The 2011 The Best War Games Video Game Awards: Nominations

The wave of major new video game releases has finally settled as 2011 winds down and we prepare to celebrate the new year. But before we look forward to an even bigger year of gaming in 2012, let’s reflect back on what the gaming industry entertained us with in 2011.

For the 2011 The Best War Games Video Game Awards, we've again expanded upon what we did in our first two years, growing from a single game of the year winner, to seven broad categories, to what we have this year: 15 categories. Read on for the nominees (and click here for the winners).

Best New IP

In a year overloaded with sequels, original games became a rarity in 2011, but there were publishers and developers bold enough to offer something new and different. The following video games all are worthy enough to spawn franchises of their own.

Bastion (Supergiant Games)
Bulletstorm (People Can Fly, Epic Games)
Catherine (Atlus Persona Team)
L.A. Noire (Team Bondi)
Rocksmith (Ubisoft)

Best Shooter

First-person and third-person shooters dominated the market in 2011, offering stiff competition for the industry and plenty of options for gamers.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (Infinity Ward, Sledgehammer Games)
Battlefield 3 (DICE)
Gears of War 3 (Epic Games)
Killzone 3 (Guerrilla Games)
Resistance 3 (Insomniac Games)

Best Sports Game

While some gamers give Call of Duty and Assassin's Creed a little grief for their annualized releases, sports-based video games are the biggest offenders. Rightfully so, fans demand the highest of quality and innovation to purchase each iteration and the below games are shining examples of this in 2011.

FIFA 12 (EA Canada)
Fight Night Champion (EA Canada)
MLB 11: The Show (SCE San Diego Studio)
NBA 2K12 (Visual Concepts)
NHL 12 (EA Canada)

Best Driving/Racing Game

After 2010 saw many amazing racing games release, it was a pleasant surprise to see that trend continue in 2011 with a different crop of racers and some returning franchises.

DiRT 3 (Codemasters Southam)
Driver: San Francisco (Ubisoft Reflections)
Forza Motorsport 4 (Turn 10 Studios)
Mario Kart 7 (Retro Studios, Nintendo)
MotorStorm: Apocalypse (Evolution Studios)

Best RPG

A few of our most-anticipated RPGs for 2011 were delayed until 2012 but that didn't hold the genre back at all. The only complaint about this year's crop of role-playing games is our lack of time to fully enjoy them all.

Dark Souls (From Software)
Deus Ex: Human Revolution (Eidos Montreal)
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Bethesda Game Studios)
The Lord of the Rings: War in the North (Snowblind Studios)
The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings (CD Projekt RED)

Best Action/Adventure Game

2011 Video Game Awards - Best Action Adventure

2011, more than any other year, brought gamers to an entirely new level of immersiveness. Never before, has embarking on a digital adventure been so epic thanks to games like these:

Assassin's Creed: Revelations (Ubisoft)
Batman: Arkham City (Rocksteady Studios)
Dead Space 2 (Visceral Games)
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (Nintendo)
Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception (Naughty Dog)

Best Platformer

2011 saw several fan-favorite side-scrolling heroes return from the past to offer some of the best games they've ever been in.

LittleBigPlanet 2 (Media Molecule)
Rayman Origins (Ubisoft Montpellier)
Sonic Generations (Sonic Team)
Super Mario 3D Land (Nintendo)
Trine 2 (Frozenbyte)

Best Motion Controls

Arguably the most notable innovation this generation of video game consoles offered is motion controls, not just for video gaming, but for a new way to interact with home entertainment.