X-Play Presents The Best of 2011 Awards: And The Nominees Are...

On December 14 X-Play will be presenting their Best of 2011 Awards at 6:00 PM ET, honoring some of our favorite games of the year. In their special one-hour episode of X-Play, hosts Adam Sessler, Morgan Webb, and Blair Herter will take you through each category to reveal the champions, and we'll all get to find out which game won the highly coveted Game of the Year award. Today, we have a list of the nominees so you can see which games have a chance of winning one of these prestigious awards.

X-Play's Game of the Year 2011 Nominees »

To whet your appetite, here's our Game of the Year nominees:

Game of the Year

    Batman: Arkham City
    The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim
    Gears of War 3
    L.A. Noire
    Portal 2
    Saints Row: The Third
    Super Mario 3D Land

Check after the break for the full list of categories including Best RPG, Best Multiplayer, Best Shooter, Best Trailer, Most Original Game, and many more! Also, don't forget to vote in the final rounds of our Videogame Deathmatch to make your voice heard during the episode.

Most Original Game

    Catherine
    L.A. Noire
    Minecraft
    Stacking
    Superbrothers: Sword and Sworcery

Best Gameplay Innovation

    L.A. Noire – Facial animation/capture
   League of Legends– Dominions mode
    Minecraft – Creative freedom
    Rocksmith – Teaching real guitar
   Skylanders Spyro's Adventure – Figurine integration

Best Multiplayer Game

    Assassin’s Creed: Revelations
    Battlefield 3
    Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
    Dark Souls
    Gears of War 3

Best Multiplayer Co-Op Game

    Dance Central 2
    Gears of War 3
    Ilomilo
    Portal 2
    Saints Row: The Third

Best Sports Game

    FIFA 12
    MLB 11: The Show
    NBA 2K12
    NHL 12
    WWE ‘12

Best Downloadable Game

    Bastion
    InFamous: Festival of Blood
    Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet
    Iron Brigade
    Stacking

Best Downloadable Content

    Call of Duty: Black Ops – Rezurrection
    Deus Ex: Human Revolution – Missing Link
    Fallout: New Vegas – Old World Blues
    Gears of War 3 – Raam’s Shadow
    Portal 2 – Co-Op Challenges

Best Shooter

    Battlefield 3
    Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
    Gears of War 3
    Rage
    Resistance 3

Best Role-Playing Game

    Dark Souls
    Deus Ex: Human Revolution
    The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
    Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky
    The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings

Best Fighting Game

    King of Fighters XIII
    Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds
    Mortal Kombat
    Street Fighter III 3rd Strike Online Edition
    Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition

Best Art Direction

   Alice: Madness Returns
    Batman: Arkham City
    El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron
    Portal 2
    Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception

Best Animation

    Assassin’s Creed: Revelations
    Batman: Arkham City
    NBA 2K12
    Rage
    Rayman Origins

Best Writing

    Batman: Arkham City
    L.A. Noire
    Portal 2
    Saints Row: The Third
    Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception

Best Soundtrack

    Deus Ex: Human Revolution
    The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
    The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
    Portal 2
    Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery

Best Sound Design

    Batman: Arkham City
    Battlefield 3
    Dead Space 2
    The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
    Portal 2

Best Action/Adventure Game

    Batman: Arkham City
    L.A. Noire
    Rayman Origins
    Super Mario 3D Land
    Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception

Best Racing Game

    Dirt 3
    F1 2011
    Forza Motorsport 4
    Motorstorm: Apocalypse
    Shift 2: Unleashed

Best Motion Control Game

    Dance Central 2
    Just Dance 3
    Killzone 3
    The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
    Sesame Street: Once Upon A Monster

Best Handheld Game

    Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy
    Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective
    Pokemon Black & White
    Professor Layton and the Last Specter
    Super Mario 3D Land

Best Puzzle/Strategy Game

    Achron
    Catherine
    Portal 2
    Professor Layton and the Last Specter
    Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together

Best Performance By Nolan North

    Adventure/Space/Fact Cores – Portal 2
    Deadpool – Marvel vs. Capcom 3
    Desmond Miles – Assassin’s Creed: Revelations
    Nathan Drake – Uncharted 3
    The Penguin – Batman: Arkham City

Best Performance Not By Nolan North

    Aaron Staton – Cole Phelps, L.A. Noire
    JK Simmons – Cave Johnson, Portal 2
    John DiMaggio – Marcus Fenix, Gears of War 3
    Mark Hamill – The Joker, Batman: Arkham City
    Stephen Merchant – Wheatley, Portal 2

Best Remake/Retro Release

    Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary
    Ico and Shadow of the Colossus Collection
    The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D
    Metal Gear Solid HD Collection
    Street Fighter III 3rd Strike Online Edition

Best Trailer

    Dead Island
    The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim Live Action
    OverStrike

Make sure you tune in to X-Play on December 14th @ 6PM ET to find out who wins!