Your 2011 Awards.

[putowtin]

Go on, I'll play along,

Game of the Year: inFamous 2
With this game coming out earlier in the year, I think some people have forgotten it (after the november glut of games) but if someone was to tell me I could only play one game from 2011 (the swines) this would be the one.

Game of the Year I Didn't Expect to Like: Skyrim
Ok so I bought Oblivion four times..... four times! Everytime I completed the Dark Brotherhood story, the Theives Guild story and that was it, I got bored and gave up. I have no idea what happened to Martin or anyone else I met in the game. My hubby bought me Skyrim when it was on sale, thinking I liked medieval stuff (bless him!) but I've been captivated for two weeks!

Multiplayer of the Year: AC: Revelations
This wins by default (the two sweetest words in the world de fault!) as it's the only multiplayer I've played for more than an hour, but the pleasure of sitting on a bench, waiting for my target to appear, whilst watching the bloke hunting me running past me is beautiful.

Game Soundtrack of the Year: AC: Revelations
I love Jasper Kyd's soundtracks, they are beautiful, moving and damn catchy! Runner Up is Miracle of Sound: Level One (shameless plug for Gavin's excellent work!)

Gaming Disappointment of the Year: Saint's Row the Third
I liked Saint's Row, I loved Saint's Row 2, I cannot tell you how disapointed I am with Saint's Row the Third, other than saying, it's already been traded in!

And finally,
Game I Didn't Play Til 2011: Mass Effect 1 & 2
I know I'm shamed!

 

[zombones]

Game of the year: Bastion
Multiplayer game of the year: Shogun 2 {yes it has multiplayer}
Biggest disappointment: Homefront
Best RPG: Skyrim
Best Indie: Orcs must die!

 

[TheLoveableMuffin]

Award for I Honestly Forgot This Was A 2011 Release - Dead Space 2
Runner-up - Mass Effect 2

You do know that Mass Effect 2 was a 2010 release, right?

Aha! True, but us PS3 owners didn't get it till a year later.

 

[Sonicron]

(Keep in mind that this list only features games I've actually played.)

Most Appealing Aesthetic: "Deus Ex: Human Revolution"
Best Soundtrack: "The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim"
Best Theme Song: "Crysis 2"
Best Voice-Over Work: "Bastion" --> Narrator
Best Dialogue: "Portal 2" --> Cave Johnson
Best Combat System: "Batman: Arkham City"
Most Fun in Multiplayer: "Warhammer 40.000: Space Marine"
Best Open World: "The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim"
Most Enjoyable Mechanic: "de Blob 2" --> Colour-based interactive soundscape variation
Best Boss Battle: "Deus Ex: Human Revolution" --> 'Social' boss battles

 

[Dango]

Game of the Year: Total War Shogun 2, with DE:HR as a close second.
Best Soundtrack: Catherine
Most Played: Team Fortress 2
Most Disappointing: Brink
Best Shooter: Resistance 3
Game I Wish I Had More Time To Play: Skyrim
Favorite Game That Was Released Before 2011 But Only Got This Year: Borderlands.

 

[AwkwardTurtle]

I've been planning to buy Bastion when I get the money

OH OH! Just to let you know before it's too late it's on sale at an even lower price than it was before and is currently only $5.09 on Steam! Buy now beat the rush! xD

Random awards off the top of my head!
Game that made me stay up until late at night playing it: Catherine
Funnest multiplayer: Battlefield 3
Sexiest narrator (in terms of voice xD): Bastion
Best Game for under $5: The Binding of Isaac
Most annoying game related joke: Skyrim (I used to think it was the cake is a lie, but then I took a sword through the chest)
Game system I totally forgot about because of The Escapist: The Nintendo DS
Award for most deserving of a mention although I can't think of a category: Dark Souls
Totally forgot this game came out at all: Portal 2 (Close Runner up Dragon Age 2)
Surprisingly fun game: Frozen Synapse
Favorite Yahtzee review (I love pretty much all of them, but this was my most memorable moment): "Nuh? Duh? Nani? You could stitch them all together and make a pretty funky remix" I still want that remix. >:O
Game I want, but can't get due to not having the system: Dissidia 012: Duodecim Final Fantasy (Weird title)
The only free game I tried to finish: Stealth Bastard

 

[TheYellowCellPhone]

Best Everything Because I Didn't Get Anything Else: Portal 2

Yeah. I got Uncharted 3, Deus Ex HR, and Arkham City, but I haven't yet played any of them.

 

[Rowan93]

First Game I've Bought In The Same Year It Was Released In: Cities In Motion. Bought on a whim on the steam sale, haven't even played it because my broadband has a freaking bandwidth limit.

 

[Moonlight Butterfly]

Best Game: Skyrim
Best Co-op: Portal 2 (very closely followed by Magicka)
Biggest Disappointment: Brink
Best DLC: Fallout New Vegas.
Best Indie: Bastion
Best Graphics: Crysis 2
Worst Game: Gear of War 3.

I still have a lot of games to play from this year though.

Most anticipated for 2012: Mass Effect 3

 

[LiquidGrape]

Award for Best Tom Waits Sound-alike Narration: Bastion.
Award for Crack-Like Addictive Attributes: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.
Award for Most Rewarding Sense of Gameplay Authority Yet Simultaneously Suffering from the Most Frustrating Ludo-Narrative Dissonance of the Year: Deus Ex: Human Revolution.
Award for Hiring Grey DeLisle as Catwoman: Batman: Arkham City.
Award for Worst Whitesnake Reject: The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings.
Award for Most Strangely Endearing Car Singing: Saints Row: The Third.
Award for Most Hair-Tearing Rage Culminating in Excessive Jubilation Upon Success: BIT. TRIP RUNNER.
Award for Aesthetically Reminding Me of the Swedish Anti-Fascist Cartoons I Watched as a Child: LIMBO.
Award for Greatest Denouement In a Very Long Time: Portal 2.
Award for Accomplishment in Pirate Queen Excellence: Isabela in Dragon Age II.

 

[bobfish92]

Best Game: Generic, but Skyrim.
Best Indie Game: Terraria, honourble mention to Atom Zombie Smasher
Best Soundtrack and song: Bastion
Best Multiplayer: Nuclear Dawn
Best Game that does a bit of everything: Human Revolution
Best Mod: The Stanley Parable
Most Mentalist Thing: E.Y.E

 

[DannyJBeckett]

The 'Reason I Own a Console' Award for My Personal Game of the Year: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim ('Nuff said.)
The 'Suddenly It's 3AM' Award for the Game I Spent the Most Time On: Minecraft
The 'Newton Would be Proud' Award for Best Physics: Batman: Arkham City (kind of a carry-over from the Physics in Arkham Asylum. I can never get tired of seeing Batman uppercut a thug into the air in slow-motion)
The 'Picking My Jaw Up Off the Ground' Award for Best Graphics: Gran Turismo 5
Most Fun to Actually Play: Batman: Arkham City (Don't tell me you didn't enjoy being able to grapple & glide your way through the city without touching the ground, only to suddenly do a 100-foot dive onto some poor unsuspecting thug.)
The 'Crowning Moment of Heartwarming' Award: Sonic Generations (speaking as someone who's stuck with Sonic through thick-and-thin since I was 3 years-old, I'm happy that a game meant to look back turned out as good as it did.)
The 'Recluse In-Denial' Award for Best Multiplayer: TRON: Evolution (This is honestly the only game I'll ever recommend to someone for the multiplayer. The single-player was pretty naff, but the multiplayer where you can relive the lightcyle bits from both films is endlessly fun) (I also know this was a 2009 release, but I only got it this year)

The 'I Honestly Can't Believe I Paid Money for This' Award for Worst Game of the Year: Homefront (It also has the dubious distinction of being the first game I've ever traded-in. I'm something of a collector of games, whether they be good or bad, but this was just insulting.)
The 'Watching Paint Dry' Award for Most Boring Game: Gran Turismo 5 (It was all style and no substance to me. I'm more of a 'ludicrously ridiculous racing' kind of guy. This game drove me to distraction, literally.)
The 'Self-Inflicted Baldness' Award for Most Frustrating Game: Sonic Generations (As much as I loved it, this has to get it, solely for the 'Can't Touch This' Trophy/Achievement. It took me over 70 attempts. 70. It got to the point where the only way I could express my rage was to grab a previously-broken controller and obliterate it.)
The 'Empty Cardboard Box' Award for Biggest Disappointment: L.A. Noire (I still enjoyed it, just not nearly as much as I thought I was going to.)

 

[cubikill]

Best RPG: the Witcher 2
Best shooter: Battlefileld 3
Best RTS: Shogun 2: Total War
Best Graphics Technical: the Witcher 2
Best Art derection: El Shaddai: Rise of the Metatron
Best Multiplayer: still Starcraft 2
Most Overrated/Disappointing: tie between Portal 2 & Uncharted 3
Most Underrated: El Shaddai: Rise of the Metatron
Best Writing: The Witcher 2
Most Funny game: the Witcher 2
Best Downloadable Game: Bastion
Best Soundtrack: Bastion
Best Game that has not Recognized in any Awards Above: DeadSpace 2
Best Ending: Infamous 2 good ending
Best Developer: CD Projekt Red
Best Game Overall: the Witcher 2
The Game that made me Buy a new Computer to play it: The Witcher 2
The RPG comming closes to being as good as Baldur's Gate 2 as any game so far: The Witcher 2
The Game that Everyone should go play: The Witchr 2
The game that this list is a shameless promotion for: The Witcher 2
CD Projekt Red I'd like my money hat, or at least The Witcher 3

 

[DaSpoony]

[post removed by author]

 

[Last Hugh Alive]

My awards are my own and they really just cater only to the games that I have played, so...

BEST GAME = Batman: Arkham City
Although Rocksteady really pulled a dick move with DLC and how the pre-order bonuses were a clusterfuck, I still had tremendous amounts of fun with Arkham City and I still enjoy playing it. While a little less structured than its predecessor, the story is tight with an engaging mystery, the free-roam allows for hours of combat and predator fun around the city in hundreds of enemy configurations, and just about every aspect of Batman's abilities have had depth added. There's just not enough that I can say about how much I enjoy Arkham City.

SURPRISINGLY GOOD GAME = L.A. Noire
Although repetitive and having glaring problems, L.A. Noire was unique in its gameplay, groundbreaking in its facial animation, and had a story that I thought was actually rather moving. Cole Phelps is one of my absolute favourite protagnists of all time simply for how well-written he is. I'd recommend giving this game a look if you haven't already, but do so with an open mind. The game's faults will be as apparent as a slap in the face and you'll either love L.A. Noire or hate it.


WORST GAME = Duke Nukem Forever
What could I say that hasn't already been said about DNF? At least I can't say I was disappointed, since I didn't exactly go in with high hopes anyway. The graphics are appaling for a game in 2011, the mechanics are a joke and the story is... Hell, is there even a word for it?

SURPRISINGLY BAD GAME = Deus Ex: Human Revolution
I must first confess that I have never played a Deus Ex game before HR. But given the massive hype, overwhelmingly positive reviews, a supposedly strong emphasis on player choice and system that apparently supports stealth, what other reason did I need to pick up Deus Ex: Human Revolution? I suppose then that it was I who made the mistake of walking in with my head held high because DE:HR failed to engage me at all. The slow pace lost me at the beginning, hit detection is dodgy, the controls are awkard, "player choice" was extremely narrow, the voice acting was godawful and it seemed like just about every gameplay feature was working to discourage you from stealth. I liked almost nothing about this game and I have still yet to finish it despite being near the end. One thing I can say about Human Revolution though, is that it REALLY had potential.

BEST FIGHTER = Mortal Kombat
Yeah I know, it was pretty much between this and Marvel vs Capcom 3 (or "Ultimate", but that game will always be nothing but an expansion pack blatantly sold at full price to me), and I also may be a bit biased seeing as Mortal Kombat is among my top 3 gaming franchises of all time. But this 2011 reboot was exactly what the doctor ordered for the series and the game turned out undeniably well. The game really appeals to old school fans with numerous references and easter eggs while familiarising characters to newcomers, the story works very well (although without giving anything away, it seems the writers are falling back into old habits), the heavy gore is deliciously evil and there are many modes outside of the story mode to keep players occupied for a long time. I give this award to Mortal Kombat (2011) because I can see and feel the effort put into this game.

BEST MUSIC = Batman: Arkham City
I almost feel like I should be whispering this or keep my head down because every time I've seen this award come up, Skyrim runs away with it. I just haven't played enough Skyrim to take in such details (hint: I've only just learned how to Shout). One thing I do know, however, is that Batman adaptions always deliver a quality score. Just brilliant.

That's all I can think of or be bothered to type.

 

[StorytellingIsAMust]

BEST CHARACTER: Wheatley (Portal 2)

It is impossible for me to explain exactly what makes Wheatley so intriguing to me, but I'll try. Desperate to prove his worth yet terrified of risk, with enough humor to make him loveable until the end of the game, he is the most prominent reason why I think Portal 2 is better than it's predecessor.

Runners up for this category include Varric (Dragon Age 2), The Kid (Bastion), and Joker (Arkham City)

BEST WRPG: Dragon Age 2

Say what you will about Skyrim, but I just couldn't be persuaded to give a damn. It's world was just TOO big that it felt unreal...and that's not a good thing when it's trying to be immersive. None of the characters ever endeared themselves to me, and the whole openness of the game gave it no structure or context and just left me dazed, confused, and bored.

Dragon Age 2 is a game that has several flaws, sure, but it knew how to suck me in. Instead of being a giant world-saving odyssey like Origins, it was a medieval soap opera with amazingly detailed, three-dimensional characters and dialogue trees that made every new quest seem new and fresh, and I actually felt like I was accomplishing something. The hub-based mission structure meant repeating environments, sure, but new stories were being explored and characters were growing. And I never lost sight of what I was SUPPOSED to be doing, and that made deviating from the story all the more worthwhile, if that makes any sense. I'm not convinced about Dragon Age 2 being the best WRPG I've ever played, but it is the only one from 2011 that I played for 10 hours straight after buying it, so it must be doing something right.

There were no runners up for this category because the only other two WRPGS I played this year, Skyrim and Fable 3, were terrible.

BEST JRPG: Pokemon Black

Yes, it's a JRPG. Deal with it. Many people dismiss the newest generation of Pokemon simply because the Pokemon "look stupid". As was the case for Wind Waker, though, looks are deceiving. I never had any problem with the Pokemon design anyway. Nintendo showed that they still know how to make Pokemon addicting, and the fact that the villains were essentially a militant faction of PETA made it doubly fun for me. Not to mention that for the first time since generation 2 post-game content was actually interesting for me, as half the game map was just becoming available and I had the option of hunting down the Six Sages of Team Plasma, which gave me a real sense of closure.

The only other new JRPG I played in 2011 was Kingdom Hearts Re:Coded, which wasn't bad, but was hampered by repetition. Easily the weakest Kingdom Hearts game I played.

BEST FIGHTING GAME: Marvel vs Capcom 3

Any scenario in which Spiderman teams up with Viewtiful Joe is a welcome one. Marvel vs Capcom is literally a fighting game that plays like no other, something I can only truly say about Marvel vs Capcom and Super Smash Bros. I definitely can't say it about Mortal Kombat, which feels like I'm playing a much gorier version of Tekken.

BEST STORY: Bastion

I won't say any more than that I was moved to near tears, which is more than I can say about any other game story, except maybe Dragon Age 2. But Bastion wins out because of the amazing narrator. Seriously, buy this game already.

Runners up include Skyward Sword, Arkham City, Portal 2, and Dragon Age 2

BEST SANDBOX: Arkham City

Infamous 2 had a great sandbox with fun missions, but Arkham City has to steal the prize. Gliding around the city, beating up thugs with your bat-gadgets, is a pleasure that just can't be matched by Cole McGrath. He's the goddamn Batman, and he might as well be the best at what he does. Besides, the sidequests with Mad Hatter and Mr Zsasz were simply outstanding.

Only runner up was Infamous 2

GAMES I COULDN'T COME UP WITH AWARDS FOR BUT WERE STILL AWESOME:
Skyward Sword and Gears of War 3

 

[TheOneBearded]

I thought the exact opposite (seeing that I played Deus Ex: HR first). One time, I was trying to escape a band of henchmen who were all armed, but instead of zip-lining away, I tried to turn invisible (pressing up on the D-pad on the XBox). It didn't work and after a few seconds of cursing at the tv, I was given more holes in me than swiss cheese.