Game of the Year Shortlist: MotorStorm RC

Before we knew it, December was upon us and all the games had arrived in stores in time for everyone to buy them as presents. We've got the reveal of our Game of the Year coming after Christmas, but for 24 days starting December 1 we'll bring you a new contender for the title. Please note that these games are in no particular order, but feel free to speculate on where they might appear in our final list.

Tom Orry, Editor

MotorStorm RC made the Vita launch for me. Other than my addiction to New Star Soccer, this was the other handheld game that had me hooked. Despite the simplistic looking gameplay, few games have seen me quite so eager to shave fractions off my best time, and this was all due to the game's brilliant community features. I even set up a VideoGamer.com community challenge, and at one point a few of us were right up there with the best times in the world. This game is everything I want from a gaming handheld, but sadly for the Vita it's also the only game I think has got the formula right.

David Scammell, Deputy News Editor

Maybe it's telling that the only Vita game in our Game of the Year Shortlist was one that cost less than a McDonald's Winter Warmer, but MotorStorm RC's addictive, one-more-go gameplay and plentiful content meant that Evolution's remote controlled spin-off may just be the best £4.79 I've ever spent.

The low price certainly helped, then, but MotorStorm RC's bite-size races felt perfectly pitched for gaming on the go, making great use of the handheld without relying on its gimmicks and offering tantalising, pocket money-priced DLC to keep players coming back. A miniature top-down racer certainly isn't the reason why I bought my Vita but - given the rest of the platform's over-priced catalogue - it's the best one so far.