The console war. Everyone seems to have an opinion, and everyone has a reason as to why a certain console is better than the rest. We're not here to decide that. We're here to celebrate the exclusives that make owning each console awesome. That's right, we don't care about games that appear on multiple platforms today.
So without further ado, let's take a look at the titles that make each platform special, and make sure to tune in tomorrow as we crown the Game of the Year!
PlayStation 3 Game of the Year: Journey
Who would have ever guessed that a downloadable title for a console would reign supreme over any other retail game. Journey proved that even without dialogue, a game could present an emotional story of rebirth through a stunning array of vistas. From golden deserts to dark and gloomy caverns, and the glorious high heavens, Journey was stunning to look at.
Journey also connected gamers together, without them ever needing to say a single word together. Players would be able to help each other out, and show one another secrets hidden away in each level. If you haven't yet experienced Journey, you owe it to yourself to download it immediately, and see what an amazing experience it is.
Runner up: PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale
Xbox 360 Game of the Year: Halo 4
Halo 4 has already won a few awards, but now it walks away with the Xbox 360 Game of the Year award. Halo 4 was not only appealing to fans of previous Halo games, who awaited the return of Master Chief, but also told a relatively new story, since it is now the start of its own trilogy. Halo 4 was not only stunning, but featured some amazing new gameplay mechanics. Even the new Promethean weapons were a spectacle to look at as they assembled into your hands.
However Halo 4 was also extremely appealing thanks to its much more emotional storyline. It focused more on Cortana this time around, and Master Chief's quest to save her from becoming crazy.
The amazing multiplayer also returned with a ton of modes. Spartan Ops was also an amazing co-operative addition which offered free weekly episodes that progressed the story.
If you own a 360, and you're not even that much of a Halo fan, you still owe it to yourself to experience everything the game has to offer.
Runner up: Minecraft (XBLA)
PC Game of the Year: Guild Wars 2
Already winning Best MMO, Guild Wars 2 broke the mold by offering a fully fledged MMO experience that required players to pay a one time fee for purchasing the game and then no monthly subscriptions.
The game focused less on the grind, and more on exploration. With a unique leveling mechanic that scaled higher level players to the given area, allowed for easier grouping with other players, and completing world events.
Guild Wars 2 also featured an interesting storyline that took you from level 1 all the way to level 80, on a quest to take down Zhaitan, the Elder Dragon of Orr. If you have the money to spare to buy the game, and have an affinity to MMOs, Guild Wars 2 is an absolute must play.
Runner up: Diablo III
Wii Game of the Year: Xenoblade Chronicles
Xenoblade Chronicles was one of those games that almost never made it over to the US, and what a giant shame that would have been. The Wii is void of hardcore games as it is, and Xenoblade Chronicles game Wii owners a chance to rejoice.
XC featured an epic story of two giant continents, that also happened to be living creatures, and the ongoing battle between the human race and a robot menace.
The game also had some stellar voice acting, thanks to its European localization that was carried over to the US, and some truly impressive graphics, given the system's limitations.
If you need to give your Wii its last hurrah before you move on to the Wii U, or hey, even if you have the Wii U (since it's backwards compatible) you owe it to yourself to play Xenoblade Chronicles.
Runner up: The Last Story
Nintendo 3DS Game of the Year: New Super Mario Bros. 2
The two plumbers and their need to constantly save a Princess that's not smart enough to get better security in her Kingdom are at it again. New Super Mario Bros. 2 didn't really innovate the series much, and rather, stuck to its platforming roots. However Mario and Luigi did have a few new power-ups this time around that made world traversing that much more fun.
With a huge emphasis on coin collecting, Mario and Luigi were able to utilize items like Gold Flowers which turned everything it touched into coins. It also had players racing to collect 1 million coins as that was the on going challenge presented at the very start of the game.
NSMB2 also featured local multiplayer, which for anyone that has ever tried it, knows that it can get pretty chaotic. Nevertheless, for those that wanted to put up with the frustration, it was there.
Runner up: Resident Evil Revelations
PS Vita Game of the Year: Assassin's Creed Liberation
During the PSP era, it was very hard to imagine an Assassin's Creed game on a portable that actually played like a real Assassin's Creed game. While the PSP did get an Assassin's Creed title, it was far from the fully featured games we get on the console.
Liberation not only featured the full Assassin's experience, but wasn't just a port of the console version. It featured a completely separate story that focused on a female protagonist, a first in the series. Not to mention it dared to touch on subjects like slavery.
Runner up: Gravity Rush
Indie Game of the Year: Journey
Oh Journey, you sure have won a lot of awards this year. Let's just recap what made Journey so special.
Journey proved that even without dialogue, a game could present an emotional story of rebirth through a stunning array of vistas. From golden deserts to dark and gloomy caverns, and the glorious high heavens, Journey was stunning to look at.
Journey also connected gamers together, without them ever needing to say a single word together. Players would be able to help each other out, and show one another secrets hidden away in each level. If you haven't yet experienced Journey, you owe it to yourself to download it immediately, and see what an amazing experience it is.
Runner up: Hotline Miami
Digital Download Game of the Year: The Walking Dead
The video game adaptation of the comics and TV show proved to be an absolute winner for Telltale Games. Telling its own story that takes place before the events of the comics and TV show, we were able to connect with a different set of survivors. Each choice led gamers down a different path. Who would survive and who would live, it would ultimately be up to the player.
Conversation were extremely tense and forced players to remember what they told each character, as they would remember and ultimately know when they're being lied to.
Spanning 5 nail biting episodes, that will have you glued to the screen from start to finish, this is one downloadable title that shouldn't be missed by anyone.
Runner up: Minecraft
