Product: Pocket Gamer Awards

by Joao Diniz Sanches

UPDATE: We've now announced the Pocket Gamer Awards 2010 winners.

Welcome, dear reader, to the inaugural Pocket Gamer Awards. Yeah, we're not too sure why we've not done these before, either.

Actually, we do – the portable gaming landscape has at times been more than a little wild and has only recently settled. There is actually a more boring explanation but what really matters is that we've got here at last.

Below, then, you'll find our list of finalists, judged to be the best batch from all games reviewed on Pocket Gamer (or released) between January 1st and December 31st 2009.

To keep things relatively fair, we've split the formats: iPhone, mobile (which includes smartphones) and handheld (PSP and DS, effectively).

Having survived the not inconsiderable task of narrowing down what we feel are the finest examples of portable gaming of 2009, we'll now retreat to calmly argue the merits of each finalist and vote for our favourites. Assuming we get through the process without suffering an unacceptable number of casualties, we'll then announce the winners next week, at the GDC 2010 event in San Francisco (thanks to the support from our sponsors, TheGameTrail, Scoreloop and MachineWorks Northwest).

If you're not planning on attending GDC, fear not – obviously we'll announce the winners here, too.

But we're not the only ones with homework. We're also running the Pocket Gamer Readers' Choice Awards where you can vote on your favourite title of 2009 across the same formats. These will run a little longer than the PG Awards 2010 so you've got time to consider your choices but do make your voice heard, won't you?

For now, have a look through the following list and let us know if your opinions differ from ours in our comments section.


Game of the Year finalists

Edge (Mobigame)
Flight Control (Firemint)
Glyder 2 (Glu Mobile)
Jet Car Stunts (True Axis)
N.O.V.A.: Near Orbit Vanguard Alliance (Gameloft)
Need for Speed: Shift (Electronic Arts)
Space Invaders Infinity Gene (Taito)
Squareball (Drömsynt)
Star Defense (ngmoco)
Zen Bound (Chillingo)

Check out our Top 10 iPhone Games of 2009 feature.

Best Action/Arcade Game finalists

Alive 4-ever (Meridian)
Kil.a.ton (Dot Matrix Interactive Design)
Jet Car Stunts (True Axis)
N.O.V.A.: Near Orbit Vanguard Alliance (Gameloft)
Space Invaders Infinity Gene (Taito)

Best Casual/Puzzle Game finalists

Edge (Mobigame)
Flight Control (Firemint)
iBlast Moki (Godzilab)
Peggle (PopCap Games)
Zen Bound (Chillingo)

Best Adventure/RPG Game finalists

Beneath a Steel Sky: Remastered (Revolution Pocket)
Dungeon Hunter (Gameloft)
The Oregon Trail (Gameloft)
The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition (LucasArts)
Zenonia (Gamevil)

Best Strategy/Simulation Game finalists

Build-a-lot (Glu Mobile)
Star Defense (ngmoco)
TowerMadness (Limbic Software)
Warfare Incorporated (Spiffcode)
Westward (Sandlot Games)

Best Sports Game finalists

FIFA 10 (EA Mobile)
Madden NFL 10 (EA Mobile)
Skater Nation (Gameloft)
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09 (EA Mobile)
Touch KO (Chillingo)

Best Social/Connected Game finalists

Epic Pet Wars (Miraphonic)
iFarm (PlayMesh)
iMobsters (Storm8)
Urban Rivals (Acute Games)
Who Has the Biggest Brain? (Playfish)

Most Innovative Game finalists

Auditorium (EA Mobile)
Edge (Mobigame)
Flower Garden (Snappy Touch)
Squareball (Drömsynt)
Zen Bound (Chillingo)

Best Free Game finalists

Eliminate Pro (ngmoco)
Real Racing GTI (Firemint)
Skies of Glory (SGN)
Tap Tap Revenge 2.6 (Tapulous)
Traffic Rush (Donut Games)

Best Developer

Glu Mobile
Firemint
id Software
Gameloft
EA Mobile

Best Publisher

ngmoco
EA Mobile
Freeverse
Gameloft
Chillingo


Game of the Year finalists

California Gold Rush (Digital Chocolate)
Chuck Norris: Bring on the Pain (Gameloft)
Galaxy on Fire 2 (Fishlabs)
Gish Mobile (GlobalFun)
Go! Go! Rescue Squad (Connect2Media)
Mystery Mania (Electronic Arts)
Pac-Man Championship Edition (Namco Bandai)
Townsmen 6 (HandyGames)
Tropical Towers (RealNetworks)
Zombie Infection (Gameloft)

Check out our Top 10 Mobile Games of 2009 feature.

Best Action/Arcade Game finalists

Chuck Norris: Bring on the Pain (Gameloft)
Cops (Gameloft)
Galaxy on Fire 2 (Fishlabs)
Pac-Man Championship Edition (Namco Bandai)
Zombie Infection (Gameloft)

Best Casual/Puzzle Game finalists

Edge (Connect2Media)
Go! Go! Rescue Squad (Connect2Media)
LocoRoco Hi (Glu Mobile)
Tetris Revolution (Electronic Arts)
Tropical Towers (RealNetworks)

Best Adventure/RPG Game finalists

California Gold Rush (Digital Chocolate)
Devils and Demons (HandyGames)
Great Legends: Robin Hood in the Crusades (GlobalFun)
Mafia Wars: New York (Digital Chocolate)
Stranded: Mysteries of Time (Glu Mobile)

Best Strategy/Simulation Game finalists

Paris Nights (Gameloft)
Spore Creatures (Electronic Arts)
The Sims 3 (Electronic Arts)
Townsmen 6 (HandyGames)
UFO Afterlight (GlobalFun)

Best Sports Game finalists

Amped Snowboarding (Player One)
EA Cricket 10 (Electronic Arts)
Pro Evolution Soccer 2010 (Konami)
Super K.O. Boxing 2 (Glu Mobile)
World Championship Pool 2010 (I-play)

Most Innovative Game finalists
Go!Go! Rescue Squad (Connect2Media)
Captain Galactic: Super Space Hero (Digital Chocolate)
Mystery Mania (Electronic Arts)
Anytime Pool (Electronic Arts)
Gish Mobile (GlobalFun)

Best Developer

Fishlabs
Gameloft
Digital Chocolate
Mr Goodliving
Progressive Media

Best Publisher

Digital Chocolate
Electronic Arts
Gameloft
Connect2Media
Glu Mobile


Game of the Year finalists

Art Style: CODE [DS] (Nintendo)
Bleach: Dark Souls [DS] (Sega)
Disgaea DS [DS] (Square Enix)
Dragon Quest: Hand of the Heavenly Bride [DS] (Square Enix)
Fieldrunners [PSP] (Subatomic Studios)
Gran Turismo [PSP] (Sony Computer Entertainment)
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars [DS] (Rockstar Games)
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars [PSP] (Rockstar Games)
Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure [DS] (Electronic Arts)
Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier [PSP] (Sony Computer Entertainment)
Kingdom Heart: 358/2 Days [DS] (Electronic Arts)
LittleBigPlanet [PSP] (Sony Computer Entertainment)
Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story [DS] (Nintendo)
Pinball Fantasies [PSP] (Cowboy Rodeo)
PixelJunk Monsters Deluxe [PSP] (Sony Computer Entertainment)
Resistance: Retribution [PSP] (Sony Computer Entertainment)
Soul Calibur: Broken Destiny [PSP] (Namco Bandai)
Space Invaders Extreme 2 [DS] (Square Enix)
The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks [DS] (Nintendo)
Zombie Tycoon [PSP] (Frima Studio)

Check out our Top 10 PSP Games of 2009 feature.
Check out our Top 10 DS Games of 2009 feature.

Best Action/Arcade Game finalists

Bleach: Dark Souls [DS] (Sega)
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars [DS/PSP] (Rockstar Games)
Resistance: Retribution [PSP] (Sony Computer Entertainment)
Soul Calibur: Broken Destiny [PSP] (Namco Bandai)
Space Invaders Extreme 2 [DS] (Square Enix)

Best Casual/Puzzle Game finalists

Art Style: CODE [DS] (Nintendo)
Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure [DS] (Electronic Arts)
Kahoots [PSP] (Honeyslug)
Lego Rock Band [DS] (Warner Bros)
LittleBigPlanet [PSP] (Sony Computer Entertainment)

Best Adventure/RPG Game finalists

Disgaea DS [DS] (Square Enix)
Dragon Quest: Hand of the Heavenly Bride [DS] (Square Enix)
Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier [PSP] (Sony Computer Entertainment)
Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story [DS] (Nintendo)
The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks [DS] (Nintendo)

Best Strategy/Simulation Game finalists

Fieldrunners [PSP] (Subatomic Studios)
Pinball Fantasies [PSP] (Cowboy Rodeo)
PixelJunk Monsters Deluxe [PSP] (Sony Computer Entertainment)
Puzzle Quest: Galactrix [DS] (D3Publisher)
Zombie Tycoon [PSP] (Frima Studio)

Most Innovative Game finalists

Art Style: CODE [DS] (Nintendo)
LittleBigPlanet [PSP] (Sony Computer Entertainment)
LocoRoco Midnight Carnival [PSP] (Sony Computer Entertainment)
Scribblenauts [DS] (Warner Bros)
Space Invaders Extreme 2 [DS] (Square Enix)

Best Developer

Nintendo
Rockstar Leeds
SCEE Studio Liverpool
Square Enix

Best Publisher

Nintendo
Sony Computer Entertainment
Square Enix
Warner Bros


Click here to vote for the Pocket Gamer Readers' Choice Awards 2010: iPhone.

Click here to vote for the Pocket Gamer Readers' Choice Awards 2010: Mobile.

Click here to vote for the Pocket Gamer Readers' Choice Awards 2010: Handheld.

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