The Pocket Gamer Awards 2010: The Finalists

UPDATE: We've now announced the Pocket Gamer Awards 2010 winners.

Welcome, dear reader, to the inaugural Pocket Gamer Awards. Yeah, we're not too sure why we've not done these before, either.

Actually, we do – the portable gaming landscape has at times been more than a little wild and has only recently settled. There is actually a more boring explanation but what really matters is that we've got here at last.

Below, then, you'll find our list of finalists, judged to be the best batch from all games reviewed on Pocket Gamer (or released) between January 1st and December 31st 2009.

To keep things relatively fair, we've split the formats: iPhone, mobile (which includes smartphones) and handheld (PSP and DS, effectively).

Having survived the not inconsiderable task of narrowing down what we feel are the finest examples of portable gaming of 2009, we'll now retreat to calmly argue the merits of each finalist and vote for our favourites. Assuming we get through the process without suffering an unacceptable number of casualties, we'll then announce the winners next week, at the GDC 2010 event in San Francisco (thanks to the support from our sponsors, TheGameTrail, Scoreloop and MachineWorks Northwest).

If you're not planning on attending GDC, fear not – obviously we'll announce the winners here, too.

But we're not the only ones with homework. We're also running the Pocket Gamer Readers' Choice Awards where you can vote on your favourite title of 2009 across the same formats. These will run a little longer than the PG Awards 2010 so you've got time to consider your choices but do make your voice heard, won't you?

For now, have a look through the following list and let us know if your opinions differ from ours in our comments section.

Edge (Mobigame)
Flight Control (Firemint)
Glyder 2 (Glu Mobile)
Jet Car Stunts (True Axis)
N.O.V.A.: Near Orbit Vanguard Alliance (Gameloft)
Need for Speed: Shift (Electronic Arts)
Space Invaders Infinity Gene (Taito)
Squareball (Drömsynt)
Star Defense (ngmoco)
Zen Bound (Chillingo)

Alive 4-ever (Meridian)
Kil.a.ton (Dot Matrix Interactive Design)
Jet Car Stunts (True Axis)
N.O.V.A.: Near Orbit Vanguard Alliance (Gameloft)
Space Invaders Infinity Gene (Taito)

Edge (Mobigame)
Flight Control (Firemint)
iBlast Moki (Godzilab)
Peggle (PopCap Games)
Zen Bound (Chillingo)

Beneath a Steel Sky: Remastered (Revolution Pocket)
Dungeon Hunter (Gameloft)
The Oregon Trail (Gameloft)
The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition (LucasArts)
Zenonia (Gamevil)

Build-a-lot (Glu Mobile)
Star Defense (ngmoco)
TowerMadness (Limbic Software)
Warfare Incorporated (Spiffcode)
Westward (Sandlot Games)

FIFA 10 (EA Mobile)
Madden NFL 10 (EA Mobile)
Skater Nation (Gameloft)
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09 (EA Mobile)
Touch KO (Chillingo)

Best Social/Connected Game finalists

Epic Pet Wars (Miraphonic)
iFarm (PlayMesh)
iMobsters (Storm8)
Urban Rivals (Acute Games)
Who Has the Biggest Brain? (Playfish)

Auditorium (EA Mobile)
Edge (Mobigame)
Flower Garden (Snappy Touch)
Squareball (Drömsynt)
Zen Bound (Chillingo)

Eliminate Pro (ngmoco)
Real Racing GTI (Firemint)
Skies of Glory (SGN)
Tap Tap Revenge 2.6 (Tapulous)
Traffic Rush (Donut Games)

The Pocket Gamer Awards 2010: Mobile

California Gold Rush (Digital Chocolate)
Chuck Norris: Bring on the Pain (Gameloft)
Galaxy on Fire 2 (Fishlabs)
Gish Mobile (GlobalFun)
Go! Go! Rescue Squad (Connect2Media)
Mystery Mania (Electronic Arts)
Pac-Man Championship Edition (Namco Bandai)
Townsmen 6 (HandyGames)
Tropical Towers (RealNetworks)
Zombie Infection (Gameloft)

Chuck Norris: Bring on the Pain (Gameloft)
Cops (Gameloft)
Galaxy on Fire 2 (Fishlabs)
Pac-Man Championship Edition (Namco Bandai)
Zombie Infection (Gameloft)

Edge (Connect2Media)
Go! Go! Rescue Squad (Connect2Media)
LocoRoco Hi (Glu Mobile)
Tetris Revolution (Electronic Arts)
Tropical Towers (RealNetworks)

California Gold Rush (Digital Chocolate)
Devils and Demons (HandyGames)
Great Legends: Robin Hood in the Crusades (GlobalFun)
Mafia Wars: New York (Digital Chocolate)
Stranded: Mysteries of Time (Glu Mobile)

Best Strategy/Simulation Game finalists

Paris Nights (Gameloft)
Spore Creatures (Electronic Arts)
The Sims 3 (Electronic Arts)
Townsmen 6 (HandyGames)
UFO Afterlight (GlobalFun)

Amped Snowboarding (Player One)
EA Cricket 10 (Electronic Arts)
Pro Evolution Soccer 2010 (Konami)
Super K.O. Boxing 2 (Glu Mobile)
World Championship Pool 2010 (I-play)

Most Innovative Game finalists
Go!Go! Rescue Squad (Connect2Media)
Captain Galactic: Super Space Hero (Digital Chocolate)
Mystery Mania (Electronic Arts)
Anytime Pool (Electronic Arts)
Gish Mobile (GlobalFun)

The Pocket Gamer Awards 2010: Handheld

Art Style: CODE [DS] (Nintendo)
Bleach: Dark Souls [DS] (Sega)
Disgaea DS [DS] (Square Enix)
Dragon Quest: Hand of the Heavenly Bride [DS] (Square Enix)
Fieldrunners [PSP] (Subatomic Studios)
Gran Turismo [PSP] (Sony Computer Entertainment)
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars [DS] (Rockstar Games)
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars [PSP] (Rockstar Games)
Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure [DS] (Electronic Arts)
Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier [PSP] (Sony Computer Entertainment)
Kingdom Heart: 358/2 Days [DS] (Electronic Arts)
LittleBigPlanet [PSP] (Sony Computer Entertainment)
Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story [DS] (Nintendo)
Pinball Fantasies [PSP] (Cowboy Rodeo)
PixelJunk Monsters Deluxe [PSP] (Sony Computer Entertainment)
Resistance: Retribution [PSP] (Sony Computer Entertainment)
Soul Calibur: Broken Destiny [PSP] (Namco Bandai)
Space Invaders Extreme 2 [DS] (Square Enix)
The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks [DS] (Nintendo)
Zombie Tycoon [PSP] (Frima Studio)

Bleach: Dark Souls [DS] (Sega)
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars [DS/PSP] (Rockstar Games)
Resistance: Retribution [PSP] (Sony Computer Entertainment)
Soul Calibur: Broken Destiny [PSP] (Namco Bandai)
Space Invaders Extreme 2 [DS] (Square Enix)

Art Style: CODE [DS] (Nintendo)
Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure [DS] (Electronic Arts)
Kahoots [PSP] (Honeyslug)
Lego Rock Band [DS] (Warner Bros)
LittleBigPlanet [PSP] (Sony Computer Entertainment)

Disgaea DS [DS] (Square Enix)
Dragon Quest: Hand of the Heavenly Bride [DS] (Square Enix)
Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier [PSP] (Sony Computer Entertainment)
Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story [DS] (Nintendo)
The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks [DS] (Nintendo)

Fieldrunners [PSP] (Subatomic Studios)
Pinball Fantasies [PSP] (Cowboy Rodeo)
PixelJunk Monsters Deluxe [PSP] (Sony Computer Entertainment)
Puzzle Quest: Galactrix [DS] (D3Publisher)
Zombie Tycoon [PSP] (Frima Studio)

Art Style: CODE [DS] (Nintendo)
LittleBigPlanet [PSP] (Sony Computer Entertainment)
LocoRoco Midnight Carnival [PSP] (Sony Computer Entertainment)
Scribblenauts [DS] (Warner Bros)
Space Invaders Extreme 2 [DS] (Square Enix)

The Pocket Gamer Readers' Awards 2010