And the best video game of the year is ...

Kristin Kalning Games editor • E-mail

The readers have spoken, and you’ve told us that you really, really like shooting things.

Your favorite new video game? “Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.” The super-realistic military shooter developed by Infinity Ward garnered 33 percent of the over 17,000 votes we tallied in our Game of the Year vote between Dec. 19 and Dec 27. 

Not too far behind, at 22 percent, was “Bioshock,” 2K Games’ spooky deep-sea title that earned accolades from fans and critics alike in 2007.

We started out this voting process way back before Thanksgiving. We envisioned this Game-of-the-Year thing kind of like the presidential primaries: Every week, we’d roll out our picks as the best of nine genres. We’d let you vote on the best in each genre, which would then advance to compete for Game of the Year.

As a result, we had the likes of “Madden NFL ’08” taking on “LEGO Star Wars.” Unorthodox? Perhaps. But this was an uncommonly good year for games, with killer titles across nearly every category. Why not see if “Guitar Hero III” could beat out “Mass Effect?” (It didn’t.)

Which games were the year's best? Here are our picks for the best in each genre. Best sports games Best racing games Best casual games Best family games Best music games Best handheld games Best role-playing games Best action/adventure games Best shooters

First up? Racing and sports
We kicked off the whole project with best sports games and best racing games. “Madden” was the runaway winner in the former category, garnering 48 percent of the popular vote. To be sure, this wasn’t much of a mandate: Less than 1,000 readers voted in this category.

Racing didn’t fare much better: Only 500 or so readers weighed in on our five choices, electing “Project Gotham Racing 4” as the winner. Maybe we all get enough driving in real life?

Casual games got more of an audience, and “Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree” beat out Nintendo sibling “WarioWare” as the best-of-category. Readers in our forum pointed out that the PC had some strong contenders, listing “Snapshot Adventures,” “Sally’s Salon” and “Chain Factor” as some of their favorites.

Which family fare was best?
For family games, we put “Super Mario Galaxy,” one of the year’s most universally beloved titles, up against the likes of “LEGO Star Wars” and “Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros’ Treasure.” To our surprise, “LEGO Star Wars” bested “Galaxy,” nabbing 47 percent of the vote in that category. “Galaxy” would get another shot in the action-adventure category several weeks later.

It was a great year for fans of the music and rhythm game genre, with “Rock Band” and “Guitar Hero III” joining “Dance Dance Revolution Universe” and “Hannah Montana: Music Jam” (you read that right) in our best-of breed lineup. Not much of a turnout for this primary election, and “Guitar Hero” ran away with the top prize.

“Top prize” and “Nintendo DS” are like peanut butter and chocolate. The ubiquitous handheld has sold a bazillion units — and that popularity was evident in our best handheld category. Nintendo’s “The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass” wiped the floor with PSP games “Syphon Filter: Logan’s Shadow” and “Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions.” Here’s hoping next year brings even more good games for the PSP, which is starting to pick up some great momentum.

Die-hard RPG fans sound off
The action stepped up in the best role-playing game category, where nearly 5,000 readers logged votes. Blizzard’s “World of Warcraft” expansion, “The Burning Crusade” was in a virtual dead heat with Bioware’s “Mass Effect” and Red Studio’s “The Witcher.” The talky “Mass Effect” ended up winning the category, but die-hard fans of the genre took issue with our list.

“I cannot believe, no I am SHOCKED that they don’t have ‘Oblivion’ (Xbox 360) on that list?!” wrote Milezinni in our forum.

A reader calling himself Sonoluma posted that “The Burning Crusade” seemed out of place on the list. “It’s an MMORPG whereas the rest of the games are straight-up console RPGs. That being said, I don’t think it belongs on the list regardless of how good it is.”

MORE FROM ON THE LEVEL

On the Level Section Front

Ottumwa, video game capital of the world? Do 'tweens really need their own online game? Games a 'healthy escape,' say disabled readers For disabled, video games can be a lifesaver Can OnLive really revolutionize gaming? Seth Rogen's monster move to video games More 'mature' games for Wii? Yes, please Can the Wii win back hard-core gamers? Economy has game-makers honing strategies No 'Call of Duty' without 'Rules of War' On the Level Section Front   Add On the Level headlines to your news reader: