Watch out, Itchy! The 2008 Atma Awards are Irish!
Video Games:
Best single-player: Metal Gear Solid 4 - The most fun, interesting, and best directed campaign in years. Still not as good a story as 3.
Single-player honorable mention: Far Cry 2 - This came out of nowhere and stole my heart with its astonishing environments and compelling gameplay.
Best multiplayer: Left 4 Dead - Was there ever any doubt? Possibly the best multiplayer game of all time when they finally release the update.
Multiplayer honorable mention: Gears of War 2 - Much better now that there are less exploits, but still not as good as L4D.
Best downloadable: Rez HD - The ultimate "games as art" game. Probably the most beautiful thing I will ever see in my life.
Downloadable honorable mention: Bionic Commando: Rearmed - A game that takes 2D platforming to new heights. Truly fantastic.
Best portable: Castlevania: Order of Ecclessia - A return to more standard Castlevania form. Arguably not as good as PoR, but excellent anyway.
Best RPG: Persona 3: FES - Yes, it's good enough to win twice.
Out-of-fucking-nowhere award: Mirror's Edge - A game that takes 3D platforming to new heights, perhaps the second most beautiful thing I will ever see.
Music:
Best album: Songs for Cake by Firebrand Boy - This album is everything I love about chiptunes.
Album honorable mention - Unconditional Acceleration by nullsleep - He did it again, what can I say?
Atma-is-furious-it's-not-actually-eligible award: Live from Hell by gwEm and Counter Reset - Amazing live chiptunes. A must listen.
Movies:
Best movie: The Dark Knight - I don't have to justify this, do I?
Out-of-fucking-nowhere award: Gran Torino - Clint Eastwood's final performance, and a hell of a story. Highly recommended.
Comics:
Best ongoing series: Green Lantern - Would've been Justice Society had that one arc not taken all year. GL is still the best book going.
Ongoing series honorable mention: Amazing Spider-Man - Yep, Spidey's back! I never would have guessed, but the new crop of ASM is, well, amazing.
Best limited series: All-Star Superman - Truly excellent Elseworlds story told by two of comics' greatest talents. A must-read.
Limited series honorable mention: Kick-Ass - See above, except replace "Elseworlds" with "stupid kid getting his ass beat repeatedly". JRJR FTW.
Best event: Batman R.I.P. + Last Rites + Final Crisis - This is not intended to be an award for Final Crisis, just the pages relevant to capping off R.I.P.
Internet:
Best new podcast: Scam School - Pointless, but always fun to watch and learn something. Very gratifying when you figure out the scam before he explains.
Best comic podcast: iFanboy - Yeah, again. I have found out about so many great books through the video and audio shows. Also, I met the guys at SDCC!
Best tech podcast: Tekzilla - This may or may not be biased by my crush on Veronica Belmont. Would be Citizen Engineer had they put out more than one episode.
Best comedy podcast: The Mega64 Podcast - Arguably the highlight of my week. Funny every single time. Also, Derrick solo episode was the best.
Best internet comic: Dinosaur Comics - AGAIN. I'm sorry if every other webcomic pales in comparison. This is not my fault.