eGamer Awards 2011: Game Of The Year

It’s been one of the greatest years for gaming in recent history, and finally it has come to an end. We’ve done the community awards, and we’ve completed our awards, and all that’s left is to determine the prestigious Game of the Year. Without delaying any further, let’s get down to it.

The Rundown

In order for a game to be qualified as a nominee for Game of the Year, it has to exceed all expectations, and it has to go above and beyond them and all other games. The minimum required to be nominated would be for the game to be immensely polished in all areas. The one thing that needs to be made clear is that Game of the Year isn’t targeted at a game that has everything, but rather at a game that excels at everything it does or overall provides a gaming experience that’s worth remembering in the next year and beyond. In the end, we’re looking for a memorable gaming experience that will stay with us for years to come, and can ultimately be seen as the representative of an entire year of gaming.

This is it, the final award for the year.

The Nominees

Battlefield 3

Battlefield 3 is truly a game that many will remember this year for. It never gave up on the PC, and delivered an absolutely world class experience. The console versions were still great, but of course the PC version was superior and represented the best vision for the game. With Battlefield 3, when you stripped away the disappointingly average single player campaign that perhaps not many people cared about, you were effectively left with not only what we felt was the best first person shooter on the market this year, but also one of the best PC games and multiplayer experiences around. Battlefield 3 didn’t just look mind-blowingly phenomenal, featuring as one of the most graphical impressive games we’ve ever seen, it played that way too, and was undoubtedly a worthy successor to one of the greatest FPS kings, Battlefield 2. It was a true example of refinement and supreme expansion when compared to Bad Company 2, and with the brilliant technology powering the game it delivered an epic-scaled experience that we’ve been missing for years, and will definitely be playing for a long, long time.

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Deus Ex: Human Revolution

Deus Ex: Human Revolution is a stunning revival of an incredible classic, and it’s undoubtedly one of the best games we’ve played this entire year. It’s truly rare to find a game so deeply compelling and immersive, and up to the challenge of meeting its exceptionally high expectations. Honestly, some moments in the game, particularly towards the end, contain some of the most compelling dialogue we’ve experienced in gaming. Human Revolution is a game that truly understands the mind of the player and near flawlessly realises its concepts, and it’s ultimately a brilliantly designed game that can stand at the top of its genre. The game faced an exceptional challenge, as it was not just a prequel, but a revival of a phenomenal game over a decade old, and that put it in a very difficult position. Still, at the end we felt it delivered, and may not have contained the same level of depth as its predecessor, but it certainly evolved with the times and seamlessly fit into current-gen gaming while still maintaining its roots. It was an admirable achievement, and one of our most memorable gaming experiences.

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The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, for many gamers around the world, is what the year of 2011 is all about. It single handedly blew the competition away, and even started a host of its own memes that were so vastly popular they became cliched within weeks. It stands today that Skyrim is more than just an RPG. It’s a role-playing experience that does what no other RPG in recent history can do. You just can’t replicate this experience in any other game, as no RPG delivers the same level of freedom and the astounding feeling of being in a gigantic world full of life and adventure better than Skyrim does. It was ultimately a near perfect creation of a fantasy world that you can simply just lose yourself in. Of course, there’s the risk you may never return to the real world, but that just shows the quality of this game and the depth of the fantasy experience. Skyrim doesn’t just define the RPG, it evolves the genre, and looks like it will truly be one of the most memorable experiences gaming has had for years.

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Portal 2

Portal 2 isn’t just one of the best games of this year, it’s possibly one of the best games ever made. Valve took a two hour experimental, but perfect experience, and erased all doubts in a flash by delivering a full-length sequel that was arguably better than the original and contained unique and awesome multiplayer. It delivered on all platforms, and featured brilliant gameplay, and an excellent narrative with fantastic writing and humour. On all fronts, Portal 2 was spectacular, and no gamer with a soul can deny its highly attractive charm and phenomenal design. The original Portal was perfect. This game is something more, and is a unique, innovative and masterful gift to the entire industry.

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Gears of War 3

Gears of War 3 is the best in the business as far as a pure third person shooter is concerned. Its single player may have had its shortcomings, but it was still great and most importantly the multiplayer experienced is what we were after, and it was here that the game gave us everything we could have possibly wanted. It not just our best multiplayer experience for the entire year, but it was so damn good that it actually reminded us why we play multiplayer in the first place. For us, it was just hands down the most complete online multiplayer package that you can find in this generation of games, and it’s a sure reason as to why you’d want to own an Xbox360. It’s just a blast of pure, chaotic action that never stops being fun, and always has you coming back for more, as it just has something in it for everyone. Gears of War 3, all things considered, is one of the best games this year, and a definite nominee.

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Batman: Arkham City

Batman: Arkham City, as far as we’re concerned, lived up to its massive hype as well as any expectations we had. It’s not just the best licensed game ever made and the perfect Dark Knight experience that does its source material outstanding justice, but it’s also amongst the best action adventure games currently around. Arkham City can be considered as the benchmark for all future games like it, and perhaps even as a benchmark for its entire genre. It’s a dark, brutal and brilliant adventure that is ultimately nothing short of a masterpiece. It went out of its way to give players as much exciting content as possible, with the result being that the game demanded at least two playthroughs. Rocksteady once again delivered something special that comic book fans have been wanting for years, and it will remain a sure highlight of the entire year, just like its predecessor before it.

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Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception

Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception is a masterful third entry into a franchise that gives gamers every reason to want to own a PlayStation 3. Its near flawless cinematic action and out-of-this-world presentation make it one of the most graphically impressive games of the year, one of the best games of the year, one of the best PlayStation 3 games ever made and one of the best action games of all time. It achieved what we feel is perhaps the dream that the entire action adventure genre had in delivering a cinematic action experience, and we can confidently say that this game is what entertainment is all about. Its spectacular multiplayer experience complimented the phenomenal single player campaign, and it had something in it for everyone. It stands that no other similar action adventure game can do what Uncharted 3 does any better, and it was just outstanding in everything it did and polished nearly to perfection, providing an experience that is simply in a class of its own.

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Forza Motorsport 4

Forza 4 is widely considered to be the best racing game of not just this year, but of this generation. We certainly feel it deserves every bit of praise, and we definitely believe it to be the best racing game of this year. It gives gamers a great deal more reason to call it the defining racing simulator of this generation, and it was an absolutely phenomenal achievement that no game in the genre can match. It was bigger, better and definitely shinier, and featured tons of content, making it the racing enthusiasts dream game. It was also the best game in the franchise, and had a more refined and flaring personality that made it one of the best experiences on the Xbox360, and one of the year’s best games.

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The Witcher 2

The Witcher 2 is not only one of the finest RPG experiences we’ve had in years, but its also one of the best games we’ve played all year, period. It was undoubtedly a title that illustrated everything that’s good about PC game development. We can’t deny that we absolutely love The Witcher 2, due to its breathtaking and beautifully realised world, its incredible visuals, its powerful and engrossing narrative with fantastic storytelling and its more hardcore feel and excellent gameplay. It’s a bold example of how both a sequel and RPG should be done, and an amazing tribute to storytelling in gaming. It goes without saying that this is one of the most memorable experiences we had in gaming for this year.

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Rayman: Origins

Rayman Origins is the true definition of a rich, rewarding and incredibly charming side-scrolling platformer. Its hellishly addictive and fun gameplay, artistic, brilliant and colourful visuals, and catchy soundtrack made it a triumph for the entire platformer genre, and as far as we’re concerned there is no doubt that Rayman’s latest adventure is not only the best platformer of the year, but also one of the most memorable experiences we’ve had this year. It was simply a near perfect game that did everything it was supposed to, and never stopped impressing us as it completely blew us away with its charm and artistic excellence, presenting itself as one of the most graphically impressive games of the year. This is one title we won’t be forgetting any time soon, and it’s definitely one of the best games of its kind.

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And the 2011 Game of the Year is…

When deciding on this award, we were completely staggered at the fact that we had ten nominees. It just shows that 2011 is undoubtedly one of the greatest gaming years we’ve had in recent history, and when looking at these nominees it seemed an absolutely impossible task to choose a winner. However, after hours upon hours of debating about it and fighting an epic battle, we finally reached our verdict.

The WINNER of eGamer’s Game of the Year Award of 2011 is…

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Dragon Age 2!

When gamers look back at 2011, they will not see the likes of Skyim or Portal 2 or Batman. They will only see Dragon Age 2, which is an experience unlike any other. It’s the definition of what a role-playing experience is all about, and it defines its genre as much as it does video gaming itself. No game this year, or possibly even in the last decade, achieved what Dragon Age 2 did, and, simply put, it’s not just one of the best games this year, but one of the most spectacular games in video game history.

No game is more deserving of the Game of the Year Award, and…

…we are awfully sorry about this, dear readers.

We had to get Cavie away from eGamer’s master computer. You’ll all be glad to know that he’s been subdued, locked away and no longer has editing privileges because of this farce.

Let’s get to the real thing then, shall we?

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The Real Game of the Year for 2011 is…

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Portal 2!!!

At the end of all of our awards, we had a realisation, after hours upon tireless hours of discussing which game represents video gaming in 2011 for us. It can only be considered a truly phenomenal year for gaming when the task of choosing the Game of the Year is almost an impossible one. That’s the mark of any good year, when the competition is exceptionally high. At the beginning of this year, we would have never thought that we’d select ten nominees for this award, and the fact that we have makes us extremely excited about this year as a whole, and the future of gaming itself. After hours of eliminating and shortening the list and competing all of these outstanding games against each other, we were left with a seemingly endless battle between Portal 2 and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.

It sparked long hours of debating, raging, thoughtful discussion and crying. Although that last one was mostly done by Cavie for obvious reasons. But finally, we began to realise something. Every single one of us began talking about Portal 2 and we didn’t stop. Our memories of the experience were fresh and awesome despite the fact that the game released all the way back in April of this year.

Why Portal 2?

The original Portal was perfection, but it was also an experiment. Portal 2 is something more. It’s an innovative and absolutely brilliant experience that is unlike anything else in gaming. It’s simply one of the best games ever made – a masterpiece, and a work of art. The fact that Valve took a two hour long experiment and turned it into a full-length, arguably better sequel is an exceptional achievement in itself, but to craft a masterpiece out of it and do one up on perfection is something else entirely.

Portal 2, is legendary. A pure, perfect video game experience.

There’s just nothing else like it. The game’s flawless and intelligent gameplay, its unique charm, fantastic humour and brilliant writing all come together into one complete experience that is unmatched. It’s one of the most memorable gaming experiences we’ve ever had, and one of the best games we’ve ever played. It doesn’t just stand as the representative of this entire year, and as the game we’ll think of first when we look back here, but as one of the greatest video gaming experiences around. It’s absolutely a game that everyone should play, and there’s no better praise we can give it.

Portal 2 is our Game of the Year for 2011.