Friday, 16 December 2011

Game of the Year 2011 - RPG (Role Playing Game)


After the Action and First Person shooter categories, it’s time to move into the more niche territory with the RPG genre. Unfortunately, we could not include Demon Souls into the list, since the game never came to India officially, nor could we score a copy for ourselves. But even without Demon Souls, we have quite a few games to talk about and the nominees are...

The Witcher 2 (PC)
Mercs for hire
Mercs for hire


No one thought a European studio could pull off an immersive action RPG with the same style and flair of a BioWare. CD Projekt proved them all wrong with The Witcher, a stylish, brutal and immersive RPG experience that strapped players into the boots of a Witcher, mercenaries for hire that specialize in killing monsters. The game, while being highly enjoyable in nature was a bit rough around the edges, which CD Projekt remedied with a better camera perspective, a more streamlined combat system and drop dead gorgeous visuals. 

Deus Ex: Human Revolution (Xbox360 PS3 PC)
Augmented badassery
Augmented badassery


After nearly a decade of waiting, Deus Ex fans were rewarded this year with Deus Ex: Human Revolution; the much awaited follow up to Deus Ex (people don’t like acknowledging the existence of Invisible War). The game was played out from a first person perspective, but shifted to a third person one as and when players took cover behind objects. Yes, the game had a cover system, but it was so well-tied into combat and stealth, it never felt like it was detracting from the experience. 

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Xbox360 PS3 PC)
Dragons don't scare a Dragon born
Dragons don't scare a Dragon born


The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is one of the more approachable RPGs out there with a highly intuitive combat system reminiscent to first person shooters as well as gameplay mechanics that don’t overwhelm players. For the fifth iteration, developer Bethesda took players down to the gorgeous realm of Skyrim where they could spend hours exploring the game’s ridiculous amount of content. Is there anything better than crafting armour, mining for minerals, raiding dungeons and slaying dragons all in the same day? I don’t think so.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Over the past few years I’ve become somewhat of a jaded gamer. Maybe it’s because I’ve been playing a bunch of sequels back to back or maybe it has something to do with the fact that single player games today get over in about five hours. Granted they’re action games or first person shooters, but still a five hour campaign is low, no matter how you look at it.
Dovahkiin approves
Dovahkiin approves


Skyrim remedies that problem by providing hours of awesome content. Ever since I entered Bethesda’s beautifully crafted world, I’ve been completely hooked, voluntarily throwing my social life has gone out the window. I’ve spent countless hours crafting armour, mining, cutting lumber, pledging my undying loyalty to a multitude of guilds, clearing dungeons in search of lost treasure, slaying dragons, becoming a werewolf, getting married and so much more that I cannot express in a few words. With so much content and accessible gameplay at hand, it’s no wonder that Skyrim is our Game of the Year for 2011.

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