PixlBit

The summer of 2011 was when I started playing Gears of War games, I and II, and found them to be really fun. Then for the last part of the year and several months into 2012, I played Gears of War 3. Horde mode was so addictive. 

If anybody wants to find out more about Brutal Doom, here's a pretty good vid:

For Chrono Crossing 2011 edition, i just want to say there are a bunch of huge games that came out that year. Unfortunately I didn't play much of them. Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception was the only game I completed looking through the options and I did like that game very much so that is my choice. The multiplayer was pretty awesome, the graphics were gorgeous and the gameplay was familiar, yet tweaked enough to feel fresh. I own and haven't played Skyrim, Dark Souls and Portal 2 to this day. Uncharted always delivers and is my game of 2011.

Circling back to 2012, I agree with you Julian that it was surprising that Mass Effect 3 and XCOM didn't come up in anyone's picks. I too very badly want a Mass Effect Collection for PS4, I am dying to play through that series again. The multiplayer was really fun as well. Skyrim coming to PS4 was one of my wishes, so I'm glad that is happening, especially with mod support. 

I don't want to forget to do this, especially since I don't know if I will have any type of Internet before the next recording.  I had two games that came to mind from 2011.  The first that popped up for me was Bulletstorm and that will have to be my pick.  there was just something about the apparently juvenile localization and the outrageous weapons and the scoring of your kills that really resonated with me.  I had a blast and was happy to hear that there might be a re-release.

the other game that came to mind was The Witcher 2, but I didn't play it until the 360 port a year later.

Chrono Crossing 2011 is really tough. I'll pick one, but my shortlist was Skyrim, Arkham City, Dark Souls, Deus Ex Human Revolution, Portal 2, and MGS HD Collection.

My Chrono Crossing for 2011 is Dark Souls. Dark Souls made me totally rethink how games could respect the intelligence of players and demand more learning and proficiency from them in order to progress. Another reason Dark Souls is a big deal is because it encouraged me to play games I never would've tried otherwise, and helped me develop skills to finish games I had thought were too overwhelming. After years of giving up on the Resident Evil 1 remake I finally finished it and loved it because of lessons I learned in Dark Souls; namely patience, cautious exploration, and perseverance when things don't go my way. And finally, I would've never tried Spelunky without being informed by Dark Souls first. And what would life be without Spelunky?!

Chrono Crossing is really close for me between two games. Since one of them is Dark Souls and everyone will be talking about it, I'm going to pick Kirby's Return to Dreamland. It's my favorite 2D platformer of 7th gen, the mechanics felt very similar to Super Smash Bros, but built with a Kirby game which made it feel unbelievably polished and addicting.

Kirby's new super abilities were also a blast to use and gave some fun optional puzzles which led to secret areas. The secret areas were surprisingly tough and gave me a very fun challenge that was completely optional, which many KIrby games hAve tred but none succeeded as well as RtDL. Multiplayer was also a blast, letting the other three pick their own Kirby, King Dedede, Meta Knight, or Waddle Dee, each controlling different from the other. Dark Souls gets a ton of love for its challenge but I respect Kirby more for managing to give a game any kid can beat but hardcore gamers can still come away satisfied with the challenge. 

Btw if I put my pick for 2012, it would have been Mass Effect 3. On one hand the ending was disappointing, but on the other, drunk Tali.