Well now that the Gamespot blog glitch seems to be fixed I thought I would get on with my Game of the Year Awards. So enjoy this next set of winners. :D

Best Graphics (Technical)

Nominees: Uncharted 3: Drakes Deception, Rage, Gears of War 3, Battlefield 3, Killzone 3, Crysis 2, and Bulletstorm.

Runner Up: Gear of War 3

From a technical perspective Gears 3 is almost perfect. The game looks absolutely incredible in both the single player campaign and the multiplayer.

Winner:Uncharted 3: Drakes Deception

I haven't played all the way through Uncharted 3 yet, but I can easily say its one of the best looking games i've ever seen. Textures are almost perfect, the framerate is spectacular, and the environments are jaw dropping. There isn't a bad thing I can say about this games presentation.

Best Graphics (Artistic)

Nominees: Bastion, Shank, Rayman Origins, El Shadiah: Acsension of the Metatron, Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet, and Capsized.

Runner Up: Bastion

Bastion is one of the most original and artistically stunning games i've ever played. Each level just oozes creativity and makes you marvel at the world around you.

Winner: Rayman Origins

No this is one of the wackiest games anyone will ever see. The art direction is stunning and the goofy and the silly animations make the game absolutely hilarious.

Best New Character

Nominees: Garcia Hotspur (Shadows of the Damned), Wheatley (Portal 2), The Kid (Bastion), Cole Phelps (L.A. Noire), Adam Jensen (Deus Ex: Human Revolution), and Katherine Marlow (Uncharted 3: Drakes Deception).

Runner Up: Wheatley (Portal 2)

Expertly voiced, hilarious, and wity, Wheatley is one of the most memorable characters in recent memory. Every line had me laughing or on the edge of my seat and his betrayel is one of the coolest moments of the year.

Winner: Adam Jensen (Deus Ex: Human Revolution)

Adam Jensen has become one of my favorite video game characters of all time. The story of Adam Jensen is praise-worthy all by its self, but its his flaws and ability to overcome those flaws and continue in his goals is what make his character so memorable and interesting.

Best Original IP

Nominees: L.A. Noire, Dead Island, Bastion, Bulletstorm, Rage, Shadows of the Damned, and Shank.

Runner Up:Shadows of the Damned

This game was one of the most surprising games I played all year. It plays like a dream, tells a cool story, has a great sense of humor, and has one of the coolest takes on hell i've ever seen in a game. Slaying demons has never been so much fun.

Winner:Dead Island

Everything about Dead Island is awesome. I've been exploring its world for over 20 hours now and all I can think about is going through the game again once I finish it and doing every side quest possible. Its incredibly addictive, and intense throughout and i'm loving every minute of it.

Most Surprisingly Good Game

Nominees: Shadows of the Damned, Skylanders: Spyros Adventures, Rayman Origins, Bulletstorm, and Homefront.

Runner Up: Bulletstorm

I feel like Bulletstorm was a really overlooked game this year. This game was the definition of short, but sweet. The combat is incredibly brutal and staisfying, boss fights are cool, and it has some incredible set piece moments.

Winner: Shadows of the Damned

Like I said above, Shadows of the Damned surprised the crap out of me this year. This game is incredible from beginning to end and even if its not perfect its something that every gamer should experience. Even if its not your thing.

So that's all for today, I hope you all enjoyed the blog and i'll be back soon with another one. thanks for reading. :)

~Mike :)

Hello everyone and welcome to my first entry in my 2011 Game of the Year Awards. The last couple of years i've done these blogs before the New Year, but with all the games that came out this year, I just couldn't play them all before the year ended. :P So I will be doing a blog or three a week consisting of a few awards per blog until I reach my all important Game of the Year! After I announce my Game of the Year I will be doing a blog or two with my favorite movies and music from 2011. So please enjoy the winners of todays awards and look forward for the next set of winners in the coming days. Now lets get started.

Best Game That Didn't Come Out This Year

Nominees: Heavy Rain, Vanquish, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, Metro 2033, Fallout: New Vegas, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Portal, and Demon's Souls.

Runner Up:Demon's Souls

Punishing, Unforgiving, and at times utterly impossible to play, but its also one of the most engrossing and addictive experiences i've ever had in gaming. So far i'm only 5 hours in, but everything from the atmosphere to the combat is excellent. As much as I hate this game at times, I also can't take my hands off my controller and for that reason alone it makes my list.

Winner:Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

Uncharted 2 is an amazing game and not giving it this award would be crazy. The graphics are amazing, the combat is vastly improved over the original, and the story is fantastic. Everything about Uncharted 2 is incredible and its definately one of my favorite games ever now.

Best Action Game

Nominees: Gears of War 3, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Dead Space 2, Shadows of the Damned, Crysis 2, Dead Island, Batman Arkham City, and Rage.

Runner Up: Dead Space 2

The original Dead Space was so scary I couldn't even finish it, but when Dead Space 2 came out this year I reluctantly picked it up. Once I was finished with it, I realized I had already played one of the best games of the year. The story, combat, and atmosphere were all a lot better and I loved every minute of the game.

Winner: Deus Ex: Human Revolution

I remember right before this game came out I had serious doubts about getting it, but after playing it for 25 hours in just a few sittings I was hooked. This game is addictive and has an incredible mix of stealth, gunplay, and RPG elements that makes it deep and rewarding. All I can hope for is that some great DLC comes out and keeps the game around longer, because it deserves to be played by everyone.

Best First Person Shooter

Nominees: Crysis 2, Rage, Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3, Battlefield 3, Bulletstorm, and Killzone 3.

Runner Up: Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3

For years now the Call of Duty series has been a favorite of mine and even now that i've played the games to death I still enjoy them. Modern Warfare 3 finishes the story that started with Call of Duty 4 and the whole campaign is a non stop thrill ride that's enjoyable to the very end. The multiplayer is also great and while its not better than last year's Black OPS it still is quite enjoyable. Add in the new survival mode and the return of Spec OPS and you can play Modern Warfare 3 forever. Its one of the best value's in gaming this year and its also one of the most fun to play.

Winner:Rage

Not only is Rage one of the best looking games i've ever seen, but the combat is incredibly staisfying and the gameplay is just as solid as any id game ever made. I absolutely loved everything about this game and while some were disappointed with it, I think id did a great job with a more open world game than they are used to. It was a shame that there was no FPS based multiplayer but the kart races were fun and the co-op is awesome if you have a buddy to play with.

Best Downloadable Game

Nominees: Bastion, Crysis (Xbox 360), Rochard, Shank, Resident Evil 4 HD, Frozen Synapse, and Minecraft.

Runner Up: Crysis (Xbox 360)

Crysis was one game I always wanted to play, but couldn't cause my PC couldn't run it. When it came out on Xbox 360 this year I couldn't pass up the chance to play it. Needless to say I thought the game was incredible. There's so much to do and so many ways to go about completing your objectives, not to mention the game still looks better than most games out oday.

Winner: Bastion

Bastion is one of the most beautiful and fun to play games that i've played this year. The art styl* drips with creativity, and the combat is fun and challenging. Add in the the New Game Plus option and you have a downloadable title that will last you over 15 hours. This is by and far the best downlaodable game of 2011.

Goriest Game

Nominees: Bulletstorm, Dead Island, Gears of War 3, Shadows of the Damned, Dead Space 2, Rage, F.E.A.R. 3, and L.A. Noire.

Runner Up:Gears of War 3

The Gears franchise has always been brutal and gory, but Gears 3 kicks it up a notch. This is easily one of the goriest games i've ever seen or played and its also never been so fun to curb stomp a grunt. :P

Winner:Dead Island

Dead Island is the goriest game i've played in years. I think this screen speaks for its self, in the game's brutality and gore. Now time to go hack some more limbs of some walkers. :P

So that's all the awards for today. I hope you all enjoyed them and will tune in for the next batch of awards. Thanks for reading. :)

~Mike :)

Hello everyone. I hope you all had a fantastic christmas and are enjoying the holidays with your family and friends. I am unfortunately sick, so I haven't played any games I got for Christmas and I can hardly sit down to watch a movie. Still being sick gives me a good excuse to start on my GOTY awards. :P So here are my nominees and categories. Keep in mind the winners I choose are all games that i've played, there will be some games nominated that I haven't played, so don't get mad if your favorites don't win. :P Ok lets get started.

Best Action Game: Gears of War 3, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Batman: Arkham City, Dead Space 2, Shadows of the Damned, Crysis 2, Dead Island, and Rage.

Best Shooter: Gears of War 3, Crysis 2, Modern Warfare 3, Battlefield 3, Rage, Shadows of the Damned, Bulletstorm, and Killzone 3.

Best RPG: Dragon Age II, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Dark Souls, Bastion, and Two Worlds II.

Best Xbox 360 Game: Gears of War 3, Shadows of the Damned, Batman Arkham City, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Bastion, and Rage.

Best PS3 Game: Uncharted 3: Drakes Deception, Killzone 3, Batman Arkham City, Rayman Origins, InFamous 2, and L.A. Noire.

Best PC Game: The Witcher 2: Assassin's of Kings, Minecraft, Portal 2, Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad, Shank, and Frozen Synapse.

Best Console Exclusive: Gears of War 3, Killzone 3, The Witcher 2: Assassin's of Kings, Frozen Synapse, and Uncharted 3: Drakes Deception.

Best Game That Didn't Come Out This Year: Heavy Rain, Vanquish, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, Metro 2033, Fallout: New Vegas, Portal, Demon's Souls and The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.

Goriest Game: Bulletstorm, Dead Island, Gears of War 3, Shadows of the Damned, Rage, F.E.A.R. 3, Dead Space 2, and L.A. Noire.

Best Graphics (Technical): Rage, Gears of War 3, Battlefield 3, Killzone 3, Uncharted 3: Drakes Deception, Bulletstorm, and Crysis 2.

Best Graphics (Artistic): Bastion, Shank, Rayman Origins, El Shaddia: Ascension of the Metatron, Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet, and Capsized.

Best New Character: Garcia Hotspur (Shadows of the Damned), Wheatley (Portal 2), The Kid (Bastion), Cole Phelps (L.A. Noire), Adam Jensen (Deus Ex: Human Revolution), and Catherine (Catherine).

Best Downloadable Game: Crysis (360), Rochard, Bastion, Shank, Resident Evil 4 HD, Frozen Synapse, and Minecraft.

Most Suprisingly Good Game: Shadows of the Damned, Skylanders: Spyros Adventures, Rayman Origins, Bulletstorm, and Homefront.

Best Sound Design: Dead Space 2, Battlefield 3, Shadows of the Damned, Deus Ex: Human Revoltuion, Rayman Origins, and L.A. Noire.

Best Music: Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Shadows of the Damned, Rayman Origins, Bastion, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, and Uncharted 3: Drakes Deception.

Best Atmosphere: Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Shadows of the Damned, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Killzone 3, Dead Space 2, Rage, Dark Souls, and Batman Arkham City.

Best Story: Batman Arkham City, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Modern Warfare 3, L.A. Noire, Uncharted 3: Drakes Deception, Portal 2, and Gears of War 3.

Best Original IP: L.A. Noire, Bastion, Bulletstorm, Rage, Shadows of the Damned, and Shank.

Most Improved Sequel: Portal 2, Dead Space 2, Killzone 3, Gears of War 3, Battlefield 3, and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.

Best Co-Op Multiplayer: Dead Island, Portal 2, Modern Warfare 3, Gears of War 3, Rage, and Dark Souls.

Best Competitive Multiplayer: Modern Warfare 3, Gears of War 3, Battlefield 3, Killzone 3, Crysis 2, and Uncharted 3: Drakes Deception.

Best Boss Fights: Shadows of the Damned, Rayman Origins, Gears of War 3, Dead Space 2, Dark Souls, and Batman: Arkham City.

Most Memorable Moment: TBA

Best Ending: Dead Space 2, Gears of War 3, L.A. Noire, Batman: Arkham City, Modern Warfare 3, Portal 2, and Deus Ex: Human Revolution.

Best Remake: Street Fighter: Third Strike Online Edition, Halo Anniversary, Resident Evil 4 HD Metal Gear Solid HD Collection, and The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time 3D.

Best Weapons: Gears of War 3, Shadows of the Damned, Dead Space 2, Battlefield 3, Killzone 3, Crysis 2, and Saints Row: The Third.

Most Overlooked Game: Shadows of the Damned, Dead Island, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Bastion, Killzone 3, Rage, and Bulletstorm.

Most Overrated Game: Catherine, Dark Souls, Trine 2, Battlefield 3, and Resistance 3.

Game of the Year: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Shadows of the Damned, Batman Arkham City, Gears of War 3, Portal 2, Rayman Origins, Rage, Killzone 3, Bastion, and Dead Space 2.

Most Anticipated of 2012: The Last of Us, I Am Alive, Alan Wake: American Nightmare, Dead Space 3, Mass Effect 3, The Darkness 2, Far Cry 3, Hitman: Absolution, Tomb Raider, and Kingdoms of Amular: Reckoning.

Well that's all for my nominees blog. I have to finish a few games on the list to come up with my winner for Most Memorable Moment, but besides that i'm set. Hope you all think its a pretty good length list and i'm sorry for any gramatical errors. Like I said i'm sick so i'm not really paying attention all that well. :P Anyway have a great week guys, and i'll start naming my winners soon. Thanks for reading. :)

~Mike 8)

Well everyone this is just a quick blog to wish all my great friends on this magnificent site a Merry Christmas. I hope yours was as good as mine. Speaking of which, here's what I got this year.

I've wanted to play this game for so long. :D

This was kind of an early Christmas present.

:D

Best movie of the year. :P

Oh yeah :D

Quite a nice surprise. :D

Another nice surprise. :P

:D

One of my favorite shows, thanks mom and dad. :P

I also got a few other things, like a new jacket, gift cards, and other random crap. So all in all it was a fantastic Christmas. :) Hope you all had a great Christmas. :)

Hey guys, I know I haven't blogged at all in the last few months, but that's not going to stop me from doing my annual Game of the Year awards! I'll also be doing other awards like, My top 10 movies and albums of the year, but mostly this blog is just to let everyone know that my awards will be coming soon. So make sure to check out my blog in the coming days as I get started! :)

~Mike 8)

As you most of you know I have been eagerly awaiting the release of Battlefield 3 for months now, its even the reason that I did not pre-order Modern Warfare 3. Now that I have the game in my hands and i've played through its single player campaign and 7 hours of multiplayer i'm ready to share my initial thoughts on the game.

Single Player:

Battlefield 3 was built as a game to kill Call of duty once and for all. So why did it steal so much from different Call of Duty campaigns? The entire time I was playing through the extremely short (4-5 hours depending on difficulty) I was reminded of Black OPS and Call of Duty 4 constantly. So much of it felt like it was ripped straight from those games that its not even funny. I love the Call of Duty campaigns so why didn't I like this one? Its simple really, it never once felt like a Battlefiled game. The story didn't keep me engaged, I could have cared less about the characters, and the game was over in a flash. One positive thing I can say about it was that it looked drop dead gorgeous, at ever single turn. Every environment is dripping with detail and the new Frostbite 2 engine makes textures and lighting look amazing. I just couldn't help, but feel like the only reason I was playing the campiagn was to see how amazing the game looked, and not for the story, or gameplay.

Multiplayer:

Now the multiplayer is the real reason I bought the game. Although it had its problems I loved the Beta and based on that alone I made my purchase. Now that the game is out and all the beta issues seem to be fixed I'm loving it! When I can get into a match..... Last night I was so frustrated at trying to get into a match I pondered getting rid of the game. finally after 30 minutes of trying I got into a horribly laggy match. That justifies a $60 price tag right? I understand that Dice has launch problems with they're games, but I bought this game for the multiplayer and i'm sorry if I expect it to work. So far I love the multiplayer when I can actually play it, but the fact that I can't 98% of the time, I feel bad for buying it at launch.

Final Thoughts:

So far I've put 15 hours into Battlefield 3 betweent the single and multiplayer and I haven't found anywhere near $60 dollars of value in it. Online servers are a mess and there are to few of them to counter the amount of people playing. The Sinlge Player, while beautiful, is a souless copycat of Call of Duty games that can do a much better job of making you care enough to want to finish the game. These may sound like harsh words and my tune may change after Dice fixes the server issues, but as it stands Battlefield 3 is one of the most disappointing games I have played in a long time and I will personally never be buying a single Dice game at launch ever again.

Current Score: 7.0/10.0

Thanks for reading everyone. Please feel free to share your opinions about the game or comment on what I thought about it.

~Mike :)

Hey, everyone. Sorry I haven't been up to blogging in about 2 months, but I thought i'd hop on tonight and post this to let you all know that I just finished Batman: Arkham City tonight! The game was so amazing its inspired me to write a review for it! Its been about a year since my last one of those. :P

Anyway hope all of you are well and are hopefully playing Arkham City! If your not go buy it.......seriously......buy it.....

~Mike :)

Well as many of you probably already know, Hurricane Irene is growing ever closer to the East Coast of the US. What this means for me is that today me and my family are gearing up to deal with a category 3 Hurricane.

Yeah its not going to be pretty and from what I can tell its going to start hitting us late tonight. I just thought i'd toss this blog up ahead of time in case I lose power and am not able to get on for a few days. To any of my friends on the lower part of the East Coast good luck and stay safe, I'll be doing the same. That's pretty much it, but i'll leave you all with a song (thanks to dylan417 for posting this song in his blog first, i've had it stuck in my head for a week) :P

Song of the Day:Kid Cudi "No One Believes Me"

You all may remember that I made a blog almost a month ago announcing this blog series and to be completely honest with work being what it is and my lack of interest in blogging I wasn't sure i'd even get around to doing this list. Before I start I just want to remind everyone that what I write about these games and the games I have chosen are my thoughts, opinions, and choices. Nobody elses, so please do not disrespect or belittle my selections if you don't like a game. I will have to break this series into parts, so today's blog will be part 1 of 5. I hope you all enjoy it. :)

#25- Battlefield 2 (PC) 2005

Battlefield 2 was the game that introduced me to competitive online multiplayer games, ever since i've been hooked. But BF2 wasn't just a great online shooter, it was also one of the most well balanced, polished, fun shooters I have ever played. Unfortunately it lacked any form of a single player game, and that holds it back on the list, but I will remember it as the multiplayer experience that started it all for me.

#24- Assassins Creed II (Xbox 360) 2009

The first Assassins Creed game was a brilliant albeit greatly flawed game. With its sequal it introduced us to a new amazing cast of characters, greatly improved combat, better storytelling, and one of the largest open worlds in any game. Simply put Assassins Creed II fixed nearly every issue that the first game had, and added so much more, making it one of the best open world games ever made.

#23- The Sims (PC) 2000

One of my earliest gaming memories was building a house in the Sims, making my character play the guitar like a pro, then intentionally drowning him in the pool and starting over. It may sound messed up, but we've all done it and enjoyed it. :P Still I put nearly 1,000 hours of game time into the game and loved every second of it. Its endlessly entertaining and addictive to the point where you can't put it down even after hours of playtime.

#22- Grand Theft Auto IV (Xbox 360) 2008

GTA IV was hit or miss for a lot of people. It steered to far from San Andreas and Vice City for some while others loved the more serious and dark toned story that the game took. I'm a huge fan of the new direction the game took. As a matter of fact I had hardly any problems with the game at all. Improved combat, fantastic visuals, and one of the best modern mob stories ever told GTA IV could do no wrong for me. It will stand as one of the defining games of our generation and a must play game for anyone.

#21- Timesplitters 2 (Gamecube) 2002

Timesplitters 2 was a game me and my friends would sit and play for several hours at the time day after day. The story was completely insane to me and I never understood it, but when a game has multiplayer this amazing its easy to overlook the ludicrous story. The guns were an awesome mix of Sci-fi and modern day weaponry and always gave you an excuse to try something new, as apposed to games these days that make one weapon your "go to" gun in the game. The maps were also some of the mostimaginative and fun multiplayer maps i've ever played. Just everything from its presentation to its addictive multiplayer make this game a must play for any shooter fan.

Well that was part 1 of 5. I hope you all enjoyed it and I will make sure to get part 2 up sometime tomorrow. Thanks for reading. :)

~Mike.

Song of the Day:IN FLAMES - Deliver Us

Hello everyone. Its been nearly 2 months, since my last blog and to be honest I haven't really missed it. Activity just hasn't been the same on this site the last year, and as such I just don't look forward to blogging as much as I used to. Not to say I won't ever again since i'm obviously typing this now, but I don't think i'll be doing it as frequently. I missed my oportunity to do a blog for my own Best of E3 Awards, because I sent my computer in for repairs. The repairs took almost a month, but i'm now up and running again. Anyway this blog was more or less to just say that i'm still here and I will be blogging, just not a frequently as I used to. Also I will be starting a new blog series in the coming days titled: My Top 25 Must Play Games of the Last Decade. So there is something for anyone who still reads these to look forward to. :P So i'll leave you all with this.....

Hypnotoad commands you to read my blogs!! :P

Thanks for reading everyone and have a great weekend. :)

~Mike.