When the New York Times' Seth Schiesel delivered this year's video game awards in the paper, they arrived on the back of his hand. While some of the awards, like best newcomer for BioShock and Best Adaptation of an Adored Intellectual Property for The Lord of the Rings Online, are pretty straight forward and complimentary, most of them come with more than a little slap down.

Take for instance the Best Unambitious Representations of the State of the Art, awarded to Halo 3 and Super Mario Galaxy. While both receive an "award", Schiesel uses it as an excuse to point out their flaws. Halo 3 is called a polished gem, but one that merely relies on the "time-tested Halo formula rather than a daring attempt to provide a new sort of experience."

Super Mario Galaxy too gets a bit of a poke, with Schiesel calling it a "reinvention of classic play modes" and not something genuinely new.

Hit the jump for the full list of awards and the New York Times to read all of the "compliments."

BEST NEWCOMER: BIOSHOCK
MOST DIFFICULT DELIVERY: THE NEW E3
BEST ADAPTATION OF AN ADORED INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY: THE LORD OF THE RINGS ONLINE
BEST UNAMBITIOUS REPRESENTATIONS OF THE STATE OF THE ART: HALO 3 AND SUPER MARIO GALAXY
BEST SINGLE-HANDED RESCUE OF A MAJOR GAME SYSTEM: RATCHET & CLANK: TOOLS OF DESTRUCTION
GAME OF THE YEAR: MASS EFFECT

High Scores for the Games of 2007 [NYT]

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