Game of the Year 2011

The time has come for everyone to take all the experience of the last twelve months, bundle them up and file them away. While doing so, consider the videogames you have played this year. For most Americans it was probably something on Facebook or maybe angry birds. Limit that group to console gamers and it was most likely a shooter (call of duty, battlefield), skyrim or batman. While my pick isn't completely out of left field, it may be considered somewhat electic since I am a hardcore gamer.

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

It may be necessary to preface this statement by saying that I have yet to play Batman: Arkham City, Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Battlefield 3, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 or Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception (all of which may be contenders on people’s GoTY lists) though I am confident my opinion will remain unchanged when I finally get around to playing them. I hope that talking about a Wii game doesn’t put most people off the subject. I know many people ‘hate’ the Wii and would be reluctant to check out any game on it for a variety of personal prejudices. The same could be true of the Zelda series, many people feel that it is the same game so why give it the time of day. For the latest entry, this is definitely not the case.

Nintendo has truly outdone themselves this time. I have played the main entries in the Zelda franchise and honestly believe that Skyward Sword outdoes all of them. To give you a little background I would say that Twilight Princess was disappointing at best and I really enjoyed Wind Waker. Skyward Sword manages to forge a bond between the two taking the style driven vision of WW and combining it with the modern sensibilities of TP. One huge boon in its favor is that SS has fantastic controls. The game requires the motion plus attachment, but offers a previously unheard of level of enjoyment for the commitment of a new peripheral. All the promises that were made when the Wii was first released control-wise have finally come to fruition in this game. The sword combat feels great; if you waggle and flail your arms like you were playing TP for the Wii, Link will respond likewise. This means you have to make deliberate motions that feel much more natural and accurate to the action on screen. I never really believed this would be fun after playing several years of Wii motion titles, but it is. If the control design wasn’t enough, Nintendo up the ante of the game content itself.

Not only will hardcore fans see subtle nods to their previous entries but the game contains elements that keep it relevant with many of today’s more traditional RPGs. Random loot drops, being able to make decisions to affect side quests, forging equipment, complex yet intuitive inventory management round out several of the changes that are new to the franchise. These come with a new round of dungeons, over-world and transversal methods which always remind us why the franchise is still amazingly fun. It is really amazing to see how Nintendo took all the successful elements of a dozen previous titles and combined them in snippets here. Without spoiling anything, I will say it has been fun to see how they adapted things from other successful games (even non-Nintendo titles GASP) into this one. Give it a shot, alright?

On a side note, why are there so many female Link cosplayers? Maybe this should be explored in the next Zelda game.