Were it up to me, I would only swap a couple runners up with their 1st place winners. I'd put Gears 3 over MW3 easy.
Also, while I appreciate Radiant Historia getting some love, where the hell is Dark Souls?
Game of the Year 2011 - Genre Awards
Find out what games of 2011 best represented the nine most notable genres in gaming.
Portal 2 - Winner
It's hard to even begin to understand how Valve could follow-up the original Portal. Full of wit, humor, and ingenious puzzles, the experience was a hard one to top. Needless to say, there was concern that Valve couldn't replicate and improve on the experience well enough to justify Portal 2. However, Valve proved once again that they have what it takes to shatter expectations and provide an absolutely stunning gaming experience that will be fondly remembered for years to come.
Unlike most puzzle games, Portal 2 is more of an adventure, using puzzles for the meat of the gameplay, while splicing in humor and spectacular environments to give it character. Exploring the innards of Aperture Science, organically learning its back story, and utilizing all of the new tools made for an experience that was similar, but completely unique from the original.
Taking it one step further, a full co-op quest was included that not only tied in the story of the main game, but offered up one of its own. Rather than just dropping another character into the fray, the co-op experience was built around having two players making the solution to each and every puzzle one that absolutely required the active participation of both players. Truth be told, Portal 2 is not just the best puzzle game of 2011, it's one of the best ever.
Catherine - Runner Up
When Atlus decided to shake things up with a title outside of their usual fare of RPGs, it caught gamers' attention. Of course, the tantalizing sexual imagery helped too... Needless to say, the experience proved to be something much deeper than a few cheap thrills.
Combining a character-driven story with a tough-as-nails puzzle game set Catherine apart from the crowd. Pushing and pulling blocks to make your way to the top of a tower during a nightmare, your plight as Vincent was one like no other. Utilizing a variety of techniques, players would have to reach down to the depths of their puzzle solving skills to conquer the unique challenge of this year's Puzzle Game of the Year Runner Up.
Honorable Mentions
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