More to the point is that having a "Best Game" category is absurd (for any awards). How can you compare Portal 2 to Skyrim or BF3? They are completely different styles (genres) of games.
BAFTA awards are one of the worst for this as there are so few genre categories.

AsRockSure P2 was good but Skyrim still owned it all day long and still today Skyrim has more players playing it. These awards are normally BS anyways.

Like WTF how can you possibly say P2 was a better game when there is like 50k+ more people still playing and P2 has around 3k.

The rich only people votes or selected ?.

Well Portal2 had such a great atmosphere, I enjoyed every single minute even if it was very short and easy. I would not play it again (or not without new campaigns or multi-player maps at least), but it was still an experience I will treasure for a long time.
On the other hand, Skyrim was so horribly easy even on the hardest level, it became utterly boring for me after (approx) 70 hours or so, and I lost all motivation to continue. You sell and enchant things and brainlessly slash stupid and hopelessly weak enemies all the time, and once you are done with the main missions, the fun is really over. I'm not saying it's not a great game because it was a really good one indeed, but P2 was a better experience imho.

KreijMore to the point is that having a "Best Game" category is absurd (for any awards). How can you compare Portal 2 to Skyrim or BF3? They are completely different styles (genres) of games.
BAFTA awards are one of the worst for this as there are so few genre categories.

I agree, it's never good to compare apples and oranges:)

I'm kind of surprised that Minecraft didn't sneak in there somewhere (although Notch got an award for himself).

I think we need an annual TPU Games Award. :D

Witcher 2 , Dues EX that i luv.

Video game awards are very subjective and should be taken with a grain of salt.
I've been playing Defense Grid for ages because I find it entertaining and relaxing. Not sure if it ever won anything, but it's still my favorite tower defense game. :)

BumbleBeei'm glad everybody except you agrees with me haha

I completely disagree with you. I think Portal 2 and BF3 deserved as many awards as they could reasonably win. Let's analyze them:

Portal 2:
Best Game - It was the most well-rounded game of the year. It featured amazing single player, fantastic co-op, memorable characters, an engaging storyline, excellent puzzle\platformer and action elements, and was a completely original game. It managed to be a sequel that rebroke the mold.
Best Design - Everything I've seen suggests P2 has excellent Aesthetics, and a theme that is very memorable. It was beautifully designed and executed, compared to a number of titles that were boring and bland when it came to color variation. When you look at Design as it pertains to game elements, nothing compares to the simplicity yet complexity of Portal. It is a unique design beyond rehashed first person shooters, cover-based third person shooters, and standard RPG's.
Best Story - Haven't played all the way through Portal 2, but what I have seen was very good. Comparing it to the other entries, it's the only story that features memorable characters, and non-cliche plot twists.

Battlefield 3:
Best Online Multiplayer - It was the best multiplayer FPS of the year. It was balanced, featured an excellent learning and skill curve, and kept people playing. I had infinitely more fun playing BF3 online than any other game this year. Compared to MW3 and GoW3 which were basically refinements, BF3 was a huge advancement.
Best Audio - The sound in BF3 is unlike anything else. BF:BC2 had excellent audio effects, but BF3 is even better. The in-game sounds do an excellent job inserting realism into the game, and make for a better experience the whole time. The only game that even compared on that list was Dead Space 2, which did an excellent job with ambience.
GAME Award - This award was a public vote, people love BF3.

As for BF3's Meta Critic score, if people hadn't counted the Single Player as a negative, it would be about 5-10% higher. The Multiplayer alone allowed it to score in the 80's, which was pretty damn good. I don't think many people bought BF3 expecting an excellent Single-Player, but I honestly haven't heard anyone I know who actually played it complaining.

KreijI've been playing Defense Grid for ages because I find it entertaining and relaxing. Not sure if it ever won anything, but it's still my favorite tower defense game. :)

me too... and i've tried alot. definitely the best graphics+gameplay combined.

okay first of all I never said Portal 2 and Battlefield 3 didn't deserve to win any awards. win or lose The Witcher 2, Saint's Row: The Third, Gears of War 3 and Dead Space 2 should have been nominated. all credibility goes out the window when LittleBigPlanet2 receives 6 nominations.

okay so it looks like BAFTA updated the list after this story posted. Dead Space 2 and Gears of War 3 were not on the original list.

www.bafta.org/games/awards/nominees-winners-2012,2892,BA.html

BumbleBeeokay first of all I never said Portal 2 and Battlefield 3 didn't deserve to win any awards. win or lose The Witcher 2, Saint's Row: The Third, Gears of War 3 and Dead Space 2 should have been nominated. all credibility goes out the window when LittleBigPlanet2 receives 6 nominations.

Witcher 2 - Niche RPG that very few people played with limited appeal and the whole PC-exclusive thing. It may have been an excellent game, but it didn't draw people in like either BF3 or P2.

Saints Row: The Third - Really no category to throw a game where Chaos is the prime directive. I've heard it was tons of fun, but it doesn't exactly seem like the type of game that exists to win awards.

Gears of War 3 - Mostly a re-hashed GoW2 with some minor additions keeping largely the same formula, aesthetic feel, and level of graphical quality. Portal 2 expanded on and improved Portal 1, where as GoW3 just seemed like a re-hashing of GoW2.

Dead Space 2 - Excellent game that snagged some nominations, but in the categories where it had a chance there were just better games. There were a lot of excellent games this past year.

There are many reasons why the games you mentioned didn't recieve tons of nominations or awards. As I said, a ton of excellent games came out this past year, and I easily see BF3 and P2 as the two that stand out for raising the bar and expanding on their predecessors tastefully.

@ xenocide, agreed - but i loved witcher 2 :)

@bumblebee, agreed re:littlebigplanet. it's decent and all but is not that amazing imo.

that being said, to each their own. our subjective enjoyment of a title is really not a good way to gauge how deserving they are of awards. I don't know all of the variables that go into the best game awards, but i would hope they are not as subjective as our opinions.

GLaDOS hacked the awards show.

jerk :)