Bytten

Over the last few years I have awarded my Ernies from the pool of games that I have reviewed over the preceding year, and often in categories that overlap those which Andrew has chosen. This year however, I will refrain from awarding my own "Best Overall Game" for the simple reason that it would unfairly provide a peer to Soldak Entertainment's "Din's Curse". This game is so far beyond anything else that I have played this year and the recently released expansion kit; "Demon War" has simply doubled the distance between it and any other game in 2011. Diverse and interesting - boasting around 200 class combinations and thousands of different player character builds - this game will keep you hooked for countless hours to come. The way that the game can be customised out of the box to provide a fun and challenging experience to ARPG players of all skill levels and tastes is unparalleled. In fact, it's the one game on my desktop that I will routinely set aside time from other tasks to play. If you don't own a copy yet, then shame on you!

We get a lot of puzzle games and a lot of casual games in our review queue, but every now and then, something really special comes up. Puzzle Dimension immerses the player in a beautiful abstract world full of gorgeous living colour and artistic backdrops, adds a dash of nostalgia and retro chic, and sits back awaiting for the player to hit their comfort zone.

Once they do, the game world is quite literally turned on its head and requires a fantastic mixture of logical thinking, dexterity, and spatial awareness. It strikes a chord with me that very few puzzle games do through it's well designed gameplay challenges and a superb presentation.

This one was quite close. We had a few really good sports games this year, and to be honest many of them did certain gameplay elements better. Tennis Elbow brings it all together so well though, and as a complete package it simply outshines the rest. Each match feels unique through the degree to which court surface and opponents strengths and weaknesses affect the tempo and intensity of the match.

I can forgive a slightly awkward front end interface (about the only real gripe I have). The career mode keeps the player hooked in between matches, and the nice organic and intuitive controls make it impossible to quit mid-match! It's an addictive title even for non-tennis fans, evidenced by the fact that I would consider myself one. I played this game for hours!