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 :)