GamesMaster’s Golden Joystick Awards are different from other award given out in the games industry, because the people who select the winners are the people that play the games. The Golden Joysticks compile their list of winners based exclusively on votes from players, which means there are not usually any big surprises when the winners list comes out.

One could note that since the votes really only represent the popular gaming mind, excellent but less-known games don’t have much of a chance of winning. Either way, the awards do help us get a pretty good idea of what gamers liked in the last few months, and what they’re still playing. You’ll notice a big wins for Mojang (Minecraft), Ubisoft (Assassin’s Creed) and Rovio (Angry Birds), but the year clearly belongs to Activision/Blizzard (StarCraft, World of Warcraft, Black Ops and Guitar Hero). It probably doesn’t hurt that most of the titles on the list seem to be available for more than one system.

Here’s the list, compiled by GamePro:

Action/Adventure Game of the Year: Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood

Mobile Game of the Year: Angry Birds Rio

Roleplaying Game of the Year: Fallout: New Vegas

Massively Multiplayer Online Game of the Year: World of Warcraft

Fighting Game of the Year: Mortal Kombat

Racing Game of the Year: Gran Turismo 5

Sports Game of the Year: FIFA 11

Strategy Game of the Year: StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty

Music Game of the Year: Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock

Free to Play Game of the Year: League of Legends

Downloadable Game of the Year: Minecraft

Shooter Game of the Year: Call of Duty: Black Ops

One to Watch Award: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Innovation of the Year: Nintendo 3DS

Outstanding Contribution: Sonic the Hedgehog

Ultimate Game of the Year: Portal 2

I’m pretty surprised to see the 3DS on the list, since it gets a lot of flak from players and the press, but I guess there weren’t’ many other innovations to speak of.

Remember that winners are taken exclusively from games that game out within the last 12 months, so don’t throw a hissy fit if your favorite game isn’t there unless you’re sure it’s eligible.

 
That being said, do you see anything in this list worth throwing a hissy fit over?

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