It was a painful experience watching last night’s VGAs which really are a huge advert for the industry with a few reveals thrown in to get you to watch.
That aside, the event was supposedly about the awards themselves so who were the winners and losers this year?
Here’s your list:
Studio of the Year
BioWare
Other nominees: Blizzard Entertainment (Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty), Bungie Studios (Halo: Reach), Rockstar San Diego (Red Dead Redemption)
Best Handheld Game
God of War: Ghost of Sparta
Other nominees: Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, Professor Layton and the Unwound Future, Super Scribblenauts
Best Wii Game
Super Mario Galaxy 2
Other nominees: Metroid: Other M, Kirby’s Epic Yarn, Donkey Kong Country Returns
Best Xbox 360 Game
Mass Effect 2
Other nominees: Halo: Reach, Alan Wake, Fable III
Best PS3 Game
God of War III
Other nominees: Heavy Rain, Red Dead Redemption, Modnation Racers
Best PC Game
StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty
Other nominees: Fallout: New Vegas, Sid Meier’s Civilization V, Mass Effect 2
Best Shooter
Call of Duty: Black Ops
Other nominees: Battlefield: Bad Company 2, Bioshock 2, Halo: Reach
Best Action-Adventure Game
Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood
Other nominees: God of War III, Red Dead Redemption, Super Mario Galaxy 2
Best RPG
Mass Effect 2
Other nominees: Fable III, Fallout: New Vegas, Final Fantasy XIII
Best Multiplayer Game
Halo: Reach
Other nominees: Battlefield: Bad Company 2, Call of Duty: Black Ops, Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty
Best Individual Sports Game
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11
Other nominees: EA Sports MMA, Shaun White Skateboarding, UFC Undisputed 2010
Best Team Sports Game
NBA 2K11
Other nominees: FIFA Soccer 11, Madden NFL 11, MLB ’10: The Show
Best Driving Game
Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit
Other nominees: Blur, Modnation Racers, Split/Second
Best Music Game
Rock Band 3
Other nominees: Dance Central, DJ Hero 2, Def Jam Rapstar
Best Soundtrack
DJ Hero 2
Other nominees: Def Jam Rapstar, Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock, Rock Band 3
Best Song in a Game
Far Away by José González
Other nominees: “Basket Case” (Green Day: Rock Band), “Black Rain” (Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock), “GoldenEye” (GoldenEye 007), “Won’t Back Down” (Call of Duty: Black Ops), “Replay/Rude Boy Mashup” (DJ Hero 2)
Best Original Score
Red Dead Redemption
Other nominees: God of War III, Halo: Reach, Mass Effect 2
Best Graphics
God of War III
Other nominees: Heavy Rain, Kirby’s Epic Yarn, Red Dead Redemption
Best Adapted Video Game
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game
Other nominees: Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4, Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II, Transformers: War for Cybertron
Best Performance by a Human Male
Neil Patrick Harris as Peter Parker/Amazing Spider-Man
Other nominees: Daniel Craig as James Bond (James Bond 007: Bloodstone), Gary Oldman as Sgt. Reznov (Call of Duty: Black Ops), John Cleese as Jasper (Fable III), Martin Sheen as Illusive Man (Mass Effect 2), Nathan Fillion as Sergeant Edward Buck (Halo: Reach), Rob Wiethoff as John Marston (Red Dead Redemption), Sam Worthington as Alex Mason (Call of Duty: Black Ops)
Best Performance by a Human Female
Tricia Helfer as Sarah Kerrigan
Other nominees: Dame Judi Dench as “M” (James Bond 007: Bloodstone), Danica Patrick as herself (Blur), Emmanuelle Chriqui as The Numbers Lady (Call of Duty: Black Ops), Felicia Day as Veronica (Fallout: New Vegas), Jennifer Hale as Commander Sheppard (Mass Effect 2), Kristen Bell as Lucy Stillman (Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood), Yvonne Strahovski as Miranda Lawson (Mass Effect 2)
Best Downloadable Game
Costume Quest
Other nominees: Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light, Monday Night Combat, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game
Best DLC
Red Dead Redemption – Undead Nightmare
Other nominees: Bioshock 2: Minerva’s Den, Borderlands: The Secret Armory of General Knoxx, Mass Effect 2: Lair of the Shadow Broker
Best Independent Game
Limbo
Other nominees: Joe Danger, Super Meat Boy, The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom
Character of the Year
Sgt. Woods (Call of Duty: Black Ops )
Other nominees: Ezio Auditore da Firenze (Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood ), John Marston (Red Dead Redemption), Kratos (God of War III)
Game of the Year
Red Dead Redemption
Other nominees: Halo: Reach, Mass Effect 2, Call of Duty: Black Ops, God of War III
Most Anticipated Game
Portal 2
Other nominees: Batman: Arkham City, Bioshock: Infinite, Gears of War 3
So there you have it, another award ceremony is done and dusted. Although, how Black Ops won best shooter I have no idea, EA and DICE were robbed.
