This shift to always-on ‘service’ gaming is reflected in our ‘Still Playing’ award, where franchise titans jostle to claim the Golden Joystick trophy. Silent Hill 2 was the first in the series to establish the town itself as a character – in a genre oversaturated with run-of-the-mill killers, zombies, aliens, and other more conventional adversaries, Silent Hill 2’s focus on horror in architecture, in the layout and personality of a space, of the human psyche turned tangible, was vastly more interesting to me. SimCity 2000 is a beautiful, funny, detailed sandbox that gives players control of a huge, customizable map that they can manage how they see fit.

BEST PUBLISHER Celebrating a company that has supported another developer in releasing a game on mobile devices during the last year, whether through publishing support, marketing, co-development or investment. Silver and Gold was a giant leap forward for the franchise, and nothing has quite compared to it since. The Gameboy graphics have a nostalgic charm you don’t quite get with the later entries, and it’s still very playable to this this day, which is a testament to just how good it is. Plus, the format of the game requires unique answers rather than simple voting, so it gets major points for creativity and longevity. This version also has some graphical enchantments over Diamond and Pearl, with more appealing sprite animations in battle.Its ability to give players the capability to instantly and efficiently communicate in the middle of hectic yet strategic battles is one of the most impactful innovations in gaming. However, it also takes into consideration the election forecast of one or more long-time qualitative forecasters.

While the excellent Summoner’s Rift stands as the primary battleground for competitive play, the other modes also provide a great means for a fun chance to practice with Champions when things get too tense. But it's really the finely tuned racing of Nintendo's long standing franchise that takes the spotlight — it's never felt better to race (even in the face of Blue Shells), while courses are beautiful, wonderfully detailed, and represent some of the best of the franchise both new and old. From its character designs to its jazzy soundtrack to the menus that house them, it overflows with style and flair.Be stealthy, nimble, silly, and sometimes as annoying as possible with the strange inhabitants of this mysterious world.