The atrocity known as the Spike Video Game Awards (VGAs) is happening this weekend and I won’t be watching. Its a joke and in my opinion nothing but a 2 hour long string of commercials, ridiculous skits that aren’t in the least bit funny, and scantily clad models who fumble over lines. They show 10-30 second video teasers for games most of us already know are coming out and bombard us with actors who apparently know everything about video games because they did a voice over for a character or played 15 minutes of a game at a press event.

This year they are claiming that the voters will be the ones making the call on who takes home whatever god awful trophy they design this time around. So I have made a list of my votes for each category and today I share with you my picks for the first nine awards as listed on the official Spike VGA site.

Game of the Year
Nominees: Assassin’s Creed 2, Batman: Arkham Asylum, COD: Modern Warfare 2, Left 4 Dead 2, Uncharted 2

My Pick: Batman: Arkham Asylum
Most likely to win: COD: Modern Warfare 2

In a list of sequels, Batman stands out as an original concept. Sure, I enjoyed AC2 and L4D2, but the improvements in game-play from their predecessors don’t stand out enough to make them a Game of the Year. The voice acting was amazing, the score and graphics beautiful. It was original, and in this age of gaming, original should stand for something. But, money dictates where the votes will end up, which means that Modern Warfare 2 will take home the honour, based on the combination of public votes and how MW2 made sales records. I am not anti-MW2. I do eventually want to give the game a go, but I didn’t see it being as ground breaking as the original title.

Studio of the Year
Nominees: Infinity Ward, Naughty Dog, Rocksteady, Valve

My Pick: Rocksteady
Most likely to win: Infinity Ward

For the same reasons as my Game of the Year pick, Rocksteady brought something new to the table, while the other studios brought follow-ups.

Best Independent Game
Nominees: ‘Spolsion Man, flOwer, Osmos, Trials HD

My Pick: flOwer
Most likely to win: n/a

Seeing as I only played flOwer and ‘Spolsion Man, I could only make my choice between the two. I much preferred flOwer. The motion controls, sound and overall calming nature of the game proved to be a unique experience, one that I still believe all gamers need to have. ‘Spolsion Man just cannot hold a candle to that, in my humble opinion.

Best Xbox 360 Game
Nominees: Batman: Arkham Asylum, Halo 3: ODST, Forza Motorsport 3, Left 4 Dead 2

My Pick: n/a  
Most likely to win: Halo 3: ODST

I have played 3 of the 4 games in this category, and I cannot pick a winner. Three of these are sequels and the other is a multiplatform title. I believe that if you are going to have an annual awards program for games that multiplatform games are in their own category. Halo 3: ODST will most likely win this category as it did have strong launch day numbers. Forza 3 has sold well over the course of the one month its been on the market, but I personally don’t think its a 360 Game of the Year contender.

Best PS3 Game
Nominees: inFAMOUS, Killzone 2, Ratchet & Clank Future: Crack in Time, Uncharted 2

My Pick: n/a  
Most likely to win: Uncharted 2

I have not played any of these titles on the PS3, even though I do want to try out Ratchet & Clank and eventually play the first Uncharted title. My guess that Uncharted 2 will take this category is based on speaking to people who have also played either inFAMOUS or Killzone 2.

Best Wii Game
Nominees: Mad World, New Super Mario Bros, Punch Out, Wii Sports Resort

My Pick: n/a  
Most likely to win: Nintendo

I guess when 60% of the titles out on the system are fitness games and you are making a show targeted towards a male audience, you aren’t going to select any of those for Best Wii Game. Granted those games are just a more interactive version of a workout DVD. Take out all the shovelware that makes up another 25% of the Wii library, you have to pick from the remaining 15% which would be seen as the highlight titles. But why the hell is Wii Sports Resort in there and Muramasa isn’t? No matter how I look at it, it doesn’t seem likely that Mad World will win, which means the remaining titles are all Nintendo first party software. My guess is a toss up between Punch Out which I know a lot of people did enjoy and New Super Mario Bros, a game I really want to play for the nostalgia factor but I heard was not as much fun as first expected.

Best PC Games
Nominees: Dragon Age: Origins, Left 4 Dead 2, Plants vs Zombies, Sims 3

My Pick: Plants vs Zombies
Most likely to win: Sims 3

PvZ! PvZ! I cannot deny my love of Plants vs Zombies. I have obtained the Golden Sunflower award, my Tree of Wisdom is over 100 feet tall and I constantly find myself drawn to play it even when I have a stack of new games waiting for me to touch. But since this is considered more of a casual game, the hardcore PC gamers who will actually place votes are more likely to go for L4D2 or Sims 3, and I believe Sims 3 will manage to pull of more votes.

Best Handheld Game
Nominees: GTA: Chinatown Wars, Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story, Prof. Layton & the Diabolical Box, Scribblenauts

My Pick: Prof. Layton & the Diabolical Box
Most likely to win: Scribblenauts

Here is where I look like a hypocrite for saying that I think an original game should win. But Diabolical Box is a sequel!! *le gasp* So why do I think it should win over Scribblenauts? While I do still intend on one day trying out Scribblenauts, the game’s original concept was hampered by the fact that it was too easy to play through. Granted most people who found it too easy could technically be called cheaters, shouldn’t the creators of the game foreseen that some people would find a loophole that allowed them to use the same words over and over again? It does boast an impressive library of words for gamers to play with. And if you were lucky enough, you even got a rockin’ rooster hat. My pick goes to Diabolical Box for creating a brand new storyline, bringing new puzzles and once again proving that the DS cartridge is a powerful little guy. The amount of cutscenes and voice overs Level-5 manages to fit still amaze me. Plus, it was the first handheld game in a long while that had me completely absorbed in it from the moment I peeled off the plastic until I found the last tea recipe.

Best Shooter Game
Nominees: COD: Modern Warfare 2, Halo 3: ODST, Killzone 2, Left 4 Dead 2

My Pick: Left 4 Dead 2
Most likely to win: COD: Modern Warfare 2

Simply put, of the four shooters listed the only one I felt compelled to purchase on launch was Left 4 Dead 2. I think its because no matter what, I knew that playing alone or in a group I would have the most fun killing zombies by either shooting or beating them to death with a baseball bat. My feeling that the Best Shooter title ends up with MW2 is that the millions of gamers who purchased it across all platforms will band together for this one.

In Part 2, I will look at Best Fighter, Action/Adventure, RPG, Multiplayer, Individual Sport, Team Sport, Driving, Music Games as well as Best Soundtrack.

Popularity: 1% [?]