Game of the Year Awards 2011

Special Awards

Most Surprisingly Good Game: Ghost Recon Shadow Wars

Runner Up: Deus Ex Human Revolution

I got to say when I heard there was going to be a launch Ghost Recon game for the 3DS I thought it was going to be horrible! But Thankfully it turned out to be pretty fantastic! Not only is it a really good strategy game with RPG elements, but it offers an interesting story in a Ghost Recon setting. It really was a real delight to have a game like this during the launch hell of the 3DS.

Best Story: Deus Ex Human Revolution

Runner Up: Zelda Skyward Sword

I don't want to reveal any spoilers but nevertheless, with the great on the edge human vs cybernetic storyline you can really get into this game. All the twists an turns in this story made me on the edge of my seat the entire time! All the morality questions really add to this mature adult story and make you ask yourself what do you truly believe? With that it made this games story the best of the year!

Best Graphics Artistic: Rayman Origins

Runner Up: Zelda Skyward Sword

It Does not take much to understand why Rayman Origins would win best graphics artistic. Just looking at the screenshots would be enough. there is so much color in this game and on top of that massive detail and scale of the amazing 2-D graphics. This is one game I would not mind having posters of in-game screenshots!

Best Graphics Technical: The Witcher 2

Runner up: Battlefield 3

As Far as the best technical graphics goes it is a close race between The WItcher 2 and Battlefield 3 however The Witcher 2 looks slightly better and vastly more pretty world to explore plus the game is a power house. In my opinion The Witcher 2 looks way better than Battlefield 3 but those two games no contest are the best graphics engine in 2011.

Best New Character of the Year: Wheatley Portal 2

Runner UP: Johnson Shadows of the Damned

The Best Character this year has to be Wheatley he's got charm and comedy on his side. He is also one of the more interesting characters in recent memory. He makes Portal 2 worth playing even if you don't like puzzle games.

Best Villain: All the Main Villains in Batman Arkham City

Runner UP: Queen Myrrah Gears of War 3

If you have not ever seen a Batman Villain maybe you won't understand why they all win this category. However each villain pretty much represents a different psychological disease. This is explodes in Akrham City making some of the most memorable moments this year!

Best Downloadable Game: Bastion

Runner Up: Dungeon Defenders

Bastion looks visually amazing, the music experience was amazing and the gameplay was so good that playing it twice right after each other did not offer any fatigue. For a $15 game this is an amazing outing it is way better than most $60 games and THAT is saying something!

Best Downloadable Content/ Expansion: Fallout New Vegas DLC

Runner Up: L.A. Noire Case Files

Fallout does it again with more missions and areas for you to visit to extend the life of your game. Not all of the DLC's were fantastic but if you are going to play just one play Old World Blues it is like a really fantastic old sci-fi film! The only one I would not recommend is the first one Dead Money as it is a pain. Other than that Fallout DLC's continue to delight!

Best Atmosphere: Skyrim

Runner Up: Deus Ex Human Revolution

Atmosphere is one of the most important elements to me whether it be a Movie, TV show or Video Game. It is what makes you feel a part of that particular world and no game did it better than Skyrim this year. You learn all about this complex world that you are thrust into for your many many quests. As you keep going to world itself keeps getting more and more realized. They did a great job and it is probably their best world Bethesda has put together yet!

Best Original Soundtrack: Zelda Skyward Sword

Runner Up: Rayman Origns

Music really enhances a game and can help you get more into the story and the world itself. Zelda did a great job as it always does of not only making great music but making you want to hear that music again. I will never forget the sound of getting an item, now if only I could have that happen in real life!

Best Use of Licensed Songs: Big Moments in Saints Row The Third

Runner Up: Kinect Sports 2

Licensed Songs in games often you would hear them while racing or on the radio but in Saints Row The Third there are some big moments that happen during which a song is being played and they perfectly picked the right song for the moments! But that is not the only thing Saints Row The Third does it also has the main characters FULLY sing a few songs in-game! This is the most amazing thing I have seen happen to Licensed Songs in a game before!

Best Sound Design: Skyrim

Runner Up: Battlefield 3

The crunching of the Snow and the banging of your sword or shield, casting of a spell, hearing weird noises in the distance. All of these things add to the great sound design of Skyrim. It sounds like you are in a living breathing world and that is exactly what I want to hear out of my RPG!

Best Voice Acting: Uncharted 3

Runner Up: Saints Row The Third

Uncharted continues to have the best voice acting in the business. It may have some to do with the script but the interactions sound so real it was almost like it was not scripted. They sound so natural and real that it really makes the game! Uncharted voice acting should be a standard for the industry not an exception!

Best Use of a Creative License: Batman Arkham City

Runner Up: Star Wars The Old Republic

Until the Arkham series was released we never had a good Batman game or even superhero game really. Rockstedy did an amazing job with taking this license and making a great game out of it! It has so many nods for fans and it does not make it so limited that you have to be a fan to enjoy.

Funniest Game: Saints Row The Third

Runner Up: Portal 2

Saints Row The Third is the funniest game of 2011 because it is so insane. From gun fights while jumping out of a plane to being in a Tron inspired virtual world. This game is hilarious. The cast really makes it work, a pimp who speaks in auto tune the whole time! A nerdy ex agent, the main character that you play as who seems to think he can do anything and the crazy world surrounding them. One last thing dildo weapon nuff said!

Best Multiplayer: Gears of War 3

Runner Up: Dungeon Defenders

I would have never expected to have as much fun as I did with Gears of War 3 multiplayer, but I did! You got co-op, arcade mode, horde mode, beast mode and regular multiplayer which is constantly having new content come into it. Its one multiplayer game I could actually get into and I loved every second of it and there is something for everyone!

Most Improved Sequel: Sonic Generations

Runner Up: Resistance 3

Sonic Games have sucked lately (Excluding Colors)! Luckily Sonic Generations was here to fix the past! Not only does it capture the old sonic feel but it does not go away from it like other Sonic games have. You play as Sonic only and you do what Sonic games do best, run really fast and beat some bosses. It is great to see that Sonic is back now hopefully he will stay that way!

Best Original IP: Bastion

Runner Up: Dead Island

In a year full of sequels it was hard to pick out new IP's but it was not hard to pick out the winner. Bastion had everything done at such high quality and really probably one of the best game experiences I have had in a long long time. It was easy to pick this action RPG as the winner this year!

Best Boss Fights: Dark Souls

Runner Up: Zelda Skyward Sword

Dark Souls is known for it's tough fights. However when you finally beat a boss who has killed you 100 times or so you get a rush unlike any other game! It is a real accomplishment to beat a boss in that game and they run at such a flow as they are not cheap you just have to figure out how to beat them!

Best Writing and Dialogue: Skyrim

Runner UP: Dragon Age 2

RPGs have a lot of dialogue to get through, but when it is actually interesting that is always a plus! Skyrim's quests and stories make the game that much more better by the good writing that was places in those stories and even the novels you can read in the game are fantastic and written extremely well.

Biggest News: Nintendo 3DS Price Cut

Runner Up: Wii U

If you were to tell me the 3DS would get a price cut a few months after launch I would have thought you were crazy! But it happened and it worked very well for Nintendo. On top of that a big thumbs up to Nintendo for not screwing over early investors and offering them 20 free games and making those good games too!

Best New Idea: Controlling 10 Kirbys in Kirby Mass Attack

Runner Up: Xbox 360 The Cable Box

Not a lot of new ideas in gaming anymore. However Kirby always seems to be Nintendos experiment series and it often pays off. In Kirby Mass Attack you can control and command up to 10! This leads to one of the best DS game experiences of recent memory.

Best Use of Motion Control in a Game: Zelda Skyward Sword

Runner Up: Child of Edan

I think I speak for a lot of hardcore gamers out there when I say, I hate motion control. But that does not mean it is going away and while I have had very few good motion control experiences the good ones I tend to remember. Zelda Skyward Sword really does a great job in having you control a sword. 1 to 1 motion control works real well. Its something that I really enjoyed this year even if there was a huge learning curve.

Most Underrated Game: Dungeon Siege 3

Runner Up: Infamous 2

Almost every year there is a game I really like that the rest of the world does not connect with. This year that is Dungeon Siege 3. It was nice to get a top down dungeon crawler. I found the story to be decent and the gameplay to be quick and fun. Why it did not connect with others is a mystery to me.

Most Overrated Game: L.A. Noire

Runner Up: Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3

There is a game normally every year that everyone likes but I don't like. This year that would be L.A. Noire. I found the gameplay to be extremely repetitive and more like a chore. I like adventure games but this one a lot of the cases felt similar especially in the middle of the game. Which made it hard to suffer through sometimes. Plus there was not as much variety in interrogations.

Biggest Disappointment: Battlefield 3

Runner Up: X-men Destiny

What you put Battlefield 3 as your biggest disappointment?! Yep why you ask because if I were to compare it to the other Battlefields you got, less destruction (which is why I play Battlefield games) what feels like less vehicles and quicker firefights. It was too rushed to compete against call of duty and it suffered because of it.

Best Ending: Portal 2

Runner Up: Saints Row The Third

I will not spoil Portal 2's ending just finish it already!

Best Weapons: Resistance 3

Runner up: Saints Row The Third

Insomniac always has some of the best weapons in the industry. Resistance 3 continues that, so many imaginative versions of similar military guns. Sure maybe only a few are really worth using but the creative ones are the most fun to experiment with!

System of the Year: PS3

Sony had a crazy amount of exclusives this year: Little Big Planet 2, Killzone 3, Socom 4, Resistance 3, Infamous 2, Uncharted 3 just to name a few!

Most Improved System this Year: PC

PC seems to be making a comeback with great ports of console games. Along with Steam getting better and better every year!

Genre Awards

Best Action/Adventure/Sandbox Game: Saints Row The Third

Runner Up: Batman Arkham City

Saints Row The Third is not only amazing because of it's missions but because of the world they built up around it. There are very few games that do everything as well as Saints Row The Third does! My recommendation is to check it out as soon as possible!

Best Racing Game: Forza 4

Runner Up: Need for Speed The Run

Turn 10 does it again with another great racing game. It may not be a huge leap forward between 3 and 4 but what is there is still one of the best racing experiences you can have. Between hundreds of cars to being able to customize it to your hearts content it has everything a car lover could ever ask for.

Best Horror Game: Dead Space 2

Dead Space 2 may be the only horror game worth mentioning this year but it is also an amazing game! Better than the first one they did a great job with everything and making this series even more crazy than it was before. Play it with the lights out and have a creepy good time there are still enemies that put me on the edge of my seat.

Best Fighting Game: Mortal Kombat

Runner Up: Ultimate Marvel VS Capcom 3

It is so nice to see Mortal Kombat come back to its former glory. Plays just like the good 2D Mortal Kombat games and that's what everyone wanted anyways. Not only is it a great fighting game with a great fighting system but it has a story that works for it and it works well!

Best Platformer: Super Mario 3D Land

Runner Up: Rayman Origins

Super Mario 3D Land feels like it is bringing Mario into a new light. It is so good and really one of those things you just gotta play to know why. The level design is perfect for a platformer and it is the first and so far only game that has made a great argument for 3D in games!

Best Puzzle Game: Portal 2

Runner Up: ilomilo

Portal 2 does a great job of staring off easy and getting hard really fast. It introduces a lot of new elements that was not in the first one making it a very different experience. But also makes the puzzles possible enough to figure out on your own without help.

Best RPG: Skyrim

Runner Up: The Witcher 2

This is a tough category for me every year but this year it was even more difficult as it seems more RPGs were released. Skyrim still blows me away when I put it into my 360. New quests all the time! New places to visit and the deeper you go the more it looks like there is no ending! Not only that but the RPG elements and how you level up things you are using as you use them are great additions. It is a MUST play game!

Best First Persion Shooter: Resistance 3

Runner Up: Bulletstorm

Resistance 3 not only was a good first person shooter but was a nice break in the normal military shooter that comes out a lot anymore. It had a good story along with great weapons and a really good enemy to keep you going as you fight. It is not too easy and it is not too hard and the locations are varied and almost always fun!

Best Third Person Shooter: Gears of War 3

Runner Up: Uncharted 3

So this is the end of the characters you know of in Gears of War and what a bang they go out with. More character development than any of the other 2 games combined. Not to mention a more realized world along with a REAL ending!

Best HD/Remake: Halo Anniversary

Runner Up: The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time 3D

Nothing like a remake to make you realize how a game can stand the test of time. Halo really reminded me of how FPS games should play out this year. You really had freedom and everything about it felt great this was a game truly before its time. The HD remake of the graphics were incredible too very well done!

Console Exclusive Awards

Best Xbox 360 Game: Gears of War 3

Runner Up: Forza 4

Gears of War 3 has so much in it that I still don't think I could get tired of it for a long long time. The best campaign, lots of multiplayer modes and more content being added all the time!

Best PlayStation 3 Game: Infamous 2

Runner Up: Resistance 3

I had the most fun with Infamous 2 this year on the PS3 side. Being an original super hero and getting to use my powers for good or evil was great. Not to mention the giant enemy fights tearing through the city blasting lighting bombs at them as things were exploding still sticks in my mind today!

Best PC Game: The Witcher 2

Runner Up: Star Wars The Old Republic

The Witcher 2 is an RPG you should play whether or not you have tried the first. Since they have updated it, the battles are great the story is interesting and the world is beautiful.

Best Wii Game: Zelda Skyward Sword

Runner Up: Kirby's Return to Dream Land

This is the origin story for Zelda and while it does take a long time to get anywhere in the game once you get to your location you need to go the real game really shines through. Not only that but the new motion control actually made me think about how I was going to have to attack each enemy and really made each encounter different than the last.

Best Nintendo 3DS Game: Super Mario 3D Land

Runner UP: Mario Kart 7

Super Mario 3D Land really helps show what the 3DS can do! It made 3D in games for me make sense! Well at least for this game anyways. Not only that but it is fun and it is made perfect for the platform it is on! Best Mario in years no joke!

Best PSP Game: Trails in the Sky

Runner Up: Persona 2

Not known by many Trails in the Sky is an old school JRPG for the psp. It can actually be pretty funny too. The gameplay is great and the story is great too. It is exactly what I and many other JRPG fans wanted and it is a new JRPG and how many of those come over to the States anymore?

Best Nintendo DS Game: Kirby Mass Attack

Runner Up: Radiant Historia

I was shocked when I got this game that I liked it as much as I did. Kirby Mass Attack had me say goodbye to my big consoles for a while as I made my way though this amazing experience. Controlling 10 Kirby's is not only fun but easy to do. It creates the perfect DS experience and the best way to say goodbye to the DS.

Game of the Year

Skyrim

What more can I say about Skyrim? Plenty really but its something that just has to be experienced! All the endless quests, the world, the exploring, the music, the graphics and sound everything! It is all done extremely well and to this RPG lover it is one of the best game EVER made not just of 2011. I personally look forward to even more adventures in Skyrim.