In Part One, I predicted four wins for Super Mario Galaxy, although I could personally only award two of those. In the second half of the Nintendo Power awards, Galaxy is barely nominated. Aside from the generic Game of the Year category, these are the equivalent of the Oscar technology awards.

On to Part Two:

Best Puzzle Game
Kororinpa: Marble Mania (Wii), Meteos: Disney Magic (DS), Nervous Brickdown (DS), Picross DS (DS), Planet Puzzle League (DS), Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords (DS)
I'm surprised that Brain Age 2 doesn't show up here. Last year, the first Brain Age was nominated in the Best Alternative Game category (and won), but it seems to me that the definition of "puzzle game" could include brain training, in the lack of a specific brain category. Regardless, I don't have any of the games on this list. So I voted for Disney Meteos largely because I just saw it on sale. It's tough to predict the popular choice here, because puzzle games don't exactly engender fanboy followings, but the buzz-worthy Puzzle Quest will do in a pinch.

Best Sports/Racing Game
FIFA 08 (Wii), Madden NFL 08 (Wii), Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (Wii), Mario Strikers Charged (Wii), SSX Blur (Wii), Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08 (Wii)
Don't really need the "racing" option here, do they? There just isn't enough Nintendo fans who care about sports games to push Madden, FIFA or Tiger Woods to the top. SSX Blur had a good rep when it came out, but I'm sure even those who bought it have forgotten about it by now. I'm putting my support behind Mario Strikers, but I'm sure the dual fanboy forces of Mario/Sonic will give it the win. Although, jesus, mini-games.

Best Alternative Game
Cooking Mama: Cook Off (Wii), Dance Dance Revolution: Hottest Party (Wii), Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (Wii), Looney Tunes: Duck Amuck (DS), Trauma Center: New Blood (Wii), WarioWare: Smooth Moves (Wii)
Last year, I owned every single game in this category. This year, only two. (And, perhaps disappointingly, two of this year's batch are just about identical games to last year: Cooking Mama and Trauma Center.) Let's go through this... Cooking Mama: Cook Off is pretty much terrible. The motion controls are floaty and inexact. DDR is probably ok. Guitar Hero is definitely a good choice, particularly for Wii-only owners. The Duck Amuck game is surprisingly good... Daffy's animation and voice work is really nice. Trauma Center is more Trauma Center, and I'm a bit south on that these days, since they didn't bother to add anything to the game's lo-fi cutscenes. But I'm going with WarioWare: Smooth Moves. It's a great example of fun, non-traditional controls, overlaid with the still-charming-after-all-these-years WarioWare brand design. However, Guitar Hero III will sweep this category, thanks to an unstoppable media buzz and an army of longtime jealous Nintendo owners who are just now getting this franchise (even after it's been outmoded.)

Although honestly, there isn't enough "alternative" in this list this year. When a particular series reaches a billion games, it's a bit off to still call it alternative. Duck Amuck is the only game there that offers something completely new, in my opinion.

Best Multiplayer
Contra 4 (DS), The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (DS), Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (Wii), Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 (Wii), Trauma Center: New Blood (Wii), WarioWare: Smooth Moves (Wii)
Oof. I'm giving this to WarioWare and moving on. And, likewise, I expect Mario/Sonic to turn in another unjustified win.

Best Online Game
Battalion Wars 2 (Wii), Madden NFL 08 (Wii), Mario Strikers Charged (Wii), Medal of Honor: Heroes 2 (Wii), Planet Puzzle League (DS), Pokemon Diamond/Pearl (DS)
Given what actually sold in 2007, it's pretty hard to imagine Pokemon not getting this one. When Reggie wanted to crow about how Nintendo had finally beaten online, it was Pokemon that he held up as the example. Despite Reggie being crazy, the numbers of pokemon still getting traded online makes me think voters will agree with me.

Best New Character
Captain Linebeck, The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (Wii), Count Bleck, Super Paper Mario (Wii), Franziska von Karma, Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: Justice For All (DS), Louie Denonno, Hotel Dusk: Room 215 (DS), Micaiah, Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn (Wii), Zack, Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure (Wii)
I'm torn between Linebeck and Bleck on this one. Both would be fine, but I'll say Count Bleck. And I'll guess Captain Linebeck will win the popular vote.

Best Story/Writing
Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings (DS), Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn (Wii), Hotel Dusk: Room 215 (DS), Luminous Arc (DS), Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: Justice For All (DS), Super Paper Mario (Wii)
Super Paper Mario. People would probably like to support Phoenix Wright or Hotel Dusk, but Super Paper Mario was really great. Just that level with the gaming fanboy lizard should be enough to clinch it.

Game of the Year Overall
Contra 4 (DS), Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn (Wii), Hotel Dusk: Room 215 (DS), Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (Wii), NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams (Wii), Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: Justice for All (DS), Pokemon Diamond/Pearl (DS), Sonic Rush Adventure (DS), Super Mario Galaxy (Wii), Super Paper Mario (Wii), The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (DS), Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure (Wii)
I don't know how they chose the games for this category, but it isn't as easy as just listing all the games that Nintendo Power rated 9.0 or higher... even though it probably should be. In terms of time played, thought put into, and pure passion for the game, I stand with Pokemon Diamond/Pearl all the way. Of course, Super Mario Galaxy will win win win.

Final result: Mario Galaxy will take all five awards for which it was nominated. Metroid 3 and Phantom Hourglass will slug it out for second place (and only because Phantom Hourglass was a lesser Zelda game; any other Zelda would assassinate Metroid 3.) Metroid will not win all five of its nominations, and, even though Zelda is up for seven awards, it can't get more than four of them.br