I'm almost certain that only a few pairs of eyes have strayed to this barren portion of the blogosphere, or more specifically, this very blog. Therefore, I won't ascend to a high-horse and consider these 'awards' as prestigious or anything of that nature. In fact, the categories do not have just one winner; all the games listed under its respective category have 'won'. And no, there is not a Game of the Year here at The Gaming Spectrum. So, with that out of the way, let's see the categories and their winners:
Best Overall Construction: This category lists the games that I felt had the tightest controls, camera and user interfaces.
- Gears of War 2 - The Gears series (next to Halo, Call of Duty and Counter-Strike) is the epitome of twitch and player-skill based combat. EPIC understands the 'art' of mapping buttons correctly and making their response time near instantaneous.
- Battlefield: Bad Company - While I wasn't a fan of the campaign in Bad Company, I couldn't help but be amazed with the great FPS combat, and an immersive perspective.
- Mirror's Edge - Although the combat system in Mirror's Edge is somewhat of a travesty, I'm grading the only portion of the game that ultimately mattered the most: the parkour. This game plays as fluid and responsive as any classic Mario game, with the adrenaline of a great peripheral vision perspective.
- Braid - Like I sort of mentioned above, platform games need a precise jumping mechanic. They also need varied levels and environments and an interesting twist on side-scrolling gameplay. Braid has each prerequisite in spades.
Best Reward System: Winners of this category implemented effective methods of rewarding the player for their activities.
- Battlefield: Bad Company - Bad Company features an extensive array of medals and badges to collect throughout your online career. A very satisfying and clever notification tells the player he or she has earned one of these rewards. Also, unlocking special weapons and gadgets is a very compelling addition.
- Call of Duty: World at War - World at War builds (or at least retains) the same addictive experience system from Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.
- LittleBigPlanet - LBP has a great reward system that integrates well with the object/level creation process. The possibilities here are endless, as opposed to developer-created awards.
- Too Human - The Diablo-style loot system is very addictive, and because almost every item looks different from the others, it adds a lot of replayability just to see what's there for you.
Best Artistic and Technical Achievements: This category includes games that have great visual styles, and technology that make them possible.
- Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts - The sheer scope of the environments found in Nuts & Bolts is incredible. Banjo himself is extremely insignificant compared to his surroundings.
- Gears of War 2 - This is, simply, a beautiful game. The huge vistas stretch for miles, and the variety of environments keeps things fresh.
- Grand Theft Auto IV - Size is a common thread in these awards, isn't it? GTA IV has a seemingly life-size world that puts the player into a living, breathing city.
- LittleBigPlanet - LBP has such a distinct art style. It's both cartoony and abstract, while also remaining very realistic in terms of its depiction of real world materials such as felt, wood and brick.
- Dead Space - The gameplay for Dead Space didn't bear as well with me as did Gears of War 2 or the other games listed above, but it succeeds in creating a compelling atmosphere with its mood and art style.
- Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots - Most of the stories I hear from people playing this game talk about the jaw-dropping scripted moments. While I tend to enjoy games that are more dynamic, MGS4 never fails to impress the first time you play through it.
Best Storyline:
- Braid - Granted, Braid's story is perhaps best understood and is more effective for those who know the feeling of true love, but it should strike a chord with most people.
- Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts - Rare isn't known for their storytelling abilities, but they definitely knocked their previous efforts out of the part with Nuts & Bolts. Not only is it just a silly adventure, but it intelligently pokes fun at game conventions and video game fans themselves (specifically Rare fans, like myself).
- Too Human - If you can get past the unimpressive digital acting and animation, the writing and voice acting should hold your interest for Too Human's grand themes based on the Norse mythos.
- Fallout 3 - Fallout 3's story, from beginning to end, is extremely ambitious. And while it doesn't *quite* hit the emotional bar the plot shoots for, it's an admirable attempt, especially given the current technology in place.
- Grand Theft Auto IV - GTA's story has matured over the years, and it certainly shows in GTA IV. It's a direction that I hope to see them continue going in, if only to keep someone like me interested in the franchise. Now if only they can make a great *game* to go with it...
Best Sound Design: This encompasses several aspects of sound design, such as the musical score and sound effects.
- Battlefield: Bad Company - Next to the Halo series, Bad Company has the most impressive sound effects I've ever heard. The small details of the sound immersed me from the beginning, like the crumbling of bricks after an explosion or the echoing of gunfire inside buildings and out in the battlefield. 'Cinematic' is the best word to describe it.
- Bionic Commando Rearmed - The revamped soundtrack for Rearmed should set a precedent for everyone else who wishes to remake an old classic.
- Gears of War 2 - Although EPIC Games hired a different composer for Gears of War 2, the soundtrack remains faithful to the original, using old themes while drumming up new, better ones. The sound effects are also amazing for 5.1 Surround Sound users.
- Grand Theft Auto IV - Arguably the most important aspect of GTA is the living, breathing city that players navigate through. However, there would be no life in these cities without Rockstar's clever use of music and civilian chatter.
- LittleBigPlanet - LBP opened my ears to new genres of music; The licenced tracks made me want to find more music like those included in the game. The original soundtrack is also a quirky and unique set of songs that have a bit of a Banjo Kazooie vibe.
- Too Human - Along with the top notch voice acting, Too Human delivers a very satisfying audio experience. The music has quite a bit of percussion, drumming up the players' excitement when they get into battle. The metal-crunching sound effects are also quite cool.
Best Mutiplayer:
- Battlefield: Bad Company - The maps in Bad Company don't have much going for them, but they very large and always bring the players into an even larger concentrated fight.
- Left 4 Dead - It's probably best to describe Left 4 Dead as a straight-up multiplayer game. It doesn't use all of Valve's storytelling resources like Portal did, but it makes up for it by creating an extremely focused co-op game.
- Gears of War 2 - Gears of War 2 packs a ton of value within its multiplayer portion. This includes the replayability of Horde mode on every map and a matchmaking system that mixes up game modes for you.
- LittleBigPlanet - It's very hard to find a great local co-op game nowadays. If I have a friend over, my options are pretty much limited to Halo and Gears of War. LBP offers an awesome experience, just with two controllers and one television. Must I ask, developers: Is it that hard to do?
