Best music, best story? You find those here. These are the parts of the game that can really make a game aesthetically awesome. And that's the best kind of awesome.
Best Story: Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
Again, I feel like this is something a real diehard Zelda fan could get at better than I could, so once again Bryan will be picking up the slack here.
Legend of Zelda has always been known for great storylines. For the most part the three main characters of this series have been Link, Princess Zelda, and Ganondorf. Surprisingly The Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword’s main villain is not Ganondorf but the Demon King who fought with the goddess long ago. This wasn't the only change-up Nintendo made, also changing the relationship between Link and Zelda. Zelda is not a princess in Skyward Sword, merely a childhood friend of Link's. The games storyline has a few suprises as well. With its surprising plot twists and links to the past games it also finds a way to bring together a major chunk of the past 25 years of Zelda gaming history, and it puts this storyline is a league of its own. Skyward Sword goes far and beyond what most games do storywise, and after playing this game to the end your left with a feeling that the series is just complete.
Image Source: Destructoid
Best Original Soundtrack: Bastion
I debated this category for a long time, but in the end I decided I could not, in good consciousnesses, give this to any other game. Bastion's soundtrack is just head and shoulders above everything else. Even Skyrim. Every song just sets the tone of the game, and the style of the music is unique. I would never mistake any song from Bastion's soundtrack for another games. It helps to build the world of Bastion, I'd even argue it's the major part of what makes Bastion's style so appealing. Darren Korb, the composer, really outdid himself with this one. Even if you haven't played the game, you need to listen to the ending song. It might be the best song of the year period, game or otherwise.
Song: Setting Sail, Coming Home - by Darren Korb from Bastion.
Best Graphics: LA Noire
LA Noire was the first game we have ever played where the characters moved like an actual human being. The motion scan technology used to create the character animations makes facial expressions incredibly life like. 40's LA is recreated wonderfully, which helps pull you into the game world even further. Again though, the real star is the character animations. Now an actor's performances can be really taken straight into the game, and that opens up whole new avenues of character art direction and motion capture decisions. While the game itself didn't quite live up to the hype, the motion scan technology changed things up a bit for future games.
Image Source: Gamingunion.net
Best Art Direction: Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
Larger picture to show off the beautiful art style. Your Welcome.
Skyward Sword sports one of the most impressive visual styles I have ever seen in a game. The Zelda series has never been afraid to try different artistic styles to use in their games (just look at Windwaker). Skyward Sword takes it to a whole other level though. The watercolor style makes the game just look amazing and refreshingly different. Many games are striving for more realistic graphics and styles, but Skyward Sword has gone the opposite way almost, the game looks like a painting, but it just fits the game so well. It really makes a case that we can still make games that can be visually impressive without having them look like realistic. The character designs are also very impressive and wonderfully created. This is the kind of art direction I wish we could see more often. Then again, that might diminish how different it is from everything else.
Image Source: Wiiugo.com
Image Source: Gamingunion.net
Best Art Direction: Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
Larger picture to show off the beautiful art style. Your Welcome.
Skyward Sword sports one of the most impressive visual styles I have ever seen in a game. The Zelda series has never been afraid to try different artistic styles to use in their games (just look at Windwaker). Skyward Sword takes it to a whole other level though. The watercolor style makes the game just look amazing and refreshingly different. Many games are striving for more realistic graphics and styles, but Skyward Sword has gone the opposite way almost, the game looks like a painting, but it just fits the game so well. It really makes a case that we can still make games that can be visually impressive without having them look like realistic. The character designs are also very impressive and wonderfully created. This is the kind of art direction I wish we could see more often. Then again, that might diminish how different it is from everything else.
Image Source: Wiiugo.com
Best Voice Acting In a Game: Dragon Age II
A lot of games upped the bar this year in a number of departments. Dragon Age II severely underwhelmed (even I have talked about my love/hate relationship with the game) but the one place that did not disappoint was the voice acting. Varric is a fan favourite character, as beloved as Garrus and Minsc. However, Isabella, Merrill, Anders, and many minor characters have performances that are just as good. The background chatter your companions have really shows how each of them feels or interacts with the others, and their conversations can sometimes be even better than the ones you have with them. Each and every one of them is different too, and their emotions can be felt in when the situation calls for it. A lot of games could learn something from the voiceovers that Dragon Age II has.
Image Source: Powet.TV
Best Male Voice Actor: Mark Hamil
Mark Hamil is one of the better voice actors out there, and there is one role for which he has become famous: The Joker. In Arkham City, he really outdoes himself. The performance he gives is nothing short of incredible, and his take on the Joker always feels believable and more in line with how a lot of people actually see him acting. It may have been the last time Hamil takes up the role of Batman's arch nemesis but he put on a performance that draws from his years of playing the role. I will miss that laugh...
Image Source: images.wikia.com
Best Female Voice Actor: Ellen McLain
Should this be a shock to anyone? Ellen McLain has created one of the most recognizable voices in gaming history. She reprises her role as GlaDOS in Portal 2, and she's just as good, if not better, than the original. It has more to do with the story than anything but GlaDOS has much more going on in this game and McLain gives an excellent performance at every turn, even if the lines aren't quite as memorable. All in all, it's the kind of performance that I hoped she'd give, given the scope of the second game, and she did not disappoint.
Should this be a shock to anyone? Ellen McLain has created one of the most recognizable voices in gaming history. She reprises her role as GlaDOS in Portal 2, and she's just as good, if not better, than the original. It has more to do with the story than anything but GlaDOS has much more going on in this game and McLain gives an excellent performance at every turn, even if the lines aren't quite as memorable. All in all, it's the kind of performance that I hoped she'd give, given the scope of the second game, and she did not disappoint.
Image Source: Half-Life Wikia
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