I know better than to post my own favorites of the VGA nominees this year, since last year I was so sorely disappointed. Therefore, what follows are my predictions for the winners of each category based on a number of factors, including: sales numbers, industry reviews, forum chatter, and a touch of my own experience with the games. If asked, I would say that I am about 75% correct here. If I stray too far from accuracy, rest assured it is not for lack of intuit. Rather, it will be the result of poor taste on the part of the rest of the world. Enjoy, and then leave me snarky comments about how "totally rad" Call of Duty 4.5 is, and other such fanboy nonsense. Just admit it, IW FTW.

* Best Independent Game Fueled By Dew
Braid

* Studio Of The Year
Media Molecule

* Game of the Year
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots

* Best Team Sports Game
Madden NFL 09

* Big Name In The Game Female
Jenny McCarthy as "Tanya"

* Big Name In The Game Male
Liam Neeson as "Father"

* Best Performance By A Human Female
Keeley Hawes As "Lara Croft"

* Best Performance By A Human Male
Michael Hollick As "Niko Bellic"

* Best Multi-Player Game
Left 4 Dead

* Best Original Score
Fallout 3

* Best PC Game
Spore

* Best PS3 Game
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots

* Best Wii Game
Wii Fit

* Best Xbox 360 Game
Fable II

* Best Soundtrack
Grand Theft Auto IV

* Best Action Adventure Game
Dead Space

* Best Driving Game
Burnout Paradise

* Best Music Game
Rock Band 2

* Best Game Based On A Movie Or Tv Show
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed

* Best Graphics
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots

* Best Handheld Game
God of War: Chains of Olympus

* Best Individual Sports Game
Shaun White Snowboarding

* Best Fighting Game
Soul Calibur IV

* Best RPG
Fallout 3

* Best Shooter
Resistance 2

* Most Anticipated Game
Resident Evil 5

I have many stories as to the origin of my gamertag/digital nom de plume. From the obvious chess reference, ("pawn to e4" is the most common first move in a game of chess, which is one of my favorites. Games, that is); To the theory that it is a reference to the video game of the same name, which I assure you, it is not. The simple truth is that I wanted the shortest possible gamertag. It certainly helped that it was available everywhere as a username and such, since apparently no one else in the world likes the way these characters look juxtaposed as much as I do. Technically, it is pronounced "e-four". The "x"s go unpronounced, as they often do in screen names, etcetera. So if you are looking to tell your friends about any of my exploits, or we happen to get down and dirty in some game or another (*cough*CoD:WaW *cough*), now all pronunciation haziness is made clear. Don't try to say it as a word, for it is not, and any attempt to make it so may result in some weird brain malfunction wherein your eyes twirl in neat little circle infinitely and you incessantly mutter nursery rhymes in broken High German. Acceptable spoken forms are "x-e-four-x", or simply, "e-four".

Thank you, and have a bully day.
Yours, xe4x

I will make this short and sweet. I need 3 gamers to play "Nazi Zombies" in Call of Duty: World at War with me. No one seems to be playing it, and I want to go for a record. With a full squad, it shouldn't be such a hard task. If you think you are up for it, leave your gamertag in the comments. Or, even more simple, send a friend request via Xbox LIVE to: xe4x.

Your biggest fan aside from your mother,
xe4x

After what felt like an eternity, I finally received (see: found sitting on the floor in the hallway of my apartment building) my Grand Theft Auto 4 "Key to the City" from Rockstar Games. Let me just say, it was well worth the wait as this thing is made from 100% distilled awesome sauce! Finally, my completionist/obsessive personailty has been rewarded! Let me know if any of my fellow completionistas received their shiny trophy from Rockstar Games. [Note: The Keys were awarded to players who reached 100% completion in GTA IV within three weeks of the game's release (see: Rockstar Games Social Club "100% Club")]

I have the World at War xbox 360 beta, and I am happy to admit that it is surprisingly delicious! Like many of my fellow gamers, I had my doubts about what Treyarch would do to our beloved Call of Duty series by taking it back to WWII after InfinityWard took such a successful leap into the modern warfare arena. Even with the huge advantage of utilizing the amazing CoD4 engine, many gamers (myself among them) swore off the latest outing of CoD as soon as they heard which studio would be behind the curtain. And rightly so, given their track record of Call of Duty titles.
The truth of the matter is, the only difference between Call of Duty 4 and Call of Duty: World at War is the title. Well, that and the whole WWII settings and weapons, which in my opinion, is actually a very subtle change, indeed. In fact, it seems Treyarch carried over everything from CoD4: Modern Warfare. The HUD is identical. The kill streak rewards follow the same requirements, and are pretty much the same concept, with slight changes to adhere to the timeline. 3 kill streak nets the player a Recon Plane (UAV).
5 kills? Artillery Strke (Airstrike). 7 kills? Helicopter? Nope! Even better, how about a pack of attack dogs that flood the map for a full sixty second! Oh, yeah! It is just as awesome as it sounds.
Preorder the game. Get a beta token. Revel in Call of Duty 4: Retro Warfare!

xe4x

Well, here it is. My first post on Destructiod.
Let's hope this is the last...