The Bitbag 2009 Editor’s Choice Award Nominee Picks: Chad Betteridge

So now that Torrence and Spenny’s picks are out of the way let’s move on to mine. Be warned that I, much like Torrence, did not have a chance to play Demon’s Souls at the time of writing this. If I had it probably would have made the list, but it can’t be helped. On to the nominees!

Best Racing Game

Well I only played a few of the demos for some of this year’s racing titles and rarely do play racing games at all. Therefore I’m going to leave this category blank.

Best FPS Game

Killzone 2 – Intense action and a very well-paced single player campaign despite some clichés. A definite improvement on the first game in the series.
Halo 3: ODST – The vulnerability you feel due to your character not being a Spartan creates fantastic atmosphere and gameplay changes. Responsible for restoring some of my recently lost faith in the Halo franchise.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 – The ‘Special Ops’ mode more than makes up for the shortcomings of it’s short single player campaign. Despite it’s flaws it still manages to be a great game.
Left 4 Dead 2 – Tons of new melee weapons, firearms, and special infected. Fun and replayable campaigns teeming with personality. Improved on the first in every way possible, an all around great game.

Best RPG

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days – Great A.I. and familiar gameplay for fans of the series. The fighting style and character customization is a very welcome addition as well.
Dragon Age: Origins – Classic gameplay reminiscent of Baldur’s Gate and enough multiple endings to go around. Non-RPG enthusiasts may not ‘get’ Dragon Age, but for those that do it is an unforgettable experience.

Best 3D Action Game

Batman: Arkham Asylum – Not just the best Batman video game to date, but the best comic book video game to date. Fantastic stealth and combat gameplay mixed with a huge enthralling environment full of replayability make for one of the year’s best games, period.
Assassin’s Creed II – Ubisoft have taken a cool concept and with the second game of the series have already turned it into a masterpiece. Fans and haters of the series alike will love this gem of a game which offers a plethora of new gameplay aspects and much more interesting locales.
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves – Long, action-packed, and delivered on the same scale as a feature film. Uncharted 2 is the PS3′s killer app.

Best Sports Game

Skate 2 – Great control scheme and more of the fun gameplay seen in the first. Skate continues to reign king of the skateboard genre.
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 – The inclusion of Wii MotionPlus features actually makes golf fun! Unfortunately you cannot cheat on your spouse with numerous floozies. Maybe next year.

Best Graphics

Killzone 2 – Fluid graphics/animation and masterfully constructed levels. Killzone 2′s visuals are absolutely stunning.
Resident Evil 5 – Exceptionally gorgeous graphics. On par with many CG movies.
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves – Boasts stunning visuals and unrivaled attention to detail.

Best Sound Design

Batman: Arkham Asylum – Exceptional voice work by an excellent cast brings back flashes of nostalgia from the days of Batman: The Animated Series. This is Mark Hamill at his best (or close to it).
Brütal Legend – The vocal performances by the members of this star-studded cast are one of the things that make Brütal Legend as good as it is. Not to mention the fact that this is, in my opinion, Jack Black’s definitive role.
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves – High quality sound not found in many games helps bring Uncharted 2′s world to life.

Best Story

Assassin’s Creed II – Ezio Auditore’s life is full of moments both serene and exciting. Ubisoft treat their calm and emotional scenes with the fierceness of an action-packed scene, and treat their action-packed scenes with the delicacy of a calm and emotional scene. Assassin’s Creed II presents a world that the player can truly get lost in.
Brütal Legend – Tim Schafer has taken a game with an okay storyline and used his storytelling skills to turn it into an adventure that is accessible and enjoyable.
Dragon Age: Origins – You know that one book that keeps you up late at night refusing to be put down and keeps pulling you back again no matter how hard you try? Emotionally gripping and satisfying, Dragon Age is that book in video game form.

Best Multiplayer

Killzone 2 – Extraordinary online play that will have you hooked.
BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger – An excellent online companion to the single-player modes.
Halo 3: ODST – Firefight showcases excellent enemy A.I. and turns Halo’s already alluring online multiplayer into an even more addicting experience.
Left 4 Dead 2 -More of the great online play we all loved from the first Left 4 Dead, and with key improvements.

Best New IP

MadWorld – An ambitious to start to what I’d like to see made into a franchise.
Dragon Age: Origins – I cannot wait to see more from the Dragon Age universe, and BioWare are obviously prepared to build upon said universe for years to come.

Best Developer

Naughty Dog – Uncharted 2 is a work of art.
Rocksteady Studios – This young indie team (5 years) created their 2nd game this year. What was it you ask? Oh yeah, Batman: Arkham Asylum. Wait what?!
Chair Entertainment – For creating an awesome retrogasm of epic proportions that took me back to my SNES days for only $15.

Best Platform Game

‘Splosion Man – One of the most original platformers I’ve played in quite some time.
Shadow Complex – Incredible game with tons of things to do and an awesome throwback to the classic Metroid/Castlevania games. Well worth the $15 price tag and is, in my personal opinion, the best game available on XBLA to date.

Best 2D Action Game (some of these have 3D graphics but are still played on a 2D plane, I still consider those games legit for this category)

‘Splosion Man – Same as above.
Shadow Complex – Same as above.
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars – Very impressive game with neat gameplay that uses the stylus in fun and creative ways. Definitely refreshing for those of you who may be sick of GTA’s “go-here do-this, repeat” style.

Best Fighting Game

BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger – Fighting game with a lot of depth despite it’s somewhat small roster.
Dissidia: Final Fantasy – Fast paced game capable of creating some pretty hectic battles, sometimes a little too hectic though. Also included are some awesome equipment customization choices and a cool leveling system. Oh and Kefka is in it.

Best Strategy Game

I didn’t like Halo Wars and I thought Brütal Legend’s RTS battles were a little awkward. Going to pass on this one.

Best War Game

Very few games come close to truly recreating a realistic war setting. Pass.

Best Technical Achievement

Red Faction Guerilla – The physics and the amount of structures you can destroy are both very impressive.
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves – So detailed and carefully constructed. Astounding indeed.

Best Handheld Game

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars – Everything you love about the GTA series in handheld form.
Scribblenauts – It’s humongous word database will keep you entertained for hours and hours of gameplay.
Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days – Graphics of this quality are unrivaled on the DS.

Best Original Score

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves – High caliber tracks that mesh perfectly with the scenes and levels they are played during.
Halo 3: ODST – I agree with Torrence, the amount of game journalists who denounced ODST’s score simply boggles the mind. I thought it was some of the best ambient music I’ve heard from a video game in awhile.
Batman: Arkham Asylum – A great score on par with the Batman movies, and those were composed by geniuses like Danny Elfman and Hans Zimmer so that’s saying a lot.

Best Horror Game

Resident Evil 5 – A very fast paced thriller. Capcom may have sacrificed a lot of the horror elements with this recent style, but they certainly haven’t sacrificed the fun.
Dead Space: Extraction – A great game for fans of Dead Space who are looking for a cool introduction to the back story of the series. It’s a rail-shooter I actually like, holy shit.

Best Soundtrack

The Beatles: Rock Band – Despite being one of the most overrated bands in music history, The Beatles still manage to please with their extensive and satisfying catalog of songs.
Brütal Legend – Any metal fan will salivate upon reading the list of songs that are featured in Brütal Legend, although there are some stinkers here and there *cough* DragonForce *cough*.

Best XBL/PSN Game

Shadow Complex – As I stated already, the best game on XBLA if you ask me.
‘Splosion Man – Not quite as good as it’s 2D action-platformer rival Shadow Complex, but also an awesome game that I’d like to see more of.

GOTY

Assassin’s Creed II
Batman: Arkham Asylum
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves