The Best Video Games of 2011

Just as the years before it, 2011 saw the release of a number of video games across a wide variety of platforms. But which one was THE BEST? It's a difficult question to answer, considering the many genres and styles represented. For instance, is the game with guys that shoot zombies better than the game with guys that shoot other guys? Not sure! As a result, we were forced to develop a number of very specific criteria in order to properly evaluate the candidates. Using this very carefully calibrated system, we believe we have successfully determined the very best games of 2011. Read on — and let us know in the comments if you think we were right.

Best Game That Wasn't An Album By Coheed And Cambria Hyperdimension Neptunia (PS3)

Upon first glance, we were sure that Hyperdimension Neptunia was brought to us by the same folks who gave us Good Apollo I'm Burning Star IV Volume One. But we were wrong! Hyperdimension Neptunia is actually a game that has something to do with young anime girls in armor screaming at each other, one of the most popular sub-genres of the anime-characters-screaming-at-each-other style of games. We will freely admit that watching the trailer for this title made us feel a little dirty, and when one of the girls shouted, "Behold my raging spear!" we had to bail for fear of an aneurysm. Nevertheless, Hyperdimension Neptunia remains the Best Game That Wasn't An Album By Coheed And Cambria of 2011.

Best Product Placement Uncharted 3 (PS3)

This past year, Nathan Drake returned with a Taste For Adventure™ that only Subway could satisfy. And satisfy it did, when the submarine-sandwich slinger teamed up with developer Naughty Dog to deliver this year's Best Product Placement. Prior to the game's launch, gamers who bought certain Subway products could access Uncharted 3's multiplayer mode in advance, fragging their competition while wearing an in-game Subway employee uniform. Never has the line between a heroic protagonist and a heroic sandwich been so deliciously blurred. When notified of Uncharted 3's prestigious award, former Subway spokesman Jared Fogle suggested Naughty Dog go one step further by letting him design a level where you slice honey-baked ham in bullet time. It remains to be seen if this level will be patched in.

Best Sequel To Dead Space Dead Space 2 (Rated M, Multi-Platform)

We were deeply disappointed by the number of contenders in this category. Dead Island was almost there based on its title alone, but it had the gall to set itself in a tropical paradise instead of in a futuristic space colony built on one of Saturn's moons. This glaring oversight by Dead Island's developers prompted an immediate disqualification. We also had high hopes for Test Drive Unlimited 2, but we felt that we really had to give that game the award for Best Sequel To Test Drive Unlimited. This really left us with only one choice: Dead Space 2. So if you win the award, but you're the only competitor, is it really anything to get excited about? Probably not.

Best Clinging Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together (PSP)

To hold onto something tightly -- whether it's a ledge, a weapon, or a severed limb -- adds visceral tension and unparalleled immersion in the context of a video game world. Though Mortal Kombat featured characters clinging to one another's viscera, and Brink featured gameplay barely clinging to coherence, it was the clinging showcased in Tactics Ogre that truly won our hearts. Yes, the strategy elements were all fine and good, but the clinging is what makes this game shine. When we reminded ourselves that ogres are generally foul-tempered creatures unaccustomed to clinging, the clinging in Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together became that much more remarkable.

Best Canceled Game Duke Nukem Forever (Rated M, Multi-Platform)

Earlier this year, 2K Games activated a global virtual-reality simulation, causing Duke Nukem fans the world over to believe that the long-awaited Duke Nukem Forever was actually being released. In reality, Duke's creators -- having already invested about 15 years in the title -- knew that they would never be able to meet their audience's sky-high expectations. So late one hot summer night, DNF's lead designer took the game out behind the motion-capture studio and quietly put it out of its misery. Nevertheless, in-denial fans continue to speculate about how DNF will revolutionize the genre, make girls grow bigger breasts, and get guys laid. Yes, we know some people claim to have played this game, but they are lying. Duke Nukem Forever is 2011's Best Canceled Game.

Best Trees The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Rated M, Multi-Platform)

From the palm trees blasted to smithereens in Battlefield 3, to the interplanetary man-eating plants of Bulletstorm, there was no lack of beautifully-rendered digitized foliage to appreciate in 2011. Despite the variety, it's the meticulously-crafted trees of Skyrim that get our vote for Best Trees of 2011. We incorrectly assumed that Skyrim's developers used the SpeedTree suite of tools to create the game's realistic 3D vegetation. Like, wouldn't they want to take advantage of the SpeedTree toolset, which allows for both procedural and hand-drawn modeling, supports user-controlled UV mapping, and can even export wind effects via point cache? Nope, they used their own proprietary engine like a bunch of crazy-heads. Regardless, the trees in Skyrim still look pretty cool.