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2011′s Game of the Year

Funny how The Witcher 2 should crop up as Game of the Year just after our penultimate award, Best PC Game. Well, whatever, a coincidence is a coincidence – but seriously, The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings is a phenomenal game. Though some may look upon it’s primarily linear story and lack of choice compared to something like Skyrim as a blemish on the face of this year’s games, these supposed downfalls are only to the game’s credit. The narrative is the strongest you’ll find from all of 2011′s catalogue of video games, with no player finding theirself hindered if they suffer from a lack of the first Witcher game, and is utterly gripping from beginning to end – a particularly good beginning, might I add. Standing in the shoes of Geralt of Rivia, you’ll find no better action-RPG such as this, with each and every side quest being as engaging as each step through the main story. Characters that are integral to the plot don’t take a back seat behind Geralt as many developers would wish, as each story character is treated with the same polish as our protagonist. The gameplay is well crafted, with the difficulty being rather steep in the early hours of the game (which isn’t a bad thing, by the way) and combat being fast and fluid. It’s another one of those ‘simple to learn, difficult to master’ scenarios, but once you get the hang of it, it’s yet another rewarded aspect of this tremendous game.

The Witcher 2 is a prime example of what all games should be – and what should all games be, I hear you ask. Well, put simply, they should be refined. What CD Projekt have done with this game isn’t groundbreaking in any way, but it’s the attention to detail and hand-crafted nature of the entire product that makes it special. With this game soon making its way to the Xbox 360, I implore you to give CD Projekt your money in exchange for this treasure of a video game – without a doubt.

Oh, and the game looks really pretty, too.

Honorable Mention: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception