One of the most exciting times of the year has come for the gaming industry, some of you may have watched this past weekend, the Video Game Awards, or VGA’s were on Spike T.V. on Saturday night. I would have to say, of course in my unbiased opinion , is better than the Oscars and Academy awards combined, it’s like the Superbowl of gaming. This is the time of year when all the behind the scenes people in the industry get noticed and recognized for all their hard work. I just wanted to give you all a heads up of the winners of this year’s 2009 VGA’s…

Game Of The Year
The Nominees:
Assassin’s Creed 2 (Ubisoft)
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)
Winner: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (Sony Computer Entertainment / Naughty Dog)

Studio Of The Year
The Nominees:
Infinity Ward
Naughty Dog
Valve
Winner: Rocksteady Studios

Best Shooter
The Nominees:
Halo 3: Odst (Microsoft Game Studios / Bungie)
Killzone 2 (Sony Computer Entertainment / Guerrilla Games)
Left 4 Dead 2 (Valve)
Winner: Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Activision Publishing / Infinity Ward)


Best RPG
The Nominees:
Borderlands (2k Games / Gearbox Software)
Demon’s Souls (Atlus / Fromsoftware)
Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story (Nintendo / Alphadream)
Winner: Dragon Age: Origins (Electronic Arts / Bioware)

Best Fighting Game
The Nominees:
Blazblue: Calamity Trigger (Aksys Games / Arc System Works)
Soulcalibur: Broken Destiny (Namco Bandai Games / Project Soul)
Tekken 6 (Namco Bandai Games)
Winner: Street Fighter IV (Capcom / Capcom/Dimps)

Best Individual Sports Game
The Nominees:
Ea Sports Fight Night Round 4 (Electronic Arts / Ea Canada)
Tiger Woods Pga Tour 10 (Electronic Arts / Ea Tiburon)
Wii Sports Resort (Nintendo)
Winner: UFC 2009 Undisputed (Thq / Yuke’s Media Creations)

Best Handheld Game
The Nominees:
Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story (Nintendo / Alphadream)
Professor Layton And The Diabolical Box (Nintendo / Level-5)
Scribblenauts (Warner Bros. Interactive / 5th Cell)
Winner: Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars (Rockstar Games / Rockstar Leeds)

Best Graphics
The Nominees:
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)
Winner: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (Sony Computer Entertainment / Naughty Dog)

Best Game Based On A Movie Or TV Show
The Nominees:
Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Atari / Terminal Reality)
The Chronicles Of Riddick: Assault On Dark Athena (Atari / Starbreeze Ab)
X-Men Origins: Wolverine Uncaged Edition (Activision Publishing / Raven Software)
Winner: South Park Let’s Go Tower Defense Play! (Microsoft / Doublesix)

Best Music Game
The Nominees:
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)
Winner: The Beatles: Rock Band (Mtv Games / Harmonix)

Best Driving Game
The Nominees:
Dirt 2 (Codemasters)
Gran Turismo (Psp) (Sony Computer Entertainment / Polyphony Digital)
Need For Speed Shift (Electronic Arts / Slightly Mad Studios)
Winner: Forza Motorsport 3 (Microsoft Game Studios / Turn 10)

Best Action Adventure Game
The Nominees:
Batman: Arkham Asylum (Eidos Interactive - Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment / Rocksteady Studios)
Brutal Legend (Electronic Arts / Double Fine Productions)
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (Sony Computer Entertainment / Naughty Dog)
Winner: Assassin’s Creed 2 (Ubisoft / Ubisoft Montreal)

Best Team Sports Game
The Nominees:
FIFA Soccer 10 (Electronic Arts / Ea Canada)
Madden Nfl 10 (Electronic Arts / Ea Tiburon)
NBA 2K10 (2k Sports / Visual Concepts)
Winner: NHL 10 (Electronic Arts / Ea Canada)

Best Soundtrack
The Nominees:
Brutal Legend (Electronic Arts / Double Fine Productions)
Guitar Hero 5 (Activision Publishing / Neversoft Entertainment)
The Beatles: Rock Band (Mtv Games / Harmonix)
Winner: DJ Hero (Activision Publishing / Freestylegames)

Best XBox 360 Game
The Nominees:
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)
Winner: Left 4 Dead 2 (Valve)

Best Wii Game
The Nominees:
Madworld (Sega / Platinum Games)
Punch-Out!! (Nintendo / Next Level Games)
Wii Sports Resort (Nintendo)
Winner: New Super Mario Bros. Wii (Nintendo)

Best PS3 Game
The Nominees:
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)
Winner: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (Sony Computer Entertainment / Naughty Dog)

Best PC Game
The Nominees:
Left 4 Dead 2 (Valve)
Plants Vs. Zombies (Popcap Games)
The Sims 3 (Electronic Arts / The Sims Studio)
Winner: Dragon Age: Origins (Electronic Arts / Bioware)

Best Original Score
The Nominees:
Assassin’s Creed 2 (Ubisoft / Ubisoft Montreal)
Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Activision Publishing / Infinity Ward)
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (Sony Computer Entertainment / Naughty Dog)
Winner: Halo 3: ODST (Microsoft Game Studios / Bungie)

Best Multi-Player Game
The Nominees:
Borderlands (2k Games / Gearbox Software)
Halo 3: Odst (Microsoft Game Studios / Bungie)
Left 4 Dead 2 (Valve)
Winner: Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Activision Publishing / Infinity Ward)

Best Performance By A Human Male
The Nominees:
Bill Murray As Dr. Peter Venkman In Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Atari)
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)
Winner: Hugh Jackman As Wolverine In X-Men Origins: Wolverine Uncaged Edition (Activision Publishing)

Best Performance By A Human Female
The Nominees:
Eliza Dushku As Rubi Malone In Wet (Bethesda Softworks)
Kristen Bell As Lucy Stillman In Assassin’s Creed 2 (Ubisoft)
Tricia Helfer As Dare (Halo 3: Odst / Microsoft Game Studios)
Winner: Megan Fox As Mikaela Banes (Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen / Activision Publishing)

Best Cast
The Nominees:
Brutal 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 Defense Play! (Microsoft / Doublesix)
Winner: X-Men Origins: Wolverine Uncaged Edition (Activision Publishing / Raven Software)

Best Voice
The Nominees:
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)
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)
Winner: Jack Black as Eddie Riggs (Brutal Legend / Electronic Arts)

Best Downloadable Game
The Nominees:
Battlefield 1943 (Electronic Arts / Dice)
Fat Princess (Sony Computer Entertainment / Titan Studios)
Plants Vs. Zombies (Popcap Games)
Winner: Shadow Complex (Microsoft Game Studios / Chair Entertainment)

Best DLC
The Nominees:
Fallout 3 - Broken Steel (Bethesda Softworks / Bethesda Game Studios)
Fallout 3 - Point Lookout (Bethesda Softworks / Bethesda Game Studios)
Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost & Damned (Rockstar Games / Rockstar North)
Winner: Grand Theft Auto IV: The Ballad Of Gay Tony (Rockstar Games / Rockstar North)

Best Independent Game
The Nominees:
‘Splosion Man (Twisted Pixel)
Osmos (Hemisphere Games)
Trials Hd (Redlynx)
Winner: Flower (Thatgamecompany)

Most Anticipated Game
The Nominees:
Bioshock 2 (2k Games / 2k Marin)
Mass Effect 2 (Electronic Arts / Bioware)
Starcraft Ii (Blizzard Entertainment)
Winner: God of War III (Sony Computer Entertainment / Sce Studios Santa Monica)

With all of the Winners for this year and seeing all the previews for the upcoming games, you can only guess who might win next year.  I can’t help but to be excited every year and always waiting in anticipation for “the next great game”. Though I am still a little disappointed AC2 didn’t get GOY, I will continue to enjoy it along with MW2. Maybe next year with Splinter Cell: Conviction on its way, you never know, GOY is in it’s future?