Skyrim, Portal 2, Arkham City Won Big At VGAs

Spike TV broadcast the VGA ceremonies last evening, and while there weren't any tremendous upsets among the award winners, the event continued to be a celebration of what's ahead in gaming via several exclusive game reveals. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim took game of the year and best RPG honors, with Bethesda Game Studios picking up studio of the year recognition. Other big winners included Valve's Portal 2 and Rocksteady's Batman: Arkham City.

Valve had its hands full by the end of the evening, with the company's Portal 2 winning five awards, the biggest overall winner. The puzzle game won the best PC, multiplayer, and DLC nods, as well as awards for Stephen Merchant and Ellen McLain for their respective voice roles as Wheatley and GLaDOS. Batman: Arkham City took home character of the year honors for the Joker, as well as best Xbox 360, action adventure game, and adapted video game.

Batman's status as the Xbox 360's game of the year was a little strange, considering Nintendo and Sony platforms' best games (The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, and Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception) were exclusive to their platforms. If anyone could say that Gears of War 3 is a better game than Batman: Arkham City while keeping a straight face, however, I'd personally be impressed.

Shigeru Miyamoto picked up the inaugural Video Game Hall of Fame Award for the Legend of Zelda series, and Blizzard Entertainment received Gamer God recognition for their work on groundbreaking games including Warcraft, Starcraft, and Diablo.

Other highlights from the event included the first look at Naughty Dog's upcoming zombie game The Last of Us, the reveal of Epic Games' new title Fortnite, and fresh looks at Mass Effect 3 and Rainbow 6: Patriots.

Here's the complete list of award winners:

GAME OF THE YEAR
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
 
STUDIO OF THE YEAR
Bethesda Game Studios
 
CHARACTER OF THE YEAR
The Joker – Batman:  Arkham City
 
VIDEO GAME HALL OF FAME AWARD
“The Legend of Zelda”
 
GAMER GOD AWARD
Blizzard Entertainment
 
BEST XBOX 360 GAME
Batman: Arkham City
 
BEST PS3 GAME
Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception
 
BEST Wii GAME
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
 
BEST PC GAME
Portal 2
 
BEST HANDHELD/MOBILE GAME
Super Mario 3D Land
 
BEST SHOOTER
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
 
BEST ACTION ADVENTURE GAME
Batman: Arkham City
 
BEST RPG
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
 
BEST MULTI-PLAYER
Portal 2
 
BEST INDIVIDUAL SPORTS GAME
Fight Night Champion
 
BEST TEAM SPORTS GAME
NBA 2K12
 
BEST DRIVING GAME
Forza Motorsport 4
 
BEST FIGHTING GAME
Mortal Kombat
 
BEST MOTION GAME
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
 
BEST INDEPENDENT GAME
Minecraft
 
BEST ADAPTED VIDEO GAME
Batman: Arkham City
 
BEST SONG IN A GAME
"Build that Wall (Zia’s Theme)” by Darren Korb – Bastion
 
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Bastion
 
BEST GRAPHICS
Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception
 
BEST PERFORMANCE BY A HUMAN MALE
Stephen Merchant as Wheatley – Portal 2
 
BEST PERFORMANCE BY A HUMAN FEMALE
Ellen McLain as GLaDOS – Portal 2
 
BEST DOWNLOADABLE GAME
Bastion
 
BEST DLC
Portal 2 Peer Review
 
MOST ANTICIPATED GAME
Mass Effect 3
 
GAMETRAILERS.COM TRAILER OF THE YEAR
Assassin’s Creed: Revelations – E3 2011 Trailer
 
EA SPORTS NFL BLITZ DIGITAL COVER ATHLETE
Ray Rice