Runoff 2011, Game of the Year

[The_Liquid_Laser]

The 2011 Game of the Year is Dark Souls.
The runner up is a tie between Portal 2 and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.
The master thread for all of these contests can be found here.

Ok, it's time to do a runoff vote.  Four games made the cut to the runoff round and they are joined by 2 more games.  First the four that made the cut:

 

Dark Souls (PS3/XBox 360)
While Demon’s Souls created a huge buzz, FromSoftware games really started to take off with Dark Souls.  Also, XBox 360 fans could experience these games as well.  Dark Souls initially scored an 89 on Metacritic, and it has sold over 16 million copies.  More importantly, it has inspired countless other games since its initial release in 2011 and has coined the phrase, “the Dark Souls of _______”.

 

Portal 2 (PS3/XBox 360/PC/Mac)
Everyone’s favorite cake-serving AI returns in Portal 2.  Portal 2 scored an impressive 95 on Metacritic and has sold over 8 million copies.

 

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (PS3/XBox 360/PC)
The Elder Scrolls series takes things to the next level with Skyrim.  This hugely popular game scored a 92-96 on Metacritic and has sold over 60 million copies worldwide.

 

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (Wii)
Depending on where you live, you might consider either this game or Xenoblade Chronicles to be the swansong for the Wii.  This game, which features motion plus controls, scored a 93 on Metacritic and has sold over 7.8 million copies across all platforms.

 

Here are the 2 additional games from "Other" votes:

Gears of War 3 (XBox 360)
This third installment in the Gears of War series scored a 91 on Metacritic and sold over 3 million copies.

Mario Kart 7 (3DS)
The 3DS had a weak launch in the early part of 2011, but by the holiday season it was getting solid games like this one.  In fact Mario Kart 7 went on to become the best selling game on the 3DS with over 18.9 million copies sold.

Runoff voting for 2011 Game of the Year will end on Friday, Dec 1 at 11:59 PM, EST.

Games that didn't make the cut:

Minecraft (PC/Mac/Linux/Mobile)
Batman: Arkham City (PS3/XBox 360/PC)
Deus Ex: Human Revolution (PS3/XBox 360/PC)
L.A. Noire (PS3/XBox 360/PC)
Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception (PS3)

Last edited by The_Liquid_Laser - on 02 December 2023