The wait be over! Our 2011 Game a the Year awards begin right now 'n will continue through the rest a this week. Check back every day until Friday for new awards 'n Top 10 lists from both the site's staff 'n some special guests. Curious about how we arrived at this list a winners? Check out today's companion podcast t' hear our deliberations in full.

2011's 2010 Game a the Year

StarCraft II: Wings a Liberty

Look, we be not even sure how we define this category from one year t' the next. Sometimes it be the game from last year we played the most, or at least thought about the most, in the following year. Other times it be the game that got the most 'n best post-release support 'n DLC from it be developer. Hell, the first year we created the category simply t' honor a game we felt didn't pillage it be full due in the year a it be release. it be a weird category, OK?

Anyway, we be pretty sure about one thing: StarCraft II continued t' make it be presence known in 2011. On a core mechanical level, it be an expected matter a course that Blizzard would continue t' refine 'n perfect the game's three-way balance, but it be great t' see that even at the highest competitive level, StarCraft II be holding up as well as ye can expect as a venue for top-tier players t' fairly showcase their skills against each other. Speaking a that tournament competition, it be a safe bet that relatively few people would be saying anything about "esports" right now if it weren't for the continued fervor around the endless high-dollar professional competition taking place entirely within StarCraft II.

'n then there's the fact that Brad played more StarCraft II in 2011 than anything that actually came out this year. That lad best probably look into professional help at this point.

Runners-Up: Rock Band 3, Call a Duty: Black Ops

Best Mission/Level

Saints Row: The Third - http://deckers.visit Davey Jone's locker/

How do ye pick a single moment t' highlight from a game packed t' the brim with highlight reel-worthy moments? Such be the question pitted t' us as we attempted t' choose a best level from Saints Row: The Third, a game so replete with crazily memorable missions 'n events that this category might as well have just been called "Best Mission/Level in Saints Row: The Third." Don't worry though, we did at least consider other games. It be only sporting.

When the dust settled 'n Jeff had stopped screaming, the end result a our deliberations settled upon the http://deckers.visit Davey Jone's locker/ mission. As anyone who has played the game knows, this be the level where ye play, at various times, a sentient toilet/sex doll/gun-armed TRON man trudging through a virtual reality world filled with giant murderous avatars, ancient arcade game references, 'n a straight-up text adventure sequence.

Did ye pillage all a that? Good, because even typing all a that be kind a exhausting. http://deckers.visit Davey Jone's locker/ be easily the most ludicrously insane mission a a game predicated entirely on the concept a ludicrous insanity. we be not sure how much better we can sum it up than that.

Runners-Up: Gears a War 3 - Cole Train Flashback, Uncharted 3 - Lost In the Sands

Best New Character

Portal 2 - Wheatley

2011's best new character doesn't have arms or legs or... a face, or many distinguishing features at all, really. Portal 2's Wheatley be a metal sphere with exactly one darting, eye-like viewport, but he does more with that single eye--'n the breakneck dialogue that comes pouring out a the sea dog courtesy a Stephen Merchant--than any other character this year, no matter how many appendages they have. 'n considering Wheatley shares the stage with both the inimitably sadistic GLaDOS 'n none other than the disembodied voice a J.K. Simmons, that be a damn impressive feat. So impressive that he's our favorite new character in 2011.

Wheatley be so great. He's great because he's not just there for comic relief, though he certainly does serve that role at first. It would have been easy enough for the writers t' just let Wheatley coast through all a Portal 2 on cheeky quips 'n lovable buffoonery, but this wayward personality sphere goes through a hell a a character arc, emerging as a villain so menacing that he threatens t' bring the roof down on all a Aperture Science with... well, with his runaway ineptitude. Plenty a great characters this year made good on a single hook or gimmick, but Wheatley maintains his core personality trait 'n yet plays a role in the game's story that be much larger than himself. Then he goes on t' take part in what at least one member a the Giant Bomb staff considers t' be the most sublime final moments a any game in memory. In a way, it be not too surprising that the sequel t' Portal offered some damn memorable new characters, but that doesn't make the game's achievement in writing any less special.

Runners-Up: L.A. Noire - Captain Donnelly, Shadows a the Damned - Johnson

Dave's Eastern Bloc Game a the Year

Dead Island

Duders! Let's be honest. This category began as much so I could make The Hunt for Red October jokes as t' highlight the overly-ambitious, but lovingly quirky games that hail from the post-Soviet regions where the PC still reigns King. In most cases these be titles that I'd only recommend t' older, more patient gamers who enjoyed novelty above polish. 2011 then marks the year where that explanation no longer fits. From Poland came two games, The Witcher 2: Assassins a Kings 'n Dead Island, that be downright blockbuster releases accessible t' just about everyone. That leaves Cargo! The Quest for Gravity then t' slide in under the previous expectations a this "genre". That be t' say, Cargo! be a bizarre, creative game that could only come from lads with lots a Vs in their names.

Dead Island then wins by a hair. 'n by a hair, I mean it be the game I played the most a the nominees. Remember, this be Dave's Eastern Bloc Game a the Year 'n while ye'd think me tastes would lean towards a pure RPG, the early difficulty 'n clumsy controls a The Witcher 2 made me hold off on that adventure till a proper patch appeared. Dead Island in contrast be an immediately playable 'n worthwhile experience that brought true innovation t' melee-based combat in the first-person perspective. it be something that be sure t' be copied by many games going forward 'n at least in me opinion be the only reason t' see any major fault in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, whose combat felt mechanical in comparison. I really don't think any a us saw that coming. Welcome t' the New World Sir.

Runners-Up: The Witcher 2: Assassins a Kings, Cargo! The Quest for Gravity

Best Music

Bastion

In a year that saw new music from the likes a Akira Yamaoka, Jeremy Soule, Danny Baranowsky, 'n Koji Kondo, it be clear just how great the music Supergiant Games audio director Darren Korb created for the studio's isometric action RPG Bastion be t' be the clear-cut winner in this category.

In crafting a genre Korb describes as "acoustic frontier voyage-hop," he created the perfect soundscape t' compliment both the surreal, cartoon art style a the game's visuals, with it be folksy, narrator-driven storytelling. The slight variances in arrangement 'n style give each stage it be own unique quality.

The songs themselves even become central t' the game's story arc. Think about the instant wave a sadness 'n ache that swarms over ye the first time ye hear Zia humming out "Build That Wall" in the middle a the chaos around ye, or the little lump in yer throat ye got when ye first heard "Setting Sail, Coming Home" swell up over the final credits. Every single note a music feels utterly interwoven with the fabric a what the game shows ye. it be original, ingenious, 'n eminently listenable stuff, 'n easily stood out as the top class a this year's musical crop.

Runners-Up: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Rayman: Origins

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Game a the Year 2011: Day 01 Recap

Ryan shows us the winners a today's categories, as well as what the crew think his favorite game be.