2011 VGA: Complex Picks the Real Winners

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The Spike TV Video Game Awards aired over the weekend, and if you were disappointed by some of the winners, well, you're not alone. Modern Warfare 3 for best shooter? Arkham City for best 360 game? Skyrim for game of the year? Come on!

Here's our picks for the real winners, courtesy of our very own editor, Tina Amini—who just happened to be a judge this year. That's how you know our picks are the right ones, and it's why we're sharing them with you! You're welcome. Now read on!

Best Performance by a Human Male: J.K. Simmons as Cave Johnson in Portal 2

Their pick: Stephen Merchant as Wheatley in Portal 2

So we're splitting hairs. Sue us. We loved Merchant's portrayal of the psychotically daft little nugget of a robot known as Wheatley, but there was some undefinable allure about Simmons-playing-Johnson that we found irresistible. We wanted to know more about him; we just wanted Wheatley to get launched into space.

Best Song in a Game: "Setting Sail, Coming Home (End Theme)" by Darren Korb, from Bastion

Their pick: "Build that Wall (Zia's Theme)" by Darren Korb, from Bastion

Okay, so we're splitting hairs again, but we really think "Setting Sail" is the best song in Bastion. We loved it so much we had it on repeat in our car for like, three days. It's epic. By the end of Bastion, we were just kind of sick of "Build That Wall," as wonderful as it was upon the first ten listens.

Best Original Score: Portal 2

Their pick: Bastion

You'll soon find out just how much we love Portal 2. Bastion had a fantastic score, but Portal 2's has the charm that few others have possessed. The pounding beats and electronic themes serve it well throughout, and, of course, the cherry on top is Jonathan Coulton's "Want You Gone," the followup to the original Portal's "Still Alive" and one of the funniest songs to appear in a game, ever.

Best Motion Game: Dance Central 2

Their pick: The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

Don't misunderstand us. We're not saying DC 2 is a better game than Skyward Sword; we're just saying its implementation of motion controls is more unique. Waggling the controller like a sword is fine in Zelda, but a game that recognizes what our entire body is doing in real time deserved some props. Plus, think about which one is more fun when you're wasted. Done and done, right?

Best Graphics: Rage

Their pick: Uncharted 3

We agree half-heartedly that Uncharted 3 has fantastic graphics, mainly because we've already seen those graphics twice before. Rage, on the other hand, is visually great and unique. It's like a grittier Borderlands combined with a less shitty-looking Fallout: 3. And the pure visual style—futuristic meets old west meets steampunk meets cyberpunk—is unmatched. The pop-in is a problem on consoles, but we play PC anyway. The point is we'll go with an original aesthetic over one we've seen before any day.

Best Driving Game: Driver: San Francisco

Their pick: Forza Motorsport 4

This one was a close call, for sure, but we have simply got to go with Driver: SF. Where Forza is all cold precision and realism, Driver has heart, flair and—well, it feels more like a video game and less like a simulation. We love simulations (Street Cleaning Sim being our all-time favorite), but most of the time we'd just rather play something a little more fun and less like performing surgery on a race track.

Best Shooter: Battlefield 3

Their pick: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

Okay, you might think this one was a given, but far from it. We were seriously rooting for Battlefield 3. While MW3 has delivered three incredibly similar (albeit, fantastic) experiences in little more years, BF has generally gone longer between releases and delivered more innovative and comprehensive experiences because of that. They're larger in scope and more ambitious, as well. We understood it was a close run between these two, but we still retained hope until the moment it was announced. What? No, we're not crying! Shut up and go to the next slide!

Best Xbox 360 Game: Gears of War 3

Their pick: Batman: Arkham City

Look at it this way: The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword won best Wii game, and Uncharted 3 won best PS3 game. Notice a trend? They're console exclusives. So why should Batman: Arkham City—a great game, but multi-platform—win best Xbox 360 game? Gears of War 3 was easily the best entry in the series, and one of our favorite games of the year. For it to come away last night without a single recognition was a real shame. Besides, Arkham City won best action / adventure game, too, and best character for The Joker. Selfish!

Studio of the Year: Valve

Their pick: Bethesda

For a more specific version of why Portal 2 is better than Skyrim, skip ahead to the next entry (spoilers!). Suffice to say, though, that Valve trumped Bethesda in every way this year. Whereas Bethesda released a great game with a million flaws and a propensity to chug harder than a drunk in a brewery after 60 hours of gameplay, Valve released a perfect (or as close as possible) game that actually works. Not to mention Steam, which continues to kill it with digital sales, multiplayer and social features that are unbeatable.

Maybe they'll have better luck next year when they announce Half-Life 3—maybe.

Game of the Year: Portal 2

Their pick: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Let us give you five reasons why Portal 2 is better than Skyrim: Wheatley, GLaDOS, Cave Johnson, cake, physics. Also, the PS3 version of Portal 2 didn't launch and exist for a month (and counting!) with a game-breaking bug that affects only players who invest the most time in it.

Besides, Portal 2 is the most well-constructed game we've ever played, with a perfect marriage of game mechanics, story and aesthetics. The writing is the finest and funniest our medium has ever seen, and the level design and learning curve are perfect at every step. Fine, so you can't kill a dragon with an arrow to the knee or whatever. You know what? You can have your Skyrim. We'll be enjoying our free DLC, glitch-free gameplay and perfectly cohesive experience. See you next year.