~~~NinTemple GOTY Awards 2011~~~

You've speculated over it, you've racked your brains, and now - finally - it's here! The NinTemple GOTY Awards for 2011!

Remember, I do the awards based on games I played for the first time in 2011. It just makes more sense that way. So, some notable games I have not yet played as of 2011 include Lost in Shadow, Epic Mickey, Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, Kirby Returns to Dreamland, Sin & Punishment 2, Fragile Dreams, Bit.Trip Complete, Ivy the Kiwi, Prof Layton: Last Spectre, Kirby Mass Attack, and... probably many others I'm forgetting.

Let it begiiiin!

===BEST NARRATIVE===
Another Code R

Amazingly, 2011 has marked a return of the point and click adventure game for me. Thanks to soft-modding my Wii for Xenoblade purposes (which I now won't have to use), I was able to import/play Another Code R. The sequel to the awesome DS game did a great job expanding on the events of the first. One indication that a game has a good narrative is that things get more and more intriguing as the game unfolds. What starts as a curious visit to her father's research site gradually uncovers fiendish plots and life or death situations! Well done, Cing, you'll be missed!

Honorable Mentions: Okami, Prof Layton: Unwound Future

===MOST CREATIVE===
Horizon Riders

For years I've thought someone needed to make an action game using the Balance Board. Finally, Horizon Riders got its shmups in my full-body, mildly-health-inducing motion control.

Honorable Mentions: Okami, Puzzle Quest 2

===MOST CHALLENGING===
Donkey Kong Country Returns

You try getting 100% in that game without having that CCPro hack. I did it, and I gotta say, it felt great. It was challenging but almost never frustrating. You did it again, Retro! Can't see what else ya got up your sleeve!

Honorable Mentions: Horizon Riders, Pokemon White

===BEST VISUALS===
Sonic Colors

Another third party takes the Wii hardware seriously? Well, I guess once or twice a year is a start. Sonic Colors lives up to its name in a good way. It shows that games can use every color in the crayon box, look crisp, and pretty all at the same time. Finally, SEGA made a Sonic game everyone color fall in love with again... even though everyone promptly forgot that when Generations came out. =P

Honorable Mentions: Okami, Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions

===BEST CONTROLS===
Conduit 2

Amazing how being able to customize every little thing and IR pointers gives top-notch FPS controls.

Honorable Mentions: Ghostbusters, Okamiden, Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions

===WORST CONTROLS===
Okami

Obviously the drawing mechanics and the pointer controls are all brilliant. However, the fatal flaw in Okami is that they made too many brush techniques too similar. Want to bloom a tree? Too bad, you brought out the Sun. Or, at least the game thinks you did, and thus bloom still won't work 89% of the time you try to use it (more or less). I think I cast that Thunderstorm technique twice in the entire game. Not good enough, Capcom!

Honorable Mentions: Starfox Command, DKCR

===BEST MULTIPLAYER===
Ghostbusters

2P Co-op, third-person action with pointer-shooting, and you don't have to stay five virtual feet away from each other. That's some bad-ass multiplayer, Atari.

Honorable Mentions: DKCR, Conduit 2

===MOST DISAPPOINTING===
Pokemon White

The game is absolutely stellar in 100 ways. However, I was really hoping this would be the PKMN that finally got the multiplayer right. Some kind of MMO aspects or at least some good online co-op. But no, the online has no meaningful co-op and the competitive multiplayer has no penalty for rage-quitters. NO. PENALTY. FOR. RAGE-QUITTERS. And believe me, online Pokemon fans the world over are, apparently, sore losers.

Honorable Mentions: Conduit 2, Monster Tale

===MOST "FUN"===
Donkey Kong Country Returns

Brilliant platforming, brilliant co-op and intense "set piece" moments made this game a thoroughly enjoyable romp and a triumphant comeback for our favorite tie-wearing ape.

Honorable Mentions: Sonic Colors, Super Monkey Ball: Step and Roll

===GAME OF THE YEAR===
Donkey Kong Country Returns

Honestly, it was a close call with Sonic Colors. But DKCR just felt more polished and richer in content. The lack of CCPro support was a diabolical and utterly moronic decision, however, one mistake can't hold back this powerhouse of a game. Congrats, Kong, this year you're ... top banana. waka waka waka!!

Honorable Mentions: Sonic Colors, Prof Layton: Unwound Future

~~~NinTemple GOTY Awards 2010~~~

It surprises me that so many media outlets make these lists before 2010 actually ends. I know I played some of my best/worst games in December!

First and foremost, prominent games I did not play or did not play enough of to seriously consider for this list: Epic Mickey, Donkey Kong Country Returns, Sin & Punishment 2, Fragile Dreams, Prof Layton and the Unwound Future.

And now, on to the awards!!

===BEST NARRATIVE===
Metroid: Other M

Did the choice of dialogue suck? Yes. Were some of the choices questionable? Absolutely. But no game in 2010 had me on the edge of my seat most wanting to know what happens next. For a gamer who places story above all else? That went a long way. Whether you think it succeeded or not, you have to admire a narrative that shows the evolution of characters across such vast spans of time. In addition, there were mysteries to figure out (I'm a sucker for a good mystery), plot twists and new character reveals! I dug it so much that I immediately watched "theatre mode" after beating the game.

Honorable Mentions: No More Heroes 2, Dragon Quest IX

NMH2 is another plot that kept me dying to know how it would all wrap up. The wacky ride concluded in such a way that provided a satisfying conclusion and left room for more future installments! That's ideal. DQ9? What can I say. It could have just rehashed tired RPG reliables, but it's on this list because of the creative guardian plot and the many, many, many colorful characters in the side-quests.

===MOST CREATIVE===
Kirby's Epic Yarn

It's not the yarn, it's how they used it. KEY constantly surprised me with the imaginative uses of material in a gaming environment. This extended beyond just the level design and into things like Kirby's transformations, the games side-quests, and, of course, the delightful plot that encompassed it all!

Honorable Mentions: Dragon Quest IX, Red Steel 2

DQ9 had me walking around the streets and subways of Manhattan with my DS in tag mode looking for maps that would lead me to more maps that would lead me to rare items. Let's just say that was a first! RS2 successfully pioneered the "first person brawler" genre. Nuff said.

===MOST CHALLENGING===
Cave Story

After you beat the "final boss" you must find a hidden level and boss to get the true ending. I believe when you enter that level there is a sign that says "welcome to hell." I rest my case.

Honorable Mentions: Super Mario Galaxy 2, Dragon's Lair Trilogy

So, on the whole, SMG2 is not a hard game. But getting those green stars? There were more than a few white-knuckle moments there. And Dragon's Lair Trilogy? I used infinite lives, restart from same room, and on-screen hints and my palms still started to sweat towards the end of each chapter.

===BEST VISUALS===
Metroid: Other M

It's not surprising that a game focused so heavily on a cinematic feel would have top-notch visuals. The quality of the cutscenes speak for themselves, but the in-game character models and environments put this game over the top. I still can't get over the fluid animations of Samus and those baddies during some of the more melee-heavy battles.

Honorable Mentions: Monster Hunter Tri, Dragon's Lair Trilogy

*clap clap* Congratulations, Capcom, you're a 3rd party who tried to put breathtaking visuals on the Wii and *gasp!* it worked! The environments in MH3 are undoubtedly what kept me enthralled for so many hours. Even after dozens of visits, you could still find something new to look at and think "wow... they took the time to do that!?... awesome." As far as Dragon's Lair Trilogy, this category is best visuals... not best polygons. I could watch Don Bluth animation all day. Give it some awesome characters and settings and you have a winner. Plus, that animation technically takes place in-game! Not too shabby.

===BEST CONTROLS===
Red Steel 2

Like many, I wasn't sure quite how the "first person brawler" experiment would work out. I'd never played the first Red Steel but I had heard bad things. There was also cause for concern since RS2 wanted to set the bar higher by asking you to pull off motion-based combos for maximum damage. Toss in the fact that this was my first outing with MotionPlus and you have a heaping helping of uncertainty. Needless to say, the experiment was a success. To my knowledge, RS2 did not sell that great. Which is a shame because even if Red Steel 3 was never going to be made, other companies could have seen what was possible on the Wii and built on that. Here's hoping someone does!

Honorable Mentions: The Sky Crawlers, Super Mario Galaxy 2

Sky Crawlers would have run away with this category if not for one major flaw. If you don't know, Sky Crawlers does what should have been a no-brainer from the start of the Wii and uses the wiimote/nunchuck like control sticks for a war machine. In this case, a fighter plane. The controls felt responsive and utterly bad-ass. Unfortunately, as you progress in the game, the dog fights become so demanding that the motion controls just couldn't keep up. I needed to go hard from one direction to the other and that just wasn't possible. Instead, the controls would smoothly transition from one direction to the other - at which point my target was lost. A+ for effort, but only a B+ for execution. For SMG2, it's 3D platforming perfection. That's not as easy as it should be in 2010 - but leave it to Nintendo to make it look easy.

===WORST CONTROLS===
Metroid: Other M

Some people were fine with it, but I could not deal with switching from sideways to pointer configurations with the controller. I think the idea is absolutely brilliant. But the execution was abysmal. Simple fix: add nunchuck support, have the "Z" button toggle between first and third person views. Problem: solved.

Honorable Mentions: Tatsunoko vs Capcom, GoldenEye 007

Capcom fighters need 6 attacks for me to feel comfortable. End of story. As for GoldenEye, I am not even close to finding a comfortable control setting. With the Conduit, I customized things for about 15 minutes and then it was point and shoot perfection. With GoldenEye, I've spent about 20% of my game time in the customize menu and I'm still either too fast or too slow with my movements. What gives?!

===BEST MULTIPLAYER===
Monster Hunter Tri

MH3 provided the comradery, strategy, negotiation, unpredictability and co-operation of a top-tier MMO without relying on a combat system that plays like a math problem. Winner!

Honorable Mentions: Kirby's Epic Yarn, Dragon Quest IX

I actually never played KEY single player. My wife was always there and I gotta say it was like all the beneficial parts of NSMBW without the occasional frustrations. It just felt like a 2P game and it just worked so smoothly. DQ9 would not have been nearly as much fun if I didn't have a few friends who were playing through the campaign too. Trading maps, comparing party strategies and occasionally teaming up in others' battles was a great addition to the franchise.

===MOST DISAPPOINTING===
9 Hours 9 Persons 9 Doors

"Did you just spend hours racking your brain replaying the same puzzles over and over just to find out the "true" conclusion to this thrilling visual novel? Well screw you cuz we didn't write a full ending!" ~Chunsoft

Honorable Mentions: GoldenEye 007, Tatsunoko vs Capcom

I bought GoldenEye because the single-player campaign looked unique and diverse. Control issues aside, I just have not been "hooked" by the atmosphere of the game. Perhaps once I get better at the game I'll be able to immerse myself more. TvC has such an outstanding line-up of characters, but the choice of stripped-down controls makes it very tough to enjoy for a long-time Capcom fighter like myself. Also, the online match-making is kind of ... horrible? not good.

===MOST "FUN"===
Super Mario Galaxy 2

Games are like any medium. You can enjoy something for its fine craftsmaship or its ability to simply entertain. So while most of this list recognizes overall quality, this award is purely about entertainment. SMG2 was, overall, the most "enjoyable" game. There were no hard decisions to make (MH3,DQ9), there was no distracting controversy (M:oM), and the controls were spot on (several).

Honorable Mentions: Dragon Quest IX, Kirby's Epic Yarn

DQ9 allowed me to romp here and there on a whim. What did I feel like doing? Leveling? Item hunting? Exploring? Advancing the plot? Side-quests? And how much time did I spend comparing fashion with my wife and co-worker? Yes, I'm a guy, and it was fun! In KEY, let's face it, you can't "die." All frustration was removed and you were just free to enjoy the experience. Want challenge? Then go for the beads and the 100% completion. Want to chill? Then decorate your house and snap some photos of it. Again, I'm a guy, and I enjoyed it!

===GAME OF THE YEAR===
Monster Hunter Tri

All I can think of is Bill Murray in The Life Aquatic when someone says "The answer is 'yes'" and he replies "well it has to be." My game of 2010 in Monster Hunter Tri and "it has to be." I can say with confidence that I have never been more obsessed with a game. I briefly touched on this before, but the beauty of MH3 was not simply its nuts and bolts quality. No, the beauty of MH3 was that even after 500 hours I was still seeing something new every time! Maybe it was something simple like noticing an unmarked area on the map. Maybe it was seeing someone thrown off Jhen's back and catch themselves on the side of the boat without falling in. Maybe it was learning a whole new way to approach a long-time weapon choice. MH3 is the type of game that I feel comes around once a generation. ... and now I want to play it s'more.

Honorable Mentions: Metroid: Other M, Super Mario Galaxy 2

To me, Other M was an attempt to bring the Metroid franchise up to a level that frankly scares a lot of people. Kratos and Solid Snake have always talked, they've always had overly dramatic plots - it's no big deal. But the in-game storytelling of the Metroid franchise has never really tried to parallel its rather deep backstory. In my opinion, Other M took a big risk and succeeded. Was it done perfect? No. Are parts cringe-worthy? Yes. But that's growing pains for you. And let me put it this way: The Legend of Zelda has an even deeper backstory, but I fear Nintendo will never take the risks with that franchise it did here. I fear Link will always be silent and the deepest plot we'll ever get is "Zelda was kidnapped because of _____." The games are still always top-notch, but I'd love to see the franchise bust through the wall it has been knocking against for a little while now. For SMG2, what more needs be said? It's one of the most complete and enjoyable platformers ever. Period.