GAME OF THE YEAR
Assassin’s Creed 2 (Ubisoft / Ubisoft Montreal)
Batman: Arkham Asylum (Eidos Interactive – Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment / Rocksteady Studios)
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Activision Publishing / Infinity Ward)
Left 4 Dead 2 (Valve)
UNCHARTED 2: Among Thieves (Sony Computer Entertainment / Naughty Dog)

STUDIO OF THE YEAR
Infinity Ward
Naughty Dog
Rocksteady Studios
Valve

BEST SHOOTER
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Activision Publishing / Infinity Ward)
Halo 3: ODST (Microsoft Game Studios / Bungie)
Killzone 2 (Sony Computer Entertainment / Guerrilla Games)
Left 4 Dead 2 (Valve)

BEST RPG
Borderlands (2K Games / Gearbox Software)
Demon’s Souls (Atlus / FromSoftware)
Dragon Age: Origins (Electronic Arts / BioWare)
Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story (Nintendo / AlphaDream)

BEST FIGHTING GAME
BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger (Aksys Games / Arc System Works)
Soulcalibur: Broken Destiny (NAMCO BANDAI Games / Project Soul)
Street Fighter IV (Capcom / Capcom/Dimps)
Tekken 6 (NAMCO BANDAI Games)

BEST INDIVIDUAL SPORTS GAME
EA SPORTS Fight Night Round 4 (Electronic Arts / EA Canada)
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 (Electronic Arts / EA Tiburon)
UFC 2009 Undisputed (THQ / Yuke’s Media Creations)
Wii Sports Resort (Nintendo)

BEST HANDHELD GAME
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars (Rockstar Games / Rockstar Leeds)
Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story (Nintendo / AlphaDream)
Professor Layton and The Diabolical Box (Nintendo / Level-5)
Scribblenauts (Warner Bros. Interactive / 5th Cell)

BEST GRAPHICS
Batman: Arkham Asylum (Eidos Interactive – Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment / Rocksteady Studios)
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Activision Publishing / Infinity Ward)
Killzone 2 (Sony Computer Entertainment / Guerrilla Games)
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (Sony Computer Entertainment / Naughty Dog)

BEST GAME BASED ON A MOVIE OR TV SHOW
Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Atari / Terminal Reality)
South Park Let’s Go Tower Defense Play! (Microsoft / DoubleSix)
The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena (Atari / Starbreeze AB)
X-Men Origins: Wolverine Uncaged Edition (Activision Publishing / Raven Software)

BEST MUSIC GAME
DJ Hero (Activision Publishing / FreeStyleGames)
Guitar Hero 5 (Activision Publishing / Neversoft Entertainment)
LEGO Rock Band (MTV Games – Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment / Traveler’s Tales Games – Harmonix)
The Beatles: Rock Band (MTV Games / Harmonix)

BEST DRIVING GAME
Dirt 2 (Codemasters)
Forza Motorsport 3 (Microsoft Game Studios / Turn 10)
Gran Turismo (PSP) (Sony Computer Entertainment / Polyphony Digital)
Need for Speed SHIFT (Electronic Arts / Slightly Mad Studios)

BEST ACTION ADVENTURE GAME
Assassin’s Creed 2 (Ubisoft / Ubisoft Montreal)
Batman: Arkham Asylum (Eidos Interactive – Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment / Rocksteady Studios)
Brütal Legend (Electronic Arts / Double Fine Productions)
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (Sony Computer Entertainment / Naughty Dog)

BEST TEAM SPORTS GAME
FIFA Soccer 10 (Electronic Arts / EA Canada)
Madden NFL 10 (Electronic Arts / EA Tiburon)
NBA 2K10 (2K Sports / Visual Concepts)
NHL 10 (Electronic Arts / EA Canada)

BEST SOUNDTRACK
Brütal Legend (Electronic Arts / Double Fine Productions)
DJ Hero (Activision Publishing / FreeStyleGames)
Guitar Hero 5 (Activision Publishing / Neversoft Entertainment)
The Beatles: Rock Band (MTV Games / Harmonix)

BEST XBOX 360 GAME
Batman: Arkham Asylum (Eidos Interactive – Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment / Rocksteady Studios)
Forza Motorsport 3 (Microsoft Game Studios / Turn 10)
Halo 3: ODST (Microsoft Game Studios / Bungie)
Left 4 Dead 2 (Valve)

BEST Wii GAME
MadWorld (SEGA / Platinum Games)
New Super Mario Bros. Wii (Nintendo)
Punch-Out!! (Nintendo / Next Level Games)
Wii Sports Resort (Nintendo)

BEST PS3 GAME
inFAMOUS (Sony Computer Entertainment / Sucker Punch)
Killzone 2 (Sony Computer Entertainment / Guerrilla Games)
Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time (Sony Computer Entertainment / Insomniac Games)
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (Sony Computer Entertainment / Naughty Dog)

BEST PC GAME
Dragon Age: Origins (Electronic Arts / BioWare)
Left 4 Dead 2 (Valve)
Plants vs. Zombies (PopCap Games)
The Sims 3 (Electronic Arts / The Sims Studio)

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Assassin’s Creed 2 (Ubisoft / Ubisoft Montreal)
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Activision Publishing / Infinity Ward)
Halo 3: ODST (Microsoft Game Studios / Bungie)
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (Sony Computer Entertainment / Naughty Dog)

BEST MULTIPLAYER GAME
Borderlands (2K Games / Gearbox Software)
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Activision Publishing / Infinity Ward)
Halo 3: ODST (Microsoft Game Studios / Bungie)
Left 4 Dead 2 (Valve)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A HUMAN MALE
Bill Murray as Dr. Peter Venkman in Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Atari)
Hugh Jackman as Wolverine in X-Men Origins: Wolverine Uncaged Edition (Activision Publishing)
Samuel L. Jackson as Afro Samurai / Ninja Ninja in Afro Samurai (Surge)
Shia LaBeouf as Sam Witwicky in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (Activision Publishing)
Vin Diesel as Richard B. Riddick in The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena (Atari)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A HUMAN FEMALE
Eliza Dushku as Rubi Malone in WET (Bethesda Softworks)
Kristen Bell as Lucy Stillman in Assassin’s Creed 2 (Ubisoft)
Megan Fox as Mikaela Banes (Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen / Activision Publishing)
Tricia Helfer as Dare (Halo 3: ODST / Microsoft Game Studios)

BEST CAST
Brütal Legend (Electronic Arts / Double Fine Productions)
Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard (D3 Publisher / Vicious Cycle)
Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Atari / Terminal Reality)
South Park Let’s Go Tower defence Play! (Microsoft / DoubleSix)
X-Men Origins: Wolverine Uncaged Edition (Activision Publishing / Raven Software)

BEST VOICE
Arleen Sorkin as Harley Quinn in Batman: Arkham Asylum (Eidos Interactive – Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment)
Claudia Black as Chloe Frazer in UNCHARTED 2: Among Thieves (Sony Computer Entertainment)
Jack Black as Eddie Riggs (Brütal Legend / Electronic Arts)
Mark Hamill as The Joker in Batman: Arkham Asylum (Eidos Interactive – Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment)
Nolan North as Nathan Drake in UNCHARTED 2: Among Thieves (Sony Computer Entertainment)

BEST DOWNLOADABLE GAME
Battlefield 1943 (Electronic Arts / DICE)
Fat Princess (Sony Computer Entertainment / Titan Studios)
Plants vs. Zombies (PopCap Games)
Shadow Complex (Microsoft Game Studios / Chair Entertainment)

BEST DLC
Fallout 3 – Broken Steel (Bethesda Softworks / Bethesda Game Studios)
Fallout 3 – Point Lookout (Bethesda Softworks / Bethesda Game Studios)
Grand Theft Auto IV: The Ballad of Gay Tony (Rockstar Games / Rockstar North)
Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost & Damned (Rockstar Games / Rockstar North)

BEST INDEPENDENT GAME fuelled BY DEW
‘Splosion Man (Twisted Pixel)
Flower (ThatGameCompany)
Osmos (Hemisphere Games)
Trials HD (RedLynx)

MOST ANTICIPATED GAME
Bioshock 2 (2K Games / 2K Marin)
God of War III (Sony Computer Entertainment / SCE Studios Santa Monica)
Mass Effect 2 (Electronic Arts / BioWare)
Starcraft II (Blizzard Entertainment)

For more info, check out Spike’s official VGA site.

The third in what is sure to be a long list of innovation awards for Microsoft’s motion-sensing technology by way of time. The magazine’s annual list of the 50 Best Inventions highlights Project Natal, along with less significant inventions like tank-bred tuna and teleportation. Xbox corporate vice president Mike Delman fails to contain the company’s excitement.

“We’re excited that TIME Magazine chose Project Natal as one of their Inventions of the Year, and thrilled to see the excitement around controller-free gaming and entertainment. This is the third major award “Project Natal” received this past month including the Popular Mechanics 2009 Breakthrough Award and Popular Science Best of What’s New Grand Award.”

Here at Kotaku we’re pondering just making a Project Natal award post template, just to save time.

Controller-Free Gaming [Time]

Head on over to the Australian Golden Joystick Awards site to cast your vote for the best Wii, Xbox 360 and PS3 games of the year, as well as the best retailer in the country. (No PC award? PC gamers lose again!)

The awards run from Sept 2008 to Sept 2009, which accounts for the inclusion of Fallout 3, Gears of War 2 and LittleBigPlanet among the nominees. Fallout 3 actually took out the overall prize at the UK awards, as we reported recently.

I cast my votes just now, for De Blob, Batman, Batman and JB Hi-Fi. Where did your votes go?

More than 1.2 million votes were cast for this year’s Golden Joystick Awards, representing a 47 per cent jump in votes over the previous year, and a great many of those voters were Activision Blizzard fans. While Bethesda’s post-apocalyptic epic took home top honours, five of the 15 awards announced last night went to Activision Blizzard games. Call of Duty: World at War took home awards for MSN Multiplayer Game of the Year and Nintendo Game of the Year; Guitar Hero World Tour snagged the Rampage Soundtrack of the Year award, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 was named the ShortList One to Watch. With those four under the company’s belt, it comes as no surprise that Activision Blizzard were named Publisher of the Year as well.

Other notable awards include Fallout 3’s PC Game of the Year award, Left 4 Dead’s Online Game of the Year, and Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars’ Handheld Game of the Year win.

Check out the full list of awards and their winners below.

Family Game of the Year: LittleBigPlanet

Bliss Handheld Game of the Year: Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars

Retailer of the Year: GAME

Mobile Game of the Year: Metal Gear Solid Touch

Nintendo Game of the Year: Call of Duty: World at War

MSN Multiplayer Game of the Year: Call Of Duty: World At War

The Rampage Soundtrack of the Year: Guitar Hero World Tour

Xbox Game of the Year: Gears of War 2

PC Game of the Year: Fallout 3

Amiqus Games UK Developer of the Year: Jagex

PlayStation Game of the Year: Killzone 2

Publisher of the Year: Activision Blizzard

Online Game of the Year: Left4Dead

ShortList One to Watch: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

Ultimate Game of the Year, together with Zavvi.co.uk: Fallout 3

Captain Forever, a gloriously neon top-down shooter that sees you upgrading your craft through scavenging parts from defeated enemies, won the award for overall best game during the second Game Developers Conference China, announced on Sunday night.

The winner is a local lad called Farbs, whose previous work includes the demented genius of Rom Check Fail.

Also nominated as a finalist was S.H.M.U.P. by fellow Aussie designer, Aaron Styles.

Captain Forever is finished. To find out what the fuss is about, you can buy it now from Farbs‘ website. Watch the clip below to whet your appetite.

First IGF China Awards Topped By Captain Forever [GameSetWatch]

There were other oddities that I saw during my quick tour of the offices. The lamp was one of my favourites.

The Playmaker Award is kind of like an Employee of the Month award crossed with the Stanley Cup crossed with an Xbox 360 crossed with Thomas Edison. It wasn’t in use yet, but I was told that it is intended to honour employees for innovative work, making the rounds of Microsoft as it does.

The Gamescom Award for best games at the trade fair will hand out honors in a number of categories with the help of a panel of six experts.

All companies exhibiting at gamescom are eligible to participate and can submit their games for the gamescom Award. Exhibitors can choose from four categories: PC games, console games (PS2, PS3, Xbox, Wii), mobile games (Gameboy, PSP, PSP Go, NDS, NDSi, iPhone, mobile phones) and online games. In addition, a platform-independent “best of gamescom” award will be announced. All entries must be full products.

The 2009 jury comprises Michael Trier, Editor in Chief, IDG Entertainment Media; Petra Fröhlich, Project Manager, Computec Media; Christian Bigge, Deputy Editor in Chief, Computer Bild Spiele; Jürgen Hilse, Permanent Representative of the Oberste Landesjugendbehörden [Supreme Youth Authorities of the Federal States], Unterhaltungssoftware Selbstkontrolle (USK) [German Self-Monitoring of Entertainment Software]; Oliver Hartmann, Project Manager, spieletipps.de (Brot und Spiele); and Bernhard Schneider, Central Buyer, Multi Media Müller.

I await with bated breath to see if a Gameboy title makes the cut.

LittleBigPlanet is an innovation award machine, so it stands to reason that it would be on the list. We knew that before we even looked at it. Sure enough, there it was, nestled comfortably among other surefire innovators like Flower and Noby Noby Boy, though I suspect the latter only made it mainly for the confusion factor and the tiny frogs. The only unfamiliar game on the list is MaBoShi: The Three Shape Arcade, a WiiWare title from Mindware that I don’t recall ever seeing in action.

Rounding out the list are two bigger titles, Far Cry 2 and Left 4 Dead. I’m not exactly sure where the innovation is in Far Cry 2, other than perhaps the map editing tools (Oh boy, do you really want me to start? – AU Ed). Left 4 Dead, on the other severed zombie hand, pretty much created its own sub-genre, so I can definitely see where Edge is coming from.

Where are they going? Find out next week when the winner is announced at the Edinburgh Interactive Festival over in England somewhere..

The awards span seven categories – including “Are You F#%KING High?” and “WTF Is So Cool About Ninjas?” – with winners and honourable mentions of actual gamertags the writer has encountered in the wild. Accolades go to such tags as Dildo Shaggins, PoorLifeChoices, PMS Ninja and Hardcore Pwnography. Criteria: “the player actually spent more then thirty seconds thinking of it.” Also, handles like SurpriseButtSecks weren’t eligible because they “indicate that the creator is either: A., twelve years old (physically), or B., twelve years old (mentally).”

Take a look; I’d be interested to know if any of our readers, or any of their Xbox Live friends, are on this list. Unfortunately, I’m well out of the running for this. My tag is now, simply, “Owen Good.” Which would only be funny if it were used by someone not named Owen Good. Well, maybe not funny, but sorta pathetic.

The First Annual Gamertag Awards [The Bits, Bytes, Pixels and Sprites]

My first thought when thinking of writing this post was to speculate whether any of the games released to date in 2009 could possibly become my overall game of the year. So, just off the top of my head, I planned to list all the potential candidates, such as…

Red Faction: Guerrilla, Little King’s Story, OutRun Online, Monster Hunter Freedom Unite, Swords & Soldiers, Sims 3, Riddick, Zeno Clash and… well, that’s about it.

What a peculiar list. Rewind to January and I don’t think I’d have pegged any of those to make their way onto my best of ‘09 shortlist.

So do any of these have a chance of taking out top honours come the year’s end? Are any of these games genuine game of the year material?

Maybe they will be. But part of me kinda hopes not. To be honest, I don’t think there’s been one truly great game released so far this year. Not for me, anyway.

The big titles have all left me underwhelmed in varying ways. Killzone 2 was a decent shooter. Resident Evil 5 was about half a good game. Street Fighter IV simply isn’t for me. Halo Wars was OK. inFamous was OK, too. And I’ve barely given enough time to major PC titles like Dawn of War II and Empire: Total War.

(I know that sounds a little dismissive, but just personally, not one of those games has really grabbed me.)

Looking at my personal top ten picks for 2008, only two games from the first half of the year made the cut. They were GTA IV and Audiosurf, and only the latter featured in the top five. The remainder of my top ten were plucked from the madness of those pre-Xmas months.

It left me thinking: is it simply the case that all the best games really do come out in the second half of the year or are those early year releases too often overlooked when it comes to awards time?

So I’m interested to hear about your picks for the Games of the Half-Year. Do you think you might have already played your own personal Game of the Year? Or is it more likely still to come?