Shooter Game of the Year
Halo: Reach
Developer: Bungie
Publisher: Microsoft
Platform: Xbox 360
While there may have been better single-player campaigns and more innovative multiplayer offerings, no shooter managed to combine the two better than the final Halo game from Bungie. Reach's epic scope and against-all-odds storyline made it stand apart from its predecessors by introducing a more emotional, more human element that was sorely lacking from the titles starring Master Chief. On the multiplayer side, Bungie continued to improve upon the already excellent foundation built by the previous games, offering a plethora of new features including matchmaking support for Firefight and an addictive new game mode called Invasion. It was the new armor abilities that really changed things, however, allowing for a greater degree of flexibility and customization than had ever been seen in the series. Also, let's not forget that jetpacks will always be awesome.
Honorable Mentions: Battlefield: Bad Company 2, BioShock 2, Call of Duty: Black Ops, S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat
Rhythm/Music Game of the Year
Dance Central
Developer: Harmonix
Publisher: MTV Games
Platform: Xbox 360
Are you one of those people who feels that kids need to get more exercise and not spend so much time in front of the TV? Well, prepare to have your mind blown, as Dance Central will both exercise your kids and put them in front of the TV for hours as they try to master its addictive dancing routines. Songs from the cream of your youth are mixed in with more modern fare to keep booties of all ages shakin', but what really makes Dance Central a winner is its fantastic body-tracking using Microsoft's Kinect. Far better than competing games on the Wii or PlayStation 3, and far better at body tracking than other Kinect titles, Dance Central truly realizes the potential of Microsoft's next gen device.
Honorable Mentions: Def Jam Rapstar, DJ Hero 2, Just Dance 2, Rock Band 3
Puzzle Game of the Year
The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom
Developer: The Odd Gentlemen
Publisher: 2K Play
Platform: Xbox 360, PC
Quirky is as quirky does -- and gentleman pie purloiner P.B. Winterbottom is about as quirky as they come. The tiny team at aptly named developer The Odd Gentlemen made something very special in this strange 2D puzzler, which challenges you to employ various ethereal, time-looped clones of the titular thief in an effort to snatch up all the pies in sight. Each new level brings on some bizarre new mechanic for you to wrap your head around... and by the end, you're orchestrating a chaotic symphony of Winterbottom clones, arranged like some sort of mad Rube Goldberg device in an effort to get everything just right. The game's stylish old-timey film aesthetic and hilarious writing are just icing on the... well, the delicious pie, of course!
Honorable Mentions: Bejeweled 3, Pac-Man Championship Edition DX, Professor Layton and the Unwound Future, Puzzle Quest 2
