11th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards

I could write reviews on each of these games but mostly my comments through this list will let you know how I feel about most of them. And some of them are still going to get reviews anyway.

Also a major note, if anyone gets confused, I don't normally factor Portal into my vote for The Orange Box, the other games just don't deserve the vote that Portal gets from me, UNLESS portal is specifically stated. And that only happens once.

I know my opinion won't make a difference. But I will still pretend my vote is the only one! My choices shall be bolded. But I know what I want, is what will be. Or in this case was.

Overall Game of the Year
BioShock	2K Games	2K Boston, 2K Australia
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare	Activision	Infinity Ward
Rock Band	MTV Games / Electronic Arts	Harmonix
Super Mario Galaxy	Nintendo of America	Nintendo
The Orange Box	Electronic Arts/Valve Software	Valve Software

Console Game of the Year
BioShock	2K Games	2K Boston, 2K Australia
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare	Activision	Infinity Ward
Mass Effect	Microsoft Game Studios	BioWare
Rock Band	MTV Games / Electronic Arts	Harmonix
Super Mario Galaxy	Nintendo of America	Nintendo

Computer Game of the Year
BioShock	2K Games	2K Boston, 2K Australia
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare	Activision	Infinity Ward
Crysis	Electronic Arts	Crytek
The Orange Box	Electronic Arts/Valve Software	Valve Software
World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade	Vivendi Games	Blizzard Entertainment

Massively Multiplayer Game of the Year
EVE Online: Trinity	CCP	CCP
Guild Wars: Eye of the North	NCsoft	AreaNet
Richard Garriott's Tabula Rasa	NCsoft	Destination Games
The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar	Midway	Turbine
World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade	Vivendi Games	Blizzard Entertainment

Action Game of the Year
BioShock	2K Games	2K Boston, 2K Australia
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare	Activision	Infinity Ward
Crysis	Electronic Arts	Crytek
Halo 3	Microsoft Game Studios	Bungie Studios
The Orange Box	Electronic Arts/Valve Software	Valve Software

Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year
Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation	Namco Bandai Games America	Namco Bandai Games
Command and Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars	Electronic Arts	EA LA
Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts	THQ	Relic
Supreme Commander	THQ	Gas Powered Games
World in Conflict	Vivendi Games	Massive Entertainment

Sports Game of the Year
FIFA Soccer 08	Electronic Arts	Electronic Arts
MLB 07: The Show	Sony Computer Entertainment America	SCE San Diego
NBA 2K8	2K Sports	Visual Concepts
NHL 08	Electronic Arts	EA Canada
skate.	Electronic Arts	EA Black Box

Adventure Game of the Year
Assassin's Creed	Ubisoft	Ubisoft Montreal
God of War II	Sony Computer Entertainment America	Sony Computer Entertainment Santa Monica
Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction	Sony Computer Entertainment America	Insomniac Games
Super Mario Galaxy	Nintendo of America	Nintendo
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune	Sony Computer Entertainment America	Naughty Dog

I could write for hours on how this next category can't EVEN possibly have any nominations for this year. None of these games did anything innovative, in any vague sense of the word. Rock Band was just a cheap extension of several ideas already in play, in fact outside of its financial success I consider the game a waste. Yes, I'm aware the Wii was really just a reconstitution of other ideas that had already been done, but here is the trick, it hadn't been done right. Rock Band wasn't improving the formula, it was just reusing it. Not even close to the same.

It's not really that different from Guitar Hero, its fun, but thats it. There's no replay value, there's no substance. Yes, I know I'm writing about video games, but when you use the word innovative, it comes with responsibilities.

Outstanding Innovation in Gaming
Assassin's Creed	Ubisoft	Ubisoft Montreal
BioShock	2K Games	2K Boston, 2K Australia
Rock Band	MTV Games / Electronic Arts	Harmonix
Super Mario Galaxy	Nintendo of America	Nintendo
The Orange Box	Electronic Arts/Valve Software	Valve Software

Orange Box has had numerous nominations when I feel it doesn't really validate most of them. Yes it was good and fun, but not in any way that demands it be nominated for so many awards.

Outstanding Achievement in Game Design
BioShock	2K Games	2K Boston, 2K Australia
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare	Activision	Infinity Ward
Rock Band	MTV Games / Electronic Arts	Harmonix
Super Mario Galaxy	Nintendo of America	Nintendo
The Orange Box	Electronic Arts/Valve Software	Valve Software

Racing Game of the Year
DiRT	Codemasters	Codemasters
Forza Motorsport 2	Microsoft Game Studios	Turn 10 Studios
Motorstorm	Sony Computer Entertainment America	Evolution Studios
Need For Speed Pro Street	Electronic Arts	EA Black Box
Project Gotham Racing 4	Microsoft Game Studios	Bizarre Creations

Role-Playing Game of the Year
Eternal Sonata	Namco Bandai Games America	Tri-Crescendo
Jeanne d'Arc	Sony Computer Entertainment America	Level 5
Mass Effect	Microsoft Game Studios	BioWare
Rogue Galaxy	Sony Computer Entertainment America	Level 5
The Witcher	Atari

Outstanding Achievement in Sound Design
BioShock	2K Games	2K Boston, 2K Australia
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare	Activision	Infinity Ward
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2	Ubisoft	Ubisoft Paris, Red Storm
skate.	Electronic Arts	EA Mobile
Need For Speed Pro Street	Electronic Arts	EA Black Box

You would think that for this next category, the easy choice would be the games that are filled with classic rock ect. However, I don't feel they deserve credit for picking music that has been acclaimed for years, and some modern popular songs. Besides even with the songs between the two games, BioShock outclassed them EASILY.

Outstanding Achievement in Soundtrack
BioShock	2K Games	2K Boston, 2K Australia
Guitar Hero III	Activision	Neversoft
Rock Band	MTV Games / Electronic Arts	Harmonix
Singstar POP	Sony Computer Entertainment America	SCEE London Studio
skate.	Electronic Arts	EA Mobile

This is the department where Orange Box DOES deserve the win! (This was a triumph...I'm making a note here. Huge success..)

Outstanding Achievement in Game Play Engineering
Assassin's Creed	Ubisoft	Ubisoft Montreal
Rock Band	MTV Games / Electronic Arts	Harmonix
Super Mario Galaxy	Nintendo of America	Nintendo
The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass	Nintendo of America	Nintendo
The Orange Box: Portal	Electronic Arts/Valve Software	Valve Software

Outstanding Achievement in Story Development
BioShock	2K Games	2K Boston, 2K Australia
Drawn to Life	THQ	5th Cell
Mass Effect	Microsoft Game Studios	BioWare
The Darkness	2K Games	Starbreeze Studios
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune	Sony Computer Entertainment America	Naughty Dog

Outstanding Character Performance
BioShock	2K Games	2K Boston, 2K Australia
Heavenly Sword	Sony Computer Entertainment America	Ninja Theory
Mass Effect	Microsoft Game Studios	BioWare
The Orange Box: Portal	Electronic Arts/Valve Software	Valve Software
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune	Sony Computer Entertainment America	Naughty Dog

For all of my animosity towards the game, Assassin's Creed sure was pretty. And deserving of these next few awards.

Outstanding Achievement in Visual Engineering
Assassin's Creed	Ubisoft	Ubisoft Montreal
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare	Activision	Infinity Ward
Crysis	Electronic Arts	Crytek
Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction	Sony Computer Entertainment America	Insomniac Games
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune	Sony Computer Entertainment America	Naughty Dog

Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction
Assassin's Creed	Ubisoft	Ubisoft Montreal
BioShock	2K Games	2K Boston, 2K Australia
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare	Activision	Infinity Ward
Heavenly Sword	Sony Computer Entertainment America	Ninja Theory
The Orange Box: Team Fortress 2	Electronic Arts/Valve Software	Valve Software

Outstanding Achievement in Animation
Assassin's Creed	Ubisoft	Ubisoft Montreal
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare	Activision	Infinity Ward
Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction	Sony Computer Entertainment America	Insomniac Games
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune	Sony Computer Entertainment America	Naughty Dog
The Orange Box: Team Fortress 2	Electronic Arts/Valve Software	Valve Software

One day I'm gonna make the money to have a new Scene It? made to my tastes. Light, camera, BLACKTION!

Family Game of the Year
Guitar Hero III	Activision	Neversoft
Rayman Raving Rabbids 2	Ubisoft	Ubisoft Montpellier
Rock Band	MTV Games / Electronic Arts	Harmonix
Scene It? Lights, Camera, Action	Microsoft Games Studios	Screenlife
WarioWare: Smooth Moves	Nintendo of America	Nintendo

Handheld Game of the Year
Drawn to Life	THQ	5th Cell
Jeanne d'Arc	Sony Computer Entertainment America	Level 5
Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords	D3 Publisher of America	Infinite Interactive, 1st Playable Productions
Ratchet and Clank: Size Matters	Sony Computer Entertainment America	High Impact Games
The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass	Nintendo of America	Nintendo

Stay Tuned!

Smash Brothers Delayed and PS3 for me?!

Super Smash Brothers Brawl has been delayed yet again. March 9th stands as the next release date. They think this time its for sure! The game looks to be in very good shape though. I don't expect most people will be disappointed. But if they remove Ness. Well there will be hell to pay.

I played the PS3 for the first time recently. I was impressed by the graphical power. But thats all that impressed me. The user interface was disappointing. It was slow, cumbersome at times and most of all plain. I could have ignored the fact that it sometimes took up to a minute to load just WHO had user accounts, if I had something pretty to look at. And that is just me trying to give the PS3 some points. Then I played a few games. The first being Assassin's Creed.

Disappointing. It seems to be a recurring theme with the system.

The graphics were definitely pretty. It was organic and fluid. It was almost natural. The sound was stunning. It was crisp clear and very easily discernible. But that's it. Again. That's it. The game was repetitive and easy. The combat was bland.

I could turn this post into a review of Assassin's Creed but I wouldn't fill very much space. The game doesn't deserve a space in your game library unless you get it free when you buy a GOOD game or if it is REALLY REALLY cheap. Somewhere in the 5-10 dollar range. It isn't really worth a new buy, or even a semi-used price. Its a rental.

The game is repetitive, the story is predictable, the game mechanics rehashed. Though I will admit, for the first two hours exploring was a kick ass time, but as interesting things and challenges washed away so did my interest. When climbing is essentially the same task over and over it isn't interesting. It's annoying. I actually managed to find nearly all the flags in my first play through. Then I went online to see how long it normally takes (because I expected a much shorter time for people) and yeah I did it as fast as most speed players were on most message boards. I'm not an above average player people. In some games, sure I excel, (who doesn't?) but to me thats ridiculous. I wasn't a dedicated player of this game. So either these people really sucked, or I was just that good. But I postulated a third answer: The game just wasn't very good at hiding stuff and some people get so wrapped up in what they are doing in game, that they miss items. Which I won't hold against them if they are still marveling at the pretty pretty game. It sure is pretty. But it's empty beauty and what is the point of that?

The Combat system was what I was very excited to see. I know this game is about stealth, but if the combat isn't very good when you DO have to fight, what the hell are you supposed to do for fun? Climb?! No way man. That's not interesting. That is why the first Spider-Man movie game blew straight out the ass. It was boring to climb over and over. The second one however did a good job. It changed the whole system around so that climbing was a means to an end, namely the most fun webslinging available to non-webslingers. It was repetitive. Getting annoying yet? Play the game and feel the annoyance for yourself.

The Graphics Pretty. The Sound Great. The game? Rent it.

I have yet to play Uncharted waters, but I will. The next game on the PS3 I will be playing? Ninja Gaiden...Sigma? Whatever the hundredth rerelease of the same damn game is called. Apparently this is a worthwhile game to buy, or so I'm told. However it seems to me that a majority of the folks who'd buy this game, already OWN the older versions. All of them.

Stay tuned!