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Special Achievement

Best Original Game Mechanic

If you think that games aren't innovative anymore, you just haven't been paying attention. Every year, games are released to store shelves that either introduce brand-new features or take familiar ones and turn them on their heads. In 2009, the most original games combined multiple genres into a single enjoyable package, showered you with rewards even when you were floundering, and even turned death into a useful learning tool. Each nominee for Best Original Game Mechanic touted an important mechanic that was both novel and imaginative--and each game was the better for it.

Our nominees include Demon's Souls integrated help, Half-Minute Hero's 30-second RPG gameplay, the ability to write nearly anything in Scribblenauts, the hybrid puzzle-platforming of Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure, and the Copycat perk from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.

Editorial Nominees

Editors' Choice Winner

Click to reveal winner

213 Comments

  • maverick_76

    Posted Jan 1, 2010 1:39 pm PT

    This game looks awesome!

  • tmaclabi

    Posted Dec 30, 2009 11:28 pm PT

    Demon's Souls has it's own original mechanic.

  • FrEak40

    Posted Dec 28, 2009 10:37 pm PT

    Demon's Souls

  • derk4

    Posted Dec 27, 2009 10:58 pm PT

    Never heard of the winning game.

  • carthanne

    Posted Dec 27, 2009 11:26 am PT

    I am wholeheartedly surprised that Cryostasis`s Mental echo mechanic is not a runner up.

  • Sins-of-Mosin

    Posted Dec 27, 2009 11:10 am PT

    *Yawn*

  • zsoujiro

    Posted Dec 27, 2009 8:31 am PT

    To me Scribblenauts is more original but Demon's Souls system is too much more satisfying to play. Its more enjoyable, to me.

  • fierro316

    Posted Dec 26, 2009 9:48 pm PT

    Batman's freeflow system was the best for me.

  • Revolu7i9n

    Posted Dec 26, 2009 12:28 pm PT

    i love how CoD is in here for ORIGINAL. i'm obsessed with the game, don't get me wrong. just like CoD 1,2,3,4,5,4^2........

  • -Beatz-

    Posted Dec 26, 2009 9:41 am PT

    AnelZukic, why do you keep saying last year's awards on absolutely every category? It's not like anyone cares.

  • AnelZukic

    Posted Dec 26, 2009 9:09 am PT

    although Scribelnauts was kinda most inovative Demon Souls had the new game mechanic, the last year was EndWar who won this award

  • Peng33

    Posted Dec 25, 2009 10:26 pm PT

    Scribblenauts was my most anticipated game this year back in Feb/March up until release. It released, I played for two days, and have yet to play it again. I hope Scribblenauts wins the dubious "Most disappointing" category, because that's kind of a no-brainer.

    That being said, Demon's Souls is the correct choice for this category.

  • Geo1676

    Posted Dec 25, 2009 12:53 pm PT

    GameSpot should have picked scribblenauts, there is no other game that has ever even came close to doing that. And also, how is Modern Warfare almost winning the readers choice? It's supposed to be for the game with the best original game mechanic, not for the game you liked the most people.

  • xEpiphoneSG

    Posted Dec 25, 2009 11:15 am PT

    man if MW 2 got it that would be rediculous...i mean copycat...any game could do that...if i was playin Rainbow six, it could happen, it could happen in Halo, it could even happen in non-shooters...wow

  • skyman747

    Posted Dec 25, 2009 10:43 am PT

    Scribblenauts deserves this, but of course MW2 will get a million votes in any category it's nominated for.

  • Rockleelives

    Posted Dec 24, 2009 8:35 am PT

    integrated help was pretty inventive-demon souls

  • Darth_Pietrus

    Posted Dec 24, 2009 1:19 am PT

    Nice @suomalainen_66 me 2!

  • suomalainen_66

    Posted Dec 23, 2009 8:53 pm PT

    Want this game.

  • DarkSynDrom

    Posted Dec 23, 2009 4:31 pm PT

    hajjustin had it right, Demon Souls is just an integration of mechanics we have already seen. Hardly original. Scribblenaughts, even though it wasn't executed perfectly had a very original idea. If I had known this was awarding game mechanic and not best NEW/ORIGINAL I would have voted differently. But I think the editors just failed.

  • VXLbeast

    Posted Dec 23, 2009 10:25 am PT

    I voted for Scribblenauts and still think it should have won, but Demon's Souls is a solid choice. Its online mechanic that both helps and hurts you is quite impressive, as is the game as a whole.

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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