2012 Spike Video Game Awards Winners List

The 10th Annual Spike Video Game Awards are now behind us, and while in past years we have criticized the shows awards but applauded its ability to secure some pretty high profile exclusives, this year was almost a complete role reversal. While the trailers on display during the event were still intriguing there was a significant lack of new or unexpected “stuff” on display, even if there was plenty of trailers to go around.

Save for the reveal of The Phantom Pain — a game that may or may not be Metal Gear Solid 5 — gamers knew exactly what they were going to get out of the show. Yes, it was nice to see some of BioShock Infinite‘s sandbox-esque gameplay and to better understand when Gears of War: Judgment resides in the timeline, but this show is usually the winter E3, and it really wasn’t this year.

That could be due to a lack of content — a byproduct of the generational transition from PS3 to PS4, Xbox 360 to 720, and so on and so forth — or it could just be that the mystery titles are not yet ready for public criticism. A similar sentiment was felt after E3, with most coming away with the impression that if developers showed their in-development projects they would, at the same time, be forced to discuss Sony and Microsoft‘s new consoles.

Nevertheless, this is an awards show we are talking about after all, and on that front we were pleasantly surprised to see some of the year’s standout titles receive some recognition. Even more surprising is the fact that new IPs or smaller franchises were able to come away with hardware in some pretty high profile categories. Games like Journey and Dishonored were able to beat out the likes of Assassin’s Creed 3 and Borderlands 2 — something we could never imagine happening even one year ago.

But most impressive of all is the fact that The Walking Dead — a downloadable title that is arguably more an emotionally moving experience than a game — was able to come away with Game of The Year. Granted, the competition might not have been as stiff (where was Halo 4?), but giving The Walking Dead the highest honor of the night makes a bold statement.

See what else came away with the coveted monkey award below:

Game of the Year
Assassin’s Creed 3
Dishonored
Journey
Mass Effect 3
*The Walking Dead*

Studio of the Year
Gearbox Software
343 Industries
Arkane Studios
*Telltale Games*

Best Xbox 360 Game
Assassin’s Creed 3
Dishonored
Borderlands 2
*Halo 4*

Best PS3 Game
Assassin’s Creed 3
Borderlands 2
*Journey*
Dishonored

Best Wii/Wii U Game
*New Super Mario Bros. U*
The Last Story
Xenoblade Chronicles
ZombiU

Best PC Game
Diablo 3
Guild Wars 2
Torchlight 2
*XCOM: Enemy Unknown*

Best Shooter
*Borderlands 2*
Call of Duty: Black Ops 2
Halo 4
Max Payne 3

Best Action Adventure Game
Assassin’s Creed 3
*Dishonored*
Darksiders 2
Sleeping Dogs

Best RPG
Diablo 3
*Mass Effect 3*
Torchlight 2
Xenoblade Chronicles

Best Multi-Player Game
*Borderlands 2*
Guild Wars 2
Halo 4
Call of Duty: Black Ops 2

Best Individual Sports Game
Hot Shots Golf World Invitational
*SSX*
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13
WWE ’13

Best Team Sports Game
FIFA Soccer 13
Madden NFL 13
*NBA 2K13*
NHL 13

Best Driving Game
Dirt: Showdown
F1 2012
Forza Horizon
*Need for Speed: Most Wanted*

Best Song in a Game
“Castle of Glass” by Linkin Park – Medal of Honor: Warfighter
*”Cities” by Beck – Sound Shapes*
“I Was Born for This” by Austin Wintory – Journey
“Tears” by Health – Max Payne 3

Best Original Score
Call of Duty: Black Ops 2
Halo 4
*Journey*
Max Payne 3

Best Graphics
Assassin’s Creed 3
Dishonored
*Halo 4*
Journey

Best Independent Game
Dust: An Elysian Tail
Fez
*Journey*
Mark of the Ninja

Best Fighting Game
Dead or Alive 5
*Persona 4 Arena*
Street Fighter X Tekken
Tekken Tag Tournament 2

Best Handheld/Mobile Game
Gravity Rush
LittleBigPlanet (Vita)
New Super Mario Bros. 2
*Sound Shapes*

Best Performance By a Human Female
Emma Stone as Amanda Cartwright – Sleeping Dogs
Jen Taylor as Cortana – Halo 4
Jennifer Hale as Commander Shepard - Mass Effect 3
*Melissa Hutchison as Clementine – The Walking Dead*

Best Performance By a Human Male
*Dameon Clarke as Handsome Jack – Borderlands 2*
Dave Fennoy as Lee Everret – The Walking Dead
James McCafferey as Max Payne – Max Payne 3
Nolan North as Captain Martin Walker - Spec Ops: The Line

Best Adapted Video Game
Disney Epic Mickey 2
LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes
*The Walking Dead*
Transformers: Fall of Cybertron

Best DLC
*Dawnguard – The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim*
Leviathan – Mass Effect 3
Mechromancer Pack – Borderlands 2
Perpetual Testing Initiative – Portal 2

Best Downloadable Game
Fez
Journey
Sound Shapes
*The Walking Dead*

Best Social Game
Draw Something
Marvel: Avengers Alliance
Sim City Social
*You Don’t Know Jack*

Game of the Decade
Batman: Arkham City
BioShock
*Half-Life 2*
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
Mass Effect 3
Portal
Red Dead Redemption
Shadow of the Colossus
Wii Sports
World of Warcraft

Most Anticipated Game
BioShock Infinite
*Grand Theft Auto V*
South Park: The Stick of Truth
The Last of Us
Tomb Raider

Character of the Year
Connor Kenway - Assassin’s Creed III
Commander Shepard - Mass Effect 3
*Clap Trap - Borderlands 2*
Master Chief - Halo 4
Raul Menendez - Call of Duty: Black Ops II

What do you think of Spike’s choices for winners? Are you surprised to see thatThe Walking Dead won Game of the Year? What did you think of the show in general?

Make sure to check out all of our coverage of the 2012 Spike Video Game Awards including all of the new trailers here.