Console Showdown 2011: Winner Announced!

With the exclusives for each platform out of the way (see previous page), it's time to get to the meat and potatoes of gaming in 2011 and take a broad look at each system's releases for the year. It's time for the genre face-off.

The idea here is to analyse a whole range of genres to try and get a feel for which system best covered off the widest range of games. Each category has our top three games of 2011, and each time a system is awarded a first, second and third place, we tally it up. More importantly, we also award an overall winner for each genre, and tally that up too. Tally ho!

Now, before you get cranky, we're aware that this isn't a perfect system. 'Genres' are incredibly fluid things and – frankly - are less relevant than ever these days. We've also got some categories that aren't really genres, but that we've included simply so we have the widest array of games possible represented. This isn't about the nitty gritty of each category, it's about getting a really good overall sense of each system's 2011 releases, and to that end, we think the system works well.

In addition to retail titles, we've also included downloadable games, as they're a large part of any console's software offering. As mentioned on the first page, however, we're not including straight retro re-releases, unless they've been brought into line with the expectations of modern gaming. In other words, Metal Gear Solid HD Collection is in, whereas Final Fantasy III on Virtual Console isn't.

#1 Battlefield 3 – 9; PS3, X360
#2 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 – 9; PS3, X360
#3 Crysis 2 – 9; PS3, X360

The Verdict: If you wanted real world first person shooter action in 2011, you were just as well served owning a PS3 as you were an Xbox 360. The system you didn't want, however, was the Wii. It's never been known for its cutting edge shooters, and nothing changed in 2011, with the Wii version of Modern Warfare 3 scoring 4.5. Ouch. In any case, Battlefield 3, Modern Warfare 3 and Crysis 2 all proved themselves quality games, leaving gamers spoiled for choice.

#1 Resistance 3 – 9; PS3
#2 Deus Ex: Human Revolution – 9; PS3, X360
#3 Killzone 3 – 8.5; PS3

The Verdict: 2011 was such a strong year for first person shooters that we've had to invent a second category to show some more love to the genre. This time we're looking at shooters that take place in more stylised worlds: an alternate history version of Earth, a technologically-driven future and an alien homeworld, in this case. Resistance 3 offered the best all-round package, only narrowly edging out the excellent Deus Ex: Human Revolution, which lost a little of its sheen thanks to its outsourced boss battles, which simply didn't gel with the rest of the game. (And yes, while it could be argued that Deus Ex: Human Revolution isn't strictly a shooter, as there are plenty of non-combat options, it's a brilliant game so deserves recognition, and this category is the best fit for it.) Killzone 3 was intense and polished too. With two out of three as PS3 exclusives you can chalk up a win for Sony's system.

#1 Infamous 2 – 9; PS3
#2 L.A. Noire – 8.5; PS3, X360
#3 Saints Row: The Third – 8.5; PS3, X360

The Verdict: A lot of competition in the open-world arena in 2011, and as you can see, we have three incredibly different games in our top positions. Not really surprising, given 'open-world' isn't really a genre, but a broad description. No matter. Infamous 2 kicked serious ass earlier this year, with its freewheeling movement, electricity-infused combat, morality system and gorgeous art direction. Win! L.A. Noire was also hugely notable, pushing investigation, conversation and observation to the fore, with cool new tech and a painstaking level of detail in its world. And last but not least was Saints Row: The Third, one of the silliest - but also just plain fun - games of the year. Infamous 2 pushes PS3 ahead in this category.

#1 Gears of War 3 – 9; X360
#2 Dead Space 2 – 9; PS3, X360
#3 Shadows of the Damned – 7; PS3, X360

The Verdict: Two really stand-out titles in this category. Gears of War 3 was another rock solid entry in the series, introducing four player co-op to its campaign, the new Beast mode to multiplayer, and some cool tweaks to Horde mode, all backed by brutal, in-your-face gunplay. What more could you ask for? What's that? Good dialogue? Shut up. Dead Space 2 was a pretty spectacular second place. It may have eschewed the original's solitary feel, but there's no doubt the set pieces were great, and the upgrade system still kicks ass. Lastly, Shadows of the Damned scored significantly lower, but certainly wasn't without its charms. Any game starring a character called Garcia Hotspur is cool with us. Overall though, Xbox 360 takes this genre.

#1 Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception – 10; PS3
#2 Batman: Arkham City – 9.5; PS3, X360
#3 Alice: Madness Returns – 6.5; PS3, X360

The Verdict: Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception continued Naughty Dog's habit of taking something awesome and making it even more so. Incredible characters and dialogue, amazing settings and set pieces and an unrelenting pace are just a few of the reasons this comes in at number one. It's a close call, however, as Batman: Arkham City is just as deserving of plaudits, with its wide open (yes, we thought about putting it in the open-world category) gothic world, its incredible array of gadgets, its wonderful movement mechanics, its intuitive combat and its… you get the idea. Lastly, while Alice didn't score well on IGN, a few of us list this as one of our guilty pleasures of the year, so we've snuck it on there in third place. In any case, thanks to Uncharted 3, PS3 wins this category.

#1 Renegade Ops – 8.5; PS3, X360
#2 Toy Soldiers: Cold War – 8.5; X360
#3 Swarm – 8.5; PS3, X360

The Verdict: Bit of a made-up category, this one, but all these games deserved to be counted, so here we are. Renegade Ops, from Just Cause dev Avalanche, was a brilliant slice of top-down vehicular combat. Blazing through jungles and deserts shooting anything that moved was incredibly good fun. Toy Soldiers, on the other hand, played the nostalgia card, taking players back to their childhood, and toy soldiers, tanks and planes. Thankfully it was also well designed and entertaining. And lastly, Swarm tasked players with ushering as many critters as possible through deadly arrays of tricks and traps, with some brutal – and often amusing – attrition expected. It's a near thing, but this category goes to Xbox 360.

#1 Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster – 8.5; X360
#2 Kinect Disneyland Adventures – 8.5; X360
#3 Skylanders Spyro's Adventure – 8; PS3, Wii, X360

The Verdict: When it came to family games, or games aimed at children, Xbox 360 had a great year. Double Fine's Sesame Street title was enchanting and fun, while Kinect Disneyland Adventures captured the wonder of the park, without the lines and screaming children. Skylanders was a surprise hit too, with its real world / gaming world character crossover.

#1 LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7 – 8; PS3, Wii, X360
#2 LEGO Star Wars III: Clone Wars – 7.5 / 7; PS3, X360 / Wii
#3 Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympics – 7.5; Wii

The Verdict: Many a LEGO game hit the streets in 2011, and they were all pretty decent, and unlike many games in this feature, available across all three platforms. The Clone Wars scored slightly lower on Wii than it did on PS3 and 360, but negating this was Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games, which was a Wii console exclusive. Looks like Wii takes this category!

#1 The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – 9.5; PS3, X360
#2 Mass Effect 2 – 9.5; PS3
#3 Dark Souls – 9; PS3, X360

The Verdict: 2011 was a strong year for RPGs. Skyrim has proven to be a massive critical and commercial hit, while Mass Effect 2 finally debuted on PS3, and Dark Souls continued FromSoftware's brutal assault on the genre, with another unforgettable title… for players who like a challenge. Determining a winner for this category is tricky, since the PS3 version of Skyrim has some significant problems. It may not happen to everyone, but the large save file frame rate issues definitely make the PS3 version the one to avoid if possible. And then there's Mass Effect 2, which was released on PS3 this year, but had been available on 360 for a full year already. Even so, when looking at 2011 this one narrowly goes to PS3.

#1 The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword – 10; Wii
#2 Bastion – 9; X360
#3 Torchlight – 8; X360

The Verdict: Another tricky category, as Xbox 360 owners were treated to the superb Bastion this year, with its dynamic narration, beautiful visual design and fantastic replayability, while PC hit Torchlight also came to XBLA, proving it's more than just a pretty dungeon crawler but an addictive title with all the things players expect from a modern action RPG. In the end, though, the new Zelda game towers over the competition. It's the game of the year for the Wii, and a must-play, and it alone propels the Wii to victory.

#1 Chime Super Deluxe – 8.5; PS3
#2 Auditorium – 8.5; PS3
#3 Child of Eden – 6.5 / 8.5; PS3 / X360

The Verdict: It wasn't so long ago that this genre would have been labelled rhythm action and it would have been filled to the brim with Guitar Heros, Rock Bands and DJ Heros. Such is the cycle of life. Sunrise, sunset. Anyway, this year we're really talking about games with music at their core; in this case two puzzle games – the absorbing Chime Super Deluxe, and the soothing and intriguing Auditorium, and a music shooter, Q Entertainment's dance music-driven and just-plain-gorgeous Child of Eden. This is another tricky category – Chime came out on 360 well before the Super Deluxe version hit PS3, Auditorium has only been released on PS3 so far, but may well come to XBLA at some point, and Child of Eden scored significantly lower on PS3 than on Xbox 360. In the end though, PS3 had the stronger year.

#1 FIFA Soccer 12 – 9.5; PS3, X360
#2 NBA 2K12 – 9.5; PS3, X360
#3 NHL 12 – 8.5; PS3, X360

The Verdict: It's a great time to be playing sports simulations. The FIFA series is at the top of its game, and FIFA 12 represents the latest triumph in a run of fantastic entries. NBA 2K12 was unbelievable this year as well, somehow improving on last year's mindblowing game. We've slotted NHL 12 into third place, but it could just as easily have been Top Spin 4. All in all, a good time to be into sports games, and a good time to be a PS3 or 360 owner.

#1 NBA Jam: On Fire Edition – 9; PS3, X360
#2 WWE 12 – 9; PS3, X360
#3 Virtua Tennis 4 – 7; PS3, Wii, X360

The Verdict: Two clear stand-outs in this category. NBA Jam: On Fire Edition is the definitive version of the game and unbelievably good fun with friends. Win. Similarly, WWE 12 gets wrestling games back on track, with solid mechanics, customisation options and presentation. (Although we're not including the Wii version, as it a) wasn't reviewed on IGN and b) isn't likely to be anywhere near as impressive or fully featured as its PS3/360 cousins.) Virtua Tennis 4, on the other hand, didn't set the world on fire, but hey, if you like Virtua Tennis, you'll dig it. Just don't expect any big surprises. In the end? Another two way tie.

#1 Forza Motorsport 4 – 9.5; X360
#2 Dirt 3 – 8.5; PS3, X360
#3 F1 2011 – 8.5; PS3, X360

The Verdict: Forza Motorsport 4 stood head and shoulders above the competition this year. The fact of the matter is, it's one of the greatest racing sims ever, and quite possibly represents the pinnacle of what's possible on current hardware. Mind you, Dirt 3 and F1 2011 were incredible in their own rights, delivering pitch perfect recreations of their chosen motorsports. A great year to be a simulation racing fan, in other words. Forza 4 pushes the 360 over the line in the showdown, however.

#1 Driver: San Francisco – 8 / 7; PS3, X360 / Wii
#2 Motorstorm Apocalypse – 8; PS3
#3 Cars 2 – 8; PS3, Wii, X360

The Verdict: Driver: San Francisco was one of the most pleasant surprises of 2011, bringing the series back in a big way, with a huge city, on-point handling, 60 frames per second gameplay, a fun story and plenty of replayability. Motorstorm Apocalypse was a barrel of fun too… once players got past the awful cutscenes. And then there was Cars 2, which came out of nowhere with a fun, light racing experience that was better received than the film. Guess what, though? There was only one system you could get all these games on, and it was the PlayStation 3.

#1 Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes – 9; PS3, X360
#2 From Dust – 8.5; PS3, X360
#3 Disgaea 4: A Promise Forgotten – 8.5; PS3

The Verdict: A bit of a strategy mash-up here. Clash of Heroes is a fantasy strategy RPG with amazing turn-based battle mechanics and incredibly more-ish gameplay. From Dust kicks it in real time, letting players form and deform a primeval world to shepherd its tribal denizens to safety. Coming in third, Disgaea 4 continues in the grand tradition of the series, with gameplay that's deeper than the Mariana Trench, but also unwieldy and opaque for newcomers. While Disgaea 4 is arguably a little too familiar for fans, it's still enough to get the PS3 over the line.

#1 Street Fighter III: Third Strike – 9; PS3, X360
#2 Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 – 8.5; PS3, X360
#3 Mortal Kombat – 8; PS3, X360

The Verdict: This year, an old school classic returned, in the form of Street Fighter III: Third Strike, the Marvel Vs. Capcom series came storming back after a long absence, and Mortal Kombat was reinvigorated, with gameplay that some regard as the best the series has ever seen. So whether you like technical fighting, screen-filling multiple-character-powered supers or gore by the bucketload, both PS3 and 360 owners were covered in 2011.

#1 Rayman Origins – 9.5; PS3, Wii, X360
#2 LittleBigPlanet 2 – 9; PS3
#3 Ms. Splosion Man – 9; X360

The Verdict: Three more excellent games, and proof that 2D platforming is alive and well. Rayman Origins comes out of its corner swinging, immediately landing a big haymaker with its crisp, highly stylised and vibrant art design, then getting in close to deliver a flurry of body blows with its tight co-op platform gameplay. Ms. Splosion Man ignores her fight entirely, choosing, instead, to dance and gibber in the corner. She's great fun, but pretty insane. And finally, LittleBigPlanet 2 starts by charming its opponent with a quirky aesthetic and creative worlds, before burying him under several million user created levels. So which system came out on top? Well, it's damn close, but LittleBigPlanet 2 is a pretty meaty offering, and just enough to let the PS3 win by a nose.

#1 Portal 2 – 9.5; PS3, X360
#2 Catherine – 9; PS3, X360
#3 escapeVektor: Chapter 1 – 9; Wii

The Verdict: When you think of puzzle games, chances are you think of something like Tetris, but the reality is that puzzle games are an incredibly wide genre, from games like Portal 2, which are presented from a first person perspective and driven by both story and puzzle-based challenges for the player, through to Catherine, which wraps its puzzle gameplay around some truly moving storytelling, and finally, escapeVektor: Chapter 1 on WiiWare, with its minimal, retro, abstract presentation and gameplay. The overall winner? Another two way tie.

#1 Dance Central 2 – 9; X360
#2 Just Dance 3 – 8.5 / 8; X360 / Wii
#3 Everybody Dance – 6.5; PS3

The Verdict: Yes, dancing is officially a genre now, which is both a reflection of how much games have changed, and of what happens when a couple of titles – Just Dance and Dance Central we're looking at you here – turn out to be surprise break-out hits. In any case, the good news is that both Dance Central 2 and Just Dance 3 are great fun. Everybody Dance? Not so much, but we had to fill out the list with something, and, well, we didn't review Just Dance Kids. Or its sequel. Deciding on a victor is a little tricky, because we haven't reviewed the PS3 version of Just Dance 3 yet, but honestly, Dance Central 2 is enough to award this one to Xbox 360.

#1 Orcs Must Die – 9; X360
#2 Iron Brigade – 9; X360
#3 Dungeon Defenders – 8.5; PS3, X360

The Verdict: This is another genre that's blown up over the last few years, so it's not surprising to see some great titles on the list. Here are the questions you need to ask yourself. Do you hate orcs? If so, Orcs Must Die is going to be a must-play. Wipe the filthy smiles off their grotesque faces. How about television? If you're not a fan, Double Fine's Iron Brigade may be the game for you, with its real-time action/tower defence gameplay against enemies with screens for faces. Last one. Do you have friends? Do you want to kick some defensive ass with them? Bam! Dungeon Defenders. That's the one. The winner? Only one system has all three games, and it's sure as hell not the Wii.

#1 Radiant Silvergun – 9; X360
#2 Hard Corps: Uprising – 8.5; PS3, X360
#3 Guardian Heroes – 8.5; X360

The Verdict: From the bullet hell of Radiant Silvergun to the side-scrolling shooting and beating of Hard Corps: Uprising and Guardian Heroes, if you wanted an old school experience in 2011, whether it was classic titles brought back with visual makeovers and added bells and whistles, or a new Contra that's, erm, not called Contra, Xbox 360 was your system of choice.

#1 Metal Gear Solid HD Collection – 9; PS3, X360
#2 God of War: Origins – 9; PS3
#3 The Ico & Shadow of the Colossus Collection – 8.5; PS3

The Verdict: That's some classic gaming right there. First up, gamers can relive Hideo Kojima's batsh*t crazy second and third MGS instalments, as well as the PSP release Peace Walker, all in HD. Pretty sweet. But hey, while you're at it, why not play both the God of War PSP games in HD on a big screen too? That's Origins for you. And rounding things out, two of the greatest games on PS2 return, in the form of the mysterious and touching Ico, and the incredibly progressive and wonderfully stylish Shadow of the Colossus. PS3 is the obvious winner here and clearly the system for HD re-releases in 2011. (Not on the list? Tomb Raider Trilogy, Prince of Persia Classic Trilogy and more.)

#1 Outland – 9; PS3, X360
#2 Rochard – 8.5; PS3
#3 Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet – 8; X360

The Verdict: Outland takes the archetypal Metroid overarching design and does some incredibly cool things with it. The silhouette-style presentation is striking and makes great use of colour, which is important, because the game has a polarity system that lets players switch between red and blue powers to absorb bullets or battle enemies. Brilliant. Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet has a similarly inventive visual design, and also utilises a world design that opens up as the player unlocks new abilities. Very cool. And then there's Rochard, which mixes platforming, action and physics-based puzzle solving, to create a compelling whole. This category's too close to call. Another tie.

#1 Joe Danger: Special Edition – 9.5; X360
#2 MotoHeroz – 9; Wii
#3 TrackMania: Build to Race – 7; Wii

The Verdict: Bet you didn't count on seeing 'stunt driving' listed as a genre, did you? Well tough, because we wanted to give these titles some recognition. PS3 owners already know the gloriously playable Joe Danger, but this year 360 owners got in on the action, with an extra 50 levels to boot. MotoHeroz, on the other hand, came from the team behind the superb (and incredibly challenging) physics-based motorbike game Trials (and Trials HD), but this time players have buggies. Great gameplay, great presentation. Last up is TrackMania. It's a brilliant series on PC that doesn't quite translate on Wii, but is an admirable effort nonetheless, with a winning mix of time trial racing and stunt-based challenges. Could it be? Yes, it's another category win for Wii!

With all the categories out of the way, here's the final tally of how many games finished first, second and third in the various genres, as well as overall wins.

PS3: 17
Wii: 4
Xbox 360: 20

PS3: 19
Wii: 3
Xbox 360: 17

PS3: 18
Wii: 6
Xbox 360: 18

PS3: 15
Wii: 3
Xbox 360: 13

Wow. That was a ridiculously even battle between PS3 and Xbox 360. How do we even choose between the two? Xbox 360 had three more first place games, but then PS3 narrowly edged it out in terms of overall victories. What's more important? Individual brilliance or having a higher overall standard? Ultimately, this category is about the latter, so in the closest fought competition in Console Showdown history, PS3 wins.

That's two victories for the PS3. Can the Xbox 360 or Wii nail a win in the final part? Head on over to Part 3 to find out...