VGAs 09

[Depression Moon]

Sorry if this is in the wrong place wasn't sure if it should be here or not since it does deal with TV at the same time it also deals with gaming.

In the 200th issue of Game Informer one of the staff writes about an article on the past and future VG award shows. They talked about what mainly made them poor to watch for hardcore gamers or anyone period. (The celebrity guests who didn't know a thing about games, the lame jokes, and lack of appearances by game developers.)

They did give some props to last year's show which I agree was the best although it was still pretty bad overall. They talked to the guy in charge of the VGAs and he informed GI that they were aiming for it to stay more industry faithful. Last year they had some major trailer releases and that is all I can give it. I still can't excuse them for having Jack Black dance around in a diaper or for those mediocre celebrity performances.

This year it's going to be late sometime in mid Dec. I'm hoping that they won't have Jack Black doing anything but making quotes from Brutal Legend. They also need a new writer for the jokes because all of them came across as weak except for the opening skit with Jack Black last year having a threesome with the PS3 and 360 and having the Wii show up as his wife and shoot him with a gun.

In my opinion going for the music side. I would like to see some remix or orchestrated music of classic video game themes like The Legend of Zelda, Super Mario Bros. and Final Fantasy.

Anybody else have any opinions, expectations?

[Bolivar]

I love the VGA's because they're such a joke. Honestly though, I'd be hard pressed to say it's any worse than the usual fanfare of major gaming publications and websites "Game of the Year" awards. And that's pretty sad.

Everything's become so commercialized and all about marketing in gaming recently. It's literally depressing. It's like this huge cartel between developers/publishers, advertisers, and journalists, and with games making so much money, it's no longer people who are genuinely considering themselves fans who are making these lists.

I don't know, man. I just don't know.

[Slothy]

I assume we're talking about the Spike TV Awards show (since I don't even know of any others). Not sure if you guys knew, but you can actually vote for them here: BEST FIGHTING GAME | Spike Video Game Awards 2009 | SPIKE (http://www.spike.com/event/vga2009/page/vote/category/34730)

Some categories just reek of picking the ones they know will be popular. I won't argue that L4D2 deserves to be up for game of the year, but it also came out the day before voting started which is utterly stupid. And some categories are just plain stupid on their own like best soundtrack and the best human performances. If it weren't for the fact that best original score was there and that best voice included the voice talent that actually deserve an award it'd be a complete joke. And actually, on a side note, how are Claudia Black and Nolan North not included in the best human performance categories? They provided the voice and motion capture for their characters, oh wait, I forgot, they're not big name celebrities.

Still, as much as some categories are utter rubbish and pander to the games with the biggest marketing budgets, there are still quite a few jems in there that you wouldn't expect to get a nod. When I started going through the categories I definitely didn't expect to see BlazBlue under best fighting game or Demon's Souls under best RPG. So I guess they are making decent strides in the right direction.

[ljkkjlcm9]

New Super Mario Bros Wii is not even nominated for Game of the Year, I find that absurd. There are 0 wii games in that category, and it's got good games on the system. I don't remember seeing Demon's Souls in there either, and it's easily my pick for Game of the Year.

btw, here:
GAME OF THE YEAR
Assassin's Creed 2 (Ubisoft / Ubisoft Montreal)
Batman: Arkham Asylum (Eidos Interactive - Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment / Rocksteady Studios)
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Activision Publishing / Infinity Ward)
Left 4 Dead 2 (Valve)
UNCHARTED 2: Among Thieves (Sony Computer Entertainment / Naughty Dog)

STUDIO OF THE YEAR
Infinity Ward
Naughty Dog
Rocksteady Studios
Valve

BEST SHOOTER
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Activision Publishing / Infinity Ward)
Halo 3: ODST (Microsoft Game Studios / Bungie)
Killzone 2 (Sony Computer Entertainment / Guerrilla Games)
Left 4 Dead 2 (Valve)

BEST RPG
Borderlands (2K Games / Gearbox Software)
Demon's Souls (Atlus / FromSoftware)
Dragon Age: Origins (Electronic Arts / BioWare)
Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story (Nintendo / AlphaDream)

BEST FIGHTING GAME
BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger (Aksys Games / Arc System Works)
Soulcalibur: Broken Destiny (NAMCO BANDAI Games / Project Soul)
Street Fighter IV (Capcom / Capcom/Dimps)
Tekken 6 (NAMCO BANDAI Games)

BEST INDIVIDUAL SPORTS GAME
EA SPORTS Fight Night Round 4 (Electronic Arts / EA Canada)
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 (Electronic Arts / EA Tiburon)
UFC 2009 Undisputed (THQ / Yuke's Media Creations)
Wii Sports Resort (Nintendo)

BEST HANDHELD GAME
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars (Rockstar Games / Rockstar Leeds)
Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story (Nintendo / AlphaDream)
Professor Layton and The Diabolical Box (Nintendo / Level-5)
Scribblenauts (Warner Bros. Interactive / 5th Cell)

BEST GRAPHICS
Batman: Arkham Asylum (Eidos Interactive - Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment / Rocksteady Studios)
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Activision Publishing / Infinity Ward)
Killzone 2 (Sony Computer Entertainment / Guerrilla Games)
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (Sony Computer Entertainment / Naughty Dog)

BEST GAME BASED ON A MOVIE OR TV SHOW
Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Atari / Terminal Reality)
South Park Let's Go Tower Defense Play! (Microsoft / DoubleSix)
The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena (Atari / Starbreeze AB)
X-Men Origins: Wolverine Uncaged Edition (Activision Publishing / Raven Software)

BEST MUSIC GAME
DJ Hero (Activision Publishing / FreeStyleGames)
Guitar Hero 5 (Activision Publishing / Neversoft Entertainment)
LEGO Rock Band (MTV Games – Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment / Traveler's Tales Games - Harmonix)
The Beatles: Rock Band (MTV Games / Harmonix)

BEST DRIVING GAME
Dirt 2 (Codemasters)
Forza Motorsport 3 (Microsoft Game Studios / Turn 10)
Gran Turismo (PSP) (Sony Computer Entertainment / Polyphony Digital)
Need for Speed SHIFT (Electronic Arts / Slightly Mad Studios)

BEST ACTION ADVENTURE GAME
Assassin's Creed 2 (Ubisoft / Ubisoft Montreal)
Batman: Arkham Asylum (Eidos Interactive - Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment / Rocksteady Studios)
Brütal Legend (Electronic Arts / Double Fine Productions)
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (Sony Computer Entertainment / Naughty Dog)

BEST TEAM SPORTS GAME
FIFA Soccer 10 (Electronic Arts / EA Canada)
Madden NFL 10 (Electronic Arts / EA Tiburon)
NBA 2K10 (2K Sports / Visual Concepts)
NHL 10 (Electronic Arts / EA Canada)

BEST SOUNDTRACK
Brütal Legend (Electronic Arts / Double Fine Productions)
DJ Hero (Activision Publishing / FreeStyleGames)
Guitar Hero 5 (Activision Publishing / Neversoft Entertainment)
The Beatles: Rock Band (MTV Games / Harmonix)

BEST XBOX 360 GAME
Batman: Arkham Asylum (Eidos Interactive - Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment / Rocksteady Studios)
Forza Motorsport 3 (Microsoft Game Studios / Turn 10)
Halo 3: ODST (Microsoft Game Studios / Bungie)
Left 4 Dead 2 (Valve)

BEST Wii GAME
MadWorld (SEGA / Platinum Games)
New Super Mario Bros. Wii (Nintendo)
Punch-Out!! (Nintendo / Next Level Games)
Wii Sports Resort (Nintendo)

BEST PS3 GAME
inFAMOUS (Sony Computer Entertainment / Sucker Punch)
Killzone 2 (Sony Computer Entertainment / Guerrilla Games)
Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time (Sony Computer Entertainment / Insomniac Games)
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (Sony Computer Entertainment / Naughty Dog)

BEST PC GAME
Dragon Age: Origins (Electronic Arts / BioWare)
Left 4 Dead 2 (Valve)
Plants vs. Zombies (PopCap Games)
The Sims 3 (Electronic Arts / The Sims Studio)

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Assassin's Creed 2 (Ubisoft / Ubisoft Montreal)
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Activision Publishing / Infinity Ward)
Halo 3: ODST (Microsoft Game Studios / Bungie)
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (Sony Computer Entertainment / Naughty Dog)

BEST MULTIPLAYER GAME
Borderlands (2K Games / Gearbox Software)
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Activision Publishing / Infinity Ward)
Halo 3: ODST (Microsoft Game Studios / Bungie)
Left 4 Dead 2 (Valve)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A HUMAN MALE
Bill Murray as Dr. Peter Venkman in Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Atari)
Hugh Jackman as Wolverine in X-Men Origins: Wolverine Uncaged Edition (Activision Publishing)
Samuel L. Jackson as Afro Samurai / Ninja Ninja in Afro Samurai (Surge)
Shia LaBeouf as Sam Witwicky in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (Activision Publishing)
Vin Diesel as Richard B. Riddick in The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena (Atari)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A HUMAN FEMALE
Eliza Dushku as Rubi Malone in WET (Bethesda Softworks)
Kristen Bell as Lucy Stillman in Assassin's Creed 2 (Ubisoft)
Megan Fox as Mikaela Banes (Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen / Activision Publishing)
Tricia Helfer as Dare (Halo 3: ODST / Microsoft Game Studios)

BEST CAST
Brütal Legend (Electronic Arts / Double Fine Productions)
Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard (D3 Publisher / Vicious Cycle)
Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Atari / Terminal Reality)
South Park Let's Go Tower Defense Play! (Microsoft / DoubleSix)
X-Men Origins: Wolverine Uncaged Edition (Activision Publishing / Raven Software)

BEST VOICE
Arleen Sorkin as Harley Quinn in Batman: Arkham Asylum (Eidos Interactive – Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment)
Claudia Black as Chloe Frazer in UNCHARTED 2: Among Thieves (Sony Computer Entertainment)
Jack Black as Eddie Riggs (Brütal Legend / Electronic Arts)
Mark Hamill as The Joker in Batman: Arkham Asylum (Eidos Interactive – Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment)
Nolan North as Nathan Drake in UNCHARTED 2: Among Thieves (Sony Computer Entertainment)

BEST DOWNLOADABLE GAME
Battlefield 1943 (Electronic Arts / DICE)
Fat Princess (Sony Computer Entertainment / Titan Studios)
Plants vs. Zombies (PopCap Games)
Shadow Complex (Microsoft Game Studios / Chair Entertainment)

BEST DLC
Fallout 3 – Broken Steel (Bethesda Softworks / Bethesda Game Studios)
Fallout 3 – Point Lookout (Bethesda Softworks / Bethesda Game Studios)
Grand Theft Auto IV: The Ballad of Gay Tony (Rockstar Games / Rockstar North)
Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost & Damned (Rockstar Games / Rockstar North)

BEST INDEPENDENT GAME FUELED BY DEW
‘Splosion Man (Twisted Pixel)
Flower (ThatGameCompany)
Osmos (Hemisphere Games)
Trials HD (RedLynx)

MOST ANTICIPATED GAME
Bioshock 2 (2K Games / 2K Marin)
God of War III (Sony Computer Entertainment / SCE Studios Santa Monica)
Mass Effect 2 (Electronic Arts / BioWare)
Starcraft II (Blizzard Entertainment)

THE JACKAL

[Slothy]

New Super Mario Bros Wii is not even nominated for Game of the Year, I find that absurd. There are 0 wii games in that category, and it's got good games on the system. I don't remember seeing Demon's Souls in there either, and it's easily my pick for Game of the Year.

I haven't played New Super Mario Bros. Wii yet so I can't comment on it, but I can't think of a single other Wii game released this year that deserves to be up for game of the year among the likes of Uncharted 2 or L4D2 (haven't played the other three yet, but from what I've heard of them they probably deserve to be contenders as well even if they aren't the best choices).

And to be fair, as much as Demon's Souls may be an amazing game (I'll decide for myself come Christmas) it is a very niche title. It might not be right that it didn't get a nod, but I understand why it didn't, and there was no chance it would win anyway.

[Madame Adequate]

Halo 3 does some new stuff (though very little of it has to do with the actual gameplay) but none of it holds a candle to games like Portal, which actually take risks to do the important stuff differently. :indy:

[Jiro]

I showed Portal to a friend last week and then he left the room real quick and went to the bathroom. I think he totally jizzed himself. It's understandable really.

[Mirage]

These awards are bullskits. I mean seriously, nominating smurfing rock band and the likes for "best sound track" awards. Makes no sense, especially when you have a separate "music game" category. These awards are bought and paid for, and I don't think of them as even remotely serious.

[Slothy]

These awards are bullskits. I mean seriously, nominating smurfing rock band and the likes for "best sound track" awards. Makes no sense, especially when you have a separate "music game" category. These awards are bought and paid for, and I don't think of them as even remotely serious.

I agree that that category is BS, but they did somewhat redeem themselves by including best original score.

That said, I don't think any music game should ever be up for best soundtrack. Sure they may include a wide variety of awesome tunes, but they don't deserve credit for picking out some cool songs and then paying to license them.

[demondude]

Not enough Dragon Age: Origins imo.

[Dreddz]

Say what you want about RE5 but that game should have had a Best Graphics nomination no problem. This isn't even about opinion, it should be up there. Also, if the people organising the VGA's weren't so fixated on the big games then they would have put Shatter up for Best Original Soundtrack. Its so typical of these award shows to forget the small downloadable titles.

[Jessweeee♪]

I watched this one year...they said the all your base thing a lot. It was weird.

[Depression Moon]

I forgot about some of their nominee choices. Yeah concerning human performances or voice acting they just go with celebrities even if they didn't do that good of a job and yeah Rock Band and Guitar Hero shouldn't be for a best soundtrack category or they'll win every year. Having a best original soundtrack will solve the problem though.

If they don't happen to change though I would likem to see an awards show with more tribute to the hardcore and keep the sillyness and seriousness at a good balance.

One thing I noticed up there is that Arkham Asylum is up for best 360 game when it isn't even an exclusive.

[Slothy]

One thing I noticed up there is that Arkham Asylum is up for best 360 game when it isn't even an exclusive.

Well it's not like the best game on a console has to be exclusive. For that matter, I can't name many 360 exclusives that came out this year off of the top of my head.

[Depression Moon]

Anybody elsed watched some of it last night?

I miseed the first 40, but was still able to see the show as a whole. It was pretty much the same as last year. The jokes were really lame especially with Snoop Dog trying to make a joke about RPGs and the performances were mediocre and didn't make much sicne like Snoop for one.
I was only slightly surprised about the Game of the Year winner. Considering the audience of that station I thought Modern warfare2 would get the instant win. A lot of the awards given were strange too like Megan Fox winning best VA by a female. The trailers shown in the show weren't that interesting either though I guess that's not Spike's fault. It was a celebrity fest there again and for some strange reason Mike Tyson was there and he wasn't even promoting a new Fight Night or Punch-Out. Steview Wonder was there too which I thought was weird and he made a suggestion to the industry about making games for handicapped people for himself. I don't see how that's possible. That's like making a movie for a blind person.

When Naughty Dog came up one of the developers I recognized from the behind the scenes footage really seemed touched that their game was selected. It's just too bad that the audience didn't care much, most of the crowd were hollering and what not while she was talking.

it's a shame this is the only option we have for an awards show if it doesn't get any better than this in the next twelve years I'll have to make sure it gets done properly.

[Bolivar]

I was glad Uncharted 2 won, but I'm confused as to whether this was viewer's choice or not. Because they had voting up until the event, and it seems really weird to me that Modern Warfare 2 didn't win.

Overall, the show was about what you could expect. Too much plugging for stuff completely unrelated to video games.

[Dreddz]

I would have given GOTY to Street Fighter IV but I'm also happy Uncharted 2 won. I think Naughty Dog should have won best developer seeing as they managed to outdo their previous effort in all areas, add a multiplayer component and boost the graphics to an unseen level all within the space of 18 months. They undoubtably were the hardest working developer over the last 2 years, no question. Rocksteady only won because they are new on the scene. And I don't think they deserve that much praise for making a, albeit good, Bioshock clone.

I won't get worked up over this though as VGA's are dumb.

[Bolivar]

i agree about rocksteady, and i never thought of batman like that (wow, insight ftw), but I would have said Guerilla Games should have gotten studio of the year.

I think they were probably the hardest working developer. It just seems KZ2 had more effort put into it and more detail than any game this year, I mean they put 4 years into it. Everything down to the way the bullets sound different towards the end of the clip. While most devleopers hire some douchebag out of a graphical design institute to do the concept art, they had people with backgrounds in industrial engineering bring the world of Helghan to life. The character animations were outsourced to Audiomotion and it shows with the hundreds if not thousands of ways the enemies react to moving and shooting.

In the end, I think it was all that effort across the board that came back to haunt them. No one was ready for a weighted-down, heavy first person shooter. It wasn't like moving or aiming in Call of Duty or Halo, you had to think more, and get down a technique for letting off rounds with the guns. People like to aim down the iron-sights and unload; when pulling that crap only gets you killed, I think it turned a lot of people off.

It just sucks that in the generation dominated by FPS, the one with the most work and effort put into it is shunned for how dedicated the team was. It just goes to show how if you want to sell units, you'd only screw yourself by putting everything you've got into it, bringing a vision to life.

[Depression Moon]

It just goes to show how if you want to sell units, you'd only screw yourself by putting everything you've got into it, bringing a vision to life.
Well I wouldn't say that. it looked like Naughty Dog put a whole lot into Uncharted 2 as well. I think that did a lot better because it wasn't another FPS and it had more marketing while Killzone 2 had to compete against other top shooters in the industry like Gears of War II, Call of Duty Modern Warfare, and Halo 3 which still gets played a lot.

Being PS3 exclusive too would also give it less sells. I haven't played the game myself, but it seems like everyone else prefers their Modern Warfare.

[Bolivar]

I haven't played the game myself, but it seems like everyone else prefers their Modern Warfare.

That was my point - it's not run-and-gun, point & shoot, and it's not a camper's paradise either (if saying those two extremes makes any sense). Whereas Call of Duty is accessible to the extent that it rewards you for playing poorly, Killzone's online requires a lot of effort to progress and is (IMO) much more rewarding. I have almost had the Modern Warfare 2 platinum trophy now since a few days after its release, whereas I'm just now coming close to getting the platinum in KZ2. There's actually a learning curve, and for that reason I think a lot of people were turned off from the game.

That said, a couple of people on my friends list went right back to Killzone after a few days since Modern Warfare 2 was released. It took me a couple of weeks.