Gamedot’s 2011 review – Gemma Hart
Day three of our review of 2011 and it’s a double header. First today is our newest writer, Gemma Hart, whose choices are probably more in line with the mainstream. And unlike Jeremy, she doesn’t sit on the fence.
Developer of the Year
The developer of the year is an easy one for me, and it definitely has to be Bethesda Softworks! With releases like Skyrim, RAGE, Hunted: Demons Forge and Brink, 2011 has been a seriously good year for them in terms of high quality games developed.
Disappointment of the Year
As I was a poor lowly student for most of 2011, I didn’t have the funds required to purchase a lot of newer games. I decided on a whim to pre-order L.A. Noire, and after 3 weeks of lost games and new ones being sent out, I finally got my hands on it. The facial recognition software was apparent from the word go, and the story really gripped me at first. But as I played through I was starting to do the same monotonous thing. Drive to the scene, look for clues, chase the bad guy and then repeat. The conclusions ended up being my favourite thing about the missions, finding out whether my hunch was right at the start and Mr X was the killer/arsonist etc.
But after all that hype I was disappointed in the playability. The game was far too short and the story although gripping in some places, just didn’t have the same oomph I was expecting. Don’t get me wrong, it was a brilliantly developed game; I just think that there was far too much repetition in the missions.
Game of the Year
My game of the year would definitely have to be The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. I was expecting so much from this game, and it delivered it and so much more. Even after 5 weeks I’m still only a few missions into the main story, as the side missions are keeping me highly entertained and occupied.
The environments are superb and the detail that goes into the game is nothing like any other released this year. With an amazing sense of freedom, Skyrim is on another scale compared to the previous Elder Scrolls games.
No matter what your preference to race/skills there’s something for everyone. Beefier spells, the ability to craft your own weapons and armour with ore you collect. The possibilities for spending your time in this game are endless!
Also, one more thing that makes the game a winner. Dragons. As soon as I fought that first dragon I was sold. An epic game that I will be playing for a long time yet.
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Scott
