Brian Tonkin
Teacher Features/ Video Games
briantonkin55@msn.com

This year, Spike T.V. hosted its 9th annual Video Game Awards. Out of the many categories presented during the show, all eyes are constantly fixed on just one, Game of the Year. The VGA team narrows it down to five select games and then decides which on deserves to wear the title GOTY on it's case. These are the games chosen by Spike T.V., not by me. I'm merely listing them for you.

Nominee - Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception

Naughty Dog's hit series, Uncharted, always finds itself atop the charts. Roaming around corners and silently killing faceless guards, the beloved protagonist, Nathan Drake, searches far and wide for a secret lost treasure. Despite its intriguing story line and amazing, movie-like graphics, the fact that Uncharted 3 is a Sony exclusive likely prevented it from placing higher on VGA's list.

Nominee - Portal 2

Video games have been commonly associated with violence and mindless killing. That being said, it's evident that Valve game studios planned on discrediting such statements. Based on the game series Half-Life, Portal forces the player to think logically and solve tough puzzles, without sacrificing the fun and satire that is typically found in video games. Entering one portal will bring you out the second portal so keeping one's sense of direction is not easy.

Nominee - Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

Picture a video gamer sitting motionless staring at a T.V. This is the stereotype many have of video games and those who play them, however, you will see nothing like that with the LoZ: Skyward Sword. The game is played using and Wii Motion Plus controller as a make shift sword. Throughout the game, the player will perform hacks, slashes, jabs, spins, and (for the more serious Zelda fans) back flips. Legendary video game hero, Link, is forced to leave his soft life in Skyloft to save his friend, Zelda. This game is a prequel to the 1998 edition, The Ocarina of Time, which has been commonly rated as the greatest game ever. Some critics believe this newest installment to be an even better game than the Ocarina of Time, but regardless of these claims, Skyward Sword did not make it to the top of VGA's GOTY list.

Nominee - Batman: Arkham City

In almost every situation, big title movie/ comic book series do not make for good video games. However, Batman: Arkham Asylum, released in 2009, stunned gamers with it's massive, scenic explorable area and the clearly intense effort that was put into it. In October, this year, Rockstedy Studios took it a step further with the sequel, Batman: Arkham City. Arkham City was quickly labeled as the greatest licensed video game ever and also received a perfect score by reputable magazines such as Game Informer and X-Box Magazine. Despite the awesomeness that is Batman, the developers at Rocksteady were not given the GOTY award, mainly because they picked the wrong year to produce a game.

Winner - Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

_There was little doubt in anyone's mind as to the winner of the VGA Game of the Year award. The real competition between company's was for second place. Bethesda Game Studios' newest installment for the Elder Scrolls series, Skyrim was the sure fire winner of the 2011 GOTY award. In 2002, Bethesda redefined gaming with the Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, in 2006 they once again surpassed expectations with the Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, but this years title, the Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, left both of those games in a cloud of virtual dust. From full character customization to countless deep, haunted dungeons, Skyrim enthralls the player with both the lands many wonders and many threats. Your character, known as the Dovahkin, quickly evolves from killing cave rats to slaying Alduin, the world-eater. With all of the endless quests and enemies, it is quite literally impossible to "beat" this game. These factors, which Bethesda has previously demonstrated with Fallout 3 and Oblivion, make Skyrim the obvious choice for Game of the Year... and also the end of many social lives.

References: "http://www.spike.com/shows/video-game-awards"