This year’s Spike TV Video Game awards, which went down this past weekend, revealed that critical reviews for Gears of War, citing it as a possible ‘game of the year’ may well be some way wide of the mark.

Hosted once again by Samuel L. Jackson, the fourth annual Spike TV Video Game awards were held in L.A. on Friday evening, and it was Bethesda’s RPG epic The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion that received the night’s top honour—not Epic Games’ recent sci-fi spectacular.

Oblivion ran the evening by nabbing no less than five Spike TV awards, including the (unexpected?) Game of the Year, as well as the publicly-decided Most Addictive Game, Best Performance by a Human (Male) for Patrick Stewart’s typically worthy injection of gravitas, Best Role-Playing Game, and Best Original Score.

However, that’s not to say that Gears of War didn’t perform well on the night—regardless of it contentiously missing out on the top award. Epic Games and its sprawling third-person action title scooped four Spike TV awards including Best Shooter, Best Graphics, Best Multiplayer Game, and Best Studio.

Other awards secured across the evening went to the Wii’s Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Critic’s Choice Award), the Xbox 360’s Burnout Revenge (Best Driving Game), cross platform Tony Hawk’s Project 8 (Best Individual Sports Game), the 360’s Dead Rising (Best Action Game), Half-Life 2: Episode 1’s Alyx Vance (Cyber Vixen of the Year), the DS’s New Super Mario Bros. (Best Handheld Game), and the Nintendo Wii videogame console (Best Breakthrough Technology).

Full list of winners:

GAME OF THE YEAR
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Bethesda)


Other nominees:
Okami (Capcom/Clover Studio)
Gears of War (Microsoft/Epic Games)
Guitar Hero 2 (Red Octane/Harmonix)
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter (Ubisoft)


CRITIC'S CHOICE AWARD
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Nintendo/Nintendo EAD)

Other nominees:
Resistance: Fall of Man (Sony Computer Entertainment America/Insomniac Games)
Medieval II: Total War (Sega/Creative Assembly)
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas (Ubisoft Montreal)
Wii Sports (Nintendo)


BEST DRIVING GAME
Burnout Revenge, Xbox 360 (Electronic Arts/Criterion Games)

Other nominees:
Need For Speed: Carbon (Electronic Arts/EA Black Box)
TOCA Race Driver 3 (Codemasters)
GTR 2 (10tacle Studios/SimBin Development Team)


BEST INDIVIDUAL SPORTS GAME
Tony Hawk's Project 8 (Activision/Neversoft )

Other nominees:
Rockstar Games Presents Table Tennis (Rockstar Games/Rockstar San Diego)
Fight Night Round 3 (Electronic Arts/ EA Chicago)
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 (Electronic Arts/EA Redwood Shores)
Top Spin 2 (2K Sports/Power and Magic)


BEST ACTION GAME
Dead Rising (Capcom)

Other nominees:
New Super Mario Bros (Nintendo/Nintendo EAD)
Okami (Capcom/Clover Studio)
Saints Row (THQ/Volition)
Bully (Rockstar Games/Rockstar Vancouver)


BEST TEAM SPORTS GAME
NBA2K7 (2K Sports/Visual Concepts)

Other nominees:
Madden NFL 07 (Electronic Arts/Tiburon)
NCAA Football 07 (Electronic Arts/Tiburon)
FIFA 07 (Electronic Arts/EA Canada)
NHL 07 (Electronic Arts/EA Canada)


CYBER VIXEN OF THE YEAR
Alyx Vance - Half-Life 2: Episode 1 (Valve)

Other nominees:
Lara Croft - Tomb Raider: Legend (Eidos Interactive/Crystal Dynamics)
Princess Peach - New Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo/Nintendo EAD)
Enrica - Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Double Agent (Ubisoft Montreal)
Jen - Prey (2K Games/ Human Head Studios/3D Realms)


BEST SONG
"Lights and Sounds" by YellowCard, Burnout Revenge-XBOX 360 (Electronic Arts/Criterion Games)

Other nominees:
"LocoRoco No Uta" by Nobuyuki Shimizu and Kemmei Adachi, LocoRoco (Sony Computer Entertainment America/SCE Studios Japan)
"Heavenly Star" by Genki Rockets, Lumines II (Buena Vista Games/Q Entertainment)
"Helicopter" by Bloc Party, Marc Ecko's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure (Atari/The Collective)
"Summer Shudder" by AFI in Madden NFL 07 (Electronic Arts/Tiburon)



BEST SOUNDTRACK
Guitar Hero 2 (Red Octane/Harmonix)


Other nominees:
Madden NFL 07 (Electronic Arts/Tiburon)
Scarface: The World is Yours (Vivendi/Radical Entertainment)
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories (Rockstar Games/Rockstar Leeds / Rockstar North)


STUDIO OF THE YEAR
Cliff Bleszinski /Epic Games (Gears of War)

Other nominees:
Clover Studio (Okami)
Relic (Company of Heroes)
Todd Howard / Bethesda Softworks (The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion)
Harmonix (Guitar Hero 2)


BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Bethesda Softworks)

Other nominees:
Bully (Rockstar Games/Rockstar Vancouver)
Electroplankton (Nintendo)
Okami (Capcom/Clover Studio)
Final Fantasy XII (Square Enix)


BEST FIGHTING GAME
Mortal Kombat Armageddon (Midway Games)

Other nominees:
Tekken: Dark Resurrection (Namco Bandai)
Dead or Alive 4 (Tecmo/Team Ninja)
Street Fighter Alpha Anthology (Capcom)
God Hand (Capcom/Clover Studio)


BEST SHOOTER
Gears of War (Microsoft/Epic Games)

Other nominees:
Black (Electronic Arts/Criterion)
Prey (2K Games/ Human Head Studios/3D Realms)
Half-Life 2: Episode 1 (Valve)
Call of Duty 3 (Activision/Treyarch)


BEST MILITARY GAME
Company of Heroes (THQ/Relic)

Other nominees:
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter (Ubisoft)
Call of Duty 3 (Activision/Treyarch)
The Outfit (THQ/Relic)
Battlefield 2142 (Electronic Arts/EA UK/DICE UK)


BEST GRAPHICS
Gears of War (Microsoft/Epic Games)

Other nominees:
Okami (Capcom/Clover Studio)
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter (Ubisoft)
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Bethesda Softworks)
Company of Heroes (THQ/Relic)


BEST HANDHELD GAME
New Super Mario (Nintendo/Nintendo EAD)

Other nominees:
Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day (Nintendo)
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories (Rockstar Games/Rockstar Leeds/Rockstar North)
Tetris DS (Nintendo)
LocoRoco (Sony Computer Entertainment America/SCE Studios Japan)


BEST WIRELESS GAME
SWAT Force (Vivendi/KAOLink)

Other nominees:
Diner Dash (Glu Mobile)
Tower Bloxx (Digital Chocolate)
Super K.O. Boxing (Glu Mobile)


BEST MULTIPLAYER GAME
Gears of War (Microsoft/Epic Games)

Other nominees:
Company of Heroes (THQ/Relic)
Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence (Konami/Kojima Productions)
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter (Ubisoft)
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Double Agent (Ubisoft Montreal)


BREAKTHROUGH TECHNOLOGY
Wii (Nintendo)

Other nominees:
PlayStation 3 (Sony Computer Entertainment America)
Nintendo DS Lite (Nintendo)
Electroplankton (Nintendo)


BEST PC GAME
Company of Heroes (THQ/Relic)

Other nominees:
Half-Life 2: Episode 1 (Valve)
Battlefield 2142 (Electronic Arts/Digital Illusions CE)
Star Wars: Empire at War (LucasArts/Petroglyph)
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Bethesda)


BEST RPG
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Bethesda)

Other nominees:
Final Fantasy XII (Square Enix)
Kingdom Hearts II (Square Enix)
Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria (Square Enix/tri-Ace)


BEST GAME BASED ON A MOVIE OR TV SHOW
Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy (LucasArts/Traveller's Tales)

Other nominees:
The Godfather (Electronic Arts/EA Redwood Shores)
Scarface: The World is Yours (Vivendi/Radical Entertainment)
The Sopranos: Road to Respect (THQ/7 Studios)
Family Guy (2K Games/High Voltage Software)


BEST PERFORMANCE BY A HUMAN (MALE)
Patrick Stewart in The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Bethesda Softworks)

Other nominees:
Seth MacFarlane in Family Guy (2K Games/High Voltage Software)
Gerry Rosenthal in Bully (Rockstar Games/Rockstar Vancouver)
Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Legend of Jack Sparrow (Bethesda Softworks/7 Studios/Buena Vista Games)
Kiefer Sutherland in 24: The Game (2K Games/SCEE Studios Cambridge)


BEST SUPPORTING MALE PERFORMANCE
James Gandolfini in The Sopranos: Road to Respect (THQ/7 Studios)

Other nominees:
Seth Green in Family Guy (2K Games/High Voltage Software)
James Woods in Scarface: The World is Yours (Vivendi/Radical Entertainment)
James Caan in The Godfather (Electronic Arts/EA Redwood Shores)
Philip Michael Thomas in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories (Rockstar Games/Rockstar Leeds/Rockstar North)



BEST PERFORMANCE BY A HUMAN (FEMALE)
Vida Guerra in Scarface: The World is Yours (Vivendi/Radical Entertainment)


Other nominees:
Tia Carrere in Saints Row (THQ/Volition)
Emmanuelle Vaugier in Need For Speed: Carbon (Electronic Arts/EA Black Box)
Keely Haws in Tomb Raider: Legend (Eidos Interactive/Crystal Dynamics)
Rosario Dawson in Marc Ecko's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure (Atari/The Collective)


BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE PERFORMANCE
Rachel Leigh Cook in Kingdom Hearts II (Square Enix)

Other nominees:
Elisha Cuthbert in 24: The Game (2K Games/SCE Studios Cambridge)
Brittany Murphy in Marc Ecko's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure (Atari/The Collective)
Mila Kunis in Family Guy (2K Games/High Voltage Software)
Lynda Carter in The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Bethesda)


BEST CAST IN A GAME
Family Guy (2K Games/High Voltage Software)

Other nominees:
The Godfather (Electronic Arts/EA Redwood Shores)
Scarface: The World is Yours (Vivendi/Radical Entertainment)
Saints Row (THQ/Volition)
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Bethesda)


MOST ADDICTIVE GAME
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Bethesda)

Other nominees:
Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day (Nintendo)
Gears of War (Microsoft/Epic Games)
Guitar Hero 2 (Red Octane/Harmonix)
Company of Heroes (THQ/Relic)