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PC Game of the Year 2011 – Gamer Edition with Radeon GPU giveaway

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PC Game of the Year - What will it be?
PC Game of the Year - What will it be?

UPDATE – We are giving away 2 Deus Ex: Human Revolution game keys and 1  XFX HD6870 Black Edition to 3 random  lucky winners on Twitter. To enter follow us at www.twitter.com\tmakworld and leave your Twitter id in the comments section of the article. Winners will be announced early January 2012.

Nov 8 2011 – What is the best PC game of 2011? Simple – it is the one that gamers vote as their favorite. I always hated “game of the year” articles that were written by editors or  self appointed experts because they don’t necessarily reflect the people’s choice. What gave anyone the authority to decide what was the best game of the year? Realistically those articles should be called “My Opinion On Game of the Year”. To really find the game of the year, I wanted to have a long running poll for gamers that will have a large sample size. This should undeniably put the “Best PC Game of 2011” question to bed.The other point of this article is to make sure you, the gamers are aware of the best games of the year (as voted by other gamers) so that you can try them out. VOTE AT THE TOP RIGHT OF THIS PAGE.

Let’s get started. As we all know PC gaming is far superior to console gaming with its ancient hardware, and PC gamers are a vocal bunch. As such,  I had a preliminary poll in September to gauge the current situation,  and this is what 500 PC gamers told us:

If 2011 were only 9 months long the top game is clearly Deus Ex: Human Revolution followed by Portal 2. There were also a significant number of write in votes for The Witcher 2 (which would have nabbed the third spot) and a few for Crysis 2, Red Orchestra 2 and Limbo, so lets add all of those to the potential list.

Looking at what will be released in the remainder of the year we get a good sense of a potential top 10 list. Please vote because we want to make this the definitive top 10 list for PC gaming in 2011! The poll closes on Dec 31 2010. Also if you feel that any game other than the 10 I have pre-selected is worthy of the honor comment about it in the comments section and I will count those votes as well.

Batman: Arkham City – Scheduled to be released Nov 25. This is a follow up to 2009’s Batman Arkham Asylum which claims to have the Guinness World Record for highest rated superhero game.

Battlefield 3 –  Metacritic score is 89 – Released Oct 25. This is the early odds on favorite to win this poll. Single player campaign as well as multi-player games Conquest, Rush, Squad Deathmatch, Squad Rush and Team Deathmatch.

Battlefield 3

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 – Released Nov 8. Follow up to the hugely successful Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 which is the second highest selling game of all time. Will the sales success continue and does that translate to “game of the year”?

Deus Ex: Human Revolution – Metacritic score is 90 – Released Aug. 23 and is the runaway winner for game of the year for the first 9 months of 2011. Very open ended game.

Deus Ex: Human Revolution

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – Scheduled to be released Nov 11. Follow up to the very successful Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. This is a role playing game (RPG) that is considered the apex of the genre. Anyone remember the “Chuck Patch” that enabled HDR with AA ;-)

Limbo – Metacritic score is 89 -Released Aug. 2 for the PC and is one of the only non-sequel in this year’s list. Very original puzzle-platform game and unlike all the other games has very basic in game controls.

Portal 2 – Metacritic score is 95 – Released Apr. 19 and is so far the highest rated game of the year according to Metacritic. Portal 2 is a first person puzzle-platform game that requires thinking as much as good reflexes.

Portal 2

Rage – Metacritic score is 85 – Released Oct. 4. Rage is a First Person Shooter (FPS) that is set in a post apocalyptic world at 2029 (whooa the apocalypse is coming in the next 18 years??). Brought to you from id the makers of Doom, Quake and Wolfenstein.

Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad – Metacritic score is 78 – Released Sep. 13 and is PC only (nice!). The game is a ultra realistic FPS and is set around the real Battle of Stalingrad in 1942/43

The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings – Metacritic score is 87 – Released May 17. This is a 3rd person Role Playing Game (RPG). The player takes control of a “witcher” – whom are genetically enhanced people that fight monsters.

VERDICT: VOTE AT THE TOP RIGHT OF THIS PAGE

T-Mak
Author: T-Mak

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Probably the only two games of 2011 that I played, loved, and finished are Cthulu Saves the World and Breath of Death VII.

    I blame mount and blade warband (2010) for sucking most of my 2011 time.

  2. Portal 2 was a nice game but it was too short and easy. Wasn't worth the price for me. Only got a few hours out of it.

    Battlefield 3 is the best game so far. Already played 40 hrs.

    Deus ex was boring. Witcher 2 is quite good and am still playing it.

  3. Witcher 2 is my favorite single player game.

    Battlefield 3 is my favorite multi-player so far.

  4. I would have liked to have seen Crysis 2 on the list as well. Crysis 2 is my favorite single player FPS campaign game of 2011.

  7. “PC gamers are a vocal bunch”

    That's a rather nice way to put it. I could rephrase it in a different manner, but it would most likely include too many swear words to pass the filters.

  11. I enjoyed every second of Portal 2, even the annoying bits where I couldn't work out the answer. It retained the glorious formula of seemingly impossible puzzles making you feel like an idiot when the answer becomes clear; but it builds enough on the original game to make it an entirely new experience. Storytelling was top class, too. Awesome – Though would we really expect anything less from Valve?

    Note: Apparently we're supposed to leave our twitter name for the competition. Mine is egg651.

  12. No matter how much it abuse it might get me to say this as a PC gamer, but so far my vote is on MW3.

    I was really impressed by the humour and story of portal 2 but there is no replay value.

    Twitter: Eddie_Curtis

  16. voted Deus Ex, maybe because they shifted the first game to the present and added some new features and the storyline was awesome.

    Twitter: thekornplant

  17. Gonna have to come back after I've played skyrim.

    Personally I thought The binding of Isaac has been my favourite and most played game this year.

    Twitter: @Marvin101

  19. I've got to admit, I voted for Portal 2. A unique concept, an engaging story, and world class voice acting. And if it doesn't win, I'm going to come burn your house down. With these lemons. ;)

    – @RootWyrm

  23. Really hard question.

    I like The Witcher 2, RAGE, Portal 2, BF3 and of course TES: Skyrim. Dunno which is actually the best this year.
    So, because TES is my favourite series, I voted Skyrim!

    Twitter Account: @Falcon2045

  31. As a huge fan of the Battlefield series and graphically impressive titles in general, BF3 for sure. :) Portal 2 is a close second though.

    @Samuel_Olson

  39. This is a hard choice. I'm gonna have to go with Portal 2 in 1st, BF3 as a very, very close second, and Arkham City in 3rd.

    Twitter: faroguy

  48. Well I have to comment, I have no idea how to get my twitter ID on here.. Just would be nice to have a decent bit of kit, mine is at its end and I have no money…. :(

  54. Twitter ID: Chunder350

    Oh and BF3 all the way! Skyrim a VERY close 2nd.

    MW3 dead last ofcourse! No copy+paste games allowed!

  55. theubersmurf484 is my twitter handle.

    I haven't actually played Arkham City yet, I do have it on pre-order via steam, but having paid for the PC version, I'm still waiting to play. But barring that game beats out all the others on that list (and what are the chances of that?) I'd have to pick Deus Ex: Human Revolution

  56. IMO BF3 is a seriously good game, loving all the fun I'm having.
    I also got MW3, but it's just seriously decrepit.
    Portal 2 also gave me some fun times!
    The other games I really haven't played that much.

    As fir the contest, my twitter handle is BartPasek

  58. My vote goes to Serious Sam 3, but by default…. Skyrim.

    @nabokovfan87

    Fingers crossed, I desperately need a new graphics card

  71. I picked Skyrim, which I believe, honestly, will definitely be THE best of the year, hands-down. So many have yet to even watch any of the videos for it, and so many others are too addicted to BF3 to pay attention to anything else in the world, lol. I still say Skyrim will dominate, it has ENDLESS randomly-generated questing for Pete's sake!!! People will play it for YEARS to come and you get to slay dragons, ogres, treants, etc. Thank you :)

    My Twitter: @PM_DMNKLR

  75. I think the marketing machine will get COD:MW3 over the top. BF3 next in line…

    @DigitalPuppy

  76. Twitter: @drwizi

    As to my pick for 2011, I'm going to vote after playing Saints Row: The Third PC. Other than SR:TT, I'm considering Deus Ex:HR and Portal 2.

  78. Has anyone played Dead Island with the latest patch? Supposedly, many of the gameplay/stability issues have been corrected. Just curious.

  128. Twitter: KirkOsterman
    Been in SWTOR beta the last 5 months and haven't played anything else (well a little Diablo II in the down time between builds in anticipation for DIII next spring. Am looking forward to some Skyrim though

  156. Gotta go with Skyrim but Limbo at a close second. Skyrim is amazing and will last me 100's of hours and limbo gave me a experience (all be it a short one) that i will never forget and i still look back and remember my first time playing it.

    Twitter: @64BitEraForLife

  159. The game that would have the most hours played would have to be my game of the year, so BF3.

    @nameeater

  160. I'll be honest, my computer can't actually play 3/4 of this list, however, I'm split with MW3, BF3, and Portal 2.

    @GarciaAdam

  162. Vote for MW3. Singleplayer was really awesome, no matter what some ppl says. It's one of the best games for me ever. MW2 was awesome, but this… Ending… wow.

    Twitter: @Fragisz

  163. I did enjoy Deus EX: Human Revolution but… i have voted for Skyrim. This game is huge and epic, it speaks for itself.

    Twitter: @hcasquet

  166. Portal 2, but several of those will probably be on my list once I actually play them. @CaliCat10036

  168. Like someone else, Cthulhu Saves the World is on my list of good games I played this year, though I probably played Faerie Solitaire the most. Sad, I know. :)

    Also played City of Heroes Freedom and EQ2X.

    Twitter: @ET3D

  172. @Kazamuki is my twitter account.
    I think Portal two would be the PC game of the year. So much fun for one player, more so for two player

  179. Having played BF3, The Witcher 2, Rage, Portal 2 and Deus Ex, I'd have to say The Witcher should take GotY. One of the smallest developers who created an exceptional world and have shown immediate love to the community post release.

    Twitter: @charlie_briggs

  188. I'd like to vote Space Marine as a huge 40k nerd, but more than like it will be Skyrim or Batman.

    My vote is for Batman
    @CirnosStream

  189. I voted for Portal 2 because so far it's been the most impressive game all around this year. twitter.com/ds8k is my name!

  192. From DK(Denmark)

    BF3 wins over Skyrim since i can't run fullscreen crossfire :|

    twitter: @lilleMREL

  201. Twitter: edray2

    Very hard choice but I went with BF3 since I have a feeling I will be playing it for the next 6 months!

  211. I voted for Skyrim, that game is AMAZING so far with 40 hours in! Kinda sucks playing with an old hd5770 though…coughcough :P Twitter is @driftsport350
    Good luck to all.

  212. Played all titles on the list and I was never so addicted to a game like now on Skyrim :D

    Also RO2 is a good game, underrated in my opinion because it was released with a lot of bugs, however Tripwire fixed most of the game by now.

    @TheMrT360

  216. Skyrim!!!!

    I would of voted for BF3 if it had of had a decent campaign, they shouldn't of bothered with that QTE mess and just released a multiplayer game.

    Twitter: @zif2000

  220. Only recently have I gotten the time to play Portal 2, which I promptly plowed through this last weekend. I'm a drooling Valve fanboy, so I'll gladly give Portal 2 the award. However, I have yet to crack and pick up Deus Ex and Skyrim. Can there be a three-way tie?

    Twitter: @peachypeachtea

  256. Done! I voted Witcher as it's the best written of the lot. And I'm @darth_careful. Thanks!

  277. Skyrim has been my favorite. Definitely got the most hours out of me. Portal 2 is a close second, ha.

    Twitter: @SliestDragon

  282. Portal 2… single best writing and delivery of the year, (the gameplay doesn't suck either).

    @beastrow

  283. Twitter account: @nils89

    Elder Scrolls: Skyrim, Saints Row: The Third, Minecraft, Limbo, Battlefield 3, Anno 2070(?), all great games!

  295. I haven't played a lot of This Year's Releases, unfortunately. Game of the year for me is probably Terraria, because it is constantly updated and fun.

    My twitter ID is jrronimo. I hope I win the video card — my 3870 is really aching for an upgrade. :(

  298. @Johncarllos says:
    Although Battlefield 3 is an incredible game, it lacks the immersion of Skyrim.

    Skyrim is THE most immersive game I have ever played, pulling me in for hours like nothing else.

    I'm playing both on a 6850, but my limitation is my Athlon II processor. Getting this card would put me a good ways into buying another machine and selling this one.

  302. Twitter ID: @TomJakobus

    Battlefield 3 although portal 2 was cool too but should've been longer :)

  316. Lets get the contest out of the way: JakobBlochN

    Now… favourites:

    First lets all agree that this has been a great year for gaming and PC gaming in particular. We have been lavished with a multitude of amazing games and if it was not for delays to some games the list would be even harder to parse. Now of course the greater part of the games have been sequels but that does not make the game any worse. So lets hop to.

    Batman Arkham City gave us a nice fix of the originals excellent combat and general gameplay. It however looses out in that the open world nature made it loose the tight compelling pacing and story of the original. There is plenty to do of course but the sense of urgency is lost when I start flying around trying to find Riddler marks or when I need to pick up a phone. While Arkham Asylum had these collectibles, the limited scope of the map made it able to sustain the urgency.

    Battlefield 3 has excellent multiplayer but what feels like a shoehorned singleplayer campaign (if you can call it that). As such it looses out because of its single player. Had it just done away with the single player or just made single player a sort of “boot camp” for multiplayer it would have worked. That being said the multiplayer is not strong enough for it to take the title though it would probably be the best multiplayer game of the year.

    Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 has all the problems Battlefield 3 has, but just worse. The single player campaign though spectacular to look at is just as slap on. There are lots of breathtaking moments but in many ways I feel like I am just watching a movie or riding a rollercoaster. The multiplayer looses out in a big way because of the setup. There is little incentive for cooperation so your team mates become competitors for points rather then comrades in arms.

    Deus Ex: Human Revolution is an excellent single player game. The size of it is impressive and the layers and tightness of the story makes it a good competitor. The addition of “conversation bosses” is pure genius and the choice and exploration of subject matter makes this one of this years masterpieces. Unfortunately it also had its problems the chief of it was of course the very odd boss battles as we all know. It is however not this that looses it the spot. The reason I fear eludes me but the game is just not “good enough”. At the end I suppose the true reason is because of the line up it is up against.

    The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim looses on bugs. While it is a great game and in a lesser year it could easily have taken the title, this year the number and severity of the bug simply lost it the spot. The and the horrendous menu system. With mod support I am sure this title will become one of this decades big icons as Oblivion was in the last one.

    Limbo well I am sad to say I can't really comment on this game as I have not played it. I know I should make an effort to play all the games but this one has simply slipped by.

    Portal 2 gives you a nice tight story and engaging gameplay. Unfortunately it also highlights some small problems that the original also had but which was obfuscated by the games short story. RPS's verdict on the game covers this nicely. In the end this is a great game the was just just not great enough this year.
    [to be continued]

  317. [continued]
    Rage was, simply put, over hyped. In many ways it provided what Bulletstorm did. An entertaining experience but little else. It was not particularly good. Weapons felt weak, the game “claimed” to be more then it was and of course the terrible launch problems all contributed to making this a game that could have been so much more. The premise and twists of the story was fine but in the end you kinda stand there thinking: So… that was it?

    Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad is very much a niche game and as such can't really be proclaimed the best game of the year. Personally I did not enjoy it but I could see why others did.

    The Witcher 2: Assassin of Kings is my choice for this year. Graphics to die for used excellently to bring a world to life. It is kinda fun to see that kind of graphical power to show so much ugly stuff. The game oozed atmosphere and the boldness seen in the stories won it for me. The game has its problems I grant you but in my opinion the good outshines the bad and all competition if not necessarily by much.

    Bastion needs honourable mention here I think. It is not on the list but I do think it deserves a mention as one of this years great games

  318. My vote goes to Skyrim!
    Many hours of play and re-play to come on this baby just like its predecessor.

    Twitter: @facebookringin

  334. This is hard to choose, all of them were very good.
    But I will rank Battlefield 3 first.
    The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim for second :P

    @DontMi

  337. Arkham City is the best overall. Deus Ex is close and has a stronger single player, but the challenge maps, riddler trophies, different characters, etc enable much more replayability. And this is coming from someone that played through Deus Ex twice.

    Twitter: @ShareefJackson

  346. I think my favorite experience so far has been Portal 2; it's the game that made me power through it the quickest, and the co-op was brilliant and nearly perfect. @tedknaz

  349. I would vote for BF3 but with the amount of bugs still to be fixed it loses my vote to Skyrim.

    Mind you even Skyrim is in dire need of some gamebreaking bug fixes!

    Both great games though!

    @B0GiEuk

  360. Hi Twitter ID is Swolfe81, Glad to see this site!!

    Love the prizes, good timing for all the great new games XFX fx cards will handle with ease!

  361. XFX HD 6870 Black Edition will satisfy my gaming needs this year! Im ready for BF3 with a new card!!

    Titter ID
    @Swolfe81

  363. To be honest,I voted for the Witcher 2.I have many reasons why it's the best PC game.I voted for it mainly because it's a PC exclusive – some of the other candidates seem to suffer somewhat(in design perspective) from their console versions.For example Battlefield 3 – a really awesome game,but out of the 9 maps released so far,only 3 or 4 can be viewed as decent BF maps.The others are small and not really designed for 64 people.

    The Witcher 2 has tons of love for the PC fans – amazing and complex story with some serious choices that can change the whole game,free DLC,lots of graphical options.And the developers even released a new version 2.0 with more free stuff and lots of fixes.

    My twitter – @Ghost_LeaderBG

  365. Portal 2 was alot of fun and would be my pick, i just find that some of the games are made for the console in mind which i dont like much. bf3 was fun playing eyefinity 5760×1080 tho.

  366. Would LOVE to get back to my ATI roots.. Have A ATI 9800XT with 512 mb of ram that I bought for $580 back in 05-06.. That card still plays some of todays games! (plays GTA IV better than my buddys Nvidia 240 something..)

    Twitter @superbud05

  386. The Witcher 2… no questions asked. Skyrim is good and all, but it's also so buggy, it's basically unplayable, even on high end systems.

    @segitz of course^^

  394. Ive played all ! best year for games especialy for FPS ! BF3 was my vote who played knows why !HARD decizion with Portal 2 and Deus in competition, and dont forget Skyrim OMG What to vote!!!!!!
    @raysefo1

  396. Crysis 2 is, in my opinion, the best PC game of 2011. Great campaign, great multiplayer and outstanding graphics.

    @leandrolares

  398. One vote for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. However, Battlefield 3 is another great way to keep your ATI GPU humming along! Thanks TMAKWORLD!

    Twitter:
    @seanprentice

  399. Skyrim stole the show for me this year, fantastic. Battlefield 3 was an amazing tech demo, but the campaign was horrible and the multiplayer felt really stiff, didn't like it at all.

    @FLANANANAGAN

  405. Arkham City!!!

    Please pick me for the 6870. I have a reference xfx 6870 and forwent buying a second for cf in lieu of buying the kiddies presents.

    Twitter; @thatbrianguy

  408. I think The Battlefield 3 was a great game in 2011. And my other favorites are the Portal 2 and the Driver: San Francisco :)

    twitter: @pancakespeedy

    Happy New Year and good luck guys!

  410. Portal 2 is something unique and fantastic.
    But Skyrim is just THE game of the year in my opinion.

    @classicman92