Welcome to part two of the 2008 TGR Awards. This time around, we’re handing out specialty awards to the most deserving titles of the year.

(And don’t forget to check out our Genre Awards and Game of the Year Awards, too!)

Best Art Direction
Winner: Prince of Persia
Runner-up: LittleBigPlanet

Games have long used concept art as inspiration for visuals, but only Prince of Persia comes close enough to make the entire game look like a living and breathing work of art. Subtle pastels, twisted architecture, and fantastic character design give PoP a storybook feel unparalleled by any release this year. LittleBigPlanet’s lighting, sense of scale, and adorably animated Sackboy characters rendered in detail you can almost feel also deserve mention for recreating the innocent fun of playing with the toys of childhood.