2009 Video Game Awards

[Glynbeard]

Hey everyone. I don't know how many of you watched last night, but the 2009 Spike Video Game Awards (VGA) was on and I thought I'd create a little article explaining some of the events the went down.

The Spike Video Game Awards (VGA) is an award show hosted by Spike TV that recognizes the best computer and video games of the year. Started in 2003, the Spike TV Video Game Awards garnered much attention, since video game awards were not common prior to its introduction.

The 2009 VGAs were held on December 12, 2009 and there were exclusive looks at Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands, UFC 2010 Undisputed, Halo: Reach, and a few other exclusive looks. Samuel L. Jackson previewed LucasArts newest upcoming Star Wars game, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II. In addition, Green Day: Rock Band was announced and accompanied with a trailer. This year, games released between December 2, 2008 and November 23, 2009 were eligible to be nominated.

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I'll start off with a list of all the categories and their winning games (starred at the top of the list). A complete list of nominees, online voting, recaps, pics, video clips, with related industry news can be found here.


Game Of The Year
* Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (Sony Computer Entertainment / Naughty Dog)
Assassin's Creed 2 (Ubisoft)
Batman: Arkham Asylum (Eidos Interactive - Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment / Rocksteady Studios)
Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Activision Publishing / Infinity Ward)
Left 4 Dead 2 (Valve)

Studio Of The Year
* Rocksteady Studios
Infinity Ward
Naughty Dog
Valve

Best Shooter
* Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Activision Publishing / Infinity Ward)
Halo 3: Odst (Microsoft Game Studios / Bungie)
Killzone 2 (Sony Computer Entertainment / Guerrilla Games)
Left 4 Dead 2 (Valve)

Best RPG
* Dragon Age: Origins (Electronic Arts / Bioware)
Borderlands (2k Games / Gearbox Software)
Demon's Souls (Atlus / Fromsoftware)
Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story (Nintendo / Alphadream)

Best Fighting Game
* Street Fighter IV (Capcom / Capcom/Dimps)
Blazblue: Calamity Trigger (Aksys Games / Arc System Works)
Soulcalibur: Broken Destiny (Namco Bandai Games / Project Soul)
Tekken 6 (Namco Bandai Games)

Best Individual Sports Game
* UFC 2009 Undisputed (Thq / Yuke's Media Creations)
Ea Sports Fight Night Round 4 (Electronic Arts / Ea Canada)
Tiger Woods Pga Tour 10 (Electronic Arts / Ea Tiburon)
Wii Sports Resort (Nintendo)

Best Handheld Game
* Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars (Rockstar Games / Rockstar Leeds)
Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story (Nintendo / Alphadream)
Professor Layton And The Diabolical Box (Nintendo / Level-5)
Scribblenauts (Warner Bros. Interactive / 5th Cell)

Best Graphics
* Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (Sony Computer Entertainment / Naughty Dog)
Batman: Arkham Asylum (Eidos Interactive - Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment / Rocksteady Studios)
Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Activision Publishing / Infinity Ward)
Killzone 2 (Sony Computer Entertainment / Guerrilla Games)

Best Game Based On A Movie Or TV Show
* South Park Let's Go Tower Defense Play! (Microsoft / Doublesix)
Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Atari / Terminal Reality)
The Chronicles Of Riddick: Assault On Dark Athena (Atari / Starbreeze Ab)
X-Men Origins: Wolverine Uncaged Edition (Activision Publishing / Raven Software)

Best Music Game
* The Beatles: Rock Band (Mtv Games / Harmonix)
Dj Hero (Activision Publishing / Freestylegames)
Guitar Hero 5 (Activision Publishing / Neversoft Entertainment)
Lego Rock Band (Mtv Games - Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment / Traveler's Tales Games - Harmonix)

Best Driving Game
* Forza Motorsport 3 (Microsoft Game Studios / Turn 10)
Dirt 2 (Codemasters)
Gran Turismo (Psp) (Sony Computer Entertainment / Polyphony Digital)
Need For Speed Shift (Electronic Arts / Slightly Mad Studios)

Best Action Adventure Game
* Assassin's Creed 2 (Ubisoft / Ubisoft Montreal)
Batman: Arkham Asylum (Eidos Interactive - Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment / Rocksteady Studios)
Brutal Legend (Electronic Arts / Double Fine Productions)
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (Sony Computer Entertainment / Naughty Dog)

Best Team Sports Game
* NHL 10 (Electronic Arts / Ea Canada)
FIFA Soccer 10 (Electronic Arts / Ea Canada)
Madden Nfl 10 (Electronic Arts / Ea Tiburon)
NBA 2K10 (2k Sports / Visual Concepts)

Best Soundtrack
* DJ Hero (Activision Publishing / Freestylegames)
Brutal Legend (Electronic Arts / Double Fine Productions)
Guitar Hero 5 (Activision Publishing / Neversoft Entertainment)
The Beatles: Rock Band (Mtv Games / Harmonix)

Best XBox 360 Game
* Left 4 Dead 2 (Valve)
Batman: Arkham Asylum (Eidos Interactive - Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment / Rocksteady Studios)
Forza Motorsport 3 (Microsoft Game Studios / Turn 10)
Halo 3: Odst (Microsoft Game Studios / Bungie)

Best Wii Game
* New Super Mario Bros. Wii (Nintendo)
Madworld (Sega / Platinum Games)
Punch-Out!! (Nintendo / Next Level Games)
Wii Sports Resort (Nintendo)

Best PS3 Game
* Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (Sony Computer Entertainment / Naughty Dog)
Infamous (Sony Computer Entertainment / Sucker Punch)
Killzone 2 (Sony Computer Entertainment / Guerrilla Games)
Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack In Time (Sony Computer Entertainment / Insomniac Games)

Best PC Game
* Dragon Age: Origins (Electronic Arts / Bioware)
Left 4 Dead 2 (Valve)
Plants Vs. Zombies (Popcap Games)
The Sims 3 (Electronic Arts / The Sims Studio)

Best Original Score
* Halo 3: ODST (Microsoft Game Studios / Bungie)
Assassin's Creed 2 (Ubisoft / Ubisoft Montreal)
Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Activision Publishing / Infinity Ward)
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (Sony Computer Entertainment / Naughty Dog)

Best Multi-Player Game
* Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Activision Publishing / Infinity Ward)
Borderlands (2k Games / Gearbox Software)
Halo 3: Odst (Microsoft Game Studios / Bungie)
Left 4 Dead 2 (Valve)

Best Performance By A Human Male
* Hugh Jackman As Wolverine In X-Men Origins: Wolverine Uncaged Edition (Activision Publishing)
Bill Murray As Dr. Peter Venkman In Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Atari)
Samuel L. Jackson As Afro Samurai / Ninja Ninja In Afro Samurai (Surge)
Shia Labeouf As Sam Witwicky In Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen (Activision Publishing)
Vin Diesel As Richard B. Riddick In The Chronicles Of Riddick: Assault On Dark Athena (Atari)

Best Performance By A Human Female
* Megan Fox As Mikaela Banes (Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen / Activision Publishing)
Eliza Dushku As Rubi Malone In Wet (Bethesda Softworks)
Kristen Bell As Lucy Stillman In Assassin's Creed 2 (Ubisoft)
Tricia Helfer As Dare (Halo 3: Odst / Microsoft Game Studios)

Best Cast
* X-Men Origins: Wolverine Uncaged Edition (Activision Publishing / Raven Software)
Brutal Legend (Electronic Arts / Double Fine Productions)
Eat Lead: The Return Of Matt Hazard (D3 Publisher / Vicious Cycle)
Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Atari / Terminal Reality)
South Park Let's Go Tower Defense Play! (Microsoft / Doublesix)

Best Voice
* Jack Black As Eddie Riggs (Brutal Legend / Electronic Arts)
Arleen Sorkin As Harley Quinn In Batman: Arkham Asylum (Eidos Interactive - Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment)
Claudia Black As Chloe Frazer In Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (Sony Computer Entertainment)
Mark Hamill As The Joker In Batman: Arkham Asylum (Eidos Interactive - Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment)
Nolan North As Nathan Drake In Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (Sony Computer Entertainment)

Best Downloadable Game
* Shadow Complex (Microsoft Game Studios / Chair Entertainment)
Battlefield 1943 (Electronic Arts / Dice)
Fat Princess (Sony Computer Entertainment / Titan Studios)
Plants Vs. Zombies (Popcap Games)

Best DLC
* Grand Theft Auto IV: The Ballad Of Gay Tony (Rockstar Games / Rockstar North)
Fallout 3 - Broken Steel (Bethesda Softworks / Bethesda Game Studios)
Fallout 3 - Point Lookout (Bethesda Softworks / Bethesda Game Studios)
Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost & Damned (Rockstar Games / Rockstar North)

Best Independent Game
* Flower (Thatgamecompany)
'Splosion Man (Twisted Pixel)
Osmos (Hemisphere Games)
Trials Hd (Redlynx)

Most Anticipated Game
* God Of War III (Sony Computer Entertainment / Sce Studios Santa Monica)
Bioshock 2 (2k Games / 2k Marin)
Mass Effect 2 (Electronic Arts / Bioware)
Starcraft Ii (Blizzard Entertainment)


Next, I'd like to take a look at some of the 'first glances'. This footage is brand new and was only released last night. Btw yes, some have crappy qual and some videos will die quicker than others due to copyright etc.

Halo: Reach
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Prince of Persia: Forgotten Sands
No embedding available, but can be found: [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MxflTuq1qY"]Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands[/ame]


UFC Undisputed 2010
Can be found here.

Star Wars The Force Unleashed 2
No embedding available, but can be found: [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAG1ECI6iMM"]Star Wars The Force Unleashed 2[/ame]


Tron Evolution
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Medal of Honor
No embedding available, but can be found:
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vK6rqDDC24"]Medal of Honor[/ame]

Crackdown 2
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Some of the guests that attended included:

- Jake Gyllenhaal
- Stevie wonder
- Snoop Dog
- The Bravery
- Jack Black
- Samuel L. Jackson
- Olivia Wilde
- Zachary Quinto
- Alyssa Milano
- Kimbo Slice

and many more...

So make sure you tune in next year! It was an amazing event and I really hope to be able to attend it in person someday. Hope you found amusing thread amusing.

Some sources for this post include:
- My mind
- wiki page
- website #2

[Reflection]

Another awesome article. Great work, qhan!

[I Hypnotoad I]

Honestly, I only watched the last hour.
The Australian Chick's voice burrowed into my soul.

PS: That was bull, Starcraft II should have won 'Most Anticipated'

[Notahax]

Awesome article, im pretty mad I missed it. Can you guys make a article about it before it goes live, telling about the show and the nominations?

[alj03]

GOGOG Uncharted 2: Among Thieves best graphics and game and gogo
God Of War III

[Glynbeard]

Awesome article, im pretty mad I missed it. Can you guys make a article about it before it goes live, telling about the show and the nominations?

I can try to get something up as a reminder next time before it goes live. Tbh I didn't really know about it until right before it was on tho xD

[Notahax]

I can try to get something up as a reminder next time before it goes live. Tbh I didn't really know about it until right before it was on tho xD

Awesome, thanks! You can do it for any kind of gaming event coming up. Giving information about it and what we can expect.

[Henessy]

Funny how WoW has more players worldwide than any other game on this list... and it isn't even nominated for anything =)

[Glynbeard]

Gah. Vids are down due to copyright claim >.>

I'll update with new ones ASAP.

[~OddBall~]

Qhan = Best News Team member atm by far

[ReidE96]

Best RPG
* Dragon Age: Origins (Electronic Arts / Bioware)
Borderlands (2k Games / Gearbox Software)
Demon's Souls (Atlus / Fromsoftware)
Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story (Nintendo / Alphadream)

Couldn't agree more. Faith in Humanity +1

Most Anticipated Game
* God Of War III (Sony Computer Entertainment / Sce Studios Santa Monica)
Bioshock 2 (2k Games / 2k Marin)
Mass Effect 2 (Electronic Arts / Bioware)
Starcraft Ii (Blizzard Entertainment)

Bullshit. Starcraft 2 and ME2 will be FAR superior to God of War 3. Heck, Bioshock 2 will be better. Faith in Humanity = 0

[Darkzeroangel]

Very nice we didn't watch it.. so a review is good

[Glynbeard]

First glance videos have been updated for now.