Not a bad list from Kotaku. For me, personally, it'd go like this:

Game of the Year: Mirror's Edge - I know this is a nontraditional choice. A lot of people are going to say that there's a lot wrong with Mirror's Edge and they're right. But when Mirror's Edge worked, and it worked a lot, it gave me, as a player, something totally new. Something I'd never experienced before in a game, something I want to, but can't experience in reality. Which is, IMO, exactly what a great game can provide for the player. If it faltered, it was only because DICE, its developers, took such a huge leap forward.

Art: Valkyria Chronicles - gorgeous, different, charming, VC looks unlike anything release in this year or any other.

Sound: Left 4 Dead - so much of the game depends on the audio cues, and yet they're so well integrated into the atmosphere of the game that they seem almost invisible.

Story: Braid - pompous, pretentious, intentionally obfuscated, and a total pain in the ass, Braid's story is absolutely not what you think it is. It's not about what you think it's about. It's not told how you think it's being told. Hell, it almost doesn't work at all, until it all completely does. Is it the best told story of 2008? Not by a longshot. But it's one of the most ambitious stories ever put to a game, because it depends both on the player and the game reaching the same point at the same time, and it works beautifully. Then, after totally blowing your mind, it comes back and moments later completely blows it *again* in a totally different way. I can't say I liked it, really, but I thought about it for months afterward, and can't even think of another game, ever, that's had the same effect.

Innovation: Spore - say what you will about the game itself, but the technology, and the focus on user-generated content enabled games like Little Big Planet and Guitar Hero World Tour's music maker.

Multiplay: Left 4 Dead - a close call with Gears 2's Horde mode, but L4D's total focus on cooperation, and the incredibly awesome versus mode ultimately win the day.

Indie: Braid - the last level is absolutely pure, unadulterated genius.

Honorable Mentions: Dead Space (solid), Gears 2 (epic), PixelJunk Eden (weird)

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