The Top Seven Reasons Skyrim Must Win At The 2011 Video Game Awards

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So this Saturday is the 2011 Video Game Awards show out at Spike. And we’re going to see some big games vying for the top spot. Though chances are, you’ve already got an idea of which game I’m pulling for, especially if you read the headline going in. And as is generally the case when unusual events like this hit, I settled in and made a little list covering The Top Seven Reasons Skyrim Needs To Win Game Of The Year. Not only will I offer up reasons why it needs to beat, individually, the other four games in the running, but I’ll then spike the ball by offering an additional three reasons why this one needs to win.

7. Not Dependent On A Familiar License

While Batman: Arkham City is an awesome game in its own right, offering up an expanded range of gameplay options over its predecessor Batman: Arkham Asylum, there’s simply no getting around the fact that Batman: Arkham Asylum depends on the fact that it’s a Batman game for much of its appeal. Granted, a comic character isn’t a guarantee of a success–consider Superman’s previous forays, as well as Aquaman’s–but giving an iconic character like Batman his own game, and an extensive world game to boot, you’re setting up a success. Skyrim, meanwhile, is offering up a totally new character, and so doesn’t get any–nor need any–bonuses from beloved, iconic characters. Sure, the Elder Scrolls series has always had a following, but comparing it to Batman? That’s night and day.

6. Not Relying On Retro Gamers For Sympathy

Skyward Sword is a Zelda game. Zelda has been around in one form or another since the eighties. So you know that, no matter how good Skyward Sword is, it’s getting at least some of its love from the long-running nature of the series. Skyrim, meanwhile, is a much newer property, with much of what we’re seeing brand new. Admittedly, it’s got some connections to its earlier stuff, from Daggerfall to Oblivion, but there’s a lot less connection between Daggerfall and Skyrim than there is The Legend of Zelda and Skyward Sword. Plus, let’s face it…on most fronts from graphics to gameplay, Skyrim’s got the edge over its Nintendo counterpart.

5. More Than The Sum Of Its Physics

Comparing Portal 2 to Skyrim, meanwhile, is an apples to oranges affair. Portal 2 is good stuff, no mistake–fun script, fun dialogue, and of course, Jonathan Coulton. But Portal 2 is little more than its physics. Basically, you pull the Aperture Science portal guns out of Portal 2, you do not have a game any more. Pull the sweet rag doll physics out of Skyrim, meanwhile, and you still have a fully functional game. There’s a lot more going on in Skyrim than just variations on a theme, as much fun as that theme is.

4. Has History Behind It

I know it seems somewhat contradictory following the first two entries in the list, but it’s possible to go to the other extreme too. Granted, Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception is the third in the series, but this is still a relatively recent series. You haven’t seen it on any previous platforms before the Playstation 3, but Skyrim–indeed, the Elder Scrolls series–runs as far back as the original gigantic Xbox (anyone else remember Morrowind like I remember Morrowind?), and even back to the PC era before that. Considering that both Skyrim and Uncharted 3 offer terrific scripts and quality plotting, you have to give Skyrim the edge for longevity over the relative newcomer.

3. Wildly More Expansive Gameplay Options

This is something that may seem strange, but when you consider the overall gameplay options involved with all the games in the roster, you kind of discover that there’s a lot more going on in Skyrim than in any of its competitors. You can build your own weapons. You can build your own armor. You can build potions and enchanted items and everything else, and that’s before you even leave town. And when you do, it gets much better. You get caves and ruins and forts and barrows and everything else…you get so many different things in this game, a whole lot more variety than pretty much every other like it.

2. Substantially More Plotline

While many of the games here have extensive plotlines–Batman: Arkham City and Drake’s Deception tops among them, not to mention the greatly expanded Aperture Science facility in Portal 2 (who can forget combustible lemons?)–but Skyrim not only has one extensive plotline, it has several. There are four full organization-based quests aside of the main storyline (the Companions, the College of Winterhold, the Dark Brotherhood and the Thieves Guild), as well as a host of one-off missions and bounty hunting excursions and more. So while the various other games in the running for best have some terrific storylines, only Skyrim has more of them.

1. It’s Only Getting Started

Most of the titles on the list have only just been released within the last few weeks. But considering that Skyrim already has more plotlines than most, and will only expand outward from there (we’ve already been quite assured that the downloadable content on Skyrim will bring plotlines, and you won’t find a scrap of horse armor in this one), then a game that’s already ahead of the pack in terms of story isn’t likely to fall behind when the DLC starts hitting Xbox Live–or the Playstation Network, which ever–in fairly rapid fashion.

And so, there you go–the top seven reasons Skyrim needs to take the top slot at the Spike Video Game Awards. The show starts tomorrow, but what do you guys think? Do you think Skyrim has the lock on the top spot? Are you backing a different game to take home top honors? There’s no denying that the rest of the games in the field are putting on good showings, and it’s certainly no insult to lose to any of these competitors. And naturally, everyone’s got their personal favorites, so chances are you can make a case for most any of these titles to take top honors. But no matter what you think, we definitely want to hear from you, so hit the comments section and tell us what you think here!

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