Game of the Year 2011 - Action

Now that the year’s fast moving towards its end, we’ve come to the part where we honour the best of the best. We’ve categorized this year’s awards by genre and kicking off the festivities today is everyone’s favourite, the Action genre.

And the nominees are…

Gears of War 3 (Xbox360)

Marcus Fenix and his Gears go out with a bang

The third and final leg of Marcus Fenix’s journey may have been a tad predictable (as is with all sequels), but, it was an explosive end to the Gears of war trilogy. While gameplay largely stayed the same as previous iterations, Epic bumped up the production values, beefed up the visuals and dialed the set-pieces to 11. It was without a doubt, a violent, bloody and an unapologetic conclusion to one of the Xbox360’s most beloved first party titles.

Batman: Arkham City (Xbox360 PS3 PC)

The Dark Knight brings his A game this year

Arkham Asylum was a superb action game that managed to capture the essence of what it was to be the world’s greatest detective. With Arkham City, developer Rocksteady expanded on that mentality greatly with a quasi open-world structure, improved gameplay mechanics and enough super villains to give any serious fan a tent in his pants. Best licensed superhero game? We certainly seemed to think so.

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inFamous 2 (PS3)

Superheroes love their pensive poses

inFamous  was a rather enjoyable game that allowed players to step into the boots of a supercharged courier, as he dished out justice by the kilowatts. inFamous 2 expanded upon its predecessor in every way with a brand new setting along with new and improved gameplay mechanics making it one of the most fun open world games, this year. The game’s also enjoying a rather long life span, thanks to the user generated content, courtesy of the game’s map editor.

Dead Space 2 (Xbox360 PS3 PC)

Isaac Clarke, your life really sucks

Few games can tread the fine line between action and horror and Dead Space 2 definitely tops that list. Moving out of the claustrophobic confines of the USG Ishimura, Dead Space 2 dragged players to a brand new setting, one that allowed developer, Visceral to incorporate some new gameplay elements, new weapons, newer enemies and breath-taking set pieces. The game even introduced a new multiplayer mode that really wasn’t all that bad.

Uncharted 3 (PS3)

A day in the life of Nathan Drake

I personally wasn’t too happy with Uncharted 3’s control scheme or the incessant spamming of grenades, but there’s no doubt about the fact that no one does cinematic action better than Naughty Dog. From an entire level that takes place aboard a ship on a turbulent sea to an intense mid-air fight aboard a plane that’s about to crash, this game fully immersed players into the deadly, yet thoroughly entertaining life of treasure hunter, Nathan Drake.
And the winner is…

Batman: Arkham City (Xbox360 PS3 PC)
Even though the PC port of this game was a complete mess, Batman definitely brought his ‘A’ game, this year. Expanding upon gameplay aspects that made millions fall in love with Arkham Asylum, Arkham City was a treat to everyone from serious Batman fans to action gamers in love with open world games. Arkham City was designed from the ground up to reflect the danger, dirt and corruption populating every street and it did so with much visual aplomb. It also offered players a plethora of diverse side activates to indulge in, while they made their way to the game’s antagonist, Dr. Hugo Strange.

The Winner!

Besides the Dark Knight, gamers also got a chance to traverse the length and breadth of the game world as Catwoman. She was significantly weaker than Batman, but she brought her own set of feline and acrobatic moves to the table that made her segments an utter blast. We really hope she gets a spin-off real soon.  As you can see, Batman: Arkham City offers plenty of bang for your buck and is a shining example of licensing done right.