all of these are pathetically bad:
action: not a bad choice but the nomination of bioshock 2 is just plain wrong, and COD BlOps is identical to MW2, so it's kind of insulting that people think a generic copypasta series should be nominated for any sort of award
artistic achievement:
even going on just graphics, GoW3 is a shaky choice... i'd go with LIMBO or Heavy Rain myself, with maybe mass effect 2's sense of scale and epicness thrown in their or something. also, AC Bro? really? sure the city is pretty and all, but really? if AC BRO is nominated then the lack of red dead redemption is sorely lacking
story: didn't play it enough to comment on any plot holes he might have found, but a vaguely incomprehensible story seems to be the general consensus of reviewers. alan wake and mass effect 2 are clearly the front runners from the nomination list.
bioshock 2, COD BlOps, and Fallout: NV all had pedestrian at best stories, so i have no clue why they were even nominated
technical innovation:
what the hell is with these nominations?
heavy rain and kinectimals are the only ones on here who really deserve a nomination, since SMG2 is essentially SMG1, so you can't call that innovation... i suppose youcould make a case for reach because of the complete overhaul of the series, but still, really?
Handheld
yea sure fair enough
best game
i agree with this but i'm biased. Heavy Rain was barely even a game so if you're deciding this at least partially on gameplay that's a waste of a nomination. likewise with SMG2. AC:B is ACII with the ability to hurl assassins at people you don't like and a decent continuation of the story, so i understand the nomination.. notable missing games here include... well i suppose this is a console thing, so starcraft 2 and the latest WoW expansion weren't under review, but i'm kind of surprised GoW3 didn't get nominated... it seems like the shallow, weak character slashfest most forum-active gamers would love... also expected halo reach to get nominated purely on the fanboy contingent
where is red dead redemption in all this?
fan awarded:
my faith in humanity is gone. dance central and BOD BlOps are both average games, SMG2 doesn't deserve to be on this list, and is NFS included just so they can have a game from each genre or something? there really haven't been that many stellar releases this year, but the racing genre has better games to offer