The Kotaku Awards 2011: Nominate Your Overall Game Of The Year

12 years ago

November 18, 2011 at 1:00 pm

Alright we’re kicking off award season at Kotaku, and this week we’re taking nominations! Every day this week we’re taking nominations on each specific category. Next week we’ll put up the poll, and the week afterwards we’ll announce the winners. Today is the big one.

So we’re looking for your nominations for the overall game of the year. This is all formats — consoles, handhelds, mobiles, PC. Everything.

This is a tough one for me, but my favourite games of the year so far have been…

— Ghost Trick
— Fight Night Champion
— Batman: Arkham City
— Portal 2
— Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception

This is tricky for me considering that Skyward Sword and Super Mario 3D Land are still unreleased. I think Skyward Sword has a good chance of being one of my favourite games of the year. Feel free to nominate these games, since we won’t start proper votes for a while.

Drop your nominations in the comments below, and nominate in other categories here.

Comments

106 responses to “The Kotaku Awards 2011: Nominate Your Overall Game Of The Year”

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NotoriousR

November 18, 2011 at 1:04 pm

Until I finish Skyrim, I’d say it’s a struggle between Bastion, Portal 2 and Uncharted 3, although I find it somewhat ridiculous to have only ONE GOTY. Why not both?

I think i’ll have tacos for lunch now.

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Jo

November 18, 2011 at 1:05 pm

Dark Souls or Skyrim for sure.

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Hiero

November 18, 2011 at 1:06 pm

So far I’ve only played Portal 2, but I’m keen on Arkham City and Skyward Sword, too =)

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lambomann007

November 18, 2011 at 1:09 pm

Portal 2
Batman: Arkham City
Need For Speed: The Run
Back to the Future: The Game
Shogun 2

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NovaCascade

November 18, 2011 at 1:09 pm

Haven’t got to Skyrim yet so for now I have to nominate Xenoblade Chronicles. I was honestly only buying it because I liked what the Operation Rainfall guys were doing. I never expected to get such an amazing game out of the deal

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The 9th Complex

November 18, 2011 at 1:10 pm

PORTAL 2
SKYRIM
ARKHAM CITY
LEGEND OF ZELDA – SKYWARD SWORD

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Chuloopa

November 18, 2011 at 1:11 pm

SPACE MARINE!
SPACE MARINE!
SPACE MARINE!
SPACE MARINE!
SPACE MARINE!
SPACE MARINE!
SPACE MARINE!
SPACE MARINE!
SPACE MARINE!
SPACE MARINE!
SPACE MARINE!
SPACE MARINE!
SPACE MARINE!
SPACE MARINE!
SPACE MARINE!
SPACE MARINE!
SPACE MARINE!
SPACE MARINE!
SPACE MARINE!
SPACE MARINE!

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1. Chuloopa
  
  November 18, 2011 at 1:11 pm
  
  I DON’T KNOW HOW MANY VOTES THAT IS – BUT IT CLEARLY WINS!!!
  
  Reply
  1. James Mac
    
    November 18, 2011 at 1:26 pm
    
    I support Chuloopas nomination of StarCraft Troopers… ah, I mean Gears of Warhammer.
    
    Reply
    1. Chuloopa
      
      November 18, 2011 at 1:50 pm
      
      You mean Spacemarine Quakecraft of War?
      
      Reply
    2. Kreedz86
      
      November 18, 2011 at 2:02 pm
      
      You do realise that Blizzard has admitted a lot of their Stacraft and Warcraft stuff was inspired by Warhammer, right?
      
      Reply
      1. Chuloopa
        
        November 18, 2011 at 2:11 pm
        
        I’ve told him that before – he’s just trolling me lol 🙂
      2. James Mac
        
        November 18, 2011 at 2:56 pm
        
        I know that… and that their stuff was in turn inspired by Robert A Heimleins novel ‘Starship Troopers’.
        
        I actually enjoyed the game, so there’s no malice in my statements… it’s all in jest.
2. shodannet
  
  November 18, 2011 at 1:41 pm
  
  You serve the Emperor well
  
  Reply
  1. Chuloopa
    
    November 18, 2011 at 1:51 pm
    
    I only do my duty
    
    Reply
    1. shodannet
      
      November 18, 2011 at 3:27 pm
      
      But did you have unholy assistance?
      
      Reply
hazza

November 18, 2011 at 1:11 pm

haven’t played arkham city yet. i’m waiting for pc release, but atm uncharted 3 would be my GOTY.

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Reign

November 18, 2011 at 1:11 pm

Deus Ex: Human Revolution.

It’s been a while since I’ve been in a believable world, with easily missable backstories that completely change the way you feel towards a character or faction.

Hell, yesterday I saw a framed picture of one of the characters on a desk, standing in front of the Twelve Apostles in NSW, and another picture with a family member and instantly changed the way I felt about her, having a greater insight into her motivations and moral code. There’s no level of detail that great in any of the big budget shooters, or any other game I can think of that comes to mind.

And it’s one of the first games in ages that I’ve actually felt anger towards a character in a game.

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1. BearBlaster
  
  November 18, 2011 at 2:50 pm
  
  Adam Jensen never asked for this.
  
  Reply
Rob

November 18, 2011 at 1:14 pm

Eaaasily going to nominate Portal 2 without hesitation.

Hmmm… what else… the problem is that I’ve been doing so much MMOing with City of Heroes: Freedom that I haven’t played any others… except Dead Island, and while it’s awesome, it’s far from GOTY. Same with City of Heroes: Freedom- it has problems of its own, despite my unending addiction to it. It also needs more media coverage from kotaku and joystiq imho. >>

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Tracey Lien

November 18, 2011 at 1:15 pm

LittleBigPlanet 2.

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Chris Crowe

November 18, 2011 at 1:19 pm

The deep love I hold in my heart for Batman wants me to say Arkham City … but the bed sores I have earned over the past week are screaming SKYRIM !!!!

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Jeremy

November 18, 2011 at 1:20 pm

Gotta say Portal 2, but that’s because it’s one of the few releases from this year that I actually played. #cheapskategamer

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PsyKoMunKy

November 18, 2011 at 1:21 pm

In order for me:
Batman Arkham City
Skyrim
Forza Motorsport 4
Portal 2

If only Rocksteady could license their freeflow combat to every game I would be in gaming nirvana…

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Sean N

November 18, 2011 at 1:26 pm

Skyrim

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[Razor]

November 18, 2011 at 1:27 pm

What I hate about this is that, recent games will always be strong in the mind, and anything released earlier this year may fall too the way side.

I loved Portal 2, adding Co-op was a fantastic choice even if you can only really do it once and then have a huge break.

That said, I haven’t played anything with such intensity as I have been playing Skyrim. Holy shit, Skyrim. Skyrim, guys, Skyrim. Goddamn, Skyrim. Oh man.

Skyrim.

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James Mac

November 18, 2011 at 1:28 pm

Homefront.

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1. lambomann007
  
  November 18, 2011 at 2:32 pm
  
  Get out.
  
  Reply
  1. James Mac
    
    November 18, 2011 at 2:39 pm
    
    Why should a game need a metacritic of 100 to be someones personal game of the year?
    
    I really liked the multiplayer in Homefront, and the few things it did well… it did very well.
    
    It’s my Alpha Protocol of the year.
    
    Reply
    1. Bob
      
      November 18, 2011 at 2:49 pm
      
      I second that, the multiplayer in Homefront was awesome.
      
      Reply
    2. lambomann007
      
      November 18, 2011 at 3:31 pm
      
      Lol, just kidding. I never played the game, I just heard that apparently the game wasn’t that good at all.
      
      Reply
Morf

November 18, 2011 at 1:28 pm

World of Tanks 😉

15 minutes time limit per game, 1 life per game, Tanks V Tanks.
Just one more game???

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nick

November 18, 2011 at 1:31 pm

Dark Souls!

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syvRaen

November 18, 2011 at 1:32 pm

I’m currently thinking that the game of the year was either Bastion or Portal 2. But Skyward Sword may well alter these thoughts.

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Wade

November 18, 2011 at 1:32 pm

Skyrim for sure!
even with all the bugs and crashes.

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PA

November 18, 2011 at 1:33 pm

Skyrim all the way.

Portal 2 was pretty good too.

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Adam West

November 18, 2011 at 1:34 pm

1) Bastion 2) Skyrim 3) The Witcher 2.

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ba!

November 18, 2011 at 1:35 pm

Portal 2.
It’s flawless.

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The Cracks

November 18, 2011 at 1:35 pm

Skyrim.
And probably Skyward Sword, even though it’s not out until next week.

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CJ

November 18, 2011 at 1:35 pm

Despite not having got it yet Ill have to say Skyrim as I cant justify other choices cause I have “fanboi” bias to them. (Also when I get it in the next few weeks Im sure Ill think its amazing)

+1 Skyrim

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b4d

November 18, 2011 at 1:43 pm

There can be only one……….SKYRIM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Thom

November 18, 2011 at 1:44 pm

This is the hardest year I can remember. I’m leaning towards Skyrim and The Witcher 2 though. Just polished, complete, epic experiences. I also loved DXHR, and Portal 2.

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Life

November 18, 2011 at 1:47 pm

Very close toss up between Skyrim and Deus Ex:HR.

With 3rd place going to Portal 2.

THAT SAID, i havn’t played Arkham City yet, so that may get the vote once i get it on PC.

I’m loving all the First person shooter votes here btw guys, haha 🙂

Reply
1. Huntsman
  
  November 18, 2011 at 2:53 pm
  
  To be honest, I love MW3 (and MW2 and blackops and MW) and i played a lot of BF3, but that all went out the window as soon as i started Skyrim. It really is just an incredible game.
  
  Reply
Dire Wolf

November 18, 2011 at 1:53 pm

Portal 2
Skyrim
Deus Ex Human Revolution

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NotAbbott

November 18, 2011 at 1:54 pm

Dark Souls by an impossibly large margin. Such satisfaction gleaned from that disc.

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1. gakpie
  
  November 18, 2011 at 2:45 pm
  
  Same nomination. Same sentiment.
  
  Reply
kartanym

November 18, 2011 at 1:55 pm

It’s hard to go past Portal 2, Arkham City and Skyrim. But I’d also like to nominate The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D, for not only providing a wonderful experience, a trip down memory lane and the Master Quest all in portable form, but for creating a 3D experience that proved the 3DS could work. I haven’t played Mario 3D Land yet, but I get the feeling that will take it to the next level to. Great time to be a 3DS owner.

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Raistlan

November 18, 2011 at 1:56 pm

Skyrim, Shogun 2

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1. Raistlan
  
  November 18, 2011 at 1:57 pm
  
  And Dark Souls. Can’t forget about that… though I just did.
  
  Reply
Noobheadshot

November 18, 2011 at 1:59 pm

Top five for me are below (from favourite to slightly less favourite)

1. Skyrim! (Only just!)
2. Deus Ex:HR
3. Dark Souls
4. Portal 2
5. Bastion

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welbot

November 18, 2011 at 2:03 pm

Might and Magic Heroes 6!!!

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Mark

November 18, 2011 at 2:13 pm

Gears of War 3

As far as blockbusters go, this one is pretty underrated. Every review I’ve seen says things along the lines of “you won’t play this for the story” but for some of us, playing the series for years, the story does actually matter. It’s not just a bunch of macho guys blowing up aliens. Despite what some people may say, there IS character development in these games, maybe those people are too busy holding down the B button to read between the lines.

Gears of War 3 is the most enjoyable game I’ve played this year, with Arkham City pretty close. The multiplayer IS fun, the campaign IS worthwhile, and it deserves better than to be written off as some cheesy masculine fantasy.

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Kataphrut

November 18, 2011 at 2:18 pm

Deus Ex: Human Revolution
Batman: Arkham City
LA Noire

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1. Life
  
  November 18, 2011 at 3:29 pm
  
  Ooohhh LA Noir, I forgot about that one.
  
  For all it faults, I remember that being the only console game all year that kept me interested from start to finish.
  
  Reply
Flumpf

November 18, 2011 at 2:20 pm

InFamous 2

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Sam

November 18, 2011 at 2:20 pm

Dark Souls hands down. Such an addicting, huge, challenging and immersive game for sure, despite Blighttown. BT is the only thing keeping it from getting a 10 in my books.

Skyrim is a close second. It too is a huge, immersive and addicting game, but the fact that it still uses the Gamebryo engine which is almost 10 years old and notorious for bugs is disappointing.

Portal 2 is a close third. The plot was great, the voice-acting was among the best in a while and the characters really set a light-hearted and humourous tone that you don’t often see in other games these days. The Steamworks integration on the PS3 version also worked very well.

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1. Thom
  
  November 18, 2011 at 2:28 pm
  
  I thought it was new. Its certainly looks and perfirms dar better than NV on pc. Its definetly not as buggy. Minir bugs sure, byt at least people can play it, which you definetly.cant say about past Betgesda releases.
  
  Reply
  1. BearBlaster
    
    November 18, 2011 at 7:01 pm
    
    Skyrim runs on the Creation engine, which is based on the Gamebryo engine. Both were developed in-house by bethesda.
    
    Reply
Oli

November 18, 2011 at 2:21 pm

Skyrim

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Pablo

November 18, 2011 at 2:25 pm

Skyrim.

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Sir Sam

November 18, 2011 at 2:35 pm

Portal 2

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LukeN

November 18, 2011 at 2:37 pm

Skyrim by a landslide. Would vote The Old Republic having played the beta quite a lot but it is not out yet..

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Cameron

November 18, 2011 at 2:39 pm

Crysis 2

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z

November 18, 2011 at 2:39 pm

If I had to nominate an order of GOTYable games, it’d be Portal2, then just narrowly after, Skyrim. Yes I’m a filthy heretic, but I shouldn’t have to panic over whether if I did too much in the universe I’d screw up the engine so much that it’d become eventually unplayable.

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BearBlaster

November 18, 2011 at 2:51 pm

Only the greatest time-sink of the year… SKYRIM!

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Kai

November 18, 2011 at 2:53 pm

I’ve enjoyed ‘Xenoblade Chronicles’ more than any other game this year. It combined the freedom of Western RPGs with the fantasy and story-telling of JRPGs to create something truly special. The setting is fantastic, the visuals are top-notch for a Wii title and the soundtrack is one of the best I’ve heard in any game. There’s really not a whole lot I can fault the game on.

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Adwahorne

November 18, 2011 at 2:57 pm

1. Batman Arkham City
2. Catherine
3. Uncharted 3

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McNulty

November 18, 2011 at 2:59 pm

The Witcher 2 – not only did it have the best rendered pair of boobs (Triss) this year, it was also the best rpg in years.

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advice dog

November 18, 2011 at 3:01 pm

battlefield 3

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light487

November 18, 2011 at 3:04 pm

Skyrim.. There are some awesome games but none come close to Skyrim when you take into account the big picture.

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Klutar

November 18, 2011 at 3:10 pm

Either I’m becoming old and bitter at the world, or just don’t have the attention span anymore but:
With so many good games out this year, I can’t say any deserve GOTY to me. Something like that, to me, means I’d have to play it, finish it and want to keep playing it. Even though so many great games came out, none have made me want to go back and just keep playing. They are all a once off, “wow this game is pretty awesome” while playing it, but after that doesn’t even get a second thought.

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js

November 18, 2011 at 3:22 pm

It was Deus Ex: HR for me, but Skyrim is just too incredible. Uncharted 3 is thereabouts, too.

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Marky Martin

November 18, 2011 at 3:25 pm

Skyrim. By a long way and i’ve played most releases this year!

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Ponton

November 18, 2011 at 3:32 pm

For mainstream games I vote for:
– Portal 2 (PC)
– Battlefield 3 (PC)

Special votes for keeping me playing well after finishing the game, highest playtime out of all games played this year:
– Terraria
– Dungeon Defenders

Year isn’t over, and have Skyward Sword, Super Mario 3D Land and Mario Kart on the way, one (or more) could be a contender.

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Marathon

November 18, 2011 at 3:51 pm

Withcer 2 or Deus Ex…. no!

Will have to go Deus Ex as my nomination but only by the skin of my teeth.

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Zoet

November 18, 2011 at 4:08 pm

1. Deus Ex: Human Revolution
2. Portal 2

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Shonks

November 18, 2011 at 4:14 pm

The Witcher 2

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Mawt

November 18, 2011 at 4:26 pm

I know what my top games of the year are

DX:HR
Portal 2
Skyrim
Zelda: Skyward Sword

I think if I have to nominate the one game I think was “best” that nomination would go to Deus Ex.

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Jason

November 18, 2011 at 4:35 pm

Skyrim.
Trying to compensate for immediacy bias, but nothing else is leaping out from this year.
I haven’t played Witcher 2 yet though …

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Robot Mightor

November 18, 2011 at 5:08 pm

Dark Souls,
Witcher 2.

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Digtrio

November 18, 2011 at 5:15 pm

The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky. I mentioned it in the last one without thinking but I’ll now mention it again here. It’s amazing and is easily one of the best jRPGs in years.

Same as last time, most people have mentioned all the other good games.

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Jay

November 18, 2011 at 5:48 pm

Skyrim

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Tim

November 18, 2011 at 5:54 pm

Deus ex hr
Witcher 2
Skyrim

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Pancake

November 18, 2011 at 5:59 pm

Uncharted 3 all the way

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SeatSniffer

November 18, 2011 at 6:01 pm

skyrim

Reply
Tristan Damen

November 18, 2011 at 6:48 pm

Bastion, Gears of War 3, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, inFamous 2

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Chamboosy

November 18, 2011 at 7:00 pm

Batman: Arkham City for me. Beautiful to look at, a real joy to play. Took everything that made Arkham Asylum good and tripled it.

Dead Space 2 was also a great great game. Really surprising in how brilliant it was. The ending of that game will stick with me for a while.

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Joshy206

November 18, 2011 at 7:06 pm

Arkham City

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Zman

November 18, 2011 at 7:28 pm

Uncharted 3, Crysis 2, MW3, BF3

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Mitch Bus

November 18, 2011 at 7:38 pm

The two extremes of gameplay length:
Skyrim and Portal 2.

Reply
N0NEoftheAB0VE

November 18, 2011 at 10:53 pm

Portal 2 for being a perfect mixture of challenge and story
The Gunstringer for being laugh out loud funny and something that no-body else was doing this year
Fruit Ninja Kinect for being the most fun and addictive game I’ve played in ages – simple, responsive and gez I want just one more go…

Reply
GaMeR$BoY

November 18, 2011 at 11:28 pm

Deadrising 2 off the record;Portal 2; Arkam City; MW3; RAGE; LA:Noire; Mortal Kombat (maybe); Uncharted 3; Super Crate Box (awesome fun); Crysis 2 and SKYRIM…

Reply
garnet 23

November 19, 2011 at 12:32 am

Arkham City
Skyrim
NBA 2k12
Gears of War 3
L.A. Noire
havn’t played saints row or assrev yet

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AerintheADEQUATE

November 19, 2011 at 1:56 am

Skyrim. and pre-emptively I’ll say Zelda, but that’s 110% assumption at this point.

But I can tell you that in 4 years I’ll still be playing Skyrim. We’re two games further into the series and I still play Morrowind. Still play Oblivion too.

Skyrim is easily my pick for GOTY.

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Curistofa

November 19, 2011 at 7:14 am

Portal 2!!!!!!!

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Curistofa

November 19, 2011 at 7:14 am

Portal 2!!!!!!!

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mount-eerie

November 19, 2011 at 8:30 am

I’d say Portal 2, Followed by Batman AC.
However being away from home means I still haven’t touched Skyrim, Saints Row the 3rd or Uncharted 3.

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Canipa09

November 19, 2011 at 7:31 pm

Skyrim. And Skyward Sword. Come on, we all know it.

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Nuclear Pi

November 19, 2011 at 9:42 pm

I’m actually going to say battlefield 3, however, deus ex gets my second highest vote, bf3 for its amazing gameplay, deus ex for its incredible world

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Glib

November 20, 2011 at 1:18 pm

Skyrim.. bit late, I know.

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Mentok

November 20, 2011 at 9:17 pm

Batman: Arkham City. Portal 2 was close, but man, being batman is just the greatest.

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Michael

November 20, 2011 at 11:38 pm

Skyward Sword
Bastion
Portal 2
Skyrim
Uncharted

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james arrow

November 21, 2011 at 9:25 pm

The Witcher 2 : Assassins of Kings. It is by far the most underated game of the year.

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Jarvgrimr

November 23, 2011 at 1:53 pm

SKYRIM

No other game has captured my imagination so much. When I’m not playing it, I’m thinking about playing it.

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Sharkie40

November 29, 2011 at 7:46 pm

Dragon ball z ultimante tenkaichi

Reply

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The Kotaku Awards 2011: Nominate Your Overall Game Of The Year

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