Spike’s annual Video Game Awards were held Friday evening. Showcasing the best the gaming world had to offer in the last year, the VGAs have attempted to become the Emmy’s/Oscar’s/Grammy’s of the video game world. All hate and fanboyism aside, the VGAs are likely the closest thing we as a gaming community have to a true, universally accepted awards show.
That being said, this years event was actually on the better side. Some great titles won awards, there were some truly surprising reveals and announcements, and Samuel L. Jackson is still a badass.
Spike’s annual Video Game Awards were held Friday night. All issues and preconceptions aside, I do have to give props to the VGAs: they nominated some worthy games this year, and this marks the tenth anniversary of the show. In case you missed the ceremony, here are the winners:
Game of the Year: The Walking Dead: The Game (Telltale Games)
Best Xbox 360 Game: Halo 4 (MIcrosoft/343 Studios)
Best PS3 Game: Journey (SCE/That Game Company)
Best Wii/Wii U Game: New Super Mario Bros. U (Nintendo)
Best PC Game: XCOM: Enemy Unknown (2K/Firaxis Games)
Best Shooter: Borderlands 2 (2K/Gearbox)
Best Action/Adventure: Dishonored (Bethesda)
Best RPG: Mass Effect 3 (EA/Bioware)
Best Multiplayer Game: Borderlands 2 (2K/Gearbox)
Best Individual Sports Game: SSX (EA)
Best Team Sports Game: NBA 2K13 (2K)
Best Driving Game: Need for Speed Most Wanted (EA)
Best Song in a Game: “Cities” (Sound Shapes)
Best Original Score: Journey (SCE/That Game Company)
Best Graphics: Halo 4 (Micorsoft/343 Studios)
Best Independent Game: Journey (That Game Company)
Best Fighting Game: Persona 4: Arena (Atlus/Arc System Works)
Best Handheld Game: Sound Shapes (SCE)
Best Performance by a Human Female: Melissa Hutchison as Clementine (The Walking Dead)
Best Performance by a Human Male: Dameon Clarke as Handsome Jack (Borderlands 2)
Best Adapted Game: The Walking Dead: The Game (Telltale)
Best DLC: Dawnguard for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Bethesda)
Best Downloadable Game: The Walking Dead: The Game (Telltale)
Best Social Game: You Don’t Know Jack (Jellyvision Games)
Overall a very solid year with some deserving games capturing rewards. I have to highlight Dameon Clarke winning for Male Performance. His portrayal of Handsome Jack in Borderlands 2 made the game ten times better. Great job to everyone!
Lots of new games were announced last week. Here’s what was announced at the VGAs:
Dark Souls II was announced
The Last of Us will be released May 2013
The Phantom Pain was premiered
A day following the VGAs, rumors have surfaced that mysterious new game The Phantom Pain may actually be Metal Gear Solid V in hiding.
A handful of new trailers were shown, including Bioshock Infinite, Dark Souls II, South Park: The Stick of Truth, and Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2.
There were also trailers for Gears of War: Judement and The Last of Us.
The winners of awards this year all seemed very deserving of recognition, something that past VGAs haven’t been able to claim. Not in sight this year: Call of Duty. This is just my opinion, and I’m not saying that CoD is a bad game series, but seeing as that game (and other yearly romps like Madden) haven’t been pushing the gaming community forward, I’m glad they weren’t awarded anything this year.
There were plenty of other interesting tidbits, speeches, and Samuel L. Jackson appearing in every game nominated for Game of the Year, but aside from that the above is all you really needed to know about this years VGAs. Until next year!
Laters,
Jsick
