Hey folks, here we are again.

Once more it’s time to rake through the dying embers of another great year of gaming to pick out those titles that have lit a fire in us over the last twelve months and honour the best of the very best. Welcome to The Acegamez Awards 2009.

Over the last few weeks Acegamez staff members have been locked in a series of heated debates, which we’re not proud to admit have, on occasion, ended with ugly scuffles in an assortment of dingy, multi-storey car parks. On a positive note however, what these discussions have left us with are the 31 different categories that make up The Acegamez Awards 2009, and a list of nominees in each.

The awards are split up in to three sections:

1. System Awards (e.g. Xbox 360 Game of the Year, Nintendo DS Game of the Year etc..).

2. Genre Awards (e.g. Driving Game of the Year, Puzzle Game of the Year etc..)

3. Feature Awards (e.g. Best Visuals, Best Story, Overall Game of the Year etc..)

The nominees in each of the categories have been selected from games released in the UK in 2009, following lengthy consideration of a wide range of factors, including such things as price, ambition, execution and, of course, entertainment value. Early on we made the big decision that a game could only be nominated in one of the genre categories and, with so many of today’s games blurring boundaries with their complexities, this has resulted in some serious examinations of what’s at the core of a particular game’s identity. For example, we all know Fight Night Round 4’s a fighting game (there’s a big clue in the title), but to be more precise it’s a boxing game, and boxing is a sport, so that’s why it’s nominated in the sports category. We’re sure some of our category choices for certain games will leave the odd eyebrow raised or brow furrowed, but please don’t hate us if you don’t totally agree, we just wanted to try and include as many worthy games that deserve some credit as possible, rather than the same handful over and over again in multiple categories.

The only exception we allowed to this rule is in the horror category, where it was just too difficult not to include titles that had an incredibly strong basis in this genre, but combined this with an equally prominent game play mechanic. So that’s why you’ll see a handful of the games up for the horror award also nominated in one other genre category as well, but only where they really deserve it.

We’ll be announcing the winners of the awards in early January, but for now, without further ado, the nominees for The Acegamez Awards 2009 are…

Section 1 – System Awards

Xbox 360 Game of the Year

Forza 3

Borderlands

Dragon Age: Origins

Halo 3: ODST

Street Fighter IV

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

Assassin’s Creed II

Batman: Arkham Asylum

Left 4 Dead 2

PlayStation 3 Game of the Year

Assassin’s Creed II

Batman: Arkham Asylum

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

Flower

inFamous

Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

Wii Game of the Year

Metroid Prime: Trilogy

New Super Mario Bros. Wii

Punch-Out!!

Madworld

Wii Sports Resort

LostWinds: Winter of the Melodias

Dead Space: Extraction

PC Game of the Year

Dragon Age: Origins

Left 4 Dead 2

Plant vs. Zombies

Torchlight

Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II

Empire: Total War

Zeno Clash

DS Game of the Year

Scribblenauts

Chrono Trigger

Age of Empires: Mythologies

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars

Professor Layton & Pandora’s Box

Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story

Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars

PSP Game of the Year

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars

LittleBigPlanet

Patapon 2

Resistance: Retribution

Dissidia: Final Fantasy

Section 2 – Genre Awards

Best Driving Game

Burnout Paradise: The Ultimate Box (Multi)

Forza 3 (Xbox 360)

DiRT 2 (Multi)

WipEout HD Fury (PS3)

Need for Speed: Shift (Multi)

Fuel (Multi)

Excitebots: Trick Racing (Wii)

Best Puzzle Game

Scribblenauts (DS)

Professor Layton and Pandora’s Box (DS)

A Boy and His Blob (Wii)

Puzzler World (DS)

Echoes (PSP)

Lucidity (PC/Xbox 360)

Boom Blox Bash Party (Wii)

Best Music/Rhythm Game

The Beatles: Rock Band (Multi)

SingStar Take That (PS3)

DJ Hero (Multi)

Lego Rock Band (Multi)

Guitar Hero 5 (Multi)

Lips: Number 1 Hits (Xbox 360)

DJ Star (DS)

Best Sports Game

Madden NFL 10 (Multi)

FIFA 10 (Multi)

Pro Evolution Soccer 2010 (Multi)

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 (Wii)

Wii Sports Resort (Wii)

Fight Night Round 4 (Multi)

Skate 2 (Multi)

Punch-Out!! (Wii)

Best Shooter

Borderlands (Multi)

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Multi)

Left 4 Dead 2 (Xbox 360/PC)

Halo 3: ODST (Xbox 360)

Killzone 2 (PS3)

ArmA II (PC)

Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising (Multi)

Best Action/Adventure Game

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (PS3)

Batman: Arkham Asylum (Multi)

Resident Evil 5 (Multi)

MadWorld (Wii)

Resistance: Retribution (PSP)

Cursed Mountain (Wii)

Zeno Clash (PC)

Best Strategy Game

Halo Wars (Xbox 360)

Plants vs. Zombies (PC)

Empire: Total War (PC)

Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II (PC)

AI War: Fleet Command (PC)

Anno 1404: Dawn of Discovery (PC)

Age of Empires: Mythologies (DS)

Best Platformer

Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time (PS3)

New Super Mario Bros. Wii (Wii)

LittleBigPlanet (PSP)

Trine (PC/PS3)

Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure (DS)

Patapon 2 (PSP)

LostWinds: Winter of the Melodias (Wii)

Best RPG

Torchlight (PC)

Dragon Age: Origins (PC)

Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story (DS)

Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 (PS2)

Star Ocean: The Last Hope (Xbox 360)

Chrono Trigger (DS)

League of Legends (PC)

Disgaea 3: Absence of Justice (PS3)

Best Fighting Game

Tekken 6 (Multi)

Street Fighter IV (Multi)

Marvel vs. Capcom 2 (Xbox 360/PS3)

Dissidia: Final Fantasy (PSP)

King of Fighters XII (Xbox 360/PS3)

Garou: Mark of the Wolves (Xbox 360)

Soulcalibur: Broken Destiny (PSP)

Best Traditional Adventure Game

Machinarium (PC)

Tales of Monkey Island (PC/Wii)

Wallace & Gromit’s Grand Adventures (PC/Xbox 360)

The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition (PC/Xbox 360)

Sam & Max: Season 2 (Xbox 360)

Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars – Director’s Cut (DS/Wii)

Best Horror Game

Cursed Mountain (Wii)

Resident Evil 5 (Multi)

House of the Dead: Overkill (Wii)

Dead Space: Extraction (Wii)

Left 4 Dead 2 (Xbox 360/PC)

Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles (Wii)

Silent Hill: Homecoming (Multi)

Cryostasis: Sleep of Reason (PC)

Best Sandbox Game

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars (DS/PSP)

inFamous (PS3)

Red Faction: Guerrilla (Multi)

Assassin’s Creed 2 (Multi)

Prototype (Multi)

Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City (Xbox 360)

Brutal Legend (Xbox 360/PS3)

Section 3 – Feature Awards

Best Visuals

Uncharted 2 (PS3)

Trine (PC/PS3)

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Multi)

Batman: Arkham Asylum (Multi)

Assassin’s Creed II (Multi)

Street Fighter IV (Multi)

Machinarium (PC)

Flower (PS3)

Killzone 2 (PS3)

Muramasa: The Demon Blade (Wii)

Best Innovation

EyePet’s camera interactivity (PS3)

Project Natal’s user interface (Xbox 360)

Scribblenauts’ object summoning (DS)

WiiMotion Plus’ 1 to 1 motion controls (Wii)

1 vs. 100’s massive multiplayer game play (Xbox 360)

Red Faction: Guerrilla’s destructible environments (Multi)

Flower’s use of motion controls (PS3)

New Super Mario Bros. Wii’s help system (Wii)

Best Use of Music & Sound

Batman: Arkham Asylum (Multi)

Brutal Legend (PS3/Xbox 360)

Halo 3: ODST (Xbox 360)

Flower (PS3)

Modern Warfare 2 (Multi)

DJ Hero (PS3/Xbox 360)

Afro Samurai (Multi)

Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City (Xbox 360)

Best Story

Dragon Age: Origins (Multi)

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (PS3)

Batman: Arkham Asylum (Multi)

Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time (PS3)

Assassin’s Creed II (Multi)

Chrono Trigger (DS)

Modern Warfare 2 (Multi)

Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story (DS)

Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City (Xbox 360)

Professor Layton & Pandora’s Box (DS)

inFamous (PS3)

Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 (PS2)

Cryostasis: Sleep of Reason (PC)

Dead Space: Extraction (Wii)

Flower (PS3)

Best Original IP

Borderlands (Multi)

Dragon Age: Origins (Multi)

inFamous (PS3)

Brutal Legend (PS3/Xbox 360)

Machinarium (PC)

Scribblenauts (DS)

Flower (PS3)

Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure (DS)

Best Gameplay

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Multi)

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (PS3)

Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time (PS3)

Street Fighter IV (Multi)

Batman: Arkham Asylum (Multi)

Assassin’s Creed II (Multi)

Left 4 Dead 2 (Xbox 360/PC)

Plants vs. Zombies (PC)

Flower (PS3)

Trine (PC/PS3)

inFamous (PS3)

Red Faction: Guerrilla (Multi)

Halo Wars (Xbox 360)

New Super Mario Bros. Wii (Wii)

Machinarium (PC)

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars (DS/PSP)

Shadow Complex (Xbox 360)

Developer of the Year

Naughty Dog (Uncharted 2: Among Thieves)

Infinity Ward (Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2)

Capcom (Street Fighter IV, Resident Evil 5)

5^th Cell (Scribblenauts)

Valve (Left 4 Dead 2)

Rocksteady Studios (Batman: Arkham Asylum)

Gearbox Software (Borderlands)

Ubisoft (Assassin’s Creed 2)

Sucker Punch (inFamous)

Bioware (Dragon Age: Origins)

Publisher of the Year

Capcom (Resident Evil 5, Street Fighter IV)

Sony Computer Entertainment (Uncharted 2, inFamous, Flower)

Activision (Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Guitar Hero 5, Prototype)

Electronic Arts (Left 4 Dead 2, FIFA 10, The Beatles: Rock Band, Dragon Age: Origins)

Nintendo (New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story)

Eidos (Batman: Arkham Asylum)

Microsoft Game Studios (Halo 3: ODST, Halo Wars, Forza 3)

Activision (Guitar Hero 5, Assassin’s Creed 2)

System of the Year

Wii

Xbox 360

PS3

PC

DS

Best Game Available By Download Only

Machinarium (PC)

Shadow Complex (Xbox 360)

Flower (PS3)

Battlefield 1943 (Xbox 360/PS3)

Torchlight (PC)

Trials HD (Xbox 360)

Plants vs. Zombies (PC)

Grand Theft Auto: The Lost and Damned (Xbox 360)

Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony (Xbox 360)

Trine (PC/PS3)

I MAED A GAM3 W1TH Z0MB1ES 1N IT!!!1 (PC)

Best Multiplayer Game

Borderlands (Multi)

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Multi)

Left 4 Dead 2 (Xbox 360/PC)

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (PS3)

Battlefield 1943 (Xbox 360/PS3)

Fat Princess (PS3)

Killzone 2 (PS3)

Halo 3: ODST (Xbox 360)

House of the Dead: Overkill (Wii)

Boom Blox Bash Party (Wii)

New Super Mario Bros. Wii (Wii)

Halo Wars (Xbox 360)

Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II (PC)

Acegamez Game of the Year 2009

Borderlands (Multi)

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (PS3)

Dragon Age: Origins (Multi)

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars (DS/PSP)

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Multi)

Torchlight (PC)

Assassin’s Creed II (Multi)

Left 4 Dead 2 (Xbox 360/PC)

Street Fighter IV (Multi)

Batman: Arkham Asylum (Multi)

Plants vs. Zombies (PC)

Machinarium (PC)

Flower (PS3)