2006 STAR Awards-Winners

Here are the winners of the Thrid Annual STAR Awards. Congrats!

Best Console of the Year
Xbox 360
-While 2006 saw the launch of two new systems, the 360 easily takes the cake this year with a lineup that has rarely been seen. From ESIV:O, Dead Rising, RS: Vegas, to the epic GoW, the only console that even comes close is the Wii; which, while very good, just didn't have the same level of momentum.

Standout Device (New)
Vision Camera
-Surprise, this year's winner isn't an iPod. It's not even a music player. Heck, it's not even portable. But that's OK, because seeing my face in Vegas is just so cool. The Zune, despite it's shortfalls, is a distant second.

Best Online Game
Gears of War
-GoW is simply a game that may change the way we play online. It's hard to pinpoint exactly what makes it so special, as it's more of all of the forces working together to make one hell of an experience. GRAW takes a distant second, for its revolutionary team work requirements.

Best Offline Game
Dead Rising
-While I really like the others in this category, and I admit it was a close call, Dead Rising really was the most fun I had while playing SP this year. It really did reinvent a style of gaming that I had forgotten since 2002, when Live came out. Honorable mention goes out out to Zelda for, well, being Zelda done right.

Best Orignal Title
Viva Pinata
- I've never played anything like VP before, and it's just so much fun. No other title took such a unique premise this year and made it fun to play. In a world full of sequels, this category is made to only include new games, and VP is a perfect game to get its first win.

Best Continuation Title
New Super Maio Brothers
-Not that there's anything wrong with sequels, if they are done right. And there can be no other game franchise that knows how to make a good sequel than Mario. This game on the DS really changed the way Mario was played, for the better. Honorable Mention goes out to (gasp!) Madden 07, ONLY ON THE WII, for its innovative use of the controller.

Best Graphics
--caption award

Best Gameplay
Dead Rising
- Call me crazy, but I loved the time structure of Dead Rising and its save system. Add to that chainsaws and zombies, and you don't get much better gameplay. A close second goes to Gears of War, for almost being more than a game.

Best COntrols
--caption award

Best Star Wars Game
Lego Star Wars II
-Unfortunately not a big choice this year; however, Lego Star Wars II is an excellant game and worthy of this award.

Console Bests
--caption award

GOTY
Gears of War
-This years game of the year was a hard pick. Wait...no it really wasn't. I've played GoW by far more than any other game this year, and that's do to one reason: it's a blast to play. Period. It's innovative and fresh, and has the best graphics to date, anywhere. I'm ready for GoW2.

Best Developer
Epic (Gears of War)
Nintendo (New Super Mario Brothers, Zelda)
- I know it sucks to have a tie, but I just can't only honor one. On the one hand, Epic did something truly great with GoW, and continues to support it with free content that rocks. On the other, Nintendo has basically changed the video game world this year with dominance of the Wii and DS.

Best DLC
Live Arcade: Small Arms
- Small Arms has made me think twice about what Live Arcade can do. I seriously considered nominating Small Arms for Game play, but it is definatly worthy of this award. A distant second is UNO, do to both it timing (remember the counter?) and the fact that it was fun, plus it added Vision support.

Moive of the Year
Little Miss Sunshine
-OK, my movie choices are a tad off, but the winner is the best movie of the year. LMS rocked as a perfect combo of National Lampoon meets Sideways: two of my favorite movies. Honorable mention goes to Superman, for bringing the franchise back to life in a great way.

TV Show of the Year
How I Met Your Mother
- All nominees represented shows I watched every show of (OK...maybe not every Report, but alot). I just love HIMYM, it's my kind of show. Honestly, watching a new episode has become a kind of event for me. A close second would be Studio Sixty, followed by (yes...I have to list all of them) Colbert, Sopranos, and Current.

STAR Awards 2006-Nominess In

Without further ado (you've waited long enough...) Here are the 2006 Nominees for the STAR Awards. Winners will be announced on Friday.

Best Console of the Year
Xbox 360
PS2
Ps3
Nintendo Wii

Standout Device (New)
iPod Nano G2
iPod Shuffle G2
Nintendo DS Lite
Zune
Vision Camera

Best Online Game
Gears of War
Metroid Prime: Hunters
Ghost Recon: Advance Warfighter
Call of Duty 3
Resistance: Fall of Man
Rainbow Six: Vegas

Best Offline Game
Gears of War
Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
Dead Rising
Zelda: Twilight Princess
God of War

Best Orignal Title
Viva Pinata
Resistance: Fall of Man
Dead Rising
God of War
Wii Sports
Gears of War

Best Continuation Title
GR:AW
Rainbow Six: Vegas
Madden 07 (Wii)
New Super Maio Brothers
Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

Best Graphics
--caption award

Best Gameplay
Dead Rising
GR:AW
Gears of War
Zelda: Twilight Princess
SC:DA

Best COntrols
--caption award

Best Star Wars Game
Lego Star Wars II
Empire at War

Console Bests
--caption award

GOTY
Gears of War
Resistance: Fall of Man
Zelda: Twilight Princess
Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
GR:AW

Best Developer
Epic (Gears of War)
Rare (Viva Pinata)
Nintendo (New Super Mario Brothers, Zelda)
Insomniac (Resistance: Fall of Man)
Bethseda (ESIV: Oblivion)

Best DLC
Call of Duty 2 Map Packs
Live Arcade: Small Arms
Live Aracade: UNO
Live Arcade: Cloning Clyde
NVC: Super Mario Bros.

Moive of the Year
Superman Returns
An Inconvienant Truth
Iraq for Sale
Little Miss Sunshine

TV Show of the Year
Studio 60: On the Sunset Strip
How I Met Your Mother
The Sopranos: Season Six
The Colbert Report
Current