The Oscars-equivalent to gaming happens this Saturday. (Yeah, I know. The show sucks. But gaming really has no other major award show that gets televised). The Spike Video Game Awards, not actually hosted by Samuel L. Jackson, but this time Neil Patrick Harris (one of my heroes) should be a good show. I don't know how NPH will work with the comedic gaming humour, or how Jack Black will make another useless appearance, but if people will be watching for anything, it'll be the game reveals.
The VGAs have become a hub for major game reveals, the best example of this being last year's show. Arkham City and Force Unleashed 2 were officially announced, alongside Green Day: Rock Band and exclusive new gameplay for Halo: Reach, Prince of Persia, and UFC 2010.
An even bigger show is planned this year. Mass Effect 3, Prototype 2, Uncharted 3, Arkham City (again) and Saint's Row are all rumoured to make an appearance. Moreover, the biggest announcement and albeit a fateful one, is the ever persistent rumours of Battlefront 3. It would be a perfect time for Lucasarts to release the game - Unleashed 2 got less-than-desired scores and did mediocre on the sales charts. Battlefront 3 would put Lucasarts back in good faith with the gaming community and maybe, just maybe, give a push to an inevitable Force Unleashed 3.
I guess now I should go through and analyze each announcement. I'll have a review of the show and update it as I am watching, so it will be posted RIGHT after the show is over.
The Mass Effect series I am in love with. The two games so far are masterpieces and ME2 will sweep most GOTY awards. Most people I assume, certainly I am, are thinking how the hell Bioware could top it. But don't forget: this is Bioware. They can make any project into pure magic. There is something I am disappointed with though. Through the industry, and especially with the community, it's become a common occurrence to have useless multiplayer in games ((a good idea for a blog post!) and to that, thankfully Brotherhood wasn't a complete failure). Rumours are widespread that Mass Effect 3 will have multiplayer. Competitive, I don't think so; the way the games play wouldn't necessarily work as a shoot-em-up. Co-op I could see being a huge hit, presumably they keep the game team-oriented and not Shepard-does-it-all-so-fuck-everybody-else. Hell, I could probably make a following blog post just on the Mass Effect reveal. A lot of stuff at work here.
Now, in my opinion the most absurd announcement of the bunch, is Prototype 2. When the first one came out, I didn't know what you think. The game was great, an interesting but ultimately boring premise, and the gameplay was utterly repetitive. So, what warranted a reason for a sequel? I think it was economics. The game was Radical's biggest release, and the first one had a lot to fix, so really I can't blame the studio for at least trying. There is a lot of potential for what Prototype 2 could be and Radical understands this. Let's hope the game is good.
Uncharted and Arkham City are self-explanatory. Both games will be amazing like their predecessors. Rocksteady and Naughty Dog are phenomenal studios and are serious contenders for GOTY next year. Next year should be interesting for game of the year: Mass Effect, Arkham City and Uncharted all in the same year. Voting should be interesting.
The show should be a spectacle. To reiterate, I'll post a blog right after the show ends to give my thoughts on the show. I'm not an entertainment critic but I will try my best!!!
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