Spike TV’s annual Video Game Awards is set to take place on December 12 and as you can expect, one of the most hotly-contested categories is that of the year’s best driving game.

After what we could imagine as months of deliberation and thousands of hours playing these games, Spike has whittled the contenders down to four games: Gran Turismo PSP, Forza 3, Need for Speed: Shift, and DiRT 2.

We have to admit that it’s a little tough to pick out a winner especially since we’ve spent an inordinate amount of time playing – and enjoying – all of these games so deciding on the best one is like choosing who your favorite kid is. Not easy, right?

Fortunately – or unfortunately, depending on your perspective – the notable absence of Gran Turismo 5 has made the inevitable choice a tad less difficult. But then again, we really wouldn’t know because GT5, for all of the hype and posturing, hasn’t been released yet.

At the end of the day, we’re going to have to come up with our own vote, but suffice to say, we probably wouldn’t cast it until a few hours before the deadline passes.

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