GAMINGTECH

Lee's Spike TV VGA 2010 Predictions

 

That said, I won’t be tuning in to the show this year, so you’ll just have to let me know if I’m right or not; I’m merely providing my predictions because I’m an arrogant, self-important reviewer and posting my opinion strokes my ego.

Rant Over, thanks for reading. Okay, so that aside, here are my predictions for the 2010 Video Game awards. I’ll be stating which game I think deserves to win, but will also state which game I think will actually win. These are my opinions alone, so if you don’t agree with me, relax, it’s an opinion.

Game of the Year Nominees

§ Call of Duty: Black Ops

§ God of War III

§ Halo: Reach

§ Mass Effect 2

§ Red Dead Redemption

My Choice: Mass Effect 2

Mass Effect 2 is what a roleplaying game should be: there are multiple choices that have to be made and all of them have repercussions that alter the game’s morality system, defining your character as a heroic image of virtue, or a sadist who wants nothing more than to see everything around them burn. With a killer story, memorable characters, beautiful music and perfect gameplay, plus a tie-in to the previous story that gives both games a lot more replay value, Mass Effect 2 is the only choice I can make.

Actual Prediction: Call of Duty: Black Ops

“Black Ops has the guns and the shootings and the bloods and you get to kill lots of people online while screaming obscenities at them!”

Studio of the Year Nominees

§ BioWare

§ Blizzard Entertainment

§ Bungie Studios

§ Rockstar San Diego

My Choice: Activision

Whoa wait what? “Activision isn’t even on this list” you say? You’re right, they’re not, and it’s a disgrace. Yes Activision has had its problems in 2010 and contraversies with developing houses under their wings, but one can’t deny that Activision still consistently puts out great games. Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 was awesome, Spiderman: Shattered dimensions was brilliant, XMen Origins: Wolverine is arguably the best movie-licensed game ever made (it was at least better than the movie was), the love-letter to my childhood that was Transformers: War for Cybertron was the most fun I had with a game all year, plus the limitless music “Hero” games are just a taste of why Activision not only belongs on this list, but deserves the nod for Studio of the Year.

Actual Prediction: Rockstar San Diego

“Rockstar Games makes the games where I can has the sexes with prostitutes and then kill them to gets my monies back!”

Best Wii Game Nominees

§ Donkey Kong Country Returns

§ Kirby’s Epic Yarn

§ Metroid: Other M

§ Super Mario Galaxy 2

My Choice: Kirby’s Epic Yarn

Yes, this is a game geared towards younger and newer gamers. Yes, this is a game where you can’t die. Yes, this game is no nauseatingly cute that Kinectimals are even telling it to relax. Yes, this game is stupidly fun. I’ve had more laughs playing this with friends than most games I can recall this year, this is a game that’s just pure, family-friendly fun that’s accessible to any level of skill.
Side note: Does anyone else think it’s odd that Donkey Kong Country Returns was put on the short list of nominees before it even came out? I mean I don’t doubt it will be awesome, but how can you even nominate something for a system’s Game of the Year when the general public has had no access to it yet?

Actual Prediction: Mario Galaxy 2

Though Metroid: Other M could steal this one away because it’s the game with a gun, I’m going on faith that Mario Galaxy 2 will walk away with the prize. A fun challenge in a very immersive universe with everyone’s favourite plumber is sure to be the obvious choice for Wii’s Game of the Year; plus it will make a very nice 25th birthday present for Mario.

Best Xbox 360 Game Nominees

§ Alan Wake

§ Fable III

§ Halo: Reach

§ Mass Effect 2

My Choice: Mass Effect 2

It was my choice for Game of the Year, so how could it not be the best on XBox 360?

Actual Prediction: Halo: Reach

When people hear “XBox” they think “Halo”. Reach was a solid title and a great send off for Bungie Studios. With a compelling narrative, well-paced action, a really stiff challenge and, of course, a thriving online community, I can’t argue that Halo: Reach will be adding one more Game of the Year trophy to Bungie’s Mantle.

Best PS3 Game Nominees

§ God of War III

§ Heavy Rain

§ ModNation Racers

§ Red Dead Redemption

My Choice: Red Dead Redemption

The story of John Marston, a cowboy in the final years of America’s “wild west” was a very fun romp in an expansive world. In true Rockstar Games fashion, the envelope was pushed in a few places and the game dared to show humanity at its best and worst. My only issue with the game was the actual gaming community itself, who treated this like it was “Grand Theft Auto in the wild west” instead of treating it with the respect of being its own game, and thus the online community was sadly filled with blood-lusting individuals who just wanted to run up to anything that moved and shoot it. Oh it also likely will suffer because, since you play as a married man, this is one Rockstar game where you can’t have sex with hookers, sorry guys.

Actual Prediction: God of War III

Much like XBox with Halo, God of War has become the flagship franchise with Sony. This is the franchise renowned for its incredible combat sequences, epic quicktime moments, tight platforming and so much gore and blood that only the hardcore need apply; oh yeah and there’s plenty of courtesans to bang, sorry Red Dead Redemption, you should have tried harder.

Best PC Game Nominees

§ Fallout: New Vegas

§ Mass Effect 2

§ Sid Meier’s Civilization V

§ StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty

My Choice: Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty

The game that was a decade in the making, and is the new crack cocaine for PC gamers around the world. No PC game, save but World of Warcraft and the original Starcraft, can boast about having such a huge level of respect from the gaming world. The single player story was great and local single player matches are fun, but this game shines for online play. Easily one of, if not the best, online multiplayer games in 2010 and will no doubt continue to dominate through 2011.

Actual Prediction: Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty

Just see above

Best Handheld Game Nominees

§ God of War: Ghost of Sparta

§ Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker

§ Professor Layton and the Unwound Future

§ Super Scribblenauts

My Choice: Professor Layton and the Unwound Future

Prof. Layton is that character who no one saw coming and then he just blew the gates open. Like a rookie pinch-hitter stepping up to plate and hitting a homerun, Nintendo’s DS had a very pleasant surprise with the embrace that gamers had for the Professor. A game that requires thought and problem solving, plus it’s a title that any parent can feel comfortable buying for their child, and to top it off it’s actually fun!

Actual Prediction: God of War: Ghost of Sparta

“Rargh! I am Kratos, the God of War! I has more bloods than anything else on any handheld and I kill lots of stuffs!”

Best Shooter Nominees

§ Battlefield: Bad Company 2

§ BioShock 2

§ Call of Duty: Black Ops

§ Halo: Reach

My Choice: Halo: Reach

Plain and simply, I’m not a huge shooter game player, and when I do play a shooter it’s either Left 4 Dead 2 or Halo: Reach.

Actual Prediction: Black Ops

Next to Starcraft II, this is the top selling game of 2010. This game holds multiple midnight launch records and continues the long-standing feud of Call of Duty vs. Halo for online gaming.

Best Action-Adventure Game Nominees

§ Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood

§ God of War III

§ Red Dead Redemption

§ Super Mario Galaxy 2

My Choice: Transformers: War for Cybertron

Yes, I did it again. Transformers isn’t on the nominees short list, but it was too good to overlook. This was the Transformers game that children of the 80s had been starving for. The story was terrific, the voice acting stupendous and the graphics breath-taking, I can not let this slide. I love Assassin’s Creed and I had tonnes of fun with Red Dead Redemption, but there was no other adventure game that I had more fun with than Transformers: War for Cybertron if for no other reason than turning on a custom soundtrack, putting on a playlist of music from the old Transformers movie from 1984 and blasting away online; seriously, turn on Stan Bush’s “Dare” and “The Touch” and then dive into a huge online battle of Autobots against Decepticons and tell me it doesn’t fill your nostalgia meter to full.


Actual Prediction: God of War III

Assassin’s Creed is great, but with controls that are sometimes wonky and frustrating I doubt that it will walk away with the win. Red Dead Redemption is great, but because it wasn’t enough like Rockstar Games’ Grand Theft Auto franchise, it will likely fall into obscurity. Mario Galaxy 2 was great family-friendly fun, but Spike frowns on family-friendly, so God of War III will certainly walk away with another award here, because sex and blood is hardcore!

Best RPG Nominees

§ Fable III

§ Fallout: New Vegas

§ Final Fantasy XIII

§ Mass Effect 2

My Choice: Mass Effect 2

You know why already.

Actual Prediction: Fallout: New Vegas

The Fallout franchise has always been a heavyweight in the RPG genre, but Fallout: New Vegas had garnered so much anticipation from old audiences and new, who were hungry for more after Fallout 3, that this had potential to be the biggest release of the year. Alas, the game came crippled with glitches and bugs in the software that has hurt its reputation and sales numbers. Most of these glitches have since been fixed through patches, but there is still some work to be done. At the end of the day, the player is immersed in a vast wasteland in a post-apocalyptic Las Vegas with lots to do and plenty of people to kill, plus this is an RPG that most resembles a first person shooter, so Spike will love it.

Best Multiplayer Game Nominees

§ Battlefield: Bad Company 2

§ Call of Duty: Black Ops

§ Halo: Reach

§ StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty

My Choice: Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty

Yes, Call of Duty and Halo have been deadlocked against one another for top spot in supremacy for online console gaming in North America, but as far as global online gaming there is nothing (outside of the MMO genre) that holds a candle to the fanaticism that Starcraft II has earned. There is a reason that this game is dubbed the top game in the Major League Gaming professional gaming circuit, because it’s the best online multiplayer game in the world.

Actual Prediction: Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty

Best Individual Sports Game Nominees

§ EA Sports MMA

§ Shaun White Skateboarding

§ Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11

§ UFC Undisputed 2010

My Choice: NBA Jam

Boomshakalaka! NBA Jam isn’t on the nominees list but I don’t care. I haaaaate realistic sports games, if I want to play a sport realistically, I’ll go out and shoot some hoops with friends or something, if I want to play a game I want it to be a game. NBA Jam is the return of the arcade franchise that made basketball fantastical and I’ll take this over any sports game on the street to date.

Actual Prediction: EA Sports MMA

“Brooooo! I’ve totally popped my collar! Go put on your Affliction shirt and let’s take a break from Madden and play some Mixed Martial Arts! Georges St Pierre muddafuggaaaaahs!”

Best Team Sports Game Nominees

§ FIFA Soccer 11

§ Madden NFL 11

§ NBA 2K11

§ MLB ’10: The Show

My Choice: NBA Jam

See previous category.

Actual Prediction: Madden NFL 11

“Brooooo! You totally just made me tap out, yo! Lesnar’s totally stacked, yo! Let’s play Madden instead!”

Best Driving Game Nominees

§ Blur

§ ModNation Racers

§ Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit

§ Split/Second

My Choice: Split/Second

Much like sports games, if I’m playing a driving game I don’t want a boring simulator, I want over the top arcade action. Split/Second provided that action in a reality television style gameshow where racers sped through death-defying courses to win big money and prizes. This game was unique and a lot of fun, especially multiplayer, but a stiff difficulty made a lot of gamers feel this game was “cheap” and “cheated”.

Actual Prediction: Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit

Another game put on the short list before it was even released, the only reason I’m thinking it will win is that A: Need for Speed does have a reputation for solid driving games so it will likely deliver, and B: name power alone.

Best Music Game Nominees

§ Dance Central

§ DJ Hero 2

§ Def Jam Rapstar

§ Rock Band 3

My Choice: Rock Band 3

I love Rock Band, I’ll probably always love Rock Band, it really is one of the ultimate party games.

Actual Prediction: Dance Central

The go-to dancing game for XBox’s Kinect, despite being released only a few weeks ago, it’s already the top-selling music game of 2010. A dance party brought to you by the same makers of Rock Band, so there’s no doubt that this music game is going to be the one to finally dethrone Dance Dance Revolution

Best Soundtrack Nominees

§ Def Jam Rapstar

§ DJ Hero 2

§ Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock

§ Rock Band 3

My Choice: DJ Hero 2

I love mashups, so though I am admittedly more rocker than I am clubber (because I’m not really clubber at all) I can’t deny that a lot of the tunes for DJ Hero 2 stands it apart from the rest of the soundtracks of music games on the market right now.

Actual Prediction: DJ Hero 2

Best Song in a Game Nominees

§ Basket Case by Green Day

§ Black Rain by Soundgarden

§ Far Away by José González

§ GoldenEye by Nicole Scherzinger

§ Replay/Rude Boy Mashup by Iyaz & Rihanna

§ Won’t Back Down by Eminem

My Choice: The Power of Love by Huey Lewis and The News

Everyone knows this song, everyone loves this song. I don’t care that it’s not on the list, when I saw this was an available tune in Rock Band 3 I think I actually let out a giddy squeal. For the five people out there who aren’t sure what song I mean, click here.

Actual Prediction: Won’t Back Down by Eminem

I’ve already milked the “Spike TV caters to douchebags” joke dry, we’ll just leave it at since there’s no Flo Rida or T-Pain then Enimen’s clearly the next choice.

Best Original Score Nominees

§ God of War III

§ Halo: Reach

§ Mass Effect 2

§ Red Dead Redemption

My Choice: Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood

Not to take away from any of the terrific musical scores above, but once again I’m choosing something not on the list. Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood has a score that is, simply put, beautiful. Sweeping epic numbers and ethereal pieces of tranquility make this not only one of the most versatile and multi-emoting musical scores in a game this year, but, in my opinion, one of the best in years.

Actual Prediction: God of War III

This musical score only knows one speed: hugely epic. Marty O’Donnell’s Halo scores are always enveloping, Mass Effect 2’s soundtrack was a bar-setter for future RPGs and Red Dead Redemption’s subtle ambiance-filled score captured everything one thinks of when they think of the wild west, God of War III’s score is inarguably one of the best tone-setters for its style of game; from first button press to last, the player is kicking ass, and the music perfectly brings that adrenaline-pumping action to life with grand, sweeping orchestrals that make the player want more.

Best Graphics Nominees

§ God of War III

§ Heavy Rain

§ Kirby’s Epic Yarn

§ Red Dead Redemption

My Choice: Kirby’s Epic Yarn

Yes it’s gimmicky, but an entire world made of felts and fabrics gives Kirby’s Epic Yarn such a feeling of something new in today’s gaming world. Yes there are loads of realistic first person shooters that bring brown realities to our screens, but Kirby’s bright, lively look makes it a huge standout to the competition.

Actual Prediction: Heavy Rain

It looks pretty realistic and there’s lady parts in it, that’s good enough for Spike.

Best Adapted Video Game Nominees

§ 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

My Choice: Transformers: War for Cybertron

This is a tough category as, for once, licensed games had a really good year. Star Wars Force Unleashed II has met a lot of critical acclaim, while Spiderman and Harry Potter are flying off the shelves this Christmas, and Scott Pilgrim was one of my favourite downloadable games of the year, but anyone who read above will know my huge nostalgia crush on Transformers: War for Cybertron and how masterful it was to my beloved childhood franchise.

Actual Prediction: Transformers: War for Cybertron

Best Performance by a Human Male Nominees

§ Daniel Craig as James Bond

§ Gary Oldman as Sgt. Reznov

§ John Cleese as Jasper

§ Martin Sheen as Illusive Man

§ Nathan Fillion as Sergeant Edward Buc

§ Neil Patrick Harris as Peter Parker/Amazing Spiderman

§ Rob Wiethoff as John Marston

§ Sam Worthington as Alex Mason

My Choice: Martin Sheen as The Illusive Man

This also is a tough choice to make. Most people know my huge man-crush for Sam Worthington, but I felt his job on Black Ops could have been better, but then again when you’re voicing alongside Gary Oldman, that is a tough act to follow. John Cleese was one of the best parts of Fable III and Rob Wiethoff’s portrayal of cowboy John Marston was genious, but at the end of the day Martin Sheen is the best in my opinion. The Illusive Man is a complicated villain/ally in Mass Effect 2, seen as a monster by some, but as humanity’s true hope by others. This is a character who’s willing to make the tough choices and do the unpopular deeds if it means he can protect humanity, such a complicated character would be a big endeavor to take on but Martin Sheen delivered.

Actual Prediction: Gary Oldman as Sgt. Reznov

Black Ops has guns and killing, so Spike likes. Call of Duty also has Gary Oldman, one of the most celebrated thespian stage performers of our age who pulls out a brilliant performance as Russian operative Reznov; though I want Sheen to walk away with this award, I know in my gut that Oldman more than deserves it as well.

Best Performance by a Human Female Nominees

§ Dame Judi Dench as M

§ Danica Patrick as Herself

§ Emmanuelle Chriqui as The Numbers Lady

§ Felicia Day as Veronica

§ Jennifer Hale as Commander Sheppard

§ Kristen Bell as Lucy Stillman

§ Tricia Helfer as Sarah Kerrigan

§ Yvonne Strahovski as Miranda Lawson

My Choice: Yvonne Strahovski as Miranda Lawson

You know when a woman has that voice? Like, that really amazing voice that just mesmerizes you and you think “forget the woman attached to it, I would do that voice”? That’s the voice of Miranda Lawson. Now I do admit, I love UK accents, I don’t know why but they grab my attention big time; the woman who does the voice of Cammy White in Street Fighter 4? Yeah, I would date her voice. Strahovski brings that voice to Miranda Lawson. Well spoken and intelligent, full of proper emoting, and just that little timbre to it that’s just plain alluring, Strahovski hits a home run with Miranda Lawson.

Actual Prediction: Yvonne Strahovski

Best Downloadable Game Nominees

§ Costume Quest

§ Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light

§ Monday Night Combat

§ Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game

My Choice: Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game

Most of these games I reviewed, and most of these games I loved. Costume Quest is adorable, but it’s problem is that it’s really only applicable to Hallowe’en. Monday Night Combat is awesome and, despite being dubbed “a poor man’s Team Fortress 2”, it’s a very entertaining and competitive third person shooter. I’ve never liked Tomb Raider, as most people know it’s a franchise based 75% on T&A and it takes a little more than that to make me agree to lay down my money to play your game. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World was an extremely fun comic book romp (it is more true to the comics than the movie) that was just fun to play. Reminding me of childhood favourites like Double Dragon and, more specifically, River City Ransom, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World was a great side-scrolling, arcadey beat ’em up that took me back, and I loved it.

Actual Prediction: Monday Night Combat

First, I need to clear the air. I was convinced that Deadliest Warrior would be the winner of this category since Spike made the game. I must give credit where credit is due and thank Spike for making the right judgment call and not even having it on their short list; the game was awful, possibly the worst game on XBox Live Arcade this year at that price range, so kudos to Spike for swallowing their pride and leaving it out.

Now, Monday Night Combat, as I said above, is a tonne of competitive online fun that, despite being a shooter, still manages a level of family-friendliness. But the ace in the hole that this game has is that it is online, where Scott Pilgrim would have been amazing to play with friends, you can only do so if they’re on the couch with you. Monday Night Combat takes the player online with other gamers around the world, just like any $59.99 retail release would. So despite it being dubbed “a poor man’s” anything, I call it more a smart purchase, as it gives you what most other shooters do at a fraction of the price. I originally wanted to say Tomb Raider would win this category, but I’m going to give Spike the benefit of the doubt to not make a decision based on T&A.

Best DLC Nominees

§ 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

My Choice: Red Dead Redemption – Undead Nightmare

You’re a cowboy shooting zombies, what more do you need? Yeah Borderlands’ DLC was pretty cool and I did have a blast with Mass Effect’s additional content, but no one can resist even a little curiousity about being a gun-slinging cowboy taking on waves of zombies. With a unique story that stood alone from the regular game, a thrilling challenge and a terrific, self-aware sense of humour that openly spoofed every horror movie to date, this was a refreshing change from the otherwise very dark and serious tale of Red Dead Redemption.

Actual Prediction: Red Dead Redemption – Undead Nightmare

Best Independent Game Nominees

§ Joe Danger

§ Limbo

§ Super Meat Boy

§ The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom

My Choice: Limbo

Why the hell wasn’t Chime on this list?  Limbo was a masterpiece of a game. Chillingly beautiful, yet simple, graphics, eerie ambience and deadly puzzles made this game a blast to play through. The game is simplicity personified, yet it worked very, very well.

Actual Prediction: Limbo

Most Anticipated Game Nominees

§ Batman: Arkham City

§ BioShock: Infinite

§ Gears of War 3

§ Portal 2

My Choice: Batman: Arkham City

The follow-up to the critically celebrated Arkham Asylum, this upcoming sequel takes Batman’s deadliest foes off the island of Arkham and into the streets of Gotham City with The Joker pulling the strings. Arkham Asylum was one of the best comic book licensed games to come down the pipe in a long time, so Arkham City has big shoes to fill, here’s hoping it can do it.

Actual Prediction: Gears of War 3

Burly men shouting and swearing, machine guns, blood and gore and chainsaw bayonets, we all know why Spike will choose this game.

So the 2010 Spike TV Video Game Awards are upon us, do excuse me if I don’t burst into flames in excitement.


Sadly, the logo is about as fuzzy as some of their choices

I’m going to start with a little mini rant, if I may:

Spike TV has done the gaming world a favour by taking initiative and creating an awards show specifically for gaming. For years and years reviewers, magazines and websites pertaining to gaming have declared this game to be game of the year while someone else declares that game to be game of the year because the gaming world was unstructured and anyone with an opinion could say “this game is game of the year”, I remember working at EB Games five or six years ago and we had at least 20 games in stock that all had “Game of the Year” editions for that year; this situation made the title “Game of the Year” all but meaningless, as well as confusing for customers. So kudos to Spike TV for taking the ball and attempting to run with it, just one problem though: The Video Game Awards isn’t geared to gamers.

Spike TV, who can arguably be renamed “Douchebag TV” with their lineup of entertainment, isn’t there yet on understanding the gaming communities. Their award shows are always targeted to the lowest common denominator: fratboy douches or the stereotypical virgin gaming ghouls that rarely see the light of day. I’ve had a weary feeling towards the VGAs ever since the first awards show which kicked off with some porn star coming out, garbling nonsensically, and then just saying “okay I don’t know what I’m talking about, so how about I just take off my clothes?” which was, sadly, met with a huge ovation from the audience. Fill out the annual awards shows with presenters and hostesses of that same pedigree and it’s clear to see that Spike TV does not understand the gaming communities yet. Yes there are the chauvinistic douches and yes there are those trolls who only leave the basement to go out and buy another World of Warcraft card, but these are, despite stereotype, really the minority of gamers these days. The average gamer is an average person, male and female, young and old, and Spike doesn’t get that, so catering to an assumed audience of only horny frat boys and sexually frustrated basement nerds is a sign that sadly the gaming world still isn’t getting proper representation to award the companies and developers who put so much heart and soul into their art; simply put: if an awards show won’t take their own audience seriously, how can they be expected to be taken seriously?

So the 2010 Spike TV Video Game Awards are upon us, do excuse me if I don’t burst into flames in excitement.


Sadly, the logo is about as fuzzy as some of their choices

I’m going to start with a little mini rant, if I may:

Spike TV has done the gaming world a favour by taking initiative and creating an awards show specifically for gaming. For years and years reviewers, magazines and websites pertaining to gaming have declared this game to be game of the year while someone else declares that game to be game of the year because the gaming world was unstructured and anyone with an opinion could say “this game is game of the year”, I remember working at EB Games five or six years ago and we had at least 20 games in stock that all had “Game of the Year” editions for that year; this situation made the title “Game of the Year” all but meaningless, as well as confusing for customers. So kudos to Spike TV for taking the ball and attempting to run with it, just one problem though: The Video Game Awards isn’t geared to gamers.

Spike TV, who can arguably be renamed “Douchebag TV” with their lineup of entertainment, isn’t there yet on understanding the gaming communities. Their award shows are always targeted to the lowest common denominator: fratboy douches or the stereotypical virgin gaming ghouls that rarely see the light of day. I’ve had a weary feeling towards the VGAs ever since the first awards show which kicked off with some porn star coming out, garbling nonsensically, and then just saying “okay I don’t know what I’m talking about, so how about I just take off my clothes?” which was, sadly, met with a huge ovation from the audience. Fill out the annual awards shows with presenters and hostesses of that same pedigree and it’s clear to see that Spike TV does not understand the gaming communities yet. Yes there are the chauvinistic douches and yes there are those trolls who only leave the basement to go out and buy another World of Warcraft card, but these are, despite stereotype, really the minority of gamers these days. The average gamer is an average person, male and female, young and old, and Spike doesn’t get that, so catering to an assumed audience of only horny frat boys and sexually frustrated basement nerds is a sign that sadly the gaming world still isn’t getting proper representation to award the companies and developers who put so much heart and soul into their art; simply put: if an awards show won’t take their own audience seriously, how can they be expected to be taken seriously?

So the 2010 Spike TV Video Game Awards are upon us, do excuse me if I don’t burst into flames in excitement.


Sadly, the logo is about as fuzzy as some of their choices

I’m going to start with a little mini rant, if I may:

Spike TV has done the gaming world a favour by taking initiative and creating an awards show specifically for gaming. For years and years reviewers, magazines and websites pertaining to gaming have declared this game to be game of the year while someone else declares that game to be game of the year because the gaming world was unstructured and anyone with an opinion could say “this game is game of the year”, I remember working at EB Games five or six years ago and we had at least 20 games in stock that all had “Game of the Year” editions for that year; this situation made the title “Game of the Year” all but meaningless, as well as confusing for customers. So kudos to Spike TV for taking the ball and attempting to run with it, just one problem though: The Video Game Awards isn’t geared to gamers.

Spike TV, who can arguably be renamed “Douchebag TV” with their lineup of entertainment, isn’t there yet on understanding the gaming communities. Their award shows are always targeted to the lowest common denominator: fratboy douches or the stereotypical virgin gaming ghouls that rarely see the light of day. I’ve had a weary feeling towards the VGAs ever since the first awards show which kicked off with some porn star coming out, garbling nonsensically, and then just saying “okay I don’t know what I’m talking about, so how about I just take off my clothes?” which was, sadly, met with a huge ovation from the audience. Fill out the annual awards shows with presenters and hostesses of that same pedigree and it’s clear to see that Spike TV does not understand the gaming communities yet. Yes there are the chauvinistic douches and yes there are those trolls who only leave the basement to go out and buy another World of Warcraft card, but these are, despite stereotype, really the minority of gamers these days. The average gamer is an average person, male and female, young and old, and Spike doesn’t get that, so catering to an assumed audience of only horny frat boys and sexually frustrated basement nerds is a sign that sadly the gaming world still isn’t getting proper representation to award the companies and developers who put so much heart and soul into their art; simply put: if an awards show won’t take their own audience seriously, how can they be expected to be taken seriously?

So the 2010 Spike TV Video Game Awards are upon us, do excuse me if I don’t burst into flames in excitement.


Sadly, the logo is about as fuzzy as some of their choices

I’m going to start with a little mini rant, if I may:

Spike TV has done the gaming world a favour by taking initiative and creating an awards show specifically for gaming. For years and years reviewers, magazines and websites pertaining to gaming have declared this game to be game of the year while someone else declares that game to be game of the year because the gaming world was unstructured and anyone with an opinion could say “this game is game of the year”, I remember working at EB Games five or six years ago and we had at least 20 games in stock that all had “Game of the Year” editions for that year; this situation made the title “Game of the Year” all but meaningless, as well as confusing for customers. So kudos to Spike TV for taking the ball and attempting to run with it, just one problem though: The Video Game Awards isn’t geared to gamers.

Spike TV, who can arguably be renamed “Douchebag TV” with their lineup of entertainment, isn’t there yet on understanding the gaming communities. Their award shows are always targeted to the lowest common denominator: fratboy douches or the stereotypical virgin gaming ghouls that rarely see the light of day. I’ve had a weary feeling towards the VGAs ever since the first awards show which kicked off with some porn star coming out, garbling nonsensically, and then just saying “okay I don’t know what I’m talking about, so how about I just take off my clothes?” which was, sadly, met with a huge ovation from the audience. Fill out the annual awards shows with presenters and hostesses of that same pedigree and it’s clear to see that Spike TV does not understand the gaming communities yet. Yes there are the chauvinistic douches and yes there are those trolls who only leave the basement to go out and buy another World of Warcraft card, but these are, despite stereotype, really the minority of gamers these days. The average gamer is an average person, male and female, young and old, and Spike doesn’t get that, so catering to an assumed audience of only horny frat boys and sexually frustrated basement nerds is a sign that sadly the gaming world still isn’t getting proper representation to award the companies and developers who put so much heart and soul into their art; simply put: if an awards show won’t take their own audience seriously, how can they be expected to be taken seriously?