Only five more days until the Spike Video Game Awards...looking forward to what the reveals will be...Geoff tweeted that the reveals to reach as far into the future as 2013...a bit overkill for my tastes, but whatever...

Anyways, onto the awards...here are my picks for what I think will win...note it doesn't mean I think it was the best choice, as many of these I haven't played, but I'm just going on my feeling based on reviews and the buzz they have gotten...

...as for what I think should win, if you see Halo, there's your answer...

Game of the Year:

Call of Duty: Black Ops
God of War III
Halo: Reach
Mass Effect 2
Red Dead Redemption

I see three really good games on this list and two serious GOTY contenders...RDR barely edges ME2 for the title.

Studio of the Year:

Bioware, Mass Effect 2
Blizzard Entertainment, StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty
Bungie Studios, Halo: Reach
Rockstar San Diego, Red Dead Redemption

This award is nothing more than a way for them to give an award to the other guys who they would have given GOTY to...as such, Bioware takes it.

Best Xbox 360 Game:

Alan Wake
Fable III
Halo: Reach
Mass Effect 2

Logic says the winner has to be Reach or ME2...while I could possibly see Reach winning, seeing as what the franchise has meant to the console, I have to pick ME2

Best PS3 Game:

God of War III
Heavy Rain
ModNation Racers
Red Dead Redemption

Using that whole logic thing again, it's either GOW3 or Red Dead Demption...however, logic sucks, and I totally can see Heavy Rain winning this one

Best Wii Game:

Donkey Kong Country Returns
Kirby's Epic Yarn
Metroid: Other M
Super Mario Galaxy 2

No matter what, Nintendo wins...not sure if that speaks more to the quality of first part development or the lack of quality in the third party space...people loved Kirby at E3, so I'm going with that

Best PC Game:

Fallout: New Vegas
Mass Effect 2
Sid Meier's Civilization V
StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty

Starcraft would be the popular choice, but my gut says Civ 5

Best Handheld Game:

God of War: Ghost of Sparta
Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker
Professor Layton and the Unwound Future
Super Scribblenauts

The fact that I've heard about this game and still have no idea what is about speaks volumes to me...

Best Shooter:

Battlefield: Bad Company 2
BioShock 2
Call of Duty: Black Ops
Halo: Reach

Toss up between Black Ops and Reach..I go with Reach, if only for the "we didn't play this game last year" factor...

Best Action Adventure Game:

Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood
God of War III
Red Dead Redemption
Super Mario Galaxy 2

I'M ON A HORSE!!!

Best RPG:

Fable III
Fallout: New Vegas
Final Fantasy XIII
Mass Effect 2

Should be a slam dunk for ME2, but I'm banking on the voters wanting some a little closer to RPG than shooter...

Best Multi-player:

Battlefield: Bad Company 2
Halo: Reach
Call of Duty: Black Ops
StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty

Because having kids talk trash and then get told by their parents to go to bed is gold...

Best Individual Sports Game:

EA Sports MMA
Shaun White Skateboarding
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11
UFC Undisputed 2010

Because the title says so...good enough for me

Best Team Sports Game:

FIFA 11
Madden NFL 11
NBA 2K11
MLB 10: The Show

The basketball game that didn't have a player doing the Jesus at midcourt...

Best Driving Game:

Blur
ModNation Racers
Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit
Split/Second

I could easily see this going for Need for Speed, but I'm sticking to ModNation on this one

Best Music Game:

Dance Central
DJ Hero 2
Def Jam Rapstar
Rock Band 3

It's either of the Harmonix games, and I think the voters reward the new title

Best Soundtrack:

Def Jam Rapstar
DJ Hero 2
Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock
Rock Band 3

I dunno...i had to pick something

Best Song in a Game:

"Basket Case" by Green Day, Green Day: Rock Band
"Black Rain" by Soundgarden, Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock
"Far Away" by José González, Red Dead Redemption
"GoldenEye" by Nicole Scherzinger, GoldenEye 007 (2010)
"Won't Back Down" by Eminem, Call of Duty: Black Ops
"Replay/Rude Boy Mashup" by Iyaz/Rihanna, DJ Hero 2

well, it has to win something...

Best Original Score:

God of War III
Halo: Reach
Mass Effect 2
Red Dead Redemption

Because everyone loves Marty...although I wouldn't mind if Jack won for ME2 either...

Best Graphics:

God of War III
Heavy Rain
Kirby's Epic Yarn
Red Dead Redemption

Wait...what the fuck is a Wii game doing on this list?!?!?

Best Adapted Video Game:

Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: The Game
Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II
Transformers: War for Cybertron

Where's the spider rape game?

Best Performance by a Human Male:

Daniel Craig as James Bond, James Bond 007: Blood Stone
Gary Oldman as Sergeant Reznov, Call of Duty: Black Ops
John Cleese as Jasper, Fable III
Martin Sheen as The Illusive Man, Mass Effect 2
Nathan Fillion as Sergeant Edward Buck, Halo: Reach
Neil Patrick Harris as Peter Parker/Amazing Spider-Man, Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions
Rob Wiethoff as John Marston, Red Dead Redemption
Sam Worthington as Alex Mason, Call of Duty: Black Ops

I'm picking the one guy who isn't on the list because he's a known celeb...I mean, seirously, Fillion? He had like two fucking lines in that game.

Best Performance by a Human Female:

Dame Judi Dench as M, James Bond 007: Blood Stone
Danica Patrick as Herself, Blur
Emmanuelle Chriqui as The Numbers Lady, Call of Duty: Black Ops
Felicia Day as Veronica Santangelo, Fallout: New Vegas
Jennifer Hale as Commander Shepard (female version), Mass Effect 2
Kristen Bell as Lucy Stillman, Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood
Tricia Helfer as Sarah Kerrigan, StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty
Yvonne Strahovski as Miranda Lawson, Mass Effect 2

Ok I'm bored, is this almost over?

Best Downloadable Game:

Costume Quest
Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light
Monday Night Combat
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: The Game

Because it's Tim Schafer, and his games are awesome...or so FUCKING EVERYONE tells me...I mean, Brutal Legend didn't sell poorly because it sucked, no it's because they didn't market it properly...right Tim...right?

Best DLC:

BioShock 2: Minerva's Den
Borderlands: The Secret Armory of General Knoxx
Mass Effect 2: Lair of the Shadow Broker
Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare

Because the only thing more awesome than lairs are shadow brokers

Best Independent Game:

Joe Danger
Limbo
Super Meat Boy
The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom

Someone forged a Limbo map in Halo...that clinched it for me...

Most Anticipated Game:

Batman: Arkham City
BioShock: Infinite
Gears of War 3
Portal 2

Since it's the game I'm least looking forward to, it will win...

Good picks Lipid, and I agree with most of them.

I may go into this list further, but I feel ME2 wins GOTY.

This makes me vomit. Wake absolutely sucked. Fable 3 is another buggy painful rpg. Reach is a Halo 3 in a new suit. I'd vote for Mass Effect 2 by default... but it was so long ago, I forgot it was even in 2010.

ok, i'll bite... why not Bad Company 2 for Best Shooter?

Bioshock 2 is laughable. We agree Black Ops is a repackaged game. Halo is Halo with some armor capabilities. BC2's destruction engine is truly innovative stuff. You may not like the gameplay (it's not the twitchy shooter that seem most popular these days). But I think technologically it deserves to win. Single-player story is waaaaaaaay too weak to ever win this category, but I still maintain that this game is the best FPS out there. Can't wait for BC2 Vietnam to come out this winter.

I have... and they are. If you aren't familiar with the DICE destruction engine... it is an amazing piece of technology and is probably the most innovative design change to the modern day FPS, in my opinion. By altering the map, you completely change the strategy of the map... essentially the map is unique every time you play. The only thing that comes close to this technology is the destruction/physics engine in Red Faction: Guerilla.

Not to mention that the maps are well designed and very balanced. Game modes may be lacking, but I feel like if you do one or two game modes VERY well, which BC2 does, then that should suffice. I believe BC2 was the first major shooter that allowed you to spawn with your squad. Guns handle very well. Sound is absolutely top notch... blows all COD games out of the water. The classes are very balanced and quite an important aspect in the strategy of a team. This ain't easy. How do you make characters have very different abilities and not make it uneven? BC2 did this very well.

While matchmaking was a problem at the beginning. It is wonderful now. I never get dropped. Certainly better than GOW2 and the current situation with Black Ops. And say what you will about the single-player story. Sometimes lighter is better. I frankly appreciated the approach they took. WHile it won't win a Pulitzer, I appreciate that they don't take themselves too seriously. DICE did an excellent job with this game.

lipid still hasn't opened his copy of RDR that he got last week, so no, I haven't played it...

...nor will I...I'm sick of zombies...

Because, in my opinion, I don't think it is...and I'm guessing the vast majority of the people voting, in their opinion, will agree with me.

If there was an award for tech, then yes, the destruction that Frostbite provides would certainly be a serious contender.

Edited to remove douchieness...well, sort of...

I'm gonna take your word for it...

Like I said in the original...it's not who I think should win...it's who I think will win...

Dude... why do you always have to be such a prick about this kind of stuff. "Because it's not"... that sounds like an absolute and objective view. And do you really have that inflated view of your own opinions that you think everyone would have to agree with you? And even if they did, what's the point? We are giving opinions here. All I did was voice my opinion about why I liked it and why I think it deserves to win. Then you gotta piss on me yet again for my view on this game. I could care less whether you like it or not, but why do you enjoy bashing my opinions on these things so much?

Oh good lord...

GAMER FIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!

_________________

I thought it had been a while since we've had this discussion...

I'm sorry you think I come across as a prick, but I was doing exactly what you were doing...giving an opinion...I think having to label things as your opinion is a bit much, but whatever...I've edited my comment to make it crystal clear that what I typed was opinion, not fact...not that I think anyone really needed to be told that...

No, I don't have an inflated view of myself...I've said before that no one gives a shit what I think and I like it that way...if people agree with me, that's fine...if they don't, that's fine too...it's all meh to me...

I'm not pissing on anything...you asked why it shouldn't/wouldn't win and I gave you my thoughts on it...

As for the last sentence, I really don't believe that...this is at least the second time you've gone off on me for criticizing your favorite game...

I don't want to get all "Boilermaker Rick" on you, but "because it isn't" is a statement of fact. When you say something "is" or "is not", it implies an objective statement. But that's not even my problem. It's the lack of polite feedback. It's the "because I think everyone else would have the same opinion" bullshit. AND (this is very important) I can't think of one time you've ever written anything positive about my views. Never an acknowledgement that I have anything positive to add to the discourse. I suppose I don't need your approval, but I guess it would be nice to hear that I had an interesting thought or at minimum some constructive criticism. In my opinion, all I ever receive from you is your negative feedback. Even in the other forums, the other posters at least acknowledge that while we may have different views, we can respect what you have to say. Like it or not, even though it is a virtual, this is a community of people. from you is your negative feedback. It wouldn't hurt you to say something positive back once in awhile.

Two can play that game...



I can appreciate that, and I edited my comment to reflect that...



...since we are arguing semantics, go back and read what I wrote...I didn't say everyone...I said most people (vast majority to be exact, but not everyone)...am I wrong about that? Would you argue that more people would pick BC2 over the other games, because I wouldn't...again, not talking about quality here...I think that has very little to do with this...just talking about what I think will win, right or wrong...Reach and Black Ops were two games with huge launches surrounding them that are fresh in people's minds...I think that will factor into this, even though it shouldn't...



Wow...I don't know what to say...again, I'm sorry if I seem like a dick who just can't wait for the opportunity to rain on your parade...but I'm really not...

I don't know if I've ever given the kind of postiive feeback you speak of to anyone, so I wouldn't take it personally...other than the occassional emoticon, +1, or "this", if I agree with something, I just nod my head and move on...I think a lot of people are that way, in that only disagreement gets a response.

So yeah, if a topic liek this comes up again and I disagree with you, I'm probably going to say so...and if I agree with you, I'm probably not going to say anything...that's just the way I am...I'd say I'll try to do better but it's probably not gonna happen...

No, it was this...



I remember that...

So can you see where I am coming from? All I get from you is your disagreements. Sure would be nice to get something nice written every now and then. "Edited for butthurtedness"? For real? You couldn't say your sorry without Saying shit like that again? Call me a pussy or a pansy or thin skinned. If it's un-interwebz-like to be treated with some measure of courtesy by the community members, then I guess that's what I am... a pussy, pansy, thin skinned father of four that enjoys being part of this community. There you have it... Now all the usual suspects can rip me for asking to be treated like a human being.

i don't follow the video game awards, as i am a retired old school gamer.

but there's a fucking award for a game that hasn't even come out yet? no wonder it's a good thing to get into computer engineering these days.

Yes, but I give them credit...at least they are limiting the other categories to games that they've actually played...unlike when the awards were in their infancy...

this +1

I agree

You are right

Seriously

WTF is going on here?

Geezz, are we really having hurt feelings over what lipid says about anything?

The guy wanted to ass rape his playstation, I wouldn't exactly be looking for an approval from him on any topic

fwiw, I like BFBC2

_________________
You never miss your wealth, till your well went dry
Seem like only yesterday, you were here smiling
Now you gone away, but I know you in a better place
No traces of you, what can I do?
Alone and confused

All good now. And I'm sorry for making a big deal about it, but it felt good getting that off my chest.

So...yeah...anyways...about this show...

Geoff tweeted today that the world premiere of Uncharted 3 would be shown Saturday...awesome...which got me thinking, what secrets do they have in store?

lipid's wishlist:

343's Halo project
Bungie's new IP
Respawn Entertainment's debut game
EA Road Rash reboot

and...

THE ELDER SCROLLS 5

As pointed out in another thread, official confirmation of Mass Effect 3 has leaked, pretty much confirming what Bioware's "Next Big Game" to be revealed tonight will be...

Also, Major Nelson just tweeted that the Gears of War 3 announcement that was slated for tonight has been postponed...

Ok, so I feel like having some fun with this...ladies and gentlemen, I give you the VGA 2010 Drinking Game!

Take a drink...

...whenever an award is presented. If the person presenting the award has no connection to video games, take another drink. If the game winning the award also gets other awards mentioned, take a drink for each additional award. If the person accepting the award doesn't work for the studio who made the game, take an additional drink.

For example, let's say the award is Best Shooter (1), and Denise Richards is presenting (1). Let's say Halo: Reach wins and it is announced that the game also won awards for best 360 game and best original score (2). Also, Aisha Tyler accepts the award on Bungie's behalf (1). In this scenario, take 5 drinks.

...whenever a new game is revealed. If said game was prematurely leaked, take another drink. If the game is a sequel, take the number of drinks equal to whatever installment in the series the game is. If the game doesn't have a release date announced, take a drink. If the release date is in the year 2012 or later, take two drinks.

For example, let's say the reveal is Mass Effect 3 (1). This is the third game in the Mass Effect series (3). The announcement of this game was leaked before the awards (1). At the end of the trailer, a release date of 2012 is announced (2). In this scenario, take 7 drinks.

Ok, that was...odd...

Black Ops looks...good?

Ok, reveal time...Arkham City...3 drinks...

Olivia Munn...looking damn good...

...presenting Studio of the Year!!!

...

Bioware! Fucking called it!!!

The good Doctors accepting the award...

2 drinks.

TODD HOWARD!!! BETHESDA!!! OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ELDER SCROLLS!!!!!!!!

YES!!!!!!!

GLORIOUS!!!!!!

SKYRIM!!!!

11.11.11

FUCK YES!!!!

I don't know how many drinks that is...but I'm taking 5 or 6...

Ok, these little character of the year things are excellent...

Some chick from 90210 revealing Thor...whatever that is...May 3rd...

One drink.