Village Gamer

G4’s “X-Play” has announced the nominees for the ninth annual “X-Play Best of 2011 Awards” as selected by G4’s team of gaming experts.  In what will be remembered as one of the biggest years to date for the video game industry, the onslaught of shooters, sequels and sci-fi epics has lead to the culmination of 25 award categories including Best Shooter, Best Writing, and Best Animation. 

In a special one-hour show, “X-Play” will take fans through each category to reveal the champions, ultimately revealing the winner of the highly coveted Game of the Year award. In addition, “X-Play” will announce the winner of G4tv.com’s Videogame Deathmatch where the fans choose their favorite game of 2011. The battle began with 32 contenders and now is down to only two fan favorites: Assassin’s Creed: Revelations vs. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword.  Don’t miss the hour-long year-in-gaming celebration when hosts Adam Sessler, Morgan Webb and Blair Herter present “X-Play Best of 2011 Awards” premiering Wednesday, December 14, at 6:00PM ET/PT, only on G4 (check listings for Canadian broadcast times).

“We’re still seeing great shooters with endless ways to play and epic RPGs with hundreds of hours of content, but what we are really excited to see is the number of genres being re-embraced by gamers,” said Morgan Webb, host of “X-Play.”  “This year we have some notable platformers that truly provide fun for all ages, as well as some puzzle games that really challenge the mind. No matter what kind of gamer you are, 2011 was your year.”

“While these lists have always highlighted quality, what is notable for 2011 is the variety,” said Adam Sessler, host of “X-Play.”  “Even in an era of sequels, there is still something very fresh in videogames.”

“2011 really did bring an embarrassment of gaming riches.  Familiar roads were traveled once again while exciting new ones were paved into our gaming brains,” said Blair Herter, host of X-Play. “Just when we thought we’d seen it all, we were shown that we hadn’t…and being wrong has never been so satisfying.”

X-Play’s “Best of 2011 Awards” categories and nominees include:

Most Original Game
Catherine
L.A. Noire
Minecraft
Stacking
Superbrothers: Sword and Sworcery

Best Gameplay Innovation
L.A. Noire – Facial animation/capture
League of Legends – Dominions mode
Minecraft – Creative freedom
Rocksmith – Teaching real guitar
Skylanders – Figurine integration

Best Multiplayer Game
Assassin’s Creed: Revelations
Battlefield 3
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
Dark Souls
Gears of War 3

Best Multiplayer Co-Op Game
Dance Central 2
Gears of War 3
Ilomilo
Portal 2
Saints Row: The Third

Best Sports Game
FIFA 12
MLB 11: The Show
NBA 2K12
NHL 12
WWE ‘12

Best Downloadable Game (what, no DeathSpank?)
Bastion
inFamous: Festival of Blood
Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet
Iron Brigade
Stacking

Best Downloadable Content (pretty sure Dragon Age 2 had some nomination worthy DLC)
Call of Duty: Black Ops – Rezurrection
Deus Ex: Human Revolution – Missing Link
Fallout: New Vegas – Old World Blues
Gears of War 3 – Raam’s Shadow
Portal 2 – Co-Op Challenges

Best Shooter (we need more Canadian-made shooters. Devs, take note.)
Battlefield 3
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
Gears of War 3
Rage
Resistance 3

Best Role-Playing Game
Dark Souls
Deus Ex: Human Revolution
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky
The Witcher 2

Best Fighting Game
King of Fighters XIII
Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds
Mortal Kombat
Street Fighter III 3^rd Strike Online Edition
Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition

Best Art Direction
Alice: Madness Returns
Batman: Arkham City
El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron
Portal 2
Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception

Best Animation (what about some west coast zombie goodness here?)
Assassin’s Creed: Revelations
Batman: Arkham City
NBA 2K12
Rage
Rayman Origins

Best Writing (I can think of at least 2 two titles they overlooked here)
Batman: Arkham City
L.A. Noire
Portal 2
Saints Row: The Third
Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception

Best Soundtrack (Assassin’s Creed Revelations should be on this list. Awesome soundtrack. Just sayin’)
Deus Ex: Human Revolution
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
Portal 2
Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery

Best Sound Design
Batman: Arkham City
Battlefield 3
Dead Space 2
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Portal 2

Best Action/Adventure Game (pretty sure they’re missing a couple of titles here)
Batman: Arkham City
L.A. Noire
Rayman Origins
Super Mario 3D Land
Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception

Best Racing Game
Dirt 3
F1
Forza Motorsport 4
Motorstorm: Apocalypse
Shift 2: Unleashed

Best Motion Control Game
Dance Central 2
Just Dance 3
Killzone 3 w/Sharpshooter
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
Seasame Street: Once Upon A Monster

Best Handheld Game
Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy
Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective
Pokemon Black & White
Professor Layton and the Last Specter
Super Mario 3D Land

Best Puzzle/Strategy Game
Achron
Catherine
Portal 2
Professor Layton and the Last Specter
Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together

Best Performance By Nolan North
Adventure/Space/Fact Cores – Portal 2
Deadpool – Marvel vs. Capcom 3
Desmond Miles – Assassin’s Creed: Revelations
Nathan Drake – Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception
The Penguin – Batman: Arkham City

Best Performance Not By Nolan North
Aaron Staton – Cole Phelps, L.A. Noire
JK Simmons – Cave Johnson, Portal 2
John DiMaggio – Marcus Fenix, Gears of War 3
Mark Hamill – The Joker, Batman: Arkham City
Stephen Merchant – Wheatley, Portal 2

Best Remake/Retro Release
Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary
Ico and Shadow of the Colossus Collection
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D
Metal Gear Solid HD Collection
Street Fighter III 3^rd Strike Online Edition

Best Trailer (cannot believe that Deus Ex Human Revolution is not nominated for this)
Dead Island
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Live Action
OverStrike

Game of the Year (definitely missing some titles here)
Batman: Arkham City
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Gears of War 3
L.A. Noire
Portal 2
Saints Row: The Third
Super Mario 3D Land