The 2011 Grimmys: Story of the Year

The Grimmys

We’ve reached a point where a video game can get by on story alone, regardless of any other features. That these stories happen to be interactive make them all that more interesting for gamers.

The Nominees

Bastion – The Kid wakes up and from the start is surrounded by destruction and unanswered questions. Constantly pushed forward to try and repair the Bastion piece by piece in hopes that the world can be saved. The Kid is faced with a truly dramatic choice that will effect everyone that ever existed and will make the player play through again to make sure he made the right decision.

L.A. Noire – Which story shines more, the individual cases that by-the-book cop Cole Phelps must solve, or is it the unsolved cases constantly trying to work their way into the current one? Then again, maybe it’s Cole Phelps himself and how he got to be the cop he is and how he handles the corruption around him in an authentic 1940’s L.A. Lucky for you, Rockstar packaged all of the intrigue into one incredible experience where you don’t have to choose any one piece.

Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception – Nathan Drake and Sully set out to discover the “Atlantis of the Sands” and stop its mystery from being abused by a criminal organization. Just another adventure for Drake? Sure. One of the best video game adventures around, thanks to amazing characters and top notch writing? Absolutely.

Portal 2 – Poor Chell wakes up and has to endure more hostile testing under GLaDOS’s supervision. Thankfully, some AI actually is on her side as the friendly Wheatley attempts to aid her escape. At least that’s the setup, for this game where Valve takes you through this experiment filled adventure and will have your both your brain and sides hurting for all kinds of entertaining reasons that the first Portal only scratched the surface of.

Gears of War 3 – Trilogies aren’t anything new, especially in the last decade or so. There’s something to be said for sticking to your lancers and actually finishing the story of characters you’ve grown attached to. While Epic may take some lumps for the quality of every beat of the story, Gears of War 3 does right by fans of Delta Squad. Not every series can say that.

The Nominees

Awards Categories