Personal GOTY awards: Day 25 – Character of the Year: Johnson (Shadows of the Damned)
5551It was very nearly Wheatly, but no, Johnson wins out. Charming, his commentary of all the inner workings of the Demon Underworld were phenomenally entertaining. Wouldn’t be the same game without him.
Personal GOTY awards: Day 24 – Best scene: Portal 2
6043This was actually an Easter egg, but was terrific nonetheless. Awesome work from Stephen Merchant too.
Personal GOTY awards: Day 23 – Worst Use of an Established License: X-men: Destiny
6936Only briefly played this, but it’s the polar opposite of Arkham City. A loveless and mediocre RPG trying to sell on its license alone. Shameless.

Personal GOTY awards: Day 22 – Best Graphics: RAGE
3346RAGE had some visual blemishes, but on the whole, it was utterly, utterly gorgeous. Special mention to the animations too, that didn’t just look awesome, but changed the gameplay dynamics of an FPS greatly.

Personal GOTY awards: Day 21 – Best Developer: Rocksteady Studios
5059This is a tough one as I’ve played so many great games this year, but I’m going to go with Rocksteady. This is simply because of their obvious love and understanding of the Batman franchise. It’s apparent that they cared about what they were doing, where the same can’t be said for other, similar franchises.

Personal GOTY awards: Day 20 – Best Story: Portal 2
3574If only all games were this well written. Lovely, charming experience with great characters.

Personal GOTY awards: Day 19 – Best Handheld Game: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
6272The best game in the world is also the best handheld game in the world.

Personal GOTY awards: Day 18 – Best Nintendo Game: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
3829Yes. Easily.

Personal GOTY awards: Day 17 – Best Microsoft Game: Halo Anniversary
3539I’ve yet to play Gears, and I’ve not played many other MS exclusives this year. I will go with this one, and I’ve only played a little of it. So far, though, 343 Industries have done a cracking job of bringing the original Halo up to date, while giving me hope for the future of the franchise.
I know Halo is a popular game to hate on, but I enjoy it and make no excuses for it. Say what you like about its background and the hype generated by it, it’s incredibly fun to play and the A.I. makes for awesome combat. Aside from that, it’s just good Sci-fi too.

Personal GOTY awards: Day 16 – Best Sony Game: DC Universe Online
5231With my PS3 still in the UK at this time, again, this is down to sheer circumstance. DC Universe Online was the first PS3 game this year, and the last before I flew in March. Worthy game in my eyes, though.

