Spike TV held their annual Video Game Awards in Las Vegas this weekend, celebrating this year's achievements in our favourite industry. Though it's always nice to see industry support from a major television network, the televised version of the show was little more than a two hour advertisement segment. A number of "world premieres," little more than extended commercials and product placement at its best, interspersed the few actual awards where the nominees were listed. In fact, the winners of half of the evening's awards were mouthed in a single breath. Ever conscious of its predominantly male audience, Spike TV made sure to keep non-gamers interested by inscribing the name of the winners in body paint on near-nude busty women. Had they thrown in a few explosions and a virtual car chase, "thinking" could have been completely removed from the equation.
If you didn't catch the VGAs this year, you've just saved yourself a very long hour and 50-some minutes by reading this article instead. Here are this year's winners:
Game of the Year
The Orange Box (Valve)
Mass Effect (Microsoft Game Studios)
Bioshock (2K Games)
Halo 3 (Microsoft Game Studios)
Studio of the Year
2K Games (Bioshock)
Bungie (Halo 3)
Valve (Team Fortress 2)
Harmonix (Rock Band)
Most Addictive Game
Halo 3 (Microsoft Game Studios)
Team Fortress 2 (Valve)
Guitar Hero III (Activision)
Wii Sports (Nintendo)
Best Xbox 360 Game
Bioshock (2K Games)
The Orange Box (Valve)
Mass Effect (Microsoft Game Studios)
Halo 3 (Microsoft Game Studios)
Best PLAYSTATION 3 Game
Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction (Sony Computer Entertainment)
Warhawk (Sony Computer Entertainment)
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune (Sony Computer Entertainment)
Heavenly Sword (Sony Computer Entertainment)
Best Wii Game
Super Mario Galaxy (Nintendo)
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Nintendo)
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (Nintendo)
Super Paper Mario (Nintendo)
Best PC Game
The Orange Box (Valve)
Crysis (Electronic Arts)
World in Conflict (Sierra)
Bioshock (2K Games)
Best Handheld Game
The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (Nintendo)
Syphon Filter: Logan's Shadow (Sony Computer Entertainment)
Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords (D3Publisher)
Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions (Square Enix)
Best Shooter
Halo 3 (Microsoft Game Studios)
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Activision)
Bioshock (2K Games)
Halo 3 (Microsoft Game Studios)
Best Action Game
Super Mario Galaxy (Nintendo)
Assassin's Creed (Ubisoft)
Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction (Sony Computer Entertainment)
God of War II (Sony Computer Entertainment)
Best Rhythm Game
Rock Band (MTV Games)
Jam Sessions (Ubisoft)
Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80's (Activision)
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (Activision)
Best RPG
Mass Effect (Microsoft Game Studios)
Eternal Sonata (Namco Bandai Games)
Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions (Square Enix)
Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 (Atlus)
Best Driving Game
DiRT (Codemasters)
Need for Speed ProStreet (Electronic Arts)
Project Gotham Racing 4 (Microsoft Game Studios)
Forza Motorsport 2 (Microsoft Game Studios)
Best Military Game
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Activision)
Tom Clancy's Rainbox Six Vegas (Ubisoft)
World in Conflict (Sierra)
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter 2 (Ubisoft)
Best Individual Sports Game
Skate (Electronic Arts)
Virtua Tennis 3 (Sega)
Tony Hawk's Proving Ground (Activision)
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08 (Electronic Arts)
Best Team Sports Game
Madden NFL 08 (Electronic Arts)
Winning Eleven: Pro Evolution Soccer 2007 (Konami)
NBA 2K8 (2K Sports)
NHL 08 (Electronic Arts)
Best Multiplayer Game
Halo 3 (Microsoft Game Studios)
The Orange Box (Valve)
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Activision)
Rock Band (MTV Games)
Best Game Based On A Movie Or TV Show
The Simpsons Game (Electronic Arts)
John Woo Presents Stranglehold (Midway)
Naruto: Rise of a Ninja (Ubisoft)
Best Graphics
Crysis (Electronic Arts)
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Activision)
Mass Effect (Microsoft Game Studios)
Bioshock (2K Games)
Breakthrough Technology
The Orange Box: Portal (Valve)
Halo 3 - Saved Films/Theatre Mode (Microsoft Game Studios)
Rock Band (MTV Games)
Crysis (Electronic Arts)
Best Soundtrack
Rock Band (MTV Games)
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (Activision)
Tony Hawk's Proving Ground (Activision)
Bioshock (2K Games)
Best Original Score
Bioshock (2K Games)
God of War II (Sony Computer Entertainment)
Mass Effect (Microsoft Game Studios)
Halo 3 (Microsoft Game Studios)
