GTAIV, Media Molecule top Spike's VGAs

Over the weekend, Spike TV officially inaugurated award season 2008 with the first batch of year-end accolades. Hosted this year by Jack Black (star of Double Fine's EA-published Brutal Legend), the VGAs laid laurels at the feet of a number of sure-to-be stalwarts of the award season, as well as featured trailers from several 2009 hopefuls.

Walking away with top honors at the event was Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto IV. One of two games to score a 10 from GameSpot this year, GTAIV also won a number of other awards, including Best Performance by a Human Male (Michael Hollick as Niko Bellic) and overall Best Action Adventure.

GameSpot's other top-rated game, Metal Gear Solid 4 from Konami, scored a number of its own nods, including Best Performance by a Human Female (Debbie Mae West as Meryl Silverburgh), Best Original Score, and Best Graphics.

Another big-name exclusive for Sony, Little Big Planet from Media Molecule, was also honored in abundance. The Sackboy-led platformer was named best PlayStation 3 title, and SpikeTV named Media Molecule proper as Studio of the Year, beating out GTAIV makers Rockstar North, Rock Band 2 creators Harmonix, and Fallout 3 survivors Bethesda Softworks.

SpikeTV's VGAs also featured trailers from a number of hotly anticipated games, including Sony's God of War III, Naughty Dog's Uncharted II: Among Thieves, Rockstar's GTAIV: The Lost and the Damned, Double Fine's Brutal Legend, Warner Bros. Watchmen, and EA's just-announced Dante's Inferno.

The full lineup of SpikeTV's VGA nominees and winners is listed below. Category winners have been bolded.

Game of the Year
Grand Theft Auto IV
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
Fallout 3
Gears of War 2
Little Big Planet

Studio of the Year
Media Molecule
Rockstar North
Harmonix
Bethesda

Best Team Sports Game
NHL 09
FIFA Soccer 09
NBA 2K9
Madden NFL 09

Big Name in the Game - Female
Jenny McCarthy - C&C: Red Alert 3
Judi Dench - Quantum of Solace
Eliza Dushku - Saints Row 2
Liv Tyler - The Incredible Hulk

Big Name in the Game - Male
Kiefer Sutherland - Call of Duty: World at War
Liam Neeson - Fallout 3
Ricky Gervais - Grand Theft Auto IV
Daniel Craig - Quantum of Solace

Best Performance by a Human Female
Debbie Mae West - Metal Gear Solid 4
Keeley Hawes - Tomb Raider: Underworld
Paula Tiso - No More Heroes
Nathalie Cox - Star Wars: The Force Unleashed

Best Performance by a Human Male
Michael Hollick - Grand Theft Auto IV
Stephen Fry - Little Big Planet
David Hayter - Metal Gear Solid 4
Jason Zumwalt - Grand Theft Auto IV

Best Multiplayer Game
Left 4 Dead
Gears of War 2
Call of Duty: World at War
Resistance 2

Best Original Score
Metal Gear Solid IV
Fallout 3
Little Big Planet
Spore

Best PC Game
Left 4 Dead
Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning
Crysis Warhead
Spore

Best PS3 Game
Little Big Planet
Grand Theft Auto IV
Resistance 2
Metal Gear Solid 4

Best Wii Game
Boom Blox
Super Smash Bros. Brawl
No More Heroes
Wii Fit

Best Xbox 360 Game
Gears of War 2
Fallout 3
Grand Theft Auto IV
Fable II

Best Soundtrack
Rock Band 2
Grand Theft Auto IV
Guitar Hero World Tour
Little Big Planet

Best Action Adventure Game
Grand Theft Auto IV
Metal Gear Solid 4
Mirror's Edge
Dead Space

Best Driving Game
Burnout Paradise
Mario Kart Wii
Midnight Club: Los Angeles
PURE

Best Music Game
Rock Band 2
SingStar
Wii Music
Guitar Hero World Tour

Best Game Based on a Movie or TV Show
Lego Indiana Jones
Naruto: The Broken Bond
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
Quantum of Solace

Best Graphics
Metal Gear Solid 4
Fallout 3
Little Big Planet
Gears of War 2

Best Handheld Game
Professor Layton and the Curious Village
Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia
Patapon
God of War: Chains of Olympus

Best Individual Sports Game
Shaun White Snowboarding
Skate It
Wii Fit
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09

Best Fighting Game
Soulcalibur IV
Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit
Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe

Best RPG
Fallout 3
The World Ends With You
Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning
Fable II

Best Shooter
Gears of War 2
Left 4 Dead
Resistance 2
Far Cry 2

Best Independent Game Fueled By Dew
World of Goo
PixelJunk Eden
Braid
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