Game of the Year and RPG of the Year:
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
You can spend your days hammering steel at the Fireforge, selling off the armor and shields to merchants around Skyrim. You can decorate your home in Whiterun with hundreds of different swords and rare gems and hike lonely mountain paths by night seeking the perfect vantage point to view the Aurora Borealis. You can join the Stormcloaks faction, butchering innocent couriers and draping their corpses over logs to terrify travelers. You can set fire to trees just to watch them burn. You can be an unlovable but unbroken loser. The game manages to accommodate any and all play styles within its expansive dimensions, and as a result, every quest tells a unique story that follows the contours of your character with all its abilities and deficits. There has been no greater fulfillment of the promise of a roleplaying game than The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.
Publisher Bethesda Game Studios
Developer Bethesda Softworks
Editor Picks:
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- " Unity of Command 's Advance Wars-like readability is invaluable. It elegantly simplifies supply, terrain, and airstrikes without sacrificing depth. Pour tea and cozy up." - Evan
- " Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes ' Bejeweled-like combat is surprisingly complex and addictive, and its characters recall RPG classics like Wanderers from Ys." - Chris C
- "Nothing tops the actual card game, but Magic: The Gathering – Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012 is the fastest, cheapest way to explore the amazing, endless inventory of Magic strategies." - Josh
- "Once I got over the web-based interface and the lack of free server hosting, Battlefield 3 's multiplayer was just what I wanted: a big, beautiful, ridiculously goofy war." - Tyler
- " Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon dumps big-budget storytelling in favor of killing wave after wave of the same six enemies—stupid yet ultra-satisfying fun." - Chris A
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