Michael "Sir Loin of Beef" Revis's pick: King of Fighters XIII
"One of the best looking 2D fighters to have come out in recent history, with a rewarding combat system that lets players achieve things that wouldn't normally be possible."
Ken "Chaobo98" Serra's pick:
"I wasn’t aware these still existed. Oh wait…"
Amanda "Mandifesto" Orneck's pick: Elsword
"Because I prefer my fighting with cute little girls and big swords."
Arthur "Arturis" Orneck's pick: ColdFusion/Javascript/SQL
"The countless hours I spend in a slugfest to the death with all the behind-the-scenes code that makes this site work is the most brutal 2D brawler I've ever experienced."
Best 3D Fighting Game
Michael "Sir Loin of Beef" Revis's pick: Mortal Kombat
"A well crafted product that contains a rich story, loads of single player content, a fun combat system, and an incredibly varied roster. Oh, and the fatalities as well."
Ken "Chaobo98" Serra's pick: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
"Chucking fireballs and slicing people in half in Mortal Kombat 9 is fun and all, but there’s nothing quite like getting verbally abused by the sonic sound waves of a whining 9 year old and coming out victorious."
Arthur "Arturis" Orneck's pick: Ultimate Marvel Vs Capcom 3
"I grew up a Marvel fanboy. While other kids busy idolizing their sports heroes or music stars, I was busy arguing with friends over who would have won had the original fight between The Hulk and Wolverine had played its course to the end. So any chance I get to see my favorite Marvel super heroes thrashing on each other is a moment of pure childhood glee. Oh, and the Capcom characters are cool, too."
Amanda "Mandifesto" Orneck's pick: Vash vs Lyra
"The puppy battle royal that erupts in our living room around midnight each night. The first rule about puppy fight club, you don't talk about puppy fight club -- and I just broke it. Proudly."
Best First Person Shooter
Michael "Sir Loin of Beef" Revis's pick: Serious Sam 3: BFE
"Brings back fond memories of Doom and Quake, where the only things you had to concern yourself with being how much lead did you need to put into a monster to out it down and where the closest body armor pickup was. What Duke Nukem Forever should have been."
Ken "Chaobo98" Serra's pick: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
"Decent maps, good multiplayer technicalities, plenty of patches, and a dev team that cares? Yes please. Need I say more?"
Amanda "Mandifesto" Orneck's pick: Battlefield 3
"Just to mess with Ken."
Best Third Person Shooter
Michael "Sir Loin of Beef" Revis's pick: Gears of War 3
"For being a modern shooter title, it is able to provide a well rounded package of action, story, and online play. There's literally something for everyone, whether you're a diehard competitive player, or someone who prefers working with others."
Ken "Chaobo98" Serra's pick: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
"The game has a third person mode and it is far superior than my obvious choice for this category, Gears of War 3. Just because Gears was designed from the ground up as the superior third-person shooter, doesn’t mean it has to win… wait…"
"There's something very arresting about creepy oozing walls trying to kill you."
Best 2D Platformer
Ken "Chaobo98" Serra's pick:
"Well, a lot of games have platforms and stuff… but they’re all in 3D. Oh wait…"
Amanda "Mandifesto" Orneck's pick: Ms. Splosion Man
"Like duh!"
Best 3D Platformer
Michael "Sir Loin of Beef" Revis's pick: Super Mario 3D Land
"Mario rarely fails to disappoint, and this title is no different. Combining both 2D side-scrolling and 3D aspects of gameplay, along with that Nintendo charm(and some raccoon skinning, according to some of the more crazier humans), it's hard not to call it a worthy title."
Ken "Chaobo98" Serra's pick: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
"Sonic Generations did everything quite right in bringing Sonic back to the scene, however, Sonic can’t use guns as he jumps from building to building can he?"
Arthur "Arturis" Orneck's pick: Batman: Arkham City
"You know how I said I was a Marvel Fanboy? Well its true. There was only one DC super hero I liked growing up - and that is the legendary Dark Knight himself. Getting to spend evening after evening in his cowl, prowling through Arkham City dispensing fist-based justice to all, was a highlight of my year."
Amanda "Mandifesto" Orneck's pick: Batman: Arkham City
"One word. Catwoman."
Best Action RPG
Michael "Sir Loin of Beef" Revis's pick: Dark Souls
"With the phrase "Prepare to Die," plastered over its marketing campaign, Dark Souls is a finely crafted title that's also not afraid to slap you around and make you its bitch."
Ken "Chaobo98" Serra's pick: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
"Customization and the ability to play as 4 different ethnic groups? Skyrim has it down and all, but never before has a game forced me to play as a different race not of my choosing, multiple times. Also, FUS-ROH-DAH!"
Amanda "Mandifesto" Orneck's pick: Bastion
"Brilliant storytelling, spot on game mechanics and a haunting tale that leaves you wanting more."
Best SandBox/Open World RPG
Michael "Sir Loin of Beef" Revis's pick: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
"For those who like to explore, Skyrim definitely has this in spades. You can also grow a beard and yell at dragons. Who could resist that?"
Ken "Chaobo98" Serra's pick: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
"The continent in a box prevails in every level in-terms of being open world. Sure Batman: Arkham City does the same thing but unfortunately, it falls short, being only a city in a box. The bright side is you get to role play as Batman."
Amanda "Mandifesto" Orneck's pick: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
"Just the right combination of led questing and open world exploring. Plus, thooms are cool."
Best Japanese RPG
Michael "Sir Loin of Beef" Revis's pick: Disgaea 4: A Promise Unforgotten
"Silly name aside, Disgaea is a JRPG that sticks with what works, while adding new elements to make the game more engaging, and keeping the ridiculous damage numbers rising."
Ken "Chaobo98" Serra's pick:
"[Insert witty comment here.]"
Amanda "Mandifesto" Orneck's pick: ClaDun x2
"For bringing the sexy back to dungeon crawler top down gaming. Or do I mean chibi?"
Best Subscription MMO
Ken "Chaobo98" Serra's pick: X-Box Live
"Massively Multiplayer Online? The Old republic has quite a bit of players but there are over a million people on Xbox Live right now and a good chunk of them are playing Modern Warfare 3! Wait, I think I got the concept wrong…"
Amanda "Mandifesto" Orneck's pick: Star Wars: The Old Republic
"It might be WoW with a Star Wars/Mass Effect skin, but more of the same is fine by me. The same is still fun."
Best Free To Play/Non Subscription MMO
Michael "Sir Loin of Beef" Revis's pick: DC Universe Online
"DC Universe is a title in the growing list of many that proves that a F2P game can be a profitable venture. Having made the switch earlier this year, the game is enjoying a healthy amount of player traffic now, with a rich background to borrow from for a constant stream of content."
Ken "Chaobo98" Serra's pick: Pretty soon, all of the MMOs out…
"...that aren’t made by Blizzard."
Amanda "Mandifesto" Orneck's pick:
"Single server multiplayer on mobile devices set in a world of space adventure? Set phasers to awesome!"
Best Simulation Game
Ken "Chaobo98" Serra's pick: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
"Building yourself untold amounts of castles and then defending them from creepy monsters? Count me in."
Best Motion Controls
Michael "Sir Loin of Beef" Revis's pick: The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
"You don't just play as Link. You ARE Link. Skyward Sword so far is the closest we have come to achieving perfect motion control gameplay, as every slash you make and and arrow you fire makes you feel like you really are the legendary green-clothed hero."
Ken "Chaobo98" Serra's pick: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
"Unlike The Legend of Zelda: The Skyward Sword that has my arms all sore, MW3 gives my thumbs quite the workout. It was even more intense than Mario Tennis back on the 64."
Amanda "Mandifesto" Orneck's pick: Dance Central 2
"With fine-tuned controls and a more challenging set list, this game amps up the dance game to eleven."
Best Puzzle Game
Michael "Sir Loin of Beef" Revis's pick: Catherine
"Who knew block pushing could be part of such a winning formula? Catherine combines puzzle elements with a deep and complex horror story to create and engaging, and challenging, masterpiece."
Ken "Chaobo98" Serra's pick: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
"It takes a brain to line-up all those 1 bullet/4 kills shots and hit those throwing knives. Catherine would’ve got this award from me if this was the ‘#1 sexy puzzler genre’ category."
Amanda "Mandifesto" Orneck's pick: Stacking
"I already see everyone around me as various sizes of Matroyshka dolls, and this charming puzzler just validates my lunacy."
Best Sports/Racing Game
Ken "Chaobo98" Serra's pick: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
"Forza Motorsports 4 is such a flawless racing game with its realistic graphics and precision feel to the game; however I’m more of a competitive shooter. The real life kind…"
Amanda "Mandifesto" Orneck's pick: Madden NFL 12
"I never knew football could be so pretty."
Best Indie Game
Michael "Sir Loin of Beef" Revis's pick: The Binding of Isaac
"A clever roguelike that's chock full of video game references and has addicting (if a little bit traumatizing) gameplay elements. Also, mutant babies."
Ken "Chaobo98" Serra's pick: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
"Modern Warfare 3 is an independent game. It has its own box and CD... wait that's not what they meant was it? "
Best DLC/Mod
Michael "Sir Loin of Beef" Revis's pick: Batman: Arkham City
"Characters, stages, outfits, the whole shebang. Pretty much anything and everything you could want, with more to come in the months ahead."
Ken "Chaobo98" Serra's pick: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
"I can say if you enjoyed MW2 on the PC, then you most likely ended up downloading MW3. Some say MW3 is just a big DLC to MW2, but if you know anything about the concept of multiplayer shooting games, you know MW3 is quite the DLC then."
Game of the Year
Michael "Sir Loin of Beef" Revis's pick: Batman: Arkham City
"With the reception this game has garnered, saying anything else would probably result in angry mobs with torches and pitchforks"
Ken "Chaobo98" Serra's pick: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
"I mean sure, there were games that pretty much reached the peak of perfection, like Batman: Arkham City. But come-on, Modern Warfare 3 was nominated more than 10 times by yours truly. What game could possibly beat it out then? "
Amanda "Mandifesto" Orneck's pick: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
"You stole my heart Skyrim, impressing me with a gorgeous game that is so much more than just Oblivion with dragons."
Company of the Year
Michael "Sir Loin of Beef" Revis's pick: Atlus
"Atlus continues to become more of an international company, telling mother nature "Fuck your earthquakes and tsunamis!" as they grow their game library with a surprising variance of genres, including putting out the clever Rock of Ages, the unique puzzler Catherine, and allowing fighting fans to finally get a console release of KoFXIII. They've even gone into anime, with the Persona 4 show being off to a great start. It'll be interesting to see how 2012 turns out for them."
Ken "Chaobo98" Serra's pick: DICE
"Unlike Atlus that makes a wide variety of games that are unmatched by anyone else, DICE created the game that ended up competing with Modern Warfare 3. Without DICE, there would be no other worthy game for MW3 to crush in the competition."
Amanda "Mandifesto" Orneck's pick: SuperGiant Games
"For creating the first XBLA to Chrome port (and no I don't count Angry Birds)"
Most Anticipated Game of Next Year
Michael "Sir Loin of Beef" Revis's pick: Diablo III
"It's motherf***ing Diablo. What else do you need to know?"
Ken "Chaobo98" Serra's pick: Ghost Recon: Future Soldier
"With a couple of delays which repeatedly sent it back to the future, Ghost Recon: Future Soldier gets my obvious vote. However, Star Wars: Battlefront 3??? Yes please…"
Amanda "Mandifesto" Orneck's pick: Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning
"... (no words are needed)"
Largest Gaming Screwup
Michael "Sir Loin of Beef" Revis's pick: Gamestop's OnLive controversy
"Gamestop has done a lot of stupid things, but the shitstorm surrounding their removal on OnLive codes in Deus Ex: Human Revolution crosses several lines. While they did make up for the removed items with alternate bonuses, there really was no excuse for that kind of activity in the first place."
Ken "Chaobo98" Serra's pick: A Brink-tastrophy
"Launching Brink before it was really finished… Seriously Bethesda, maybe let Bioware inspect your games or something."
Amanda "Mandifesto" Orneck's pick: Scroll-erGate
"Bethesda deciding they own the word "Scrolls.""
Most Desired Site Sponsership
Michael "Sir Loin of Beef" Revis's pick: Valve
"GameGeex branded TF2 hats. Make it happen."
Ken "Chaobo98" Serra's pick: Mountain Dew
"Because they give out double xp in Modern Warfare 3. It would also save me a lot of money. Though, a sponsorship from Buffalo wild wings would be nice… "
Amanda "Mandifesto" Orneck's pick: Monster Absolutely Zero
"It's what GameGeex crave."
Game Most Likely To Kick Your Ass
Michael "Sir Loin of Beef" Revis's pick: Dark Souls
"You will die in this game. A lot. But there's also no better feeling than breaking a humongous dragon's tail off through sheer power of your fist alone."
Ken "Chaobo98" Serra's pick: Dark Souls
"Ok ok. This vote goes to Dark Souls. The game is hard. But still, Modern Warfare 3 is a close 2nd because being spawned in to further frustration is gold, especially when you're the one inflicting the frustration. Trololololol."
Amanda "Mandifesto" Orneck's pick: Dance Central 2
" Dude, I think you need a second pelvis to get some of those moves down, and maybe some rocket boots."
Most Disappointing Game
Michael "Sir Loin of Beef" Revis's pick: Duke Nukem Forever
"It was a game that was expected to be greeted by scantily clad angels holding rocket launchers. A game that many though would never see the light of day, being over a decade in the making. Instead, we got a very mediocre title that tries way too hard to be offensive, falls into the very same trappings of modern FPS games that it tries to make fun of, and makes one too many outdated pop culture references. Where did everything go wrong?"
Ken "Chaobo98" Serra's pick: Everything that’s not Modern Warfare 3
"Thank you! Good night!"
Amanda "Mandifesto" Orneck's pick: The Lord of the Rings: War in the North
"They promised me epic adventure new robust Tolkein stories, but ended up boring me in a world of bland and brown."