Zero Punctuation's Top 5/Worst 5 of 2011

[Clinkster]

Yahtzee loses a lot of credibility when he continually reviews games in single player when they're centered around multiplayer.

 

[imaheadcase]

BF3 deserves to be on the worst list for 2011. 2012 it might actually have all the patches it needed before released as it is.

Pretty bad when the weapon guy said "He was on vacation so could not see what was going into release".

 

[VulgarDisplay]

If they based those reviews off of single player than yes, bf3 and mw3 are both the worst games of 2011.

Why do developers feel the need to always include that "OH I GET IT NOW!" moment in their story telling. Especially when they descend into complete nonsensical stupidity getting there.

MW3 actually started off somewhat decent, but then just crashed halfway through and it felt like a completely different studio was just mashing together levels that had no bearing on the story whatsoever. The last half of mw3 just felt like a new beautifuly destruction scene with infinitely spawning enemies, and a checkpoint that you have to reach to get to the next group of infinitely spawning enemies.

BF3 was much better, but I did like the more subdued pacing of enemy spawns in bf3. Although there were numerous times where I felt like the AI was cheating because I would stick my head out for one second and instantly die. This basically lets me know that I'm not following some scripted event that the devs want me to wait for and they are punishing me for ignoring it. I HATE THAT in games.

Towards the end of both games were some really absurd and stupid plot pieces that had no place in the game and really made the player scratch their head.

Like this for instance.

Spoiler

In bf3 when you reach the villa and blackburn is talking to dima and his CO comes in and says freeze! Why the hell do you shoot him before offering him the chance to do something about the nukes too. So I ignored the order to shoot him and the CO shot me?!?!? WTF just happened. Why are the two americans killing each other without discussing what the hell is going on. This just blew my mind and instantly ruined the game for me.

 

[AyashiKaibutsu]

Yahtzee loses a lot of credibility when he continually reviews games in single player when they're centered around multiplayer.

I think he gains a lot of credibility sticking to his prespective of things. If I want to know why random big publisher game deserves a 9.x I could read any other review site out there.

 

[gorcorps]

Yahtzee loses a lot of credibility when he continually reviews games in single player when they're centered around multiplayer.

Not really, because he makes no secret that that's how he's reviewing things. While it may be a minority, there are people like him out there who want to know how a game is from a single player only pespective.

That said, how he feels about a game really doesn't matter. It's the way in which he presents that information that people look for. His "reviews" are a source of entertainment more than information. I never once judged a game based on what yahtzee said, just because I know he's pretty much assuming a character to review those games.

 

[shortylickens]

You can't know for sure until you play it yourself... how do you know it's awful until you buy it? Reviews are just other people's opinions, and can be jaded by what happened with that particular game.

DNF is one of the few games out now that has a proper playable demo.
I played it.
I saved the 99 cents.

 

[AstroManLuca]

Not really, because he makes no secret that that's how he's reviewing things. While it may be a minority, there are people like him out there who want to know how a game is from a single player only pespective.

That said, how he feels about a game really doesn't matter. It's the way in which he presents that information that people look for. His "reviews" are a source of entertainment more than information. I never once judged a game based on what yahtzee said, just because I know he's pretty much assuming a character to review those games.

Exactly. And honestly, if you are looking for a new multiplayer shooter and can't decide between MW3 and BF3, there are a zillion reviews all over the internet comparing the two. Yahtzee is up front about his distaste for online multiplayer so there's no reason anyone should watch his videos to get an accurate and fair comparison of two MP-centric games. And like you said, it's 99% entertainment anyway; he's overly critical of the vast majority of games he reviews, just because that's his persona.

 

[AstroManLuca]

DNF is one of the few games out now that has a proper playable demo.
I played it.
I saved the 99 cents.

Which illustrates why fewer and fewer games are getting demos these days.

 

[Dankk]

Some people take Yahtzee's videos way too seriously.

He's not a reviewer. He's a comedian. He nit picks the smallest things in games and then blows them out of proportion for entertainment value.

Although regardless, I've stopped watching him because he's become progressively less funny, and has demonstrated dozens of times that he's actually a pretty incompetent gamer. If he plays a game that he's bad at, he immediately blames it on the game itself, and not his own skill. Not to mention he says a lot of things that are outright falsehoods.

 

[dguy6789]

Couldn't agree more. BF3 is the biggest letdown and worst game I have played in a significant number of years.

 

[RampantAndroid]

Couldn't agree more. BF3 is the biggest letdown and worst game I have played in a significant number of years.

Agreed. Cancelled my pre-order after playing the alpha and beta. Yuck.

 

[watek]

Some people take Yahtzee's videos way too seriously.

He's not a reviewer. He's a comedian. He nit picks the smallest things in games and then blows them out of proportion for entertainment value.

Although regardless, I've stopped watching him because he's become progressively less funny, and has demonstrated dozens of times that he's actually a pretty incompetent gamer. If he plays a game that he's bad at, he immediately blames it on the game itself, and not his own skill. Not to mention he says a lot of things that are outright falsehoods.

100% This!

 

[gothamhunter]

Couldn't agree more. BF3 is the biggest letdown and worst game I have played in a significant number of years.

Ahaha what? I'm not a fanboy by any means (only just got into the series at the end of BF2 and played BC2 a bit), but the multiplayer portion of the game is really good.

Sometimes I honestly wonder what people expect from multiplayer shooter games.

OMG CS:S IS SO CHEAP AND BULL!
OMG TF2 IS TOO CARTOONY AND HECTIC!
OMG MW3 IS TOO PEW PEW KABLAM TEABAG
OMG BF3 IS MATURE AND TAKES TEAMWORK

 

[RampantAndroid]

Ahaha what? I'm not a fanboy by any means (only just got into the series at the end of BF2 and played BC2 a bit), but the multiplayer portion of the game is really good.

Sometimes I honestly wonder what people expect from multiplayer shooter games.

OMG CS:S IS SO CHEAP AND BULL!
OMG TF2 IS TOO CARTOONY AND HECTIC!
OMG MW3 IS TOO PEW PEW KABLAM TEABAG
OMG BF3 IS MATURE AND TAKES TEAMWORK

From what I saw of BF3...it was "OMG SOMEONE HIT ME ONE TIME AND I DIED"...I mean, realistic? I guess. But a pain in the rear when someone is just laying down fire with their MG and you spawn and insta-die.

 

[Clinkster]

Not really, because he makes no secret that that's how he's reviewing things. While it may be a minority, there are people like him out there who want to know how a game is from a single player only pespective.

That said, how he feels about a game really doesn't matter. It's the way in which he presents that information that people look for. His "reviews" are a source of entertainment more than information. I never once judged a game based on what yahtzee said, just because I know he's pretty much assuming a character to review those games.

You do bring up a good point; I just think that giving a game the "worst game" award when, in actuality, you are leagues away from giving it a fair review is unfair.

That being said, I will agree that: A) BF3 single player is poopy (so he's def spot on in that regard) and B) BF3 falls short on being a the wanted successor to BF2 that people wanted it to be.

It's not worst game material though, just my 0.02

 

[Lumathix]

Uhhh, Stronghold 3 should be on the shitty list. For sure.

 

[gothamhunter]

From what I saw of BF3...it was "OMG SOMEONE HIT ME ONE TIME AND I DIED"...I mean, realistic? I guess. But a pain in the rear when someone is just laying down fire with their MG and you spawn and insta-die.

1 shot kills happen when hit by a sniper headshot, or sometimes if you're on hardcore.

The bolded part doesn't happen pretty much ever.

 

[watek]

Maybe I have a higher tolerance of patience but BF3 MP is a amazing game. I really do enjoy the high intense moments this game brings honestly. The bugs and glitches people have mention really don't bother me from having fun in the game.

 

[motsm]

You can't know for sure until you play it yourself... how do you know it's awful until you buy it? Reviews are just other people's opinions, and can be jaded by what happened with that particular game.

DNF has a demo. Either way, it's so uniquely bad that I don't think it needs to be experienced, it's awfulness seeps through every design choice, review, and gameplay video.

 

[Attic]

This guy is still around? also no Dark Souls?

Dark Souls available on PC? Been looking for this one.

I may pick up Driver San Fran based on this, though I wish I would have snagged it during Steam Sale. After a steam sale 49.99 seems ridiculous to pay for a game.

Edit: ack Driver is Ubisoft tainted complete with Ubisoft Online Service Platform. Abort!, abort!

 

[nitromullet]

IMO...

Best 5

5. Skyrim - can't say I disagree

4. Infamous 2 - don't have a PS3

3. Bastion - Never heard of it

2. Driver San Fran - No interest, I prefer driving games like Forza/F1

1. Portal 2 - Great game, but not sure if it's the best game of 2011. He does mention that it is sort of an apology for not giving Portal 1 its due previously.


Worst 5

5.Mindjack - never heard of it

4. Red Faction Armagedon - The last one was crap, so this doesn't surprise me. I didnt even consider buying this game because of Guerrilla

3. Dead Island - Totally disagree on this one. Dead Island was one of the biggest pleasant surprises for me this year. Although, I knew it was coming from watching his review of Dead Island, which has one of my favorite Yahtzee lines of all time, "So to close my arguments, Dead Island can go spoon a f*%#@ng lathe!".

2. Duke Nuke em' Forever - Not the best game by a long shot, but why do knowledgeable people still insist this game was in development for 12 years? The game was a total failure for 12 years, and its smoldering embers were cobbled together by Gearbox Software to be sold to fans of the original game. Did anyone really expect it to be great!?!

1. MW3/BF3 - He says that he's rating the games based on how much fun he had with them, and then ranks MW3/BF3 worst of 2011 not because they are poorly or fail to achieve what they set out to do, but because he doesn't like what they say about the state of gaming/gamers?

 

[shortylickens]

Some people take Yahtzee's videos way too seriously.

He's not a reviewer. He's a comedian. He nit picks the smallest things in games and then blows them out of proportion for entertainment value.

Which is funny cuz he's considerably more accurate and honest about games than most professional reviewers.

 

[JoshGuru7]

It does help if you have read his other reviews. Yahtzee has always liked sandbox games so that is why Infamous 2 is on the list even though I would put it fourth or fifth on my list of PS3 games this year at best.

 

[sandorski]

Some people take Yahtzee's videos way too seriously.

He's not a reviewer. He's a comedian. He nit picks the smallest things in games and then blows them out of proportion for entertainment value.

Although regardless, I've stopped watching him because he's become progressively less funny, and has demonstrated dozens of times that he's actually a pretty incompetent gamer. If he plays a game that he's bad at, he immediately blames it on the game itself, and not his own skill. Not to mention he says a lot of things that are outright falsehoods.

Indeed. I enjoy listening to his Rants, but don't really use them to make a decision. Often I'll watch his reviews of games I have played, sorta see what he's ranting about, but wondering why that would bother him so much, still get a chuckle out of it though.

 

[Regs]

Really?

While I'm not a fan of COD or shooters in general, MW3 has its place in the deathmatch shooter arena. (Though I thought Black Ops was better).

On the other hand, for overall shooters, BF3 is probably, bar none, THE best shooter out there.

But then again, you can easily take their list with a grain of salt: It's obvious that they simply don't like the shooter genre over at Escapist. Subjective list is subjective.

I don't think he reviews the multiplayer.