Video Game Awards

Spike is showing the Video Game Awards tonight but it seems as though the list of games that won have been released a little early. Here are the winners:

GAME OF THE YEAR
BioShock

STUDIO OF THE YEAR
Harmonix

BEST SHOOTER
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

BEST RPG
Mass Effect

BEST MILITARY GAME
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

BEST INDIVIDUAL SPORTS GAME
skate

BEST HANDHELD GAME
The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass

BEST GRAPHICS
Crysis

BEST GAME BASED ON A MOVIE OR TV SHOW
The Simpsons Game

BEST RHYTHM GAME
Rock Band

BEST DRIVING GAME
DiRT

BEST ACTION GAME
Super Mario Galaxy

BEST TEAM SPORTS GAME
Madden NFL 08

BEST SOUNDTRACK
Rock Band

BREAKTHROUGH TECHNOLOGY
The Orange Box/ Portal

BEST XBOX 360 GAME
BioShock

BEST WII GAME

Super Mario Galaxy

BEST PS3 GAME
Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction

BEST PC GAME
The Orange Box

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
BioShock

BEST MULTI-PLAYER GAME
Halo 3

MOST ADDICTIVE VIDEO GAME FUELED BY DEW
Halo 3

Personally, I don't know if Bioshock deserved to win. Yes, it had an amazing story. Yes, it created an atmosphere unlike any other game. Yes, the game play was good and inter lapped with the story amazingly. But, I had constant framerate issues the last half of the game and the ending was very anticlimactic in my opinion. That being said, on any other year this would be game of the year without a question. But, in this year, with so many great games coming out, it is questionable to say the least.
And no Halo fanboys, there is no way Halo should have won Game of the Year. The single player gets almost tedious after a while. It deserves multi-player game of the year which is what it got.
Rock Band deserves the win more than Guitar Hero III. Harmonix innovated, while Red Octane put the same crap out again and slapped a new label onto it.
Another surprise is the Best Driving Game category. I bet nobody though DiRT would beat out the fabled Forza 2. I guess sometimes the funner game deserves to win.
Here's a lesson for you game developers. All of the games that innovated in some way: be it graphics, game play, storytelling, or atmosphere won high awards. These games are: Mass Effect, Bioshock, Skate, Call of Duty 4, Rock Band, Super Mario Galaxy, and Orange Box. All of these games have roots in worn out old formulas. But unlike Guitar Hero and other franchises, they didn't stick to those old shitty roots. They branched out and made the games even better. So for future reference don't try to stick to the old formula just to be safe. Its less risky, but sometimes you gotta gamble a bit.