Well, well, well. It would appear another year has passed us by and it’s time to dish out some awards. Last year I began my more unorthodox award ceremony with three days of reflection upon my yearly gaming experiences. I had the more traditional accolades such as Best RPG, Best PS3 Exclusive, and Game of the Year; but I also gave out some more unique ones such as Best Non-2013 Game and Best Collector’s Edition. There were even a handful of anti-awards. All in all, I dished out 27 of the most sought after titles and this year I’ve increased the madness to 42 awards over four days.
In case you’re interested, you can peruse last year’s winners and nominees below.
Without further ado, I present the first day of the Hypercritical Geek/General Mills44 Video Game Awards!
Best Sony Exclusive- The Last of Us, Resogun, and Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch
Winner-The Last of Us! While a post-pandemic setting with zombie-esque creatures may not be overflowing with creativity, it’s the writing which sets The Last of Us apart from the competition. The characters, their scripts, and the performances given are some of the best seen this generation.
Best PC Exclusive- Outlast, Organ Trail: Director’s Cut, and Gone Home
Winner- Outlast! Survival-horror is back and thanks to games like Outlast, and they won’t be going back into the dark recesses of the industry anytime soon. Every second I spent in Mount Massive, was incredibly tense and certainly contributed to more than a few years shaved off my life.
Best Nintendo Exclusive- Fire Emblem: Awakening, Shin Megami Tensei IV, and The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
Winner- Fire Emblem: Awakening! The 3DS had one hell of a 2013 lineup but Fire Emblem: Awakening is the cream of the crop. As my first experience with a series I’ve longed desired to get my hands on, Awakening is just about everything I hoped for. Narratively typical, the over-idealistic JRPG hoopla is outweighed by the lovably diverse cast. Topped off with some great tactical combat, and there isn’t a whole lot of room for improvement.
Best Microsoft Exclusive- Due to the lackluster lineup of the 360, and me not owning an Xbox One, there actually is no winner this year. I originally had three nominees, but seeing as both State of Decay and Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons made their way to PC, I find myself physically incapable of awarding Gears of War: Judgment.
Best Shooter- Bioshock Infinite, Call of Juarez: Gunslinger, and Payday 2
Winner- Call of Juarez: Gunslinger! With a mixture of classic arcade and modern all in one, no game better exemplified what it means to be a shooter. The run and gun madness of the wild west is an ideal setting Gunslinger takes full advantage of.
Best Action- State of Decay, Monaco: What’s Yours is Mine!, and The Last of Us
Winner- The Last of Us! While receiving much of its praise for its story, The Last of Us is no slouch in the gameplay department. The weighty, brutal, and stealth oriented action is thematically apt and brings a welcome mixture of challenge to the AAA market.
Best RPG- Tales of Xillia, Ni No Kuni: Wrath of The White Witch, and Fire Emblem: Awakening
Winner- Fire Emblem: Awakening! At first glance Awakening is more strategy than RPG, but after sinking a few hours in there’s plenty of stats, classes, and other fixtures of the genre. The thing is, they’re done in a way that makes them far more seamless than most RPGs. The depth is there, oh man is it there, but it’s never overbearing. To me, that’s the perfect RPG.
Best Simulation/Strategy- Game Dev Tycoon, Organ Trail: Director’s Cut, and Fire Emblem: Awakening.
Winner- Fire Emblem Awakening! How does a game win awards for two different genres? Simple, by being better than any other game in either one. Not only does Awakening excel as an RPG, but it does so as a strategy game as well. Both genres are melded perfectly together into one challenging and complex -but accessible- experience.
Best Platformer- Rayman Legends, The Swapper, and Rouge Legacy
Winner- Rayman Legends! Colorful, zany, fast-paced, hilarious; these are all appropriate descriptions. Legends took what Origins did right back in 2011 and improved upon the formula with some welcomed additions such as the music levels and a greater variety of gameplay.
Best Multiplayer- Monaco: What’s Yours is Mine!, Payday 2, and The Last of Us
The Winner- The Last of Us! Honestly, at first I was less than impressed, but as I got to know the Survivors mode, I quickly became aware of how good it truly is. The methodical combat does fall victim to a frustrating lack of polish but teamwork-centric gameplay is refreshing in today’s landscape.
Best Indie- Outlast, Gone Home, and Monaco: What’s Yours is Mine!
Winner- Outlast! The indie scene seems to be an ever-growing home for survival-horror and while Outlast borrows concepts Amnesia: The Dark Descent made popular, I never felt I wasn’t experiencing something terrifyingly new.
Best Downloadable- Outlast, Gone Home, and Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons
Winner- Outlast! Out of all three of these games, Outlast gives you the most bang for your buck. It’s always a pleasant surprise when a downloadable indie title takes you over eight hours to finish.
Best Episode of an Unfinished Episodic- Faith (The Wolf Among Us), Learning to Manage Chaos (Dysfunctional Systems), and All that Remains (The Walking Dead S2)
Winner- Dysfunctional Systems: Learning to Manage Chaos! Yeah, not even Telltale could top the work of Dischan Media. Dysfunctional Systems juggles a female protagonist, a complex sci-fi setting, and heavy moral quandaries. Usually one or two of those would sink an inexperienced dev but that’s not the case for this superb visual novel.
No comments:
Post a Comment