Both Spike TV and Time named their top games of the year this past week, and both demonstrated that most game awards shows are not fully representative of the gaming industry.

Spike TV named BioShock Game of the Year and Halo 3 Most Addictive Game Fueled by Dew. Despite the “X-treme” pomp and circumstance and GameCock’s ridiculous outburst, I thought the recipients were all very deserving. A panel of U.S. journalists chose the awards and included Dan Hsu, Jeff Gerstmann, Dean Takahashi and Chris Kohler.

It is a step in the right direction for Spike, who’s past awards shows have been irreverent to say the least, but they still have a way to go. As long as they pack their shows with explosions, tits, Samuel L. Jackson and bad rock music to appeal to the 15- to 30-year-old male demographic, it’s impossible to take their choices seriously.

The “Top 10 Video Games” section of Time’s 50 top 10 lists was written by their book critic, Lev Grossman. Grossman listed Halo 3 as the best game this year, with The Orange Box and Rock Band holding the second and third spots.

“Halo 3 has become the perfect hardcore first-person combat simulator,” Grossman said. The game has been refined to a degree where “every combat is even-sided and complex and can be waged in multiple ways, using an arsenal of long- and short-range weapons, plus grenades and hand-to-hand moves.” I enjoyed Halo 3, but there are games that do all this and do it better.

“Every level is perfectly paced and balanced and graced with soaring architectural compositions,” said Grossman. Maybe he didn’t make it to the Cortana rescue mission at the end.

Grossman doesn’t even mention multiplayer, Forge or any of the community-oriented features such as Theater, all of which are distinguishing elements of the game. It suggests a lack of familiarity with Halo and with gaming in general.

“Role-playing games aren’t the hip thing in gaming these days,” writes Grossman in the Mass Effect description. The ever growing World of Warcraft would suggest otherwise.

More than that, this top 10 list bolsters the established, popular titles and jumps on the most marketed bandwagons. I think that awards should go after the lesser known but still great titles rather than the ones everyone has played. Halo 3 and God of War II are great, but I’d rather hear about this year’s Psychonauts, Okami or Ico.

Awards like that in Time are too far removed from the industry, and Spike TV’s was too overblown with hype and attitude. I’ll wait for February’s Game Developers Choice Awards as the serious authority on the past year’s triumphs.