Special Achievement

GameSpot's special achievements awards cover a swath of categories meant to acknowledge those games that deserve recognition for excelling in specific areas that may otherwise go unnoticed with the incredible number of great games released in 2009. There's plenty of competition across all categories, ranging from those that honor technical and artistic excellence in graphics to those that recognize the best stories and the best downloadable content. As someone famous once said, "There can be only one," but to even be nominated in these competitive categories is itself an award.

24 Comments

  • joanhm

    Posted Dec 22, 2009 5:45 am GMT

    the best game for me this year was no doubt, Uncharted2, I was waiting for this one for two long, and the other was was the outstanding Borderlands by Gearbox.
    Borderlands is endless, never mind the endless fun had in this game.
    I would like to say on both, that the deserve to be labeled as Classics in they own right.
    and if your goner put your hand in your pocket for a game, these should be on your wanted list.

  • UbberHappyGamer

    Posted Dec 22, 2009 3:21 am GMT

    Oh yeah!

  • domz_dream

    Posted Dec 22, 2009 2:01 am GMT

    Dead Space. My fave game this year, hands down (though released last year, granted).
    Then there's GTA4.
    And Crysis!
    And...

  • alexr3000

    Posted Dec 22, 2009 1:48 am GMT

    i didnt like cod at all to easy for me i think brutal legend should have won a something!

  • brendanhunt1

    Posted Dec 21, 2009 4:14 pm GMT

    wait. did COD win nothing. nice

    anyway i think gamespot choose the right games, and i know some of you dont agree with their choice, but remember its the editors choice, not the public.

  • mister_dan

    Posted Dec 21, 2009 3:31 pm GMT

    it's already glaringly obvious that GameSpot aren't paying attention to the voters choices. Take the 'Best Story' category for example... Dragon Age took 31% of the votes, Assassins Creed came in 2nd with 27%, and Unchartered had 23%. but miraculously, Cryostasis: The Sleep of Reason won the award with a staggering (excuse the sarcasm) 1% of the votes! no, that's not a typo. 1% was all it got.

    come on Gamespot. sort it out and start listening.

  • NoDzombie

    Posted Dec 21, 2009 2:50 pm GMT

    its interesting that looking at the results, what gsmespot has chosen as its winner and what the readers have voted for are different in almost every category, just shows how much gamespot is loosing touch with what real gamers actually think and want.

  • jwsoul

    Posted Dec 21, 2009 6:08 am GMT

    @ SGTiD1NG0 DoW 2 was chosen for its competitive play thats why its an excellent RTS with a very dedicated fanbase and a DEV who attempts to keep the game balanced. The game deserves to win the award outright to be honest.

  • ZippyLemon

    Posted Dec 21, 2009 5:05 am GMT

    it's all politics, joel

  • KriobaKeys

    Posted Dec 21, 2009 4:22 am GMT

    I think they did ok with this i remember last year being absolutely dire in terms of variety.

  • randomcage

    Posted Dec 21, 2009 3:22 am GMT

    so one of the biggest selling (and best) xbla games of all time, shadow complex was not nominated for best downloadable game................interesting

  • ace-of-spades93

    Posted Dec 21, 2009 3:17 am GMT

    YUSUF FTW!

  • myungish

    Posted Dec 20, 2009 1:29 pm GMT

    once again gamespot proves its uselessness and its end of year awards will have little significance or influence in the industry. why dont you guys just stop huh?

    p.s: i cant believe they excluded batman: arkham asylum from voice acting. mark hamill alone beats all other games.

  • Comadorcrack

    Posted Dec 20, 2009 11:54 am GMT

    Sooo, Um, Batman Arkham Asylum, Not worth throwing in the Best voice acting catagory

  • e1337prodigy

    Posted Dec 20, 2009 11:20 am GMT

    How did Borderlands not get nominated for funniest game or even the sound effects. Some of the awards are stupid, surprised there was no award for "best game with the longest name" or "best way to get dead without having a clue what happened"; cmon gamespot sort it out.

  • linkyshinks

    Posted Dec 20, 2009 6:47 am GMT

    That Aussie censor category sure is odd...

  • contentxcontext

    Posted Dec 19, 2009 9:27 am GMT

    all "band / music" games should be banned from the baest licensed music part, because the point of the games is the music. Its not like its licensed music being used well, the songs are used the same way good or bad, and its all just to do with taste, i might not even like the beatles...

  • Humorguy_basic

    Posted Dec 19, 2009 3:39 am GMT

    Sure you had enough awards?! I didn't see an award for 'Best left-handed NPC in a game'!!!

    Also, this industry will only have grown up when it no longer has 'technical' or 'graphic' awards. I don't know of a single major hit that sold just on it's 'technical abilities', but i know plenty that have failed (Far Cry 2, Crysis, Dead Space, Mirror's Edge, etc.)

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Table of Contents

Winner Reveal Schedule

  • Dec 21
    Special Achievement
  • Dec 22
    Dubious Honors
  • Dec 23
    Genre Awards
  • Dec 24
    Platform Awards
  • Dec 25
    Game of the Year

Readers' Choice winners are announced Jan. 27, 2010