

    ShiggyNinty

    December 1, 2011 at 10:56 am

    The Binding of Issac!

    Reply
    1. 

       t1my@h

       December 1, 2011 at 11:44 am

       +1

       Reply
12. 

    Toejam

    December 1, 2011 at 10:58 am

    More people should go out and buy Rayman origins, as I fear it is being grossly over looked. I bet many of you haven’t got it yet?

    Reply
    1. 

       GoodOleTones

       December 1, 2011 at 11:11 am

       Ive got my preorder yet to pick up, hopefully this week. It looks stunning & cant wait to see the collectors edition:)

       Reply
    2. 

       GentlemanJ

       December 1, 2011 at 11:35 am

       Getting my Collector’s Edition from Ozgameshop soon, anyone who has played the demo will fall in love with it.

       Reply
    3. 

       MrTaco

       December 1, 2011 at 12:01 pm

       Nope, waiting for the price to come down to the sub-$40 mark 😛 BUT I WANT IT! Best game at EBX I reckon, played heaps of it there with my friend.

       Reply
13. 

    Amanda86

    December 1, 2011 at 11:00 am

    Catherine was awesome and different to any other game this year. More people should have at least tried it although SMT games only really appeal to certain people.

    Reply
14. 

    Unicron

    December 1, 2011 at 11:02 am

    Elevator Action Remix on PSN is a great remake of the original that has more of a puzzle element to it. You also get the original as well.

    Reply
15. 

    Marathon

    December 1, 2011 at 11:10 am

    I’m a broken record here I know but Combat Mission Battle For Normandy. A true man’s strategy game where every pixel soldier is sacred.

    Reply
16. 

    PrettyTones

    December 1, 2011 at 11:11 am

    Good choice on Xenoblade, a very refined JRPG without the usual tedious parts that plague the genre. In a way Xenoblade feels more like a FF game than FFXIII did, and it did a great job in moving the JRPG genre forwards, unlike its counterparts that has pretty visuals but dated gameplay.

    Although released late last year, 999 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/999:_Nine_Hours,_Nine_Persons,_Nine_Doors) still resonates with me, bear in mind that I played this back in February. Just an awesome visual novel that’s totally worth importing. I recommend this to people who love a good thriller mystery. It’s dark and distubing, but the story and characters are so intriguing that you won’t put your DS down until you’ve seen every ending.

    Reply
    1. 

       jbm

       December 1, 2011 at 11:56 am

       I concur. Great mystery/novel game that required you to get all the endings just to make sense of the overall story. I think the best part was previous endings provided insights into characters and events that allowed you to determine what was required to get the true ending.

       Reply
17. 

    Bagmup

    December 1, 2011 at 11:12 am

    Shadows of the Damned – It’s too much damned fun

    Reply
    1. 

       Tracey Lien

       December 1, 2011 at 12:03 pm

       What did you like about it?

       Reply
       1. 

          Gus

          December 1, 2011 at 12:19 pm

          I really enjoyed Shadow’s too.
          I loved the combat after I got used to how fast the reticule moved when aiming. I loved the art style, the banter between the characters, the overly silly and sexual jokes make a nice change from games taking themselves too seriously. I liked how they broke up the game with the couple of platform levels, which were the right length to not be annoying. The room which reminded me of an M.C. Escher painting was a nice change from the rest also.
          I pretty much liked the whole game! The weapons changed at a nice pace so they always felt fresh through the game and the way levels that were quite different from the normal 3rd person shooter ones made it not feel completely stale and repetetive through the campaign like so many other 3rd or 1st person shooters.
          I know you didn’t ask for my opinion but I thought I’d give it anyway. 😉

          Reply
          1. 

             Tracey Lien

             December 1, 2011 at 12:49 pm

             Thanks for sharing! I’ve been meaning to pick it up but I haven’t heard a lot of positive feedback about it, so I wanted to know what people who like it like about it. 🙂

             Reply
             1. 

                HotDamn!

                December 1, 2011 at 4:56 pm

                I’ve been kind of interested in this game too. Tracey, what negative feedback have you heard? Most critics/reviewers thought it was pretty good.

18. 

    Ben

    December 1, 2011 at 11:27 am

    Driver San Francisco! God dammit I enjoyed that game. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to play another sandbox driving game without that phasing ability. What an absolute stroke of genius.

    Reply
19. 

    Tristan Damen

    December 1, 2011 at 11:28 am

    Jamestown. Best Bullet Hell Shmup ever.

    Reply
20. 

    D.C.

    December 1, 2011 at 11:32 am

    Gray Matter, most definitely flawed but mostly only in implementation. The design and story was all kinds of awesome and conjured up Gabriel Knight memories.

    Reply
21. 

    Matthew K

    December 1, 2011 at 11:34 am

    Shadows of the Damned! It was so generically named and had such a basic concept and the protagonist was so dull-witted and crude and the graphics are not what we have come to expect from 2011, but it every other aspect of the game was so creatively assembled and it was so well paced that playing it was just great. So it wasn’t as open and intriguing as Resident Evil 4 but damn it, I don’t care.

    THE MAIN CHARACTER IS CALLED GARCIA FUCKING HOTSPUR.

    Reply
22. 

    NotoriousR

    December 1, 2011 at 11:52 am

    Rayman Origins. I hate Ubisoft for releasing it November.

    Reply
    1. 

       oggob

       December 1, 2011 at 12:57 pm

       I basically dismissed this as I heard nothing about it, until a couple of weeks out… played the demo and love it. old school platforming, brilliant art style and has a nice challenge to it.

       Massive underrated gem!

       Reply
23. 

    MrTaco

    December 1, 2011 at 12:00 pm

    Heh, I just looked over my piles of games for the most recent purchases… hardly anything I bought or played this year actually came out this year 😛 I’ve got Ghost Trick which I just finished the other day, that was last year. I’d nominate that. I started playing Infinite Space which might be last year or even the year before, I dunno. That was amazing, but hardly anyone would have even heard of it. Xenoblade, played a bit of and agree it needed more love. Also got 999 as someone mentioned, though I haven’t played it yet, same with A Shadow’s Tale. Shadows of the Damned I haven’t got around to playing yet either. I’m not very good at this 😛

    Oh! Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars on 3DS. That was a fantastic game, best of the launch bunch. And although I don’t have it myself (damn you Myer, cancelling my order!) I quite enjoyed what I played of Steel Diver at the hands-on events. Pietriots has a pretty good write-up on it. Lylat Wars 3D also went a bit under the radar too, I thought it was a fantastic remake.

    Reply
24. 

    NegativeZero

    December 1, 2011 at 12:03 pm

    I’m not sure that Xenoblade was that overlooked – it certainly got a fair amount of interest. Still haven’t gotten around to playing my copy yet though, too many games arrived at the same time 🙁

    Another really good overlooked JRPG recently was Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky on PSP.

    Reply
25. 

    Tigerion

    December 1, 2011 at 12:11 pm

    Hoard and Hamilton’s great adventure

    Reply
26. 

    PuppyLicks

    December 1, 2011 at 12:31 pm

    That Warhammer40k game about Maureen being in Space.

    Reply
27. 

    andy

    December 1, 2011 at 12:35 pm

    been playing through Bastion atm pretty good. love the art style aswell.

    Reply
    1. 

       Tracey Lien

       December 1, 2011 at 12:50 pm

       I felt that Bastion just just the right amount of love. I started getting a bit eye-rolly after the bajillionth person on Twitter tweeted about how much they loved it. You’re right, though — great art style.

       Reply
28. 

    bazuden

    December 1, 2011 at 12:39 pm

    I’ve just realised that I haven’t played enough games this year 🙁

    Reply
29. 

    oggob

    December 1, 2011 at 1:02 pm

    Resistance 3

    In the sea of FPS games that get released each year, this is one that I feel should get more attention. I will agree that the campaign in R2 wasn’t pretty, they dropped all the cool things that made R:FoM awesome and unique (Weapon Wheel, Health Packs).

    Resistance 3 brings them all back with some great locations and fantastic guns. The story is paced nicely and has a touching/desperate feeling, something that is lost with the big action FPS games like COD & BF.

    Reply
30. 

    James Mac

    December 1, 2011 at 2:33 pm

    Homefront.

    Reply
    1. 

       D.C.

       December 1, 2011 at 2:36 pm

       There’s a game that reminded me of Freedom Fighters, I was excited for it until all the reviews came out. Went ignored, alas.

       Reply
       1. 

          GamerMonster

          December 2, 2011 at 1:17 pm

          I had the same Freedom Fighters expectations that were sorely let down 🙁

          Reply
31. 

    Michael

    December 1, 2011 at 2:46 pm

    Yep Xenoblade Chronicles for me. Currently playing through it and it’s awesome. Really didn’t get the coverage it deserved, largely due to it’s non-release in the states.

    Reply
32. 

    SupremeBeans

    December 1, 2011 at 2:53 pm

    Gemini Rue. An example of amazing video game story-telling, with a wonderful atmosphere, quality voice acting, interesting gameplay – everything.

    Atom Zombie smasher was incredibly fun and challenging despite seeming quite simple on the surface. Worms Crazy Golf is also great fun, as is Frozen Synapse.

    Reply
33. 

    Zico

    December 1, 2011 at 3:11 pm

    Wasn’t an amazing game, but el shaddai still gets my vote (after xenoblade)

    Reply
34. 

    Blood Apathy

    December 1, 2011 at 5:06 pm

    XBLA had some great offerings, Trenches being one of them. A little small for my liking but was very cute in its own little way.

    Reply
    1. 

       GamerMonster

       December 2, 2011 at 1:20 pm

       You mean Trenched?

       I freaking loved the pants of trenched, my favourite of the Double Fine mini games this year. It felt like that game was made for me.

       Reply
35. 

    Cotokurwajest

    December 1, 2011 at 5:18 pm

    Mount and Blade: Warband

    Not the best graphics but one of the most addictive games I’ve ever played. Do yourself a favour and read an online tutorial/guide first because in game it doesn’t explain it well

    Reply
36. 

    Jones

    December 1, 2011 at 5:22 pm

    I really loved Infamous 2. I mean REALLY loved it. It built on the already great formula on the first game but had radically improved combat, much better cut-scenes, a even more robust city and a surprisingly powerful ending.

    After all the criticism the first game got for it’s save the kitten versus fire the kitten into the sun morality, some of the decisions in 2 were actually quite challenging. A lot of this comes down to the fact that the so called Good character and the Evil one were actually both quite layered miserable people.

    I’m not claiming was the BEST game of the year. But it was horribly overlooked due to it’s almost non-existent marketing and being overshadowed by the hulking Goliath of crap that was Duke Nukem Forever.

    Reply
37. 

    NovaCascade

    December 1, 2011 at 5:55 pm

    Definitely Xenoblade for me too. It was my GOTY, just ahead of Skyrim. The only problem I have with the game is how little access I have to the TV so I can’t play it anywhere near as much as I wish I could. I’m only 20 odd hours in, but I love it to death. The environments, the characters, the music, dear god that music… I love it all. Hopefully it will keep impressing me as I work through it more

    Reply
38. 

    welbot

    December 1, 2011 at 6:23 pm

    For me, it has to be either Europa 1400, or Industry Giant 2.. played the hell out of those games, and had they got more attention, we might have ended up with more refined versions of each. Granted Europa for sequels in the form of The Guild, but none of the Guild games were quite as satisfying in multiplayer.

    Reply
39. 

    djmcbell

    December 1, 2011 at 6:32 pm

    Enslaved, I think, deserved more attention. Whilst it was linear and probably a bit too easy, it looked gorgeous and had a pretty mature story. The relationship between Monkey and Trip actually progressed to something deeper than “I love you, giggity giggity”.

    In the vein of games we’ve played this year, a bit of an older one but I really enjoyed Donkey Kong Jungle Beat (new control thingy) on the Wii. Great platformer, varied and managing to get HUGE combos to unlock all the levels was tremendous fun.

    Reply
40. 

    Monkey-Harvest

    December 1, 2011 at 6:49 pm

    I don’t think it was really ‘under the radar’ but I’m loving Shadow of the Colossus. I’m taking my time with it. Hopefully Ico is just as good.

    Reply
41. 

    Ghost

    December 1, 2011 at 6:52 pm

    It’s hard to overlook Agricultural Simulator 2011, definately deserved more praise then it received. http://store.steampowered.com/app/92900/

    I also quite enjoyed the Ghost Recon game on 3ds launch – can’t remember what it was called and have no idea where my 3ds stuff is anymore so can’t be bothered finding out 😛

    Reply
42. 

    Fimbulvetr

    December 1, 2011 at 8:48 pm

    Valkyria Chronicles 3. Since it doesn’t seem to be getting an English release, I went ahead and imported the Extra edition that came out a few days ago. It’s a real shame it isn’t being translated (my Japanese is good enough to play, but not totally understand the story), since it’s way better than VC2, and I think it’s even better than original too, despite being on PSP.

    Reply
43. 

    thxultra

    December 2, 2011 at 1:50 am

    Sonic Generations.

    Reply
44. 

    Shinkada

    December 2, 2011 at 4:43 am

    Nier. And no I will not stop saying it. And it might’ve been released last year but I really don’t care.

    Reply
45. 

    GamerMonster

    December 2, 2011 at 1:14 pm

    I used to champion Shadowrun for the 360 like crazy. Just a brilliant game, a deep and involved strategic team shooter.

    Getting people to play it and finding games was torturous though. I often ended up playing with lots of Japanese gamers, or as we’re referring to the Xbox 360, probably ALL the Japanese xbox gamers.

    Reply