Every December, we close out our year of coverage with our officially annual Platinum Chalice awards, choosing our Game of the Year and doling out accolades to the best games of the past 12 months. We won’t actually hand those out until next Friday, though; in the meantime, we’ve decided to unplug from the collective GamesRadar hive mind and take this opportunity to hon♔or the games that really deserve i🌄t – which is to say, our personal favorites of 2011.
Gary Steinman, editor in chief
Personal GOTY: Killzone 3
A great game? Yes. A great shooter? Absolutely. Best game of 2011? For most of you, probably not. But for this long-time gamer, Killzone 3 was easily my most thrilling, pulse-pounding, and memorable experience this year. Now, keep in mind, I’m not the most hardcore shooter fan, nor am I a huge multiplayer aficionado𒉰. Killzone 3 stands out to me thanks to its extraordinary single-player campaign.
Like all the best Sony first-party exclusives, Killzone 3 delivers a character-driven experience that’s both highly polished and incredibly gorgeous. From the snowy mountains of Helghan to the planet’s lush Kaznan jungle, Killzone took me on a journey of immense beauty, which I then tore apart while piloting jetpacks, carving up the snow in the Ice Saw, and rocketing around in the Hammer, liberating buckets of blood from the Helghast using a variety of awesome weapons that all vary (and I mean, really vary) in everything from their heft to the damage dealt. Everything – from the gory eye-gouging melee at൲tacks to the massive set-pieces – felt right in Killzone 3. Even the character interactions were among the most believable I've encountered, especially for a sci-fi shooter. It all comes together to deliver a fantastically fun game – my personal pick for favorite game of 2011.
Charlie Barratt, senior reviews/previews editor
Personal GOTY: Portal 2
As an unapologetic Batman fanboy, it pains me not to choose Arkham City here, as that game means more to me than I could ever have conveyed in a 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:mere 2,000 word review. But Portal… is Portal. I would passionately recommend Batman to fans of the character and to fans of several genres, but I think literally everyone should play Portal 2. The experience transcends the usual videogame rules, tropes, and categories, 🌠to the point that I feel strange even comparing it with other competitors. 🌃It doesn’t seem fair.
That might come across as vague hyperbole, so I’ll be more specific. Portal 2 has the best storytelling, the best characters, the best writing, the best pacing, the best puzzles, the best level design, the best multiplayer, the best music, the best voice acting (including the best Nolan North voice acting!) and even the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best Easter eggs of any game this year. Arkham C🐼ity made me cheer, but Portal🐼 2 gave me chills.
I have ever seenAssassin’s Creed Revelations? Saints Row: The Third? Fantastic experiences, to be sure, but I probably won’t be discovering new things in them a year from now. If my experience with Oblivion is any indication, though, Skyrim should keep me busy for about the next five.
Michael Grimm, cheats & guides editor
Personal GOTY: Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary
I like Halo because Master Chief is cool. He has coo🎐l armor and is very strong, he could probably beat up anyone, even Superman. He fights the Covenant and the Flood and beats them because of his guns. Sometimes Master Chief uses a plasma sword though. The story is really deep too because Master Chief has to fight aliens like The Covenant and The Flood that want to destroy earth.
I really like that they made Halo for 360 because ❀my sister spilled my Mountain Dew Game Fuel on my old Xbox and I can’t play it any more. Thanks a lot Sarah! Halo is really fun to play online too, but I can’t right now because Mom says I use too many swears when my headset is on. I don’t think that’s fair because everyone else’s mom lets them swear all the time on XBL. I like when Master Chief finally destroys the Halo and saves the earth. In conclusion you should play Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary.
