When it’s just you, your thumbs, and the controller, the world around you melts away and you become part of the video game world. You could be on the football field with thousands of cheering (or jeering) fans surrounding you; you could be hidden behind a wall waiting for the best time to jump out and surprise your enemy on the battlefield; or you could be in a race, evading the enemy and hoping to have one more chance at life.  These situations are often only possible with the real feel of the video games at your fingertips and, this month, the Video Game Awards will honor all those hours of play that never cease to entertain you. 

Hosted by "Chuck" star Zachary Levi and executive produced by Mark Burnett, the Video Game Awards will have celebrity presenters, music performers, and the Gamer God Award. Levi is an avid gamer and has been featured in voice-overs in games including Fallout: New Vegas and Halo: Reach. So, he is obviously the best person to represent the VGAs this year!

Just as we cannot forget to talk about the nominees for Best Movie at the Oscars, we cannot miss giving some love to the nominees for 2011’s Best Video Game. Here are the nominees: Warner Bros.'s Batman: Arkham City, Bethesda Softworks’s The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, Valve’s Portal 2, and Sony Computer Entertainment’s Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception. With a good variety of themes, there is some great competition for the coveted award. Other categories include Studio of the Year, Best Shooter, Best RPG, Best Xbox 360 Game, Best PS3 Game and Best PC game, Best Downloadable Game, Best Anticipated Game, and Best Original Score, just to name a few. 

Presenters always make each awards program unique. This year, the Video Game Awards will have LL Cool J, celebrated NFL football stars and Hall of Famers Joe Montana and Jerry Rice, and "Family Guy"’s Seth Green, among others. And just because it’s the Video Game Awards doesn’t mean there won’t be some music to get you pumped. The Black Keys will be performing “Lonely Boy,” an upbeat, all-American song used in video games. deadmau5 will also be on hand to rock the stage.

One company who has been especially dedicated to providing gamers with a variety of options to spend hours of quality time behind the controller is Electronic Arts. VGA nominee Battlefield 3, released by EA this year, has been keeping players on their toes with hours of play in multiple war scenarios with a choice of weapons, vehicles, and the chance to operate them all from the power of the controller. It is nominated for Best Shooter Game, Best PC Game, and the Best Multi-Player Game categories. Dragon Age II, published by EA Games and up for the Role-Playing Game category at the VGAs, features puzzles, battles, and a quest to steal a gem, all while avoiding the enemy guards. And we have to thank EA for giving us a chance to play our favorite sports stars on the field and on the court ths year in the Madden, FIFA, and NCAA series. FIFA Soccer 12 is deservedly nominated for the Best Team Sports Game category.

The Video Game Awards will air on Saturday, December 10, at 8pm Eastern Time on Spike TV, MTV2, and Spike.com. 

Let us know what EA game you loved playing this year by voting below!

- Jillian Angeline, YH Staff