The gaming staff at Ars Technica has spent the past few weeks trying to avoid the multitudes of gaming lists that have been flooding the RSS feeds. Everyone has a pick for game of the year, and many sites are giving us lists for game of the decade. Since everyone has a different idea about what constitutes a game of the year, people invariably go into those lists with a firm idea of what they want to see... and then they head to the comments to duke it out.

But the holidays should be about caring, love, and inclusion! With that in mind, we're going to hand out a wide variety of awards, both good and bad, to show just what we loved and, well, didn't love this year. 2009 was crazy, so let's begin with the year-end Golden Ars awards.

I'm a kid again! Award:

Retro Game Challenge was one of the best surprises of the year. You're sent back in time by a man who simply wants someone to play video games with his younger self. In the game you play various 8-bit challenges that lovingly poke fun at the conventions of NES-era gaming, complete with gaming magazines you can read for tips.

It sounds weird on paper, and it is, but it's also an elegant love letter to years we "wasted" in the basement with our digital and real life friends while the world passed us by outside.

Best Controller Award:

Mad Catz Fighting Stick Tournament Edition. Shortages be damned, this was a beautiful, functional arcade stick that you could easily rip apart and modify to fit your needs. It wasn't wireless, but who cares? It worked great on Street Fighter IV, Marvel vs. Capcom 2, and Pac-Man Championship Edition on the Xbox Live Arcade. In terms of price, features, and performance, the Tournament Edition stick was one of the best ways to get an arcade-perfect experience in your home, minus the cigarette butts and bad lighting.

Turd Successfully Polished Award:



Did you see X-Men Origins: Wolverine in the theaters? Remember that part that was good? Yeah, me neither. The movie was a bloated, joyless wreck, but the game that tied into the movie wisely threw away everything but the voice and likeness of Hugh Jackman, went for a hard-M rating, and allowed Wolverine to do what he does best: kill the crap out of everyone who gets in his way.

The game did have some problems, including a glitchy final act and some uninspired boss fights, but overall this is the Wolverine game we always wanted. It was violent, fast-paced, and felt great to play. If you're bored one afternoon and see this for $20 or so, do yourself a favor and slice some fools up. You'll be glad you did.

Unexpectedly Wicked Award:

It's a rare band that can handle an entire rhythm game dedicated to its music, and the Beatles: Rock Band proves that doing a band justice takes a whole lot of time, money, and love. The other game that got everything right? Guitar Hero: Metallica.

We were as skeptical as anyone, but the stages were epic, the songs were expertly coded, and the songs that weren't by Metallica were selected with care. It sounded like a great mix tape created by the ultimate fan, and all the songs were as fun to play as they were to listen to. The game was a cohesive look at the band's career that may have left a few people out—our apologies to Burton and Newsted—but was nevertheless worth your time and money. Green Day: Rock Band is drawing snickers from the peanut gallery, and Guitar Hero: Van Halen redefines the idea of a lazy effort, but this one rhythm game showed just how much power is in the music of Metallica.

If you overlooked this one, we understand. It's time to fix your mistake, however.

Quickest Deflation of Hype Award:

Scribblenauts was the talk of E3, and was given breathless coverage in the weeks leading to its release. Then we received our review copy of the game.

The title was still innovative and original, but the interactions between objects were rather arbitrary, and the control scheme was maddening. We had a good time playing the game, and it's worth trying just to see all the good ideas put onto the cart, but the actual product falls very short of its promise and hype. The Next Big Thing ended up being a frustrating, if still amusing, experience.

We Seem to Be Missing a Dimension Award:

Some of the best games of the year only used two dimensions. Street Fighter IV brought the venerable fighting game series back into the news, Marvel vs. Capcom 2 saw a wonderful re-release on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, Shadow Complex was a great example of the Metroidvania game mechanics, and Muramasa on the Wii showed just how good 2D artwork can look. Contra received an update on WiiWare. PixelJunk Shooter was an inspired PS3 release.

'Splosion Man featured some of the best animations we've seen in a lead characters... even while gleefully committing mass murder, and New Super Mario Bros. Wii was one of the biggest releases of the year.

We live in a 3D world, but 2D still has its place, and developers continue to have fun with flat, but fun, games.

Can't. Stop. Playing. Award:

PopCap is no stranger to crafting addictive experiences, as anyone who has played either Bejeweled of Peggle can attest to. But Plants vs Zombies is something else all together. A fresh take on the well-worn tower defense genre, PvZ slowly ramps up in complexity before ultimately revealing a complex and impossible to put down strategy game. And when you factor in the undeniably adorable art style and humor, well you have possibly the most addictive game of the year.

Too Little, Too Late Award:

While 360, PS3, and PC owners geared up for arguably the biggest release of the year in Modern Warfare 2, Wii owners were stuck sitting on the sidelines. Their consolation? A port of the original Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, now two years old. Heck, even Mac gamers got a port of COD4 before the Wii. And while CoD:MW Reflex wasn't a bad game, it arrived far too late for anyone to really care.

Most Likely to Ruin a Relationship Award:

New Super Mario Bros. Wii took everyone's favorite plumber back to his roots, but with one important addition: multi-player. And when you take the precision platforming the series is known for and throw in a few other players, well, things can get downright ugly. When someone constantly jumps on your head, steals your penguin suit, or goes off too far ahead, killing you in the process, it's hard to keep your cool. Thankfully, you can always get revenge by hogging all the starmen.