Environment

•   Explorable Environment - Shadow of the Colossus- Combined the thrill of archeology with giant stone monsters.
•   Linear Environment - Half-Life 2 and Episodes.  -  Reminiscent of the Odyssey but with fascist aliens and weird robot-alien hybrids. The cliffhanger is still the worst thing I have ever seen though.
•    Sandbox Environment - Fallout 3 –  a true sandbox experience allows you to do whatever you want, but with meaningful consequences.  
•   Creative Environment – Bayonetta – I never knew what I was going to see next.
•   Architectural Delight – Assassin Creed 2- It’s like going to 15th century Italy but with the ability to survive 20 story falls.

Character

•   Protagonist – Red Dead Redemption – John Marston was very relatable despite  his questionable past.
•   Antagonist - Portal – GlaDOS provided most of the motivation   with her creative taunts and her strange psychotic whims. I wish she was real. 
•   Emotional Connection - Half-Life 2 and Episodes.  -  Alyx was the first woman character that seemed realistic.  The scientists were great fun too.
•   Character Design – Mass Effect Trilogy – All aliens life forms animate believably  
•   Enemy Design –

Gameplay

•     Platforming - Super Mario Galaxy – Because some childhood joys stay intact.
•   Puzzle – Portal - Great use of theoretical physics only possible (as of now) in a virtual environment.
•     RPG – Fallout 3 – The best RPGs are ones where you end up doing everything but the main quest. 
•     Shooter-RPG – Mass Effect Trilogy – Meaningful consequences, great character design and satisfying shooting gameplay.
•     Action – Bayonetta – Just a lot of fun despite having a cutscene every 3 minutes.
•     Classic – Super Metroid – Close to perfection.
•     Strategy – Civilization series - The only series where I have to set an alarm to go to sleep (and to eat).
•     Sandbox – Red Dead Redemption- Who knew cattle herding and horse taming be so much fun.