2012 GAME BAFTA Winners Announced

The best video games of 2011 revealed!
As always, the GAME annual BAFTAs ceremony was a great event full of surprises and laughs courtersy of host Dara O'Brian. I won't spend too long giving my thoughts on the winners, but any comments and disagreements can be seen in the full list below...
BEST ACTION GAME: Batman Arkham City- This was an undisputed victory for one of the year's best games, a true masterclass in terms of both narrative and action gameplay.
ARTISTIC ACHIEVEMENT: Rayman Origins- I'm very grateful to the judging panel to have selected Origins for this award, as UbiDesign really deserve all the praise they can get for their stellar graphics engine.
AUDIO ACHIEVEMENT: Battlefield 3- I have to admit that this award does little to interest me, but at least Battlefield 3's sounds were certainly intense enough to warrant recognition.
DEBUT GAME: Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet- My personal choice for this category would have been Team Bondi's debut with L.A. Noire, yet from what I here this was quite the confident XBLA game, so well done to its developers.
DESIGN: Portal 2- My knowledge of the parameters of this category are limited, but assuming the winner had to innovative in its gameplay, then there's no more deserved title to get it than Portal 2.
FAMILY: LittleBigPlanet 2- It's a bit surprising that neither of last year's fantastic LEGO games (Star Wars III and Pirates of the Carribean) scooped the awards as in my mind they top this for family replay value. That said, there's no denying the unbeatable cuteness of Sackboy.
GAME INNOVATION: LittleBigPlanet 2- This one I scoff at. As sequels go, LBP 2 did very little to shock, simply adding new layers onto its already extensive first offering that would have been better served as DLC.
ONLINE MULTIPLAYER: Battlefield 3- This one is absolutely justified. It was only right that DICE were recognised for finally stepping out of Activision's COD-shaped shadow and earning their rightful place at the top of the online pack.
ORIGINAL MUSIC: LA Noire- Was the soundtrack really that revolutionary? Then again, I can hardly think of any titles that would truly warrant this award...
PERFORMER: Mark Hamill As The Joker In Batman: Arkham City- Although this must have been a difficult choice what with Stephen 'Wheatley' Merchant amongst the nominees for the award, in all honesty I reckon Hamill's insane, doomed Joker was one of gaming's best characters for a good while.
SPORTS: Kinect Sports Season Two- I've only sunk a few hours into Kinect Sports 2, but I can tell you that it's definitely worth getting for parties where sports games are all the rage!
STORY: Portal 2- Another one of three well-deserved wins for Valve, this one was also justified thanks to the constant twists and sheer laughs the narrative gave us.
STRATEGY: Total War SHOGUN 2
GAME AWARD OF 2011 (VOTED BY PUBLIC): Battlefield 3- .......What? I'm sorry, what? Much as I hate to say it, this really shows that the general mainstream games public cannot be trusted to pick quality video game titles as their Best Game of each year, as Call of Duty: Black Ops' win for 2010 did too.
BEST GAME: Portal 2- But at least GAME themselves got it right, awarding what narrowly came 2nd place in my 2011 rankings the Game of the Year. As I've always said, my choice was a close one edged very scarcely out by the Dark Knight, but I have absolutely no qualms with this victory.