Welcome to the 2012 Nodie Awards, the largest collection of yearly accolades in all of gaming!
Last year, the GamerNode staff bestowed 35 very special honors, and for 2012, we’ve once again outdone ourselves, carefully deliberating a grand total of 44 awards for the best and the brightest of the past year. From our Excellence Awards, to our Special Achievement Awards, to our Best of Awards, to the coveted Game of the Year, we’ve highlighted five nominees in each category that the GN staff felt were most worthy of recognition, and then carefully selected our esteemed winners and runners-up.
As companions to the Nodie Awards, keep on the lookout for a special VS Node Podcast in which the GN editors will discuss our top games of the year in even greater depth, a Big Red Potion Podcast in the same vein, and of course Jason’s Listen Up Awards, which dive even further into the best sounds of 2012.
Please feel free to chime in via our comments section here on the site, on Facebook, and on Twitter using the #NodieAwards hashtag. We always love to hear from you and to talk games together.
Excellence Awards
- Excellence in Visual Technology
- Excellence in Aesthetic Style
- Excellence in Musical Composition
- Excellence in Sound Design
- Excellence in Voice Acting
- Excellence in Cinematic Direction
- Excellence in Authored Narrative
- Excellence in Ambient Storytelling
- Excellence in World Design
- Excellence in Innovation/Originality
- Excellence in Multiplayer Design
- Excellence in Community Building
- Excellence in Emotional Engagement
Special Achievement Awards
- Best Male Performance
- Best Female Performance
- Best Hero
- Best (Worst) Villain
- Best Supporting Character
- Best Ending
- Best Boss Fights
- Most Pleasant Surprise
- Most Disappointing
- Most Divisive
- Most Addictive
- Best Fan Service
- Most Badass Player Move/Ability
- Craziest Game
- WTF?! Moment of the Year
Best of Awards
- Best Action Game
- Best Platforming Game
- Best Role-Playing Game
- Best Fighting Game
- Best Racing Game
- Best Puzzle/Adventure Game
- Best Strategy/Simulation Game
- Best Sports Game
- Best Remake
- Best New IP
- Best Game Add-On
- Best Downloadable Game
- Best Handheld Game
- Publisher of the Year
- Most Anticipated Game of 2013
Eileen Inzauto
totally comprehensive … kudos to the gamernode team!