RSS
Home
Spike TV's Video Game Awards 2008 part two-the live show
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
.jpg)
The 'awards' show itself
The show wasn't a complete disaster as Jack Black being himself is instantly watchable and ten times funnier than any other awards show you'll ever watch. His opening segment involving a bed, a Playstation 3, a Xbox 360, a Wii, and a DS, went from starting as midly interesting to completely batshit hilarious. The way he threw himself into these segments elevated what could've been lame material under a different host.
The show also featured a lot of trailers for upcoming games in 2009, including the first available DLC for GTA IV, a fricking sweet trailer for God of War III, Brutal Legend, which was complete with a awesome entrance and segment with Tim Schaefer, Fight Night Round 4, Mafia II, Uncharted II, and Dante's Inferno among others.
So what derailed the show-the 'talent' on display, who seemed to be there to deliver lines with the biggest of disinterest and introduce trailers and other celebrities. One of the best moments came when Neil Patrick Harris was announcing the best indy game and the audio went away and no one knew who won until the developer showed up on stage, which was 2D boy for World of Goo.
As far as the awards go, only six were actually presented in the show, which might be good for three-hour snooze festivals like the Oscars, but not for a video game show, which has interesting content to show. Considering how nearly 20 awards were given out, this just a shame and a bit of false advertising.
Also, in order for the show to be truly exciting, there needs to be actual gamers in the audience, not just people who just wanna get close to celebrities and TV cameras. That way, people would actually care about the awards.
Speaking of the awards theirselves, every game you expected to take home something did: Little Big Planet, Gears of War 2, Metal Gear Solid 4, Fallout 3, Rock Band 2, and Grand Theft Auto IV, which won Game of the Year. The only thing missing in the lineup of not just winners but nominees as well: The Wii. I'm not gonna say that they had games better than the one's I listed or that people should be upset about awards. Look at the Golden Globes for proof that no one truly pays attention to those things. But these awards were chosen by a panel of video game journalists. Even during Friday's midnight preview of the VGAs, the people on camera had very unflattering things to say about whatever Wii game was up on display. I'm pretty sure if Super Smash Bros Brawl came out in October or Fallout 3 came out in March, the tone would be different. But this isn't just fanboy ranting or biased opinions, if anyone looked at Shaun White Snowboarding: Road Trip, No More Heroes, Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People, Okami, Boom Blox, Blast Works: Build Trade & Destroy and came away with a 'Meh' feeling, then they're not being journalists, just 'hardcore' gamers. Bottom line-the Wii and Wii owners got hosed.
Overall, it was a fun night for video games: some great games got recognized, Jack Black was Jack Black, there were some really great people to interview. I just hope next year there's a focus on the 'Video game' and 'awards' part.
Complete list of winners:
Gears of War 2-Best Shooter, Best Xbox 360 Game.
Kiefer Sutherland-Big Name in the Game, Male (Call of Duty: World at War)
Jenny McCarthy-Big Name in the Game, Female (Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3)
Fallout 3-Best RPG
Rock Band 2-Best Music Game, Best Soundtrack
Little Big Planet-Best Studio (Media Molecule). Best PS3 Game
Boom Blox-Best Wii Game
World of Goo-Best Indy Game
Burnout Paradise-Best Drving Game
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots-Best Graphics, Best Score
Professor Layton and the Curious Village: Bast Handheld Game
Shaun White Snowboarding-Best Individual Sports Game (really? the 360 and PS3 versions?)
Left 4 Dead: Best Multiplayer Game, Best PC Game
Michael Hollick, Best Human Perfomance, Male (Niko Bellic)
Debi Mae West-Best Human Performance, Female (Meryl Silverburgh)
Grand Theft Auto IV-Best Action/Adventure Game, Game of the Year
NHL 09-Best Team Sports Game
Related Articles:
Add a Comment
