Golden Joystick Awards 2013: host Ed Byrne explains the new categories

The 31st Golden Joystick Awards are only a month away. Not only is it a chance to pick out the best games of the year, but also to prove that our lovable PC boxes are where you'll find those best games. To do this you'll need to get involved , because the awards are chosen entirely from votes collected across the internet. We can't rely on anyone else. They'd only go and vote Pikmin 3 as Game of the Year.

This year, the awards have had a bit of a makeover. Returning host Ed Byrne sat down to talk you through the changes.

The results are a multi-categorised selection of highlights from the last year. Head over to the Golden Joystick Awards 2013 site to vote. And pay particular attention to the Best Online Game category . It's a PC party in there.

Here's the full shortlist:

Game of the Year

Borderlands 2 (2K Games)

Dishonored (Bethesda)

Forza Horizon (Microsoft)

Halo 4 (Microsoft)

The Last of Us (Sony)

Far Cry 3 (Ubisoft)

Tomb Raider (Square Enix)

BioShock Infinite (2K Games)

The Walking Dead (TellTale)

Pikmin 3 (Nintendo)

Call of Duty: Black Ops II (Activision)

Guild Wars 2 (NCsoft)

Fire Emblem Awakening (Nintendo)

Hotline Miami (Devolver Digital)

Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch (Namco Bandai)

Saints Row IV (Deep Silver)

Splinter Cell Blacklist (Ubisoft)

Most Wanted

Xbox One (Microsoft)

PlayStation 4 (Sony)

The Elder Scrolls Online (Bethesda)

Thief (Square Enix)

Watch Dogs (Ubisoft)

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (Konami)

Destiny (Activision)

Battlefield 4 (EA)

Call of Duty: Ghosts (Activision)

Super Smash Bros. Wii U (Nintendo)

Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (Namco Bandai)

The Division (Ubisoft)

Titanfall (EA)

Dark Souls II (Namco Bandai)

Need for Speed: Rivals (EA)

Batman: Arkham Origins (Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc)

Best Indie Game

Hotline Miami (Devolver Digital)

Gunpoint (Suspicious Developments)

Mark of the Ninja (Klei)

State of Decay (Undead Labs)

Guacamelee! (Drinkbox Studios)

The Unfinished Swan (Giant Sparrow)

Ridiculous Fishing (Vlambeer)

FTL: Faster Than Light (Subset Games)

Super Hexagon (Terry Cavanagh)

Best Newcomer

The Last of Us (Sony)

The Walking Dead (TellTale)

Dishonored (Bethesda)

Hotline Miami (Devolver Digital)

DUST 514 (CCP)

Forza Horizon (Microsoft)

ZombiU (Ubisoft)

Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch (Namco Bandai)

Remember Me (Capcom)

State of Decay (Microsoft)

Injustice: Gods Among Us (Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc)

DayZ (Dean 'Rocket' Hall/Bohemia Interactive)

Best Handheld Game

Animal Crossing: New Leaf (Nintendo)

Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon (Nintendo)

Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate (Capcom)

LittleBigPlanet PSVita (Sony)

Fire Emblem: Awakening (Nintendo)

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Mirror of Fate (Nintendo)

Assassin's Creed III Liberation (Ubisoft)

Soul Sacrifice (Sony)

Persona 4 Golden (Square Enix)

Hotline Miami (Devolver Digital)

Best Gaming Platform in association with Digital Spy

Steam (Valve)

Wii U (Nintendo)

Nintendo 3DS (Nintendo)

Xbox 360 (Microsoft)

PlayStation 3 (Sony)

PS Vita (Sony)

Gog.com (CD Projekt RED)

Google Play (Google)

iOS App Store (Apple)

Best Storytelling

The Last of Us (Sony)

BioShock Infinite (2K Games)

Metro: Last Light (Deep Silver)

The Walking Dead (TellTale)

Halo 4 (Microsoft)

Dishonored (Bethesda)

LEGO City: Undercover (Nintendo)

Tomb Raider (Square Enix)

Call of Juarez: Gunslinger (Ubisoft)

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons (505)

COD: Black Ops II (Activision)

Virtue's Last Reward (Rising Star Games)

Best Mobile/Tablet Game of the Year

XCOM: Enemy Unknown (2K Games)

Ridiculous Fishing (Vlambeer)

Super Hexagon (Terry Cavanagh)

Deus Ex: The Fall (Square Enix)

Rayman Jungle Run (Ubisoft)

Total War Battles: Shogun (Sega)

Joe Danger Touch (Hello Games)

Year Walk (Simogo)

Punch Quest (Rocketcat)

Best Online Game

World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria (Blizzard)

ShootMania Storm (Ubisoft)

Firefall (Red 5)

PlanetSide 2 (Sony Online Entertainment)

SimCity (EA)

DayZ (Dean 'Rocket' Hall/Bohemia Interactive)

Curiosity – What's Inside the Cube? (22Cans)

Defiance (Trion Worlds)

World of Tanks (Wargaming.net)

League of Legends (Riot Games)

Dota 2 (Valve)

Eve Online – Odyssey (CCP)

Guild Wars 2 (NCsoft)

Runescape 3 (Jagex)

Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn (Square Enix)

Star Wars: The Old Republic (EA)

Disney Infinity (Disney Interactive)

The Secret World (EA/Funcom)

Rift (Trion Worlds)

Aion (Gameforge)

Best Multiplayer

FIFA 13 (EA)

PES 2013 (Konami)

Call of Duty: Black Ops II (Activision)

Nintendo Land (Nintendo)

Halo 4 (Microsoft)

Borderlands 2 (2K Games)

Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed (Sega)

StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm (Blizzard)

Company of Heroes 2 (Sega)

F1 2012 (Codemasters)

Battlefield 3 End Game Expansion (EA)

Payday 2 (505 Games)

Innovation of the Year in association with T3

Ouya

Twitch.tv

Nintendo Direct (Nintendo)

Miiverse (Nintendo)

Wonderbook (Sony)

SmartGlass (Microsoft)

Oculus Rift (Oculus)

Defiance (Trion Worlds)

Curiosity – What's Inside the Cube? (22Cans)

Earforce XP510 headset (Turtle Beach)

Studio of the Year

TellTale Games

Ubisoft Montreal

Naughty Dog

343 Industries

EA Canada

Irrational Games

Nintendo Intelligent Systems

Ninja Theory

Playground Games

Riot Games

DICE

Arkane Studios

The Creative Assembly

Sports Interactive

Best Visual Design

BioShock Infinite (2K Games)

Dishonored (Bethesda)

Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch (Namco Bandai)

Hotline Miami (Devolver Digital)

The Unfinished Swan (Giant Sparrow)

Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon (Ubisoft)

Borderlands 2 (2K Games)

Pikmin 3 (Nintendo)

DMC (Capcom)

The Last of Us (Sony

Metro: Last Light (Deep Silver)

Halo 4 (Microsoft)

God of War: Ascension (Sony)

Best Gaming Moment in association with Absolute Radio

Trying Oculus Rift for the first time. (Oculus)

MGS Revengeance – Senator boss fight (Capcom)

Bioshock Infinite – Hallelujah (2K)

Mass Effect 3 – Citadel DLC party (EA)

DMC – Bob Barbas boss fight (Capcom)

Dishonored – Lady Boyle's Last Party (Bethesda)

Far Cry 3 – The Definition of Insanity (Ubisoft)

Hotline Miami – Chapter 8 (disco) (Devolver Digital)

The Walking Dead – The boy in the attic (Telltale)

Assassin's Creed III – The Templar Twist (Ubisoft)

The Unfinished Swan – The King's Dream (Giant Sparrow)

The Last of Us – Joel's loss (Sony)

Tomb Raider – Radio Tower climb (Square Enix)

Dead Space 3 – A surprising death (EA)

Halo 4 – Cortana's fate (Microsoft)

The YouTube Gamer Award

Yogscast

Ali A

Smooth McGroove

Francis

Fitzthislewitz

Tam McGleish (Gamewank)

Bitsocket

The event takes place on the 25th of October.

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