There are two types of art in a game. The first is very obvious, without graphics you have no game. The second has become more vital though, and that is a soundtrack that brings the game alive. So to that we present the award of the best original music of 2011. Our nominees are:
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Assassin's Creed: Revelations
It was a dark and stormy night; the sun had just crested the mountains; as you looked over the wind swept plains; without a proper atmosphere a game with great story and fantastic game play will not entice a player to keep going. As such we took the following nominees and rewarded one for the best atmosphere of 2011:
Assassin's Creed: Revelations
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine
Batman: Arkham City
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Humor can be great medicine. If you have had a crappy day it can uplift your spirit. It can help you realize things are not so bad. Without humor the world would be a very dull and boring place. As a result we felt the that there should be a reward for the funniest game of 2011. We choose from the following nominees:
Portal 2
Saints Row the Third
Catherine
Once upon a time there was a little game developer with big dreams. Every night he would code till he fell a sleep. While sleeping at the keyboard elves would come and remove the bugs from his code. This allowed the developer to create a fantastic game, unaware of the precious help he received. Despite perfect code the developer never let it go to his head, and as such he always retained the help he needed.
A story can uplift the soul and keep the mind interested in something for hours upon hours. Authors have become far more integrated in gaming as the years have gone on, and now we get to reward a game for taking a great amount of time weaving a majestic story. Our nominees are:
Catherine
Deus Ex: Human Revolution
Star Wars: The Old Republic
Uncharted 3: Drakes Deception
Bastion
Many will say that there is more to a games graphics then how realistic they can be. Seeing as how we agree with these people we created a second award for graphics. This award is all about style, and how a game does not need ultra-realism to succeed, just great flair. The nominees are:
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
Bastion
Rayman Origins
Little Big Planet 2
When I started playing video games they were all made of pixels. Tiny colored blocks stacked on top of each other to form shapes. The hero, the enemies, the background were all made of these blocks. Now games are made of millions of polygons and graphics have taken amazing steps toward realism. Our nominees for this award:
Rage
L.A. Noire
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Battlefield 3
It all started as a simple midi track. Then it evolved, it became an integral part of the game, and now you can get fully developed soundtracks for games that involve several disks. To not acknowledge that is to do the music injustice. Our nominees for best soundtrack are:
Saints Row the Third
Assasins Creed
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
It is you versus the world/galaxy/universe. You have to use what you have been given to build an army and find victory. The strategy game is another excellent genre to exercise the mind, and a true time sink if it is a good game. Our nominees this year are:
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn Of War II - Retribution
Orcs Must Die
Kingdom Rush
Frozen Synapse
The genre that most of us played during our childhood. Running, jumping, and falling into bottomless pits is how many of us game into gaming. While this genre has seen a slight fall in the number of games, it is still vital to gaming. Our nominees for Best Platformer of 2011 are:
Rayman Origins
Super Mario Bros 3D Land
Ratchet and Clank: All 4 One
Little Big Planet 2
Spyro: Skylanders
The Indie games, smaller games made by smaller groups, and the source of most of the innovation you can find the Video Game industry. There is where risks are taken, and those risks can mean great rewards. Here are the games we chose for our Best Indie Game of 2011:
Bastion
Sequence
Journey
