Although Dennis Montgomery's life stacks up like the classic tale of bullshit that follows a bona fide grifter, I can actually believe his "eTreppid Technologies" might have been working on this game. Well, make that I want to believe they were working on this game. I'm on the record saying there are two movies that simply must be adapted: The first is "They Live," which needs no explanation. The second is this very movie, Road House, from Swayze's apogee as a well-groomed man of few words and many graceful methods of making some burly dickbag eat them. With a side of fist.

Those who've seen it know what I'm talking about. Road House essentially played like a video game. It's got a definite mission structure - the first big establishing throwdown, Dalton cleaning up the bar, his opening skirmishes with Wesley's goons and helping out terrorized businesses. Goddamn Sam Elliott of all people showing up to help out busting up the liquor blockade. (Elliott would have to narrate this sucker.) You'd play him in the first of two big boss battles with Marshall Teague (the second including the fateful, "I used to fuck guys like you in prison," line). Plus it's got a monster truck destroying a car dealership and that big stupid ass polar bear at the end. The multiplayer is a no-brainer, either a cooperative bouncers-vs.-yahoos setup, or a competitive free-for-all bar fight. Plus a ton of side-missions where you, as Dalton, just go beating ass galore at the Double Deuce, in jeans, black collared shirt and panty-creaming mullet. Five stars, rated M for Mature. Joe Bob says check it out.

The toughest negotiations in acquiring the license might be with the late Swayze's estate, but that was a guy who could laugh at himself, and who knew sometimes you had to pay the bills. And he also accounts for two songs on the soundtrack, so you know the rest of the original cheesebag music would probably cost like a dollar ninety-five. Done with a wink and a nod (and a smirk) that game is an 11 on the ironic-impulse-purchase-o-meter. It would eat platinum and shit diamonds. Someone has to make it happen.

Oh, the rest of this magazine article is kind of interesting. It's Playboy but the links are all SFW, unless you can't have that domain name in your browser history.

The Man Who Conned the Pentagon [Playboy, thanks Matthew H.]

Realizing that sports games don't usually contend outside of their classification, Stick Jockey's named an honor roll of nine awards within the sports game genre for 2009. Seven of them conform to awards offered elsewhere in video gaming. Two of them, Rookie of the Year and Comeback Player of the Year, might sound more familiar to real awards offered by some leagues, but they also recognize the annual nature of games produced by this sector.

While a game's technical aspects and ability to execute were considered, more subjective qualities such as a title's innovation, impact, and the size of the gaming population it served also came into play in judging a game's worthiness. By no means were these the only good games made in the year 2009; but they are Stick Jockey's choices representing the best the year had to offer.

Best Presentation and Best Singleplayer: MLB 09 The Show (Sony Computer Entertainment America)
The 30 ballparks of Major League Baseball provide a wonderful canvas to showcase a sports game's visuals, and yet it was only the starting point for MLB 09 The Show. Abetted by such unique venues, and the pace of a sport that allows long looks at your surroundings, MLB 09 delivered a visual polish unmatched by any other sports game. Baseball's pre-eminent simulation demonstrated how high-powered visuals aren't just pretty to look at, but that they necessarily contribute to a game's true-to-life realism and its ability to perfect a sports simulation. For a pure singleplayer experience, MLB 09's Road to the Show again exceeded career modes in other sports, both in terms of the deep participation it offers in your player's progression, and in a game experience better suited to playing as a individual than presently offered by soccer, football or basketball.

Best Multiplayer: Madden NFL 10 (EA Sports)
Madden, a mainstay of online sports gaming, delivered its first online franchise mode this year. While it lacked some customizable features of its other game modes, it was a tremendous improvement over Madden 09's online leagues. 2009 was not a particularly noteworthy year for multiplayer sports gaming - other titles trended toward innovation or execution, but not both. Given Madden's stature as an online staple, all year long, this was the most value-added upgrade to a title's multiplayer package and it lays a strong foundation for improvement in the next year.

Best Indie Game: Avatar Golf (BarkersCrest)
Inside Lacrosse College Lacrosse 2010 was an unusual and very laudable effort, delivering simulation quality to a niche sport with a very passionate following. But for gameplay and overall appeal, nothing comes close to Avatar Golf by BarkersCrest Studios on the Xbox Live Indie Games channel. Just $5 delivers seven courses, three different tee lengths, playable with a full bag of clubs, and environmental effects - as your Xbox Live avatar, both singleplayer and online. If that's not enough, it packaged an entire course editor and the ability to share those creations. For such a trivial price, Avatar Golf is hands down the biggest value in all of sports gaming for 2009.

Comeback Player of the Year: NBA Live 10 (EA Sports)
In many ways, Madden NFL 10 finally felt like the first game in that series worthy of the current generation of console. Madden also roams alone, with no other licensed competitor, so its improvement is welcome but shouldn't get extra credit. That instead goes to NBA Live 10, which while it has its shortcomings, made professional basketball the only seriously contested licensed sports title this year. NBA Live 10 was distinguished by better passing, and the little things, like stronger atmospherics, commentary that adapts to season progression, and player-specific crowd reactions. This award does not mean NBA Live 10 is the best basketball game. It means it made that argument worth having again.

Rookie of the Year and Best Individual Sports Game of the Year: UFC 2009 Undisputed (THQ)
This mixed martial arts title wasn't perfect, but it delivered immediate impact for a fast-growing sport underserved by video gaming's mainstream. As a rookie, yes, there are few new IPs in this genre, and 2K Sports offered two - MLB Front Office Manager, and NBA 2K10 on the Wii. Neither had anywhere close to the impact of Undisputed, nor will they see 2010, whereas THQ has already booked a sequel for May. And UFC Undisputed's upcoming rivalry with EA Sports MMA will be a key story of 2010. Tiger Woods PGA Tour and Fight Night Round 4 from EA Sports also were strong contenders in more traditional roles. But for fun, and for living up to the challenges posed by a new sport, Undisputed gets the nod.

Best Team Sports Game and Sports Game of the Year: FIFA 10 (EA Sports)
A striking 360-degree player motion upgrade helped make FIFA 10 the most lifelike simulation of game action in any team offering this year, no small order for a constantly flowing, moving and contested sport such as soccer. Its new Virtual Pro capability broke the accepted boundaries of created-player modes in other sims, essentially embedding yourself, the gamer, in the roster for use in all modes, with attendant player progression. Rather than completely reboot some major aspect of gameplay or control, EA Canada moved more to improve what was already a critical success from the year before. Subtle, but such confidence distinguishes a best-in-class sports simulation, and that's what FIFA 10 is.

Stick Jockey is Kotaku's column on sports video games. It appears Saturdays at 10 a.m. U.S. Mountain time.

That would be ESPN NFL 2K5, the last and best of an uncommonly good crop of football games in the first half of the decade and, perhaps not coincidentally, the last one before EA Sports inked its exclusive license with the National Football League. Certainly, the stupefyingly good value 2K5 delivered on an unheard-of $19.99 price tag moved the needle on its high regard. But reviews of the game still said things like "the best-looking football game ever made," and "the most entertaining show in video game football."

This coming week will see the last glut of AAA releases in the autumn sales cycle, and then it will be on to the question of Game of the Year. Sports titles are like the offensive lineman in modern Heisman voting. Just being mentioned would be honor enough, because the prize is completely inaccessible to your class of performer.

Maybe 2K5 did the best of any sports game, judged among others, in its year. It's impossible to say definitively. I dialed up Brandon Justice, a producer on the 2K5 team to ask him where that game fit in the larger context of 2004's top titles. Five years later, you can still hear the pride when quotes the game's feature set, as if he was back on the team going head-to-head with the Madden franchise.

"People are out there, today, talking about whether Madden 10 is overall a better product (than 2K5)," said Justice, who later worked on Madden and now is the director of design for Quick Hit Football (profiled Sept. 19.) "Five years later. They're just now doing features that 2K5 did first - and not doing them as well. They now have online franchises; we had that mode. We had SportsCenter presentation with a highlight reel; they're just now doing that kind of thing."

But the feature-packed game wasn't put out there to take home a statue, Justice said. It's not to say that is the sole motivation of any past game of the year, but such artistic recognition is at least in the mix for your typical AAA adventure. Not so with sports titles, which seek a more product-oriented recognition, Justice said.

"Ironically enough, trophies matter little to the sports crowd," he said. It's very much focused on sales and beating direct competition where it exists. "Our main mission in 2K was to beat Madden's score. Whether it wins sports game of the year or not, Madden's still going to sell millions of units every year. More than anything else we just wanted to make a good sports game. And having worked on the Madden team as well, those guys have the same spirit. You want to crush the competition, and make the best product out there."

In 2004, NFL 2K5 couldn't afford to think about taking on Half-Life 2, Halo 2 or Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. That year's Madden also went out to wide acclaim; just beating it would take best-in-class effort.

But it's also a little pointless, Justice said, for a sports game to shoot for anything outside best-in-class accolades. A former games writer himself, Justice said the criticism operations of major opinion leaders just aren't set up to give sports titles the same exposure as shooters, RPGs and other traditional genres.

"Every magazine I've worked for, they have a sports guy," he said. And, working for IGN, he remembers plenty of sports copy being handed off to freelancers. "Everybody plays Call of Duty, Grand Theft Auto, Fallout, Gears of War, but you really have to find someone who's into baseball games, and then he always reviews it." Inevitably, when that outfit polls its staff for game of the year, few voices speak up for a sports game because few have played them.

"You've got one or two voices voting for a sports game," Justice said. "A lot of time it's a question of volume."

Could a sports title ever win Game of the Year? My gut feeling says the opportunity has passed. Criticism of video games is increasingly considerate of a game's narrative, and a sports simulation fundamentally has none. And sports deal with creative limitations specific to existing rules of a game, plus the veto authority of a licensor who may not buy into daring creativity.

David Littman, a producer on EA Sports' NHL title - taking 19 different sports game of the year awards in 2007 and 2008 - points out another basic limitation of sports games. "These big action games have huge worlds to explore, while sports games take place mainly inside a confined stadium," he told me.

Plus, he said wryly, "Sports games don't have guns. People seem to like guns."

True. Shooters also don't have to outdo themselves every year, lest they be branded as just a prettied-up roster update. The innovations in a sports game, year-to-year, may seem small, but comparing versions three years apart, the way one would Halo 3 to Halo 2, or Grand Theft Auto IV to San Andreas, and maybe a sports title's advancement would look more profound.

"NHL 10 and FIFA 10 are two of the highest-rated sports games ever on this console generation, but FIFA 09 and NHL 09 were also among the highest scores," he said.

Littman's right. This year FIFA 10 and MLB 09 The Show became the first sports titles in the current console generation to post a Metacritic score of 90 or better. (NHL 09 and 10 both got 88.) From 2000 to 2004, every single Madden and 2K football title on every console got at least a 90.

But it's not to say that we'll never see a truly revolutionary sports game again, or that when it does come, its excellence will go unrecognized. There's no way NFL 2K5 could have won Game of the Year five years ago. But it still enjoys a fame that's outlived those that did.

"Do you really think, five years from now, you're gonna hear ‘Is Grand Theft Auto on PlayStation 4 as good as Grand Theft Auto on PlayStation 3? Will Halo 6 people really say, ‘Is this as good as Halo 1?'" Justice muses. "I don't think so."

Stick Jockey is Kotaku's column on sports video games. It appears Saturdays at 10 a.m. U.S. Mountain time.

The paper has kicked off the past three years with an annual Game of the Year feature, that the Rocky decided to name the Golden Crecentes. It's a chance for me to not only name some of the big titles, the triple-A games of the previous year, but also to sneak in a couple of more subtle categories like Best Indie, Best Downloadable, and this year, Best iPhone Game.

The latest Golden Crecentes ran this morning in the paper, and I suspect it might be the last with the Rocky seemingly heading toward closure. I could be wrong. I actually didn't think the article would see the light of day.

Here's my editor's wonderful intro for the awards:

Even during this economic apocalypse, the winners of the Third Annual Golden Crecentes should resist the urge to melt down these valuable awards for the bullion within. Because these babies are worth more than their weight in gold. They say, "We are the absolute best games of the year, the dazzling pinnacle of technical and artistic achievement."

Besides, the Golden Crecentes are really figurative honors. There are no actual statuettes - just the priceless glory that comes prepackaged with year-end accolades bestowed by gaming guru Brian D. Crecente.

Yes, I picked Grand Theft Auto IV as game of the year again, but I bet you don't know what other games made the cut.

Golden Crecentes honor year's best video games [Rocky Mountain News]

The question matters to me because I just got done playing Fallout 3, a particularly gore-splattered entry in 2008’s blood-saturated lineup of blockbusters. I found the violence upsetting and at times gratuitous (the gore bags the super mutants keep? *puke*), but the game was one my picks for Kotaku’s Game of the Year award.

Along with Gears of War 2 and Grand Theft Auto IV, Fallout 3 was a finalist for the 2008 GOTY. Compare these nominations to the titles on major consoles last year and a disturbing trend seems to be forming: the games we highlight are getting more violent.

Ultimately, this year's GOTY went to Grand Theft Auto IV – a game I didn’t nominate because I didn’t like the violence (among other things).

The GR article asserts that games have always been violent and that it's a natural byproduct of the medium, so maybe there's nothing wrong with me for not batting an eyelash when a torso goes flying off in one direction while the head and legs fly off in another in Fallout 3. But what does my reaction to violence in video games say about me as a gamer? Am I a hypocrite because I'm cool with dismemberment in Fallout 3, but not violence against women in GTA IV? Has violence become an integral component to video games that I weigh the same as graphics, art and sound when decided what makes a game good?

More importantly, what does our GOTY lineup say about us as gamers? Have we come to expect games to have bucketfuls of blood and at least three detachable body parts per enemy? Or are we just reacting to our changing cultural environment the way the GR article asserts?

Instead of awards meant to serve as a shopping list for gamers, we hope to create something that pinpoints what we think was best in gaming for the year and where we hope developers will strive to improve their games over the following years.

The outcome was as surprising to us as I'm sure it will be to you. I've explained the process at the bottom of our list for those interested. In the meantime check out what Kotaku Tower thought offered the best in gaming in 2008.

Best Art

Metal Gear Solid 4
Say, what you want about Metal Gear Solid 4 — that it's more movie, less game, whatever. Those gripes don't matter: MGS4 is pure eye candy, it oozes sexy style and sparkles with pure panache. Watching it is a wonder. Character designer Yoji Shinkawa has been given a large canvas, and he's painted a masterpiece.

Not Quite Best Art: Valkyria Chronicles

Best Sound

Dead Space
Using technology to replicate sound is easy, but what about using it to imitate a complete lack of sound? The developers of Dead Space managed to convey airless, soundless space by replicating the vibrations one would feel from magnetized footsteps on a metal hull, or the recoil felt when unloading your weapon into an enemy clawing its way relentlessly towards you. They did an amazing job that realy heightened the atmosphere of the game - or lack thereof.

Not Quite Best Sound: Left 4 Dead

Best Writing

Grand Theft Auto IV
You'll see the "category" name up there, you'll see we picked Grand Theft Auto IV, and your eyes probably won't stop rolling. After all, isn't this the game with a "story" that, after the first third, completely falls apart? Interesting, original characters replaced for tired mob stereotypes while a convoluted narrative about the American Dream collapses in on itself around them? Yes. But we're also rewarding games for their dialogue. And no game from 2008 can match the wit, delivery and sheer volume of irresistible chit-chat that Grand Theft Auto IV populates its cutscenes, missions and idle moments with.

Not Quite Best Writing: Fallout 3

Best Innovation

LittleBigPlanet
Where several games delivered innovative stories or gameplay mechanics this year, none were as comprehensively groundbreaking as LittleBigPlanet. The game’s premise, physics, and art direction constitute a near-reinvention of the platform genre. But most importantly, LittleBigPlanet’s extraordinarily deep capacity for user-generated content represents a significant evolution in console gaming, bringing a creative experience that is ordinarily the domain of PC gaming into the PlayStation 3.

Other games will surely be created to follow, if not outright copy, the example LBP set last year.

Not Quite Best Innovation: Braid

Best Multiplayer

Left 4 Dead
In a world where games tack-on multiplayer modes to single-player campaigns as an afterthought, Left 4 Dead is a breath of fresh zombie flesh. Modeled entirely on a four player system that encourages teamwork and cooperation over every-man-for-himself, this multiplayer mode challenges FPS gamers and survival horror fans to resist both run-and-gun tactics and fleeing blindly from the oncoming brain-craving horde. And by giving gamers the chance to play as Infected themselves – spitting vomit, tongue-choking Survivors, or just generally raining on their survival parade – Left 4 Dead goes the extra mile in creating a diverse and always-entertaining multiplayer experience.

Not Quite Best Multiplayer: Gears of War 2

Best Indie

Braid
Braid is brilliant. The mechanics are ingenious, forcing the player to learn, adapt and ruminate on how space and time — and even story — can be manipulated in a video game. Even the resolution, the ending as it were, requires that the player see it play out according to the rules of Braid. It's also refreshingly independent. We know, directly from the creator, the ins and outs of Braid's pricing, its development history and the post-ship bugs. It's all "important" stuff, an exciting entry in a new generation of developers and thinking.

Not Quite Best Indie: World of Goo

Game of the Year

Grand Theft Auto IV
At their heart, games are meant to be a sort of absorbing escape from the every day. Unfortunately, what we as gamers escape to is too often an incomplete vision.

Scaling back on some of the unwieldy features found in earlier iterations of Grand Theft Auto, Rockstar instead focused on perfecting what was left, creating a foundation building game.

The result is a Liberty City that had us not just marveling at the over the top escapism of action-hero antics, but losing ourselves in the mundane, the routine of cell phone calls, of blind dates and taxi rides.

What Rockstar has done so well is give us a full vision, one that is more place than game, a playground of opportunities complete with a believable cast of characters and plenty of opportunities for mayhem in a setting so real we forget that it isn't.

Not Quite Game of the Year: Gears of War 2

The Process
We started by discussing the best way to categorize our awards and after deciding to lump all games together, regardless of genre or platform, we worked to create a list of categories that we felt highlighted the important elements of a game.

Next I asked all of the writers to nominate three games each for the GOTYs. I went through the list and pulled the three games in each category with the most nominations. In the case of two categories there was a tie and I had everyone vote for the tie breaker.

Once we had our finalist list together I asked everyone to order them from first to third. First place votes received three points, second place received two and third received one. The game with the most votes won in each category.

Three categories had ties, so I went back and polled Kotaku Tower to select which of those games should make the list. Here now, is your list of finalists for Games of the Year. Feel free to discuss how wrong we our in our Goaties nominations.

We'll be publishing the winners on Friday. Good luck to all and thanks to the developers of these titles for

Art: Metal Gear Solid 4, Mirror's Edge, Valkyria Chronicles

Sound: Dead Space, Left 4 Dead, Rock Band 2

Story: Grand Theft Auto IV, Fallout 3, Metal Gear Solid 4

Innovation: LittleBigPlanet, Braid, Prince of Persia

Multiplay: Left 4 Dead, Gears of War 2, Call of Duty: World at War

Indie: Braid, World of Goo, Cursor*10

Game of the Year: Gears of War 2, Grand Theft Auto IV, Fallout 3

Either you create awards meant to be used as a sort of buying guide, a consumer-centric list that tells people who own a certain console which games they absolutely must buy for that year. That's what we did last year with our Goaties.

This year we're trying the other approach: Creating a set of awards that reward the artistry of creation. You won't go wrong if you run out to buy these games. But this year's Goaties are meant to serve as a sort of carrot, albeit an incredibly tiny one, that reward what we think is important in game development.

We decided to dispense with awards broken down by console. The best game of the year, the argument goes, is the best, no matter what console it appears on. I realize this flies directly in the face of my rant last year about these awards, but I feel it is justified if you're trying to create a set of awards geared more at the developers than the gamers.

Instead, we came up with a list of the things we think are important in a game. Well, most important and our categories are meant to reflect that. What that leaves us with is:

Game of the Year: Best overall game of the year. We don't care if it's a sequel or what platform it's on, just whether it was the single, hands-down best game of 2008.

Art: This isn't just about graphics, we're talking scenery, art direction, animation, set design, character design, costume design and, yes, graphics too.

Sound: Best music, sound effects, songs in a single game.

Story: Which game had the best story and dialog.

Innovation: Most innovative title of the year. This could be because of a single innovative twist or the overall experience.

Multiplay: Best multiplayer experience in a game.

Indie: The single best title created by an independent studio and self-published.

Everyone nominated three games for each category, I plan to take those nominations and come up with the finalists for each category tomorrow. Until then, here are the raw nominations:

The Nominations

Art:
Brian Crecente: Mushroom Men: Spore Wars, Metal Gear Solid 4, Mirror's Edge

Brian Ashcraft: Captain Rainbow, Valkyria Chronicles, Lord of Vermilion

Mike McWhertor: Metal Gear Solid 4, Mirror's Edge, Bionic Commando Rearmed

Mike Fahey: LittleBigPlanet, Prince of Persia, Valkyria Chronicles

Luke Plunkett: Prince of Persia, Mirror's Edge, Metal Gear Solid 4

Owen Good: Okami, Gears of War 2, Fallout 3

AJ Glasser: Valkyria Chronicles, Fallout 3, Tales of Vesperia

Sound:
Brian Crecente: LittleBigPlanet, Mushroom Men: Spore Wars, Dead Space

Brian Ashcraft: Echochrome, Rhythm Heaven, Metal Gear Solid 4

Mike McWhertor: Rock Band 2, Dead Space, Left 4 Dead

Mike Fahey: Persona 4, Prince Of Persia, World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King

Luke Plunkett: Prince of Persia, LittleBigPlanet, Left 4 Dead

Owen Good: Bionic Commando Rearmed, Dead Space, Grand Theft Auto IV

AJ Glasser: Fallout 3, Guitar Hero World Tour, Rock Band 2

Story:
Brian Crecente: Gears of War 2, Grand Theft Auto IV, Left 4 Dead

Brian Ashcraft: Fable 2, Inazuma Eleven, Grand Theft Auto IV

Mike McWhertor: Grand Theft Auto IV, Yakuza 2, Metal Gear Solid 4

Mike Fahey: Prince of Persia, Persona 4, Fallout 3

Luke Plunkett: Lost Odyssey, Fable II, GTA IV

Owen Good: Grand Theft Auto IV, Gears of War 2, Fallout 3

AJ Glasser: Tales of Vesperia, Metal Gear Solid 4, Fallout 3

Innovation:
Brian Crecente: Left 4 Dead, LittleBigPlanet, Braid

Brian Ashcraft: PixelJunk Eden, Barkley, Shut Up and Jam: Gaiden, Chapter 1 of the Hoopz Barkley SaGa, Inazuma Eleven

Mike McWhertor: Cursor*10, LittleBigPlanet, Forumwarz

Mike Fahey: LittleBigPlanet, Braid, Wii Fit

Luke Plunkett: Prince of Persia, LittleBigPlanet, Mirror's Edge

Owen Good: LittleBigPlanet, Braid, Patapon

AJ Glasser: Prince of Persia, Valkyria Chronicles, Mirror's Edge

Multiplay:
Brian Crecente: Left 4 Dead, Call of Duty: World at War, Gears of War 2

Brian Ashcraft: Metal Gear Online, GTAIV, Mario Kart Wii

Mike McWhertor: Left 4 Dead, PixelJunk Eden, Gears of War 2

Mike Fahey: Left 4 Dead, Resistance 2, LittleBigPlanet

Luke Plunkett: Left 4 Dead, Gears of War 2, FIFA 09

Owen Good: Left 4 Dead, Gears of War 2, Call of Duty: World at War

AJ Glasser: LittleBigPlanet, Gears of War 2, Left 4 Dead

Indie:
Brian Crecente: Braid, Cortex Command, Cursor*10

Brian Ashcraft: World of Goo, Barkley, Shut Up and Jam: Gaiden, Chapter 1 of the Hoopz Barkley SaGa, Super Obama World

Mike McWhertor: World of Goo, Cursor*10, Braid

Mike Fahey: World of Goo, Braid, Audiosurf

Luke Plunkett: Castle Crashers, World of Goo, Pixeljunk Eden

Owen Good: Braid, Castle Crashers, World of Goo

AJ Glasser: Mount & Blade, de Blob, Braid

Game of the Year:
Brian Crecente: Gears of War 2, LittleBigPlanet, Grand Theft Auto IV

Brian Ashcraft: Do-Don-Pachi Dai-Fukkatsu ver 1.5, Bangai-O Spirits, Grand Theft Auto IV

Mike McWhertor: Grand Theft Auto IV, Braid, Left 4 Dead

Mike Fahey: Fallout 3, Fable 2, Grand Theft Auto IV

Luke Plunkett: Gears of War 2, Grand Theft Auto IV, Far Cry 2 (PC)

Owen Good: Fallout 3, Gears of War 2, Grand Theft Auto IV

AJ Glasser: LittleBigPlanet, Valkyria Chronicles, Fallout 3

Along with praising Grand Theft Auto IV for balanced combat, driving mechanics, and impressive writing, Schiesel also praises and pokes a few games and companies for their more obscure achievements. He awards Nintendo with "Best Explanation of Why Nintendo Hardly Needs Big Games Anymore" for The Wii, pointing out that widespread acceptance by non-gamers has allowed Nintendo to ignore core fans "For now." Left 4 Dead receives a much deserved "Best Zombies" award. He lists Spore as "Best Disappointment", while giving Molyneux a nod with "Best Vindication" for Fable II.

Of course it all comes down to the game of the year, and for Schiesel, that was GTA IV. Here's what he had to say:

G.T.A. IV came out in April, and for the rest of the year I kept waiting for some other new game to captivate and refuse to release me the way this masterpiece from Rockstar did. I’m still waiting. Beyond its formidable craft, apart from its well-balanced combat and driving mechanics, what impresses most about G.T.A. IV is its writing. It is one of the few games that even try to take on the real world in any adult way. (Of course, the game’s Liberty City setting is a parody of modern New York.) Penetrating through all the game’s gangster trappings is a hunger to engage with the idiocies, the contradictions and even some of the good things in modern America. After all, someone has to.

This is the moment where one of us stands up and starts a slow clap. You guys sort that out, and we'll join in shortly.

The Zombies Look Better Every Year [The New York Times]

There are certainly some deserving titles among the winners, but there are also a few head-scratchers among the nominees.

Our pick for Game of the year was Grand Theft Auto IV. Here are the rest of the best:

KOTAKU'S PICKS

Studio of the Year: Media Molecule
Best Shooter: Far Cry 2
Best RPG: Fallout 3
Best Fighting Game: Soulcalibur IV
Best Individual Sports Game: Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09
Best Handheld Game: God of War: Chains of Olympus
Best Graphics: Metal Gear Solid 4
Best Game Based on a Movie or TV Show: LEGO Indiana Jones
Best Music Game: Rock Band 2
Best Driving Game: Burnout Paradise
Best Action Adventure Game: Dead Space
Best Team Sports Game: Madden NFL 09
Best Soundtrack: Rock Band 2
Best Xbox 360 Game: Gears of War 2
Best Wii Game: No More Heroes
Best PS3 Game: Metal Gear Solid 4
Best PC Game: Left 4 Dead
Best Original Score: No Vote
Best Multiplayer Game: Left 4 Dead
Best Performance by a Human Male: Stephen Fry as The Narrator
Best Performance by a Human Female: Debie Mae West as Meryl Silverburgh

The full 2007 Game Critics: Game of the Year Award winners have hit the Game Critics website, naming BioShock the game of the year.

Here's the complete break down, via the Game Critics Geoff Keighley and Rob Smith:

Top 10 Games of 2007:
1. BioShock
2. The Orange Box
3. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
4. Rock Band
5. Super Mario Galaxy
6. Halo 3
7. Mass Effect
8. God of War II
9. Assassin's Creed
10. Uncharted: Drake's Fortune

Game of the Year breakdown by platform:
Xbox 360: 7
PlayStation 3: 5
PC: 3
Wii: 1
PlayStation 2: 1

Game of the Year breakdown by publisher:
Microsoft Game Studios: 2
Sony Computer Entertainment: 2
EAP (Valve, MTV Games/Harmonix): 2
2K Games: 1
Activision: 1
Nintendo: 1
Ubisoft: 1

Hit up the site for each game's write-up and the break down of how judges voted.

Game Critics Awards

MTV's Stephen Totilo decided to eschew the annual Game of the Year chestnut for a much more fun to pronounce and acronymize Game of the Game of the Year or GOTGOTY. Actually he didn't really eschew anything, seeing that he did his own GOTYs not too long ago, but this is still a fun idea. Totilo created a sort of MetaGOTY if you can imagine that (Personally, mine is a billy goat in a Robocop suit) by rounding up all of the GOTYs and tallying them to see which game was selected the most.

Included in the list are such gems as ours, Destructoid's, Joystiq's, The LA Times, The Rocky's and even Yahoo's. The final result? BioShock, it seems was selected the most as GOTY (nine times), while Super Mario Galaxy was selected six times and Call of Duty 4 an appropriate four times.

Forget 'Game Of The Year' — Introducing The 2007 'GOTGOTY' [MTV]

First a thing about the name: I didn't pick it. I think it's hilarious, but I'd never name an award after myself, it's obnoxious... and quite funny. Which is what I think the Rocky was going for. There are quite a few closet smart-asses over there. :)

So my annual pick for best video game ran in the Rocky Mountain News today and I picked Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare as the overall winner. The game beat out The Orange Box, Bioshock, Super Mario Galaxy and Uncharted: Drake's Fortune.

Here's why I decided to pick a war-time first-person shooter sequel over the splendor of a dystopian society, amazing character interaction of Uncharted and innovative design of Galaxy and Orange Box:

This solid first-person shooter for the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 may not be as innovative as The Orange Box and Super Mario Galaxy. It may not deliver an awe-inspiring glimpse at an eschewed philosophy like BioShock or create the sort of sizzling character interaction found in Uncharted, but, hands down, it is the most thoroughly entertaining video game of the past year.

The single-player story is captivating, set in a present-day Middle East and parts of Russia and comes at the player in a mix of sweeping cinematic set pieces and smart pacing that can easily glue the audience to the game for the entire six- to eight-hour experience.

It's a game that has the sorts of moments usually found only in film, hiding these startling revelations in gamers' blind spots. People you come to care about die. You die, and not in the sort of plastic, ephemeral death found in video games. These deaths are permanent and, at times, evocative.

A deep, seemingly limitless online multiplayer experience also adds quite a bit of life to the title. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare may seem like more of the same, but this title is the realization of a rewarding franchise meeting its complete potential.

Hit the link to check out my winners for the rest of the categories, including a selection of "hot flashes" I managed to sneak into the awards. Feel free to bash me here for not choosing (your selection here) for best (your category here).

Ps. I didn't write the awards' intro, that's one of those smart-asses I was talking about.
Game Gold

Having popped in a few times over the weekend to check things out, I couldn't help but notice a wee bit of dissatisfaction over the way the Reader's Choice Awards were run. What we decided to do this year was use the same finalist list we used for our own Game of the Year selection because it seemed the most practical way to proceed. While it may be possible to create a poll listing every single game to hit a particular platform in 2007, it just didn't make sense to. Next year I'll try to figure out a better way to broaden the finalist list in a way that works for you guys, perhaps by asking people to post their favorite games and then selecting the finalists from that list.

Once the winners in each category were selected I think it's very fair to use those as the finalists for the overall game of the year. If a game is voted by you the readers as the best game for a system then it should be the one used to represent the system in what is essentially the finals for the overall awards.

One other point. I didn't include the Wii's Virtual Console this year because they don't really have original games. But was that fair? Should I have included it along with the PSN and XBLA?

Hit the jump to see the winners and then make up your own list of winners in the comments. I'm interested to see how different the list would have been had it been entirely in your hands.

GOTY DS
The Legend of Zelda Phantom Hourglass

GOTY PC
Portal

GOTY PS2
God of War II

GOTY PS3
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune

GOTY PSP
Ratchet and Clank: Size Matters

GOTY Wii
Super Mario Galaxy

GOTY Xbox 360
Bioshock

GOTY XBLA
Alien Hominid HD

GOTY PSN
Everyday Shooter

OVERALL GOTY
Super Mario Galaxy

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]

I had a tireless, amazing team who was on a mission to make BioShock great. We didn't have 300 people or five years. We had an insane amount of passion. I'd like to thank the people who made it with me, the families that patiently waited while we did our thing, the publisher with the guts not to make us change it, and the fans who showed that gamers have a much broader range of interest and intellect than anybody in certain parts of the media or the political space is comfortable giving them credit for.

It's a relatively short article, but there is some great stuff in there regarding his thoughts on BioShock's weaknesses as well as his pick for 2007 GOTY. A nice bit of weekend reading for your early morning coffee or late night holiday booze binge.

Ken Levine Talks BioShock [1Up]

MSNBC video game section has been polling gamers about their favorite games in a number of categories, trying to narrow down the search for the Game of the Year.

Today the site put up the poll to decide which of the finalists, culled from the best of each genre, should be named the game of the year.

The finalists are:
Madden NFL 08
Project Gotham Racing 4
Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree
LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
Mass Effect
Bioshock
Call of Duty 4

At the time of this writing Call of Duty 4 was leading with 31 percent of the vote. BioShock was close behind with 22 percent and Mass Effect was in a distant third with 8.6 percent.

Which game deserves the crown in 2007? [MSNBC]

1. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
2. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
3. The Orange Box
4. BioShock
5.God of War II
6. Super Mario Galaxy
7. The Darkness
8. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
9. John Woo's Stranglehold
10. Lost Planet: Extreme Condition

We'll be tabulating the LOLs, ROFLs, ROFLMAOs, WTFs and GTFOs as soon as possible and plan to provide nice pie charts.

Best of 2007: Video Games [Maxim]

1. Halo 3
2. The Orange Box
3. Rock Band
4. Super Mario Galaxy
5. BioShock
6. Call of Duty 4
7. Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
8. Mass Effect
9. Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation
10. God of War 2

Now go ahead and do the obligatory duking it out for the honor of your favorite games in the comments.

Top 10 Video Games [TIME]

Game of the Year * Mass Effect * Assassin's Creed * BioShock * Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare * Halo 3 * Super Mario Galaxy

Most Original Game
* Assassin's Creed
* Portal
* Overlord
* Crackdown
* Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure

Best Gameplay Innovation
* Assassin's Creed (free-running/climbing)
* Mass Effect (conversation system)
* Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (online level-up system)
* Halo 3 (Forge/Replays/Screenshots)
* Crackdown (Advanced Co-op features)

Best Multiplayer Game
* World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade
* Team Fortress 2
* Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
* Halo 3
* Rock Band

Best Action/Adventure Game
* Super Mario Galaxy
* Assassin's Creed
* Crackdown
* God of War II
* Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction

Best Sports Game
* MLB PowerPros
* NCAA Football 2K8
* Forza Motorsport 2
* DiRT
* Winning Eleven Pro Evolution Soccer 2007

Best Shooter
* BioShock
* Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
* Halo 3
* Half-Life 2: Episode 2
* Team Fortress 2

Best Role Playing Game
* Mass Effect
* Final Fantasy VI Advance
* The Witcher
* Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer
* Titan Quest: Immortal Throne

Best New Character
* Weighted Companion Cube (Portal)
* Saren (Mass Effect)
* Andrew Ryan (BioShock)
* GLaDOS (Portal)
* King Bohan (Heavenly Sword)

Best Art Direction
* BioShock
* Assassin's Creed
* Super Mario Galaxy
* Mass Effect
* Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

Best Animation
* Assassin's Creed
* Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction
* Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
* Heavenly Sword
* Uncharted: Drake's Fortune

Best Writing/Story
* BioShock
* Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction
* The Simpsons Game
* Mass Effect
* Portal

Best Original Soundtrack
* Mass Effect
* Portal
* BioShock
* Super Mario Galaxy
* Halo 3

Best Sound Design
* Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
* Assassin's Creed
* Halo 3
* BioShock
* Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction

Best Downloadable Content
* The Elder Scrolls IV: Shivering Isles (XBL)
* Pac-Man Championship Edition (XBLA)
* Super Stardust HD (PSN)
* Carcassonne (XBLA)
* Crackdown Download Packs (XBL)

Best Strategy Game
* World In Conflict
* Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts
* Supreme Commander
* Galactic Civilizations II: Dark Avatar
* Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars