Every year since 2003, Spike TV’s annual Video Game Awards has been home to world premiers, huge reveals, and a big celebration in honor of the gaming industry and the fans that continuously support it. This year’s celebration was, perhaps, the biggest and best of them all, featuring some great acts and another fine performance by the much-loved Samuel L. Jackson.
Of course, the Video Game Awards are all about, well, video games. Littered throughout the show, we got to see some impressive trailers and gameplay from next year’s highly-anticipated games such as The Last of Us, South Park: The Stick of Truth, and Bioshock: Infinite (which was featured with the first-ever in-game footage).
While many of these trailers were already expected to make an appearance, the real entertainment came from the surprise announcements of Dark Souls 2 and The Phantom Pain. Little is known about these new games, though many believe that the footage from The Phantom Pain is really just footage from the upcoming Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes.
After all is said and done, however, it comes down to the awards. With so many high-profile game releases this year, there was some incredible competition among developers, but a winner must always be declared. Here is the final list of winners:
Game of the Year: The Walking Dead: The Game (Telltale Games)
Studio of the Year: Telltale Games
Best Xbox 360 Game: Halo 4 (Microsoft Studios/343 Industries)
Best PS3 Game: Journey (Sony Computer Entertainment/thatgamecompany)
Best Wii / Wii-U Game: New Super Mario Bros. U (Nintendo)
Best PC Game: XCOM: Enemy Unknown (2K Games/Firaxis Games)
Best Handheld / Mobile Game: Sound Shapes (Sony Computer Entertainment/Queasy Games)
Best Shooter: Borderlands 2 (2K Games/Gearbox Software)
Best Action Adventure Game: Dishonored (Bethesda Softworks/Arkane Studios)
Best RPG: Mass Effect 3 (Electronic Arts/BioWare)
Best Multi-Player Game: Borderlands 2 (2K Games/Gearbox Software)
Best Individual Sports Game: SSX (Electronic Arts/EA Canada)
Best Team Sports Game: NBA 2K13 (2K Sports/Visual Concepts)
Best Driving Game: Need For Speed Most Wanted (Electronic Arts/Criterion Games)
Best Fighting Game: Persona 4 Arena (Atlus/ARC System Works/Atlus)
Best Adapted Video Game: The Walking Dead: The Game (Telltale Games)
Best Independent Game: Journey (thatgamecompany)
Best Graphics: Halo 4 (Microsoft Studios/343 Industries)
Best Song in a Game: “Cities” by Beck (Sound Shapes)
Best Original Score: Journey (Sony Computer Entertainment/thatgamecompany)
Best Performance By a Human Male: Dameon Clarke as Handsome Jack (Borderlands 2)
Best Performance By a Human Female: Melissa Hutchison as Clementine (The Walking Dead: The Game)
Best Downloadable Game: The Walking Dead: The Game (Telltale Games)
Best Social Game: You Don’t Know Jack (Jellyvision Games)
Best DLC: Dawnguard – The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Bethesda Softworks/Bethesda Game Studios)
Most Anticipated Game: Grand Theft Auto V (Rockstar Games)
Lastly, the VGA’s had a special award this year for Video Game of the Decade, and award to honor one game that truly defined the past 10 years of gaming. While a committee of industry experts decided on the 10 nominees, the winner of the award was chosen by gamers, who ultimately decided on Half-Life 2.
Over the past decade, the Video Game Awards has struggled to find its identity, often turning into a 2-hour marketing presentation rather than a celebration of an ever-growing entertainment industry. However, it seems that the show has finally found its place in the gaming world. This year gave us a true sense of unpredictability and wonderment, and ended the year perfectly. We look forward to next year’s show.
