The games you love and the game you love to hate. Both are in line to be immortalized at the Gamespot Best and Worst of 2005 Awards this coming week. Who will win this year’s award for the Best Use of Upset, Disheveled Men? Or the award for the Best Game No One Played? And most importantly, which game will be named Game of the Year?

The annual awards ceremony is set to run from Tuesday, December 20 until Sunday, December 25th, with winners from a new category announced each day. Starting off the ceremony will be winners of Special Achievement Awards, including awards ranging from the serious (Best Story, Best Graphics, Most Innovative Game) to the whimsical (Most Surprisingly Good Game, Best Use of Upset, Disheveled Men, Best Use of Sweat).

Nominees for the Dubious Awards, including the Most Disappointing Game and the Worst Use of Celebrity Voices, will find out if they have won the “Worst of the Year� categories on Wednesday. Thursday will bring the announcement of each of the Genre Awards, followed by the Platform Awards on Friday.

Finalists for Game of the Year will also be revealed on Friday, with the winner of the top prize announced on Saturday. The final day of the ceremony will close with the results of the Reader’s Choice Award – voting for the Reader’s Choice Award is set to open on Saturday the 24th.

I. SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS

Best Original Music
God of War (PlayStation 2)
Indigo Prophecy (PC, PlayStation 2, Xbox)
Perfect Dark Zero (Xbox 360)
Psychonauts (PC, PlayStation 2, Xbox)
Shadow of the Colossus (PlayStation 2)

Most Surprisingly Good Game
Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth (Xbox)
Mercenaries (PlayStation 2, Xbox)
Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks (PlayStation 2, Xbox)
Racing Gears Advance (Game Boy Advance)
Star Wars Republic Commando (PC, Xbox)

Best Licensed Music
Amped 3 (Xbox 360)
FIFA Soccer (PSP)
Guitar Hero (PlayStation 2)
Project Gotham Racing 3 (Xbox 360)
Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse (PC, Xbox)

Best Story
Amped 3 (Xbox 360)
Cold Winter (PlayStation 2)
Indigo Prophecy (PC, PlayStation 2, Xbox)
Killer7 (PlayStation 2, GameCube)
Psychonauts (PC, PlayStation 2, Xbox)

Best Sound Effects
Call of Duty 2 (PC, Xbox 360)
Condemned: Criminal Origins (Xbox 360)
Resident Evil 4 (PlayStation 2, GameCube)
Peter Jackson’s King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie (PC, PlayStation 2, Xbox, Xbox 360, GameCube)
Project Gotham Racing 3 (Xbox 360)

Best Graphics, Technical
Battlefield 2 (PC)
F.E.A.R. (PC)
Guild Wars (PC)
Project Gotham Racing 3 (Xbox 360)
Resident Evil 4 (GameCube)

Best Voice Acting
God of War (PlayStation 2)
Gun (PC, Xbox 360, Xbox, PlayStation 2, GameCube)
Indigo Prophecy (PC, PlayStation 2, Xbox)
Peter Jackson’s King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie (PC, PlayStation 2, Xbox, Xbox 360, GameCube)
Psychonauts (PC, PlayStation 2, Xbox)

Best Graphics, Artistic
Guild Wars (PC)
Oddworld Stranger’s Wrath (Xbox)
Psychonauts (PC, PlayStation 2, Xbox)
Resident Evil 4 (GameCube)
Shadow of the Colossus (PlayStation 2)

Best Use of a Creative License
Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth (Xbox)
Lego Star Wars (PC, PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube)
Star Wars Republic Commando (PC, Xbox)
The Warriors (PlayStation 2, Xbox)
X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse (PC, PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube)

Best Artificial Intelligence
Call of Duty 2 (PC, Xbox 360)
F.E.A.R. (PC)
Forza Motorsport (Xbox)
NBA 2K6 (PlayStation 2, Xbox)
SWAT 4 (PC)

Most Outrageous Game
Amped 3 (Xbox 360)
Killer7 (GameCube)
The Matrix: Path of Neo (PC, PlayStation 2, Xbox)
Need for Speed Most Wanted (PC, PlayStation 2, Xbox 360, Xbox)
Total Overdose: A Gunslinger’s Tale in Mexico (PC, PlayStation 2, Xbox)

Best Budget Game
Dai Senryaku VII (Xbox)
Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved (Xbox 360)
NHL 2K6 (PlayStation 2, Xbox)
Phantom Dust (Xbox)

Best New Character
Buck Wad, Amped 3 (Xbox 360)
Harman Smith, Killer7 (PlayStation 2, GameCube)
Kratos, God of War (PlayStation 2)
Raz, Psychonauts (PC, PlayStation 2, Xbox)
Stubbs, Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse (Xbox)

Funniest Game
Amped 3 (Xbox 360)
Animal Crossing: Wild World (Nintendo DS)
Psychonauts (PC, PlayStation 2, Xbox)
Raze’s Hell (Xbox)
Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse (PC, Xbox)

Best Use of Sweat
FIFA 06 (Xbox 360)
Fight Night Round 2 (PlayStation 2, Xbox)
NBA 2K6 (Xbox 360)
NBA Live 06 (Xbox 360)

Biggest News
360s unleashed at Zero Hour
PlayStation 3 revealed, confirmed for 2006
TGS 2005: Miyamoto unveils Nintendo’s Revolution controller
Spot On: The US PSP Launch
San Andreas rated AO, Take-Two suspends production

Best Multiplayer Game
Battlefield 2 (PC)
Guild Wars (PC)
Mario Kart DS (Nintendo DS)
Perfect Dark Zero (Xbox 360)
Project Gotham Racing 3 (Xbox 360)

Best Use of Upset, Disheveled Men
Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth (Xbox)
Condemned: Criminal Origins (Xbox 360)
Resident Evil 4 (PlayStation 2, GameCube)

Most Innovative Game
Guild Wars (PC)
Indigo Prophecy (PC, PlayStation 2, Xbox)
Killer7 (PlayStation 2, GameCube)
Trace Memory (Nintendo DS)
Trauma Center: Under the Knife (Nintendo DS)

Best Original Game Mechanic
Guitar Hero (PlayStation 2)– “playing” guitar
Indigo Prophecy (PC, PlayStation 2, Xbox) — rhythm-based puzzles
Lumines (PSP) — timeline
NBA 2K6 (PlayStation 2, Xbox, Xbox 360) — shot stick
Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse (PC, Xbox) — eating brains

Most Metal
Devil May Cry 3: Dante’s Awakening (PlayStation 2)
God of War (PlayStation 2)
Guitar Hero (PlayStation 2)
Kingdom Under Fire: Heroes (Xbox)

Most Improved Sequel
Blitz: The League (PlayStation 2, Xbox)
Devil May Cry 3 (PlayStation 2)
Dragon Quest VIII (PlayStation 2)
Need for Speed Most Wanted (PC, PlayStation 2, Xbox, Xbox 360)
Resident Evil 4 (PlayStation 2, GameCube)

Best New Hardware
AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core CPU
ATI Radeon X1800 XT GPU
Nvidia GeForce 7800 GTX GPU
Microsoft Xbox 360
Sony PSP

II. DUBIOUS HONORS

Most Despicable Product Placement
Burnout Legends (PSP)
SWAT 4 (PC)
The Matrix Online (PC)
NBA 2K6 (PlayStation 2, Xbox, Xbox 360)

Worst Use of Celebrity Voices
50 Cent, 50 Cent: Bulletproof (PlayStation 2, Xbox)
Casper Van Dien, Starship Troopers (PC)
Christopher Walken, True Crime: New York City (PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube)
David Duchovny, Area 51 (PC, PlayStation 2, Xbox)

Most Disappointing Delay
Dungeons & Dragons Online (PC)
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (PC, Xbox 360)
Final Fantasy XII (PlayStation 2)
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (GameCube)
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl (PC)

Most Aggravating Frame Rate / Best Slide Show
Advent Rising (Xbox)
Half-Life 2 (Xbox)
Quake 4 (Xbox 360)
Shadow of the Colossus (PlayStation 2)
True Crime: New York City (PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube)

Worst Trend
All the lousy poker games
All the lousy “urban”-themed games
Dynamic in-game advertising
“Next-gen” retail prices
Same title, different game

Most Long-Winded Game Title
Mobile Suit Gundam Seed: Never Ending Tomorrow (PlayStation 2)
Peter Jackson’s King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie (PC, PlayStation 2, Xbox, Xbox 360, GameCube)
Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas: Oogie’s Revenge (PlayStation 2)
Xenosaga Episode II: Jenseits von Gut und Bose (PlayStation 2)
Yu-Gi-Oh! 7 Trials to Glory: World Championship Tournament 2005 (Game Boy Advance)

Most Gratuitous Use of F****** Swearing
The Getaway: Black Monday (PlayStation 2)
Killer7 (PlayStation 2, GameCube)
NARC (PlayStation 2, Xbox)
The Suffering: Ties That Bind (PlayStation 2, Xbox)
True Crime: New York City (PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube)

Most Disappointing Game
FIFA 06: Road to FIFA World Cup (Xbox 360)
Jade Empire (Xbox)
Madden NFL 06 (PC, PlayStation 2, Xbox, Xbox 360, GameCube)
Tony Hawk’s American Wasteland (PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube)
WWE Wrestlemania XXI (Xbox)

Biggest Buster
187 Ride or Die (PlayStation 2, Xbox)
50 Cent: Bulletproof (PlayStation 2, Xbox)
Crime Life: Gang Wars (PlayStation 2)
True Crime: New York City (PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube)

Flat-Out Worst Game
Chicago Enforcer (Xbox)
Crime Life: Gang Wars (Xbox)
Land of the Dead: Road to Fiddler’s Green (Xbox)
Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects (Nintendo DS)
Peter Jackson’s King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie (Nintendo DS)

Best Game No One Played
GTR FIA Racing (PC)
Nexus: The Jupiter Incident (PC)
Psychonauts (PC, PlayStation 2, Xbox)
Racing Gears Advance (Game Boy Advance)
TrackMania Sunrise (PC)

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