The "Scared The Hell Out Of Us" Game Of The Year

When Dead Space came out, it was great to see another solid entry into the survival horror genre. Even though Visceral Games made some questionable choice with the sequel such as having Issac speak and adding multiplayer, the game was still scary as shit. In particular, going through the housing quarters of the space station was freaky seeing how innocent people died in their own homes. Then there was the sequence where you had to go through the USG Ishimura AGAIN. Yeah, that piece of hell in space, you have to explore it one more time adding to the fear as you remember what scary shit went down in the last game. Thanks for letting us experience the same fear once again Visceral…jerks.

Fighting Game Of The Year

2011 was the year that fighting games came back in full force. Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Blazeblue 2, and KOF XIII were the big hitters this year, but the biggest was Mortal Kombat. The ninth entry in the Mortal Kombat series featured a whole new system that left behind all the tripe of the previous games, and instead created a system on par with modern games. It may not be the deepest fighting game, Mortal Kombat still offered so much for players from the incredible story mode, multiple game modes, and extra characters available through DLC. Mortal Kombat may not have the staying power of other games yet it still made such a huge impact on the year.

Action Game Of The Year

Everyone knew that Batman: Arkham City was going to be good, but I doubt many would have known it was this good. With such a huge city to explore, there’s so much more to do than Arkham Asylum and plenty of asses to kick. Yes, controlling Batman in battle is easy to do, even with the added ability to use a few gadgets during a fight via a quick use option, it still has you absolutely punish the bad guy with such little effort because that’s exactly how Batman would do it. Surrounded by a dozen thugs? Who cares, it’s fucking Batman and all it’ll take is several buttons presses to drop them. Combat, stealth, exploration, and boss fights all come together in a wonderful recipe to make you feel like a superhero.

Non-Military Shooter Of The Year

Still considered one of the best console FPS games, it shouldn’t surprise anyone that a remake of the original Halo would be pretty damn good. Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary's campaign still has all those great aspects that made the original such a classic, but it’s the multiplayer that went above and beyond. If you played the original Halo on the Xbox, you probably never got to play against other people online (except for PC players or those that used XBconnect). Players can finally enjoy the power of the original, overpowered pistol along with some of the best maps that were never redone, in particular Hang ‘Em High. Most importantly, there’s an extensive amount of options from the Halo 1 maps added to the Halo Reach maps to the mass amount of gametypes.

Military Shooter Of The Year

While it didn’t outsell Modern Warfare 3, Battlefield 3 was far more impressive than this year’s Call of Duty. You may not consider yourself a graphic whore, but it’s hard to dismiss the amazing graphics from DICE’s Frostbite engine. The visuals are so exceptional, and then you realize, the game is a lot of fun. The Battlefield series has focuses more and more on teamwork with BF3 being no exception to that practice. In a time when OTHER military FPS games do small updates here and there each year, seeing a company go all out with their shooter is a treat to see.

RPG Of The Year

It’s hard to not be surprised with this choice. The Elder Scrolls have always been in the forefront of the role-playing genre, and Skyrim is no exception. From the extensive character creations to the variety of choices in skills, you can create almost any character you can think of. Want a barehanded monk that can call demons to help in a fight? No problem. Want a wizard that wears heavy armor? Go for it. Feel like making a rogue that can make whatever magical weapon/armor? It’s all yours. There are so many choices that can be made allowing you to truly lose yourself in your character while playing, something that RPGs were designed to do from the beginning.

Check out the final awards on 1/20, and let us know what you think of our choices in the comment section.