Our talented, overworked and underpaid judges have handed me the envelopes and there's a hush over the crowd as their mouths drool in anticipation, which means it's time for the annual Bermie Awards.

What Could have Been the 2005 Computer Game of the Year: The anticipation far outweighed the actual gameplay as "Quake 4" hit the market with more of a whimper than a bang, overshadowed by the release of "Doom 3" a year earlier.

Most Anticipated Game to Never Materialize: Duke? Duke? Here Duke. Where are you? The hype over the new "Duke Nukem" game has gone into its fourth year, but he has still failed to make an appearance. Word is he may hit the shelves in April 2006, but don't shell out the shekels yet.

Best War Game: "Call of Duty 2" brings Activision and Infinity Ward back to the top spot after a year's hiatus. This has got to be the most realistic war game to date as you actually experience what it was like to be a foot soldier for several Allied armies during World War II.

Best Role-Playing Game (RPG): We again pay homage to the vast world of online gaming as Sony Online Entertainment takes top honors with "Everquest II" and its "Desert of Flames" expansion pack. The expansive online universe of this game just keeps growing and becomes more addictive.

Dumbest Idea to Come Along Since "Enhanced for AMD": There were a lot of candidates for this award, but top honors have to go to those brainiacs who continue to develop virtual drive software for our PCs. Here's a newsflash for you folks ... all those software manufacturers and game developers that insist on our digging out "disk one" to access their games or use their software have rigged it so their software won't recognize the disk if it's stored on a virtual drive.

Best Sequel to a Game We're Already Addicted to: "World of Warcraft" from Blizzard Entertainment immerses you into an ever-expanding world. Awesome graphics, addictive gameplay and the ever-expanding universe of cyberspace make this a "gotta-have-it" for 2005.

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