EA LA and DICE's new Medal of Honor may look somewhat familiar, but with higher clarity, in its debut trailer. At the very least, it looks impressively cinematic, with more suicide bombers than competitor Modern Warfare 2 brings to the table. And the beards! So glorious!

Less expected, for those of us who didn't chat up Mark Hamill on the red carpet, was Rocksteady and Eidos' reveal of the sequel to Batman: Arkham Asylum.

I guess we're calling this Batman: Arkham Asylum 2? That's despite the vigilante on mental institutionalized bad guy action apparently spilling onto the streets of Gotham City itself, the confines of Arkham seemingly incapable of containing Batman's rogues gallery.

The official site for the next Batman game appears to have gone live in a barebones state, hopefully offering more concrete information soon. For now, enjoy tonight's recently revealed trailers for two of next year's biggest games.

How did Media Molecule get wrapped up in the Spike TV Video Game Award statuette designing process? Well, Spike TV asked them. The developers won "Studio of the Year" honors at Spike's award show in 2008.

Media Molecule's design signals the start of a new tradition, with this year's award winner planned to tackle a new design for next year's show, which is based on a sculpt originally created by vinyl toy experts Kid Robot. That means next year's VGA prize will be designed by a "Studio of the Year" nominee—Infinity Ward, Naughty Dog, Rocksteady Studios or Valve—should things go as planned.

To see who's going to get all these colorful monkeys, turn your television knob to whatever channel Spike TV is on next Saturday, December 12.

So, what is this deep cover detective game, apparently set in Hong Kong? Well, it could be the "action-based game set in Hong Kong" developed by United Front Games and published by Activision, announced earlier this year. The folks at UFG—also responsible for PlayStation 3 exclusive ModNation Racers—haven't officially said much about that game, other than that it's bound for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, but we're sure that'll change next week.

Spike TV's own Geoff Keighley says we can expect to see gameplay of this mystery title at the show, as well as the first look at the just announced Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands.

For now, enjoy the soothingly narrated tones of what sure sounds like English super actor Tom Wilkinson and some pre-rendered visuals.

Voting is now open for Spike's 2009 VGAs, with 28 categories awaiting your input to help determine this year's winners, though according to a Keighley tweet, Halo fans are already winners. The latest installment in the Halo saga, Halo: Reach, will be premiering during the show, giving fans their first look at the game since the rather vague E3 2009 teaser video.

The 2009 Spike VGAs will air live on December 12th at 8PM. I will once again completely forget about them, kicking myself about it the next day.

The show will air the first trailer of whatever Bethesda has up its sleeve, giving fans ample reason to tune in. Of course, if you just want to see Spike TV's Geoff Keighley and sundry game industry types wearing the dressed up, dressed down t-shirt and blazer combo on camera, the GameTrailers TV E3 First Look special will oblige. As previously revealed, you'll also get a look at world exclusive premieres, including first footage of Mass Effect 2, DJ Hero and much, much more.

Also expect eye candy from Rose McGowan, Tricia Helfer from Battlestar Galactica and Daniel Kayser's soul patch. The show airs on Thursday at 11 PM on Spike, with that footage more than likely also appearing at GameTrailers.com soon after.

That includes our first look at BioShock 2 and its Big Sister in action. Exciting! Joining 2K Games blockbuster hit sequel in the making are exclusive details on Punch-Out!! for the Wii—"with a twist you won't see coming"—plus a "major" Killzone 2 announcement, and details of Fable II's new downloadable content, straight from Peter Molyneux's mouth.

With this much shocking and thrilling exclusive content in a single episode, viewers may have to get tested for exclusive poisoning the next day. Watch with caution!

The show is moving from "Friday nights at 1 AM"—which was technically early Saturday morning at 1 AM—to "Thursday nights at 12:30 AM." Again, technically that's early Friday morning, just past midnight. I know it's confusing, this whole time-telling thing.

The good news is that you'll get your fancy trailers and gameplay previews one day earlier. The bad is that you may have to wait longer to see the same content show up online the following morning.

We really hope that means that Valve will explain what that recently announced "Survival" gameplay mode is all about and clear up any possible confusion about the two additional versus campaigns coming to Left 4 Dead.

Friday's episode, airing at the wee hours of 1 AM on Spike TV, will also give us a better look at Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned, which is just around the corner. Host Geoff Keighley promises new footage and new mission info, for anyone hungry for that kind of info, as well as "much more."

GameTrailers TV Episode 202 Promo [GameTrailers]

That may be too generous of a verb to bestow upon what Spike TV did for the gaming industry, but the general consensus is that the network is getting better at providing its viewership a show less despised by the so-called "hardcore gamer." In fact, the show may speak as directly to them as anything currently broadcasting on prime time, providing plenty of flash, pomp and fully painted ladies to keep short attention spans focused between game award announcements.

Consider me, at least, mostly entertained during the Spike VGAs and not just for the mostly free booze provided by the host bar.

Despite ultimately feeling like we were enjoying a two-hour long commercial — one that suffered from actual commercial breaks and awkward appearances by Kevin James — it was a tightly produced show, packed with exclusive reveals and videos.

We heard some grumbling from other attendees that those first-look trailers for games like Uncharted 2: Among Thieves and God Of War III were frustratingly brief, but those tiny snippets were certainly in line with the strobing fireworks and booming musical numbers.

Spike's also giving developers some of the best face time cable TV provides, giving the people who make the games an opportunity to thank their mothers and QA testers in front of hundreds of thousands of people.

Sure, any award "fueled by Dew" is bound to be giggled at — we're sort of glad Braid didn't win that one for awkwardness' sake — but the exposure that those independently produced games will hopefully give each a chance to be experience by gamers who aren't as annoyed about soft drink-sponsored kudos.

While we opted to pass on the red carpet crawl, I'd have to say that this year's celebrity appearances were possibly the most appropriate of any show so far. Keifer Sutherland, Mike Tyson, Tony Hawk and host Jack Black are appearing in some of 2008 and 2009's more prominent games, some of which we genuinely hope benefit from their Hollywood endorsements.

Yes, the show still has room to grow and mature. It could stand to drop some of its musical acts in favor of more actual game related content, though the prominence of Rock Band and Guitar Hero make it harder to argue against those marketing attempts. We'd like more exclusive, longer game reveals, which are well-timed for the mid-holiday shopping crunch. And we'd make sure Neil Patrick Harris always has a back up cue card in hand, but that's nitpicking.

And we'd have Jack Black back again. He brought with him great comedic energy and — dare I say it — a little bit of genuine identity to the program. Not to mention the longest chant of "Tim Freakin' Schafer! Tim Freakin' Schafer!" ever in TV history.

The night's winners, while safe and generally predictable, aren't as undeserving or controversial as we've seen in years past. The voting process could stand to use some refining, but many of the year's best titles were given a chance to shine. Hopefully, any rights wronged during the VGAs will be remedied when the DICE Annual Interactive Achievement Awards roll around next year, when nothing will be fueled by Dew.

We caught a glimpse of the look of the new game in the trailer aired during last night's Video Game Awards on Spike TV.

"We have large shoes to fill following the success of the previously released God of War titles," said Stig Asmussen, Game Director for God of War 3. "But with refined gameplay and jaw-dropping visuals, I guarantee that God of War will give fans what they have been eagerly waiting for, and much more."

Myth Becomes Reality: Award-Winning Franchise Makes Debut on PLAYSTATION(R)3 With God of War(R)3

Game Serves As Epic Conclusion to Multi-Million Unit Franchise With State-of-the-Art Visuals and Groundbreaking Depth of Scale Four Times Larger Than Its Predecessor

FOSTER CITY, Calif., Dec. 15 /PRNewswire/ — Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) announced today, the unveil of God of War(R)3 — the last installment of the multi-million unit franchise — exclusively on the PLAYSTATION(R)3 (PS3(TM)) system. The first game-play trailer was unveiled last night at the Spike TV Video Game Awards in Los Angeles, showcasing the game's beautiful cinematography and its groundbreaking depth of scale that is four times larger than its predecessor on the PlayStation(R)2 computer entertainment system, God of War(R)2. Developed by Sony Computer Entertainment's, Santa Monica Studios, God of War 3 will bring epic battles to life with stunning graphics and an elaborate plot that puts Kratos at the center of the carnage and destruction as he seeks revenge against the Gods who have betrayed him.

"We have large shoes to fill following the success of the previously released God of War titles," said Stig Asmussen, Game Director for God of War 3. "But with refined gameplay and jaw-dropping visuals, I guarantee that God of War will give fans what they have been eagerly waiting for, and much more."

Set in the realm of Greek mythology, God of War 3 is a single-player game that allows players to take on the climatic role of the ex-Spartan warrior, Kratos, as he treads through the intimidating heights of Mt. Olympus and the dark depths of Hell once more to seek revenge on those who have betrayed him. Armed with double-chained blades, Kratos must take on mythology's darkest creatures while solving intricate puzzles throughout his merciless quest to destroy Olympus.

Utilizing a new game engine built from the ground up and state-of-the-art visual technologies, the development team behind God of War 3 have made significant strides in giving players the realistic feel of actually being on the battlegrounds. With texture resolutions being quadrupled since God of War 2, God of War 3 will feature fluid, life-like characters, as well as dynamic lighting effects, a robust weapon system, and world-changing scenarios that will truly bring unmistakable realism to Kratos' fateful quest. Players will have a chance to join battles on a grand scale with many more enemies on-screen and be able to interact with levels like never before.

Previous God of War releases have set the bar for the action-adventure genre and been acknowledged by some of the videogame industry's key publications, which include Playstation: The Official Magazine (Editor's Choice Award), Game Informer (Action/Adventure Game of the Year and Handheld Game of the Month Award), GamePro (Editor's Choice Award), Electronic Gaming Monthly (Best PS2 Game), IGN.com (Editor's Choice Award and Game of the Year Award), and four nominations in the Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, including Overall Game of the Year and Console Game of the Year. The franchise has also been awarded with several honors including several E3 Best of Game Awards (given by several online publications), numerous Game of the Year and Best Action Game Awards (given at Spike TV's Video Game Awards, Golden Joystick Awards, PSX Extreme Awards and the 3rd Annual G-Phoria Awards, and by PAX, GameZone, GameDaily, GameSpot), to name just a few.

About Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc.
Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. continues to redefine the entertainment lifestyle with its PlayStation(R) and PS one(R) game console, the PlayStation(R)2 computer entertainment system, the PSP(R) (PlayStation(R)Portable) handheld entertainment system, the ground-breaking PLAYSTATION(R)3 (PS3(TM)) computer entertainment system and its online and network services PLAYSTATION(R)Network and PLAYSTATION(R)Store.
Recognized as the undisputed industry leader, Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. markets the PlayStation family of products and develops, publishes, markets and distributes software for the PS one game console, the PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system, PLAYSTATION 3 and the PSP system for the North American market. Based in Foster City, Calif., Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. serves as headquarters for all North American operations and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.

If you still want to give it a pass, we'll make sure to break out any earth-news that might pop loose at the show and our own Mike McWhertor is on hand to write up his first-hand impressions.

Streaming direct from the show floor on the jump.

The story touches on the show's roots and the importance of game trailers to game sales, with Spike TV's Geoff Keighley calling them the Angelina Jolie of this business. Yeah, that doesn't really make sense to me either.

But what really grabbed my attention was some of the behind the scenes stuff MTV and Spike TV are doing to try and maintain and build the show's credibility through, of all things, ethics.

The awards also have attracted a row of gamer-friendly sponsors, including Burger King, GameStop, Energizer, Verizon Wireless and the Army, according to Spike.

But the network does not allow game publishers to sponsor the program. Publishers also are not allowed to place game ads near a segment of the show where their titles are nominated. Jeff Lucas, an executive vice president for ad sales for MTV Networks, said the rules were enforced to “maintain our editorial credibility.”

These rules mirror the policies for other award shows. For decades, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences did not allow commercials for forthcoming movies during the Oscars, to avoid any appearance of undue influence. Beginning with the 2009 show, each distributor will be able to buy one commercial in the show.

That's fantastic. As a judge for the awards I'm very happy to hear that Spike is not only taking the issue of ethics seriously, but researching what other awards shows are doing and following in their footsteps.

The VGAs may have had its share of issues, and some of them may even still exist, but you can't say it's not improving every year.

Video Games Awards, and Sneak Previews

Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned will world premiere at the 2008 Video Game Awards, live Sunday December 14 at 9:00pm, ET.

The Lost and Damned will feature a new main character and plot that intersects with the storyline of “Grand Theft Auto IV”; new missions that offer an entirely fresh way to explore Liberty City with new multiplayer modes and weapons and vehicles.

And we'll get to play it on Feb. 17 when it hits the Xbox Live.

GAMERS TO TRAVEL DOWN THE ROAD OF "THE LOST AND DAMNED" FOR THE FIRST TIME AT 2008 VGAS

Exclusive World Premiere of Rockstar Games' First "Grand Theft Auto IV" Episode to Debut at Spike's Video Game Awards
NEW YORK, NY, December 5, 2008 – Today, Rockstar Games and Spike TV announced that “Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned” will world premiere at the 2008 Video Game Awards, live Sunday December 14 at 9:00pm, ET (tape delay on West Coast).

Since its launch in April, “Grand Theft Auto IV” has garnered unprecedented praise and acclaim worldwide, with a staggering nine nominations for the 2008 Video Game Awards including "Game of the Year".

Developed by series creator Rockstar North and set in Liberty City, “The Lost and Damned” features a new main character and plot that intersects with the storyline of “Grand Theft Auto IV”; new missions that offer an entirely fresh way to explore Liberty City with new multiplayer modes, weapons and vehicles; and a diverse soundtrack with additional music – all with the incredible production values that are the trademarks of “Grand Theft Auto”.

Available exclusively on Xbox LIVE worldwide on February 17, 2009, “Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned” requires players to have the full version of “Grand Theft Auto IV” for Xbox 360 and Xbox LIVE membership to download.

The sixth annual "VGAs," hosted by Jack Black, will bring together megastars from the worlds of video games, Hollywood, music, sports and more to celebrate the outstanding achievements within the video game industry over the past year, and world premiere the hottest games of 2009 and beyond. The 2-hour extravaganza will premiere LIVE on Spike TV Sunday, December 14 at 9:00pm, ET (tape delay on West Coast) from Sony Picture Studios in Culver City, CA.

About Spike TV
Spike TV is available in 97.7 million homes and is a division of MTV Networks. A unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), MTV Networks is one of the world's leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms. Spike TV's Internet address is www.spike.com.

Spike TV's Casey Patterson has told game blog Multiplayer that the painted ladies won't be back. Continuing, she adds, "For any Spike show we do know that guys want to see beautiful ladies." But just not painted ladies. This year, it sounds like there will be ladies, but ladies wearing wings — “heavenly ladies”?

What's wrong with just opening an envelope and reading something off a piece of paper? Like, it seems to work okay for the Oscars...

Painted Naked Women Won’t Return To Spike Video Game Awards, But... [Multiplayer]

Gone are the sunny environs of Uncharted. Uncharted 2, from what we can guess after watching this exceptionally short teaser, will feature more snow than sun and sand. Is that some sort of Aztec sacrificial knife? We're told we will be seeing more of the game during the airing of the upcoming SpikeTV Video Game Awards.

GameStop managers and the odd journalist have already seen Fight Night Round 4 on the big screen, but come December 14th everyone else will get to see it too. Oh sure, we've seen blurry shaky-cam footage that in no way gives us the proper visuals to over-scrutinize and pick apart and that simply will not do. The world premiere of EA Sports' boxing franchise will hit during the Spike TV Video Game Awards next month. The "ultimate boxing match up" from EA Canada does have at least one thing going for it — the inclusion of video game boxing legend Mike Tyson. His style is impetuous! He wants to eat your children!

This year the show will include a live performance by 50 Cent, a Gamer God Award for Will Wright and, thankfully, no sponsored category. As in that annual Mountain Dew award won't be something the judges will have to vote on. Instead, I'm told it will be used to back an award for best indie game. As a judge, that's something I've been complaining about for years so I'm delighted to see it being shifted to something worthwhile.

Now hit the jump to read up on the finalists for the 22 categories and argue over who should be taking home the awards.

Game of the Year
Grand Theft Auto IV
LittleBigPlanet
Fallout 3
Metal Gear Solid 4
Gears of War 2

Studio of the Year
Media Molecule
Rockstar North
Harmonix
Bethesda Game Studios

Best Shooter
Far Cry 2
Resistance 2
Gears of War 2
Left 4 Dead

Best RPG
Fable II
Fallout 3
Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning
The World Ends With You

Best Fighting Game
SoulCalibir IV
Mortal Kombat Vs. DC Universe
Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit

Best Individual Sports Game
Shaun White Snowboarding
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09
Wii Fit
Skate It

Best Handheld Game
God of War: Chains of Olympus
Professor Layton and the Curious Village
Patapon
Castlevania Order of Eccelsia

Best Graphics
Gears of War 2
Fallout 3
LittleBigPlanet
Metal Gear Solid 4

Best Game Based on a Movie or a TV Show
Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures
Quantum of Solace
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
Naruto: The Broken Bond

Best Music Game
Rock Band 2 (MTV Games/ Harmonix)
Guitar Hero World Tour (RedOctane/ Activision Publishing/ Neversoft Entertainment)
Wii Music (Nintendo/ Nintendo)
SingStar (Sony Computer Entertainment/ SCE Studios London)

Best Driving Game
Burout Paradise
Pure
Midnight Club: Los Angeles
Mario Kart Wii

Best Action Adventure Game
Grand Theft Auto IV
Dead Space
Mirror's Edge
Metal Gear Solid 4

Best Team Sports Game
NHL 09
Madden NFL 09
NBA 2K9
FIFA Soccer 09

Best Soundtrack
LittleBigPlanet
Grand Theft Auto IV
Rock Band 2
Guitar Hero World Tour

Best Xbox 360 Game
Fable II
Gears of War 2
Grand Theft Auto IV
Fallout 3

Best Wii Game
Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Boom Blox
Wii Fit
No More Heroes

Best PS3 Game
Metal Gear Solid 4
Resistance 2
LittleBigPlanet
Grant Theft Auto IV

Best PC Game
Spore
Crysis Warhead
Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning
Left 4 Dead

Best Original Score
Fallout 3
Spore
Metal Gear Solid 4
LittleBigPlanet

Best Multiplayer Game
Gears of War 2
Left 4 Dead
Resistance 2
Call of Duty: World at War

Best Performance by a Human Male
Michael Hollick as Niko Bellic in GTA IV
David Hayter as Old Snake in MGS 4
Stephen Fry as The Narrator in LBP
Jason Zumwalt as Roman Bellic in GTA IV

Best Performance by a Human Female
Nathalie Cox as Juno Eclipse in The Force Unleashed
Debi Mae West as Meryl Silverburgh: MGS 4
Paula Tiso as Silvia Christel in No More Heroes
Keeley Hawes Lara Croft in Tomb Raider Underworld

Best Independent Game Fueled by Mountain Dew (Not a Judge Category)
World of Goo
PixelJunk Eden
Braid
Audio Surf

...just like in the game, challenges, tough decisions and sacrifices stand in the path of victory. In a fast paced reality show that feels like an alternate reality game brought to life, your team must work together to reach the ultimate goal: Becoming the first gamers in the world to play through the entire saga of Gears of War 2 in early October.

Interested? Head over to the official Gears 2 site to download the questionnaire and return it and a head shot and a 150 word pitch by Friday the 19th to be considered. With October right around the corner, your rejection should be pretty quick and painless. Good luck!

The Battle Starts November 7. Want To Lead the Charge? [Gears of War Official Site]

This week's episode of GameTrailers TV will give us a first look at those playable zombies in Left 4 Dead and yes, you can vomit on someone. THe show will also have the release date for Duke Nukem 3D on XBLA, the premiere of Need for Speed Undercover's trailer, and a sexy, sexy, but still disturbing Jenny McCarthy scene from Red Alert 3.

The show also includes an interview with Gabe and Tycho from Penny Arcade. If you listen carefully you can probably hear me knocking during the interview, but they wouldn't let me in. S'Ok, we got to talk to them next anyway.