It all comes down to this. The game of the year. The best of the best. So what exactly determines which game is better than the rest? When determining which game deserves to be crowned our champion, we look at several qualities and aspects, and we compare all of that with the other nominees. For instance, when judging the Game of the Year nominees, we tend to ask ourselves a series of questions.
Does the game keep the player entertained throughout the entire campaign, story, and/or game modes? Are the players able to 'connect' with the characters? Does the game cause a sense of "I can't put this down! I have to keep playing!" even though the player has other, more important things to do? Is it pretty? Is it more than just a rip-off of some other game? Does it bring something new to the table? Does the game have a lot of replay value? Does the multiplayer aspect of the game (if applicable) allow the player to feel epic when they beats their friends fair and square? At atleast one point during the game, does the story make the player say "Holy crap! Did that just happen!?!" You get the idea...
So in the end, which games made the cut? Which games were we this close to awarding the grand prize, but felt that one other game was just that much better? Which game is our Game of the Year? Why am I asking so many questions?
Anyway....the GameDwellers' Best of the Best 2011 Game of the Year winner is.....
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Big surprise, right? We're not going to lie to you, it was extremely difficult for us to choose that one game that is better than the rest, especially in a year like 2011, where there were so many quality games in such a wide range of genres. We even had a puzzle game that finished in the top 4. A puzzle game!! (nothing against puzzle games. It's just very rare that they are considered among the best games of the year.)
So how did we come to this conclusion? Like I said, it wasn't easy. Even though we had ten games that were nominated for game of the year, in the end, it came down to just 4. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception, Batman: Arkham City, and Portal 2. The other six nominees were all amazing games, and in cases like L.A. Noire, they brought something new to the gaming table; but our top 4 games excelled at something beyond what the other six could.....they were just flippin' fun to play.
Now, we're not saying that L.A. Noire or Gears of War 3 or Dead Space 2 weren't fun. We're just saying that the quality of entertainment (amongst many other qualities, such as story, graphics, innovation) was higher on our top 4 games.
It was hard for us not to award Uncharted, Arkham City, and Portal the award. A fun fact about many of our writers is that many of us are Uncharted fanboys. We love us some Nathan Drake adventures. Heck, personally, I preordered my collector's edition of Uncharted 3 months before it came out. I take pride in my Nathan Drake statue figurine that's standing on my shelf. It just wasn't meant to be this year. Back in 2009, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves was our Best of the Best Game of the Year, and as awesome as it would have been to have the sequel continue that reign, the competition was just too great. What really hurt Uncharted 3's chances at the top podium were the shooting mechanics. You may have the best story, epic cinematics, and thrilling action sequences, but if a major aspect of the game is flawed, then you've got a problem. With an action adventure game as great as Uncharted 3, the shooting scenes did nothing but hurt the experience.
As for Batman: Arkham City and Portal 2, we loved them just as much as Uncharted 3. Arkham City brought with it the greatness of Arkham Asylum...and then multiplied it by a gazillion. It has been called the best superhero game of all time, and we stand by that. It truly is. And while Portal 2 may not be the best superhero game of all time, it does seamlessly blend the puzzle, first-person shooter, and action/adventure genres all into one heck of a good game. The dialog and overall characterization of Wheatley, Glados, and Cave Johnson is enough to make Portal 2 eligible for the award all by itself, not to mention the amazing storyline.
So with all of that considered, Skyrim must be one heck of a game, right? I bet I'm not going to be the first one to tell you...but it is. Despite some obvious flaws and release bugs, Skyrim still offered a gaming experience that no other game was able to offer this year. A vast, extremely detailed open world that seemed to come alive all on its own....with gigantic dragons. From the opening scene, it was obvious how much time, energy, and detail the designers at Bethesda put into this game. They probably put as much time into the game as most of the players have.
The story, the graphics, the RPG elements, the open world, the dragons...all are near or right at perfection when it comes to the qualities that we look for when deciding on our Game of the Year.
So there you have it. Not really a surprise, but most likely a disappointment to you non-RPG fans. It was bound to happen, though, in a year where RPGs were being released at every corner of the calendar.
We want to congratulate The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim on being crowned our 2011 Game of the Year, just as we want to thank everybody at Bethesda Game Studios for developing such an extraordinary game. We also want to thank and congratulate Naughty Dog, Rocksteady, and Valve for making games that are equally deserving of their own awards and recognition.
From everybody at GameDwellers, we wish all of you a happy holidays, a happy new year, and happy gaming. Be sure you continue to check GameDwellers.com as we wrap-up 2011 and as we sit in anticipation as we wait for 2012's most sought after games.
