The year is almost over, a new year is just around the corner, and everything that gamers do/should care about has been released. The reviews are out, the games have been played, and now it's that time of year when the ever coveted Game of the Year (GOTY) award will be distributed, by the various publications, to those special games that have surpassed all others.

And of course, what could possibly be better than a GOTY special by GiantBomb (cake)? What's that, you say? There IS a GiantBomb GOTY special? Well, how convenient, I was just predicting the winners of GiantBomb's Year-End Awards Extravaganza Spectacular! There are numerous awards up for grab and numerous candidates nominated to be recipients. I might be wrong, here or there, and perhaps everywhere. But I love to predict, nonetheless; if only for the opportunity to rub an "I told you so" in someone's face. With all preface aside, let's begin!:

***Note: These are predictions, not my personal hopefuls

Best Explosions

Nominees-

• Battlefield: Bad Company
• Mercenaries 2: World in Flames
• Fallout 3
• Boom Blox
• Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3

Predicted winner-

Battlefield: Bad Company!

Best Classic Revival

Nominees-

• Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix
• Bionic Commando Rearmed
• Space Invaders Extreme
• Final Fantasy IV
• Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts

Predicted winner-

Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix!

Best Multiplayer Game

Nominees-

• Rock Band 2
• Resistance 2
• Burnout Paradise
• Gears of War 2
• Left 4 Dead

Predicted winner-

Left 4 Dead!

Best Premise

Nominees-

• Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
• No More Heroes
• Spore
• Mega Man 9
• Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3

Predicted winner-

Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3!

Character We'd (the GiantBomb crew) Like to Party With

Nominees-

• John Vignocchi (designer/producer of NBA Ballers)
• Ethan Thomas (protagonist of Condemned: Criminal Origins and Condemned 2: Bloodshot)
• Drebin 893 (character in Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots)
• The Bad Company (the characters Haggard, Sweetwater, and Sarge in Battlefield: Bad Company)
• Bill and Louis (two of the four survivors in Left 4 Dead)
• Brucie Kibbutz (roid junky/professional badass/party animal in Grand Theft Auto IV)

Predicted winner-

Brucie Kibbutz!

Character Whose Phonecalls We're (the GiantBomb crew) Least Likely to Return

Nominees-

• Tim (protagonist of Braid)
• Dwayne Forge (whiney character in Grand Theft Auto IV)
• Otacon (character in Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots)
• The Announcer from You're in the Movies (the announcer from You're in the Movies)
• Tai Kaliso (new member of Delta squad in Gears of War 2)

Predicted winner-

Dwayne Forge!

Best Debut

Nominees-

• Left 4 Dead
• No More Heroes
• LittleBigPlanet
• Braid
• Dead Space

Predicted winner-

Dead Space!

Most Satisfying Sequel

Nominees-

• Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
• Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2
• Burnout Paradise
• Grand Theft Auto IV
• Gears of War 2

Predicted winner-

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots!

Best Graphics

Nominees-

• Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
• Gears of War 2
• Crysis Warhead
• LittleBigPlanet
• Burnout Paradise

Predicted winner-

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots!

Best Use of User Generated Content

Nominees-

• Spore
• Singstar
• Blast Works: Build, Trade, Destroy
• LittleBigPlanet
• Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts

Predicted winner-

LittleBigPlanet!

Best "Games-As-Art" Game

Nominees-

• Echochrome
• Braid
• PixelJunk Eden
• Mirror's Edge
• Rez HD

Predicted winner-

Braid!

Best Downloadable Game

Nominees-

• Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2
• Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix
• Braid
• Bionic Commando Rearmed
• Penny Arcade: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness: Episode One

Predicted winner-

Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2!

Best PSP Game

Nominees-

• Space Invaders Extreme
• God of War: Chains of Olympus
• Patapon
• Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII
• Wipeout Pulse

Predicted winner-

Wipeout Pulse!

Best DS Game

Nominees-

• Chrono Trigger
• Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia
• The World Ends With You
• Final Fantasy IV
• Professor Layton and the Curious Village

Predicted winner-

Professor Layton and the Curious Village!

Best Game We (the GiantBomb crew) Didn't Play

Nominees-

• NBA 2K9
• Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09
• Tales of Vesperia
• NHL 09
• Madden NFL 09

Predicted winner-

Tales of Vesperia!

Soulja Boy Award for Games To Play If You Drink And Get Drunk or Smoke And Get High

Nominees-

• Age of Booty
• Rock Band 2
• Braid
• LittleBigPlanet
• Boom Blox

Predicted winner-

Rock Band 2!

Take A Break Award

Nominees-

• Sonic the Hedgehog
• Guitar Hero
• Tomb Raider
• LEGO
• Naruto

Predicted winner-

Sonic the Hedgehog!

Most Disappointing Game

Nominees-

• Mirror's Edge
• Mercenaries 2: World in Flames
• Need for Speed: Undercover
• Alone in the Dark
• SOCOM: U.S. Navy Seals: Confrontation

Predicted winner-

Alone in the Dark!

Best Xbox 360-Only Game

Nominees-

• Gears of War 2
• Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts
• Fable II
• Braid
• Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2

Predicted winner-

Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts!

Best Playstation 3-Only Game

Nominees-

• Resistance 2
• Wipeout HD
• MotorStorm: Pacific Rift
• Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
• LittleBigPlanet

Predicted winner-

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots!

Best Wii-Only Game

Nominees-

• No More Heroes
• Super Smash Bros. Brawl
• Boom Blox
• Animal Crossing: City Folk
• Wii Fit

Predicted winner-

Super Smash Bros. Brawl!

Best PC-Only Game

Nominees-

• Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning
• Crysis Warhead
• World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King
• Sins of a Solar Empire
• Spore

Predicted winner-

World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King!

Best Multiplatform Game

Nominees-

• Fallout 3
• Dead Space
• Grand Theft Auto IV
• Rock Band 2
• Left 4 Dead
• Burnout Paradise
• Saints Row 2
• Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe
• Condemned 2: Bloodshot

Predicted winner-

Grand Theft Auto IV!

Best Product From Someone We All (the GiantBomb crew) Used to Work With

Nominees-

• Wizard vs. Cyborgs (Rich Gallup stars in this video...of some sort)
• World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King (Bob Colacyo had something to do with this game)
• Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning (Carrie Gouskos helped make the speech bubbles)
• IGN PC (Jason Ocampo is the editor-in chief of IGN PC)
• Rock Band 2 (Alex Navarro is a member of the community team)
• Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 (Greg Kasavin is a producer of this game)
• Neverwinter Nights 2: Storm of Zehir (writes press releases)

Predicted winner-

Greg Kasavin!

"Game" of the Year

Nominees-

• Playstation Home
• Wii Fit
• Wii Music
• Linger in Shadows
• Korg DS-10

Predicted winner-

Wii Fit!

2008's 2007 Game of the Year

Nominees-

• Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
• Rock Band
• Mass Effect
• Assassin's Creed
• Super Mario Galaxy
• Halo 3
• Bioshock
• Crackdown
• Warioware: Smooth Moves
• The Orange Box

Predicted winner-

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

GAME OF THE YEAR

Nominees-

• Burnout Paradise
• Grand Theft Auto IV
• Metal Gear Solid IV: Guns of the Patriots
• Gears of War 2
• Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts
• Dead Space
• Braid
• Left 4 Dead
• Fallout 3
• Fable II

And the predicted winner of the most important thing ever in life goes to.....

I usually follow my gut instinct, but my gut is telling me two different things. One of them is telling me it is Grand Theft Auto IV (most likely;) however, the other one is going against the odds and telling me that it is Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts. I'm going to have to tell one of my instincts to shut the fuck up. So without further ado, I give you the (predicted) GOTY '08:





*DRUM ROLL*

Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts!

Don't hurt me, thanks. I love to bet against the field, hehe! Oh, and contrary to Jeff's statement, the losers aren't actually winners. They are losers and should roll in the muck that is their defeat for the rest of time. Haha, suckers!

Comments? Go ahead! Your own predictions? Go ahead! Rotten veggies? Throw them! :)

*Crosses fingers*

I hope I'm right, I love being right.