The Game Awards 2016 Highlights - The Bad and The Good
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The Game Awards has ended and was filled with a series of new announcements. But let's focus on what makes the night for this year's awards show, good or bad.
Geoff Keighley's Appreciation for Hideo Kojima (The Good)
During last year's Game Awards, Hideo Kojima was barred from attending the event by Konami with legal means. To start this year's Game Awards, Geoff Keighley made things right by giving a very emotional speech in honor of the Game Creator, which at some points sounded like his voice was breaking. So touching, and congratulations to Snake himself for earning the award for Industry icon, well deserved.
Emotional Speech From That Dragon, Cancer Win (The Good)
It was a great moment for the creator of That Dragon, Cancer, taking the win for Games For Impact. The game has an emotional tale that will make any player feel what the developers were trying to express in the game. During his acceptance speech, he poured his utmost appreciation to those that made this title a reality. This is a reminder on how an awards show like this is greatly needed for a growing industry.
All The Adbreaks Found Everywhere (The Bad)
If there was one thing that was on point during the whole Game Awards it would have to be the constant need to throw an ad in your face. Adbreaks were everywhere and co-hosts backstage were really selling a variety of stuff every chance they get. Be it VR tech, the Assassin's Creed movie, there was no stopping the need to sell you something during the break. You know it's getting a bit too much when you get ads showing up more than once. Yes, it's still a business after all and they need the sponsors, but the real meat of the awards felt sandwiched by all these breaks that pretty much destroyed any possible rhythm the event could've had as an awards show.
Hydro Bot Deserves Ad Man of the Year (The Weird)
Let's not forget Hydro Bot, a robot with a razor as a head. It made the night whenHydro Bot was there in the flesh to grace those attending with his presence, apparently roaming the night, schooling people on healthy shaving. He was such a hit that even Hideo Kojima needed a photo with the robot.
The Music Performances (The Bad)
I have no problem throwing in some entertainment for those watching live and attending the event, it's a common thing for shows like these, but the performances this year felt out of place. It was hard to appreciate the rap performances simply because I was constantly wondering how they fit in all of this. Then, you have a music performance for Doom, which you'd think seems fitting for such a show. It was to an extent - I felt a bit disturbed with what I was hearing since it was capturing the atmosphere of that game so well, and that's a world I don't want to get too engrossed in.
Mass Effect Andromeda Gameplay Footage (The Good)
The show was winding down and at this point we only have the big one left - Game of the Year. But before they announced the winner, we were given a hefty amount of Mass Effect Andromeda gameplay footage, and it was content worth saving until the end. Abilities being thrown left and right, conflicts, a big open space to explore, the new Mass Effect is looking good at this point.
And for those who won at the show?
Here's the full list:
Game of the Year
· Doom (id Software / Bethesda)
· Inside (Playdead)
· Overwatch (Blizzard Entertainment) *Winner
· Titanfall 2 (Respawn / Electronic Arts)
· Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End (Naughty Dog / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Best Studio/Game Direction
· Blizzard (Overwatch) *Winner
· DICE (Battlefield 1)
· id Software (Doom)
· Naughty Dog (Uncharted 4)
· Respawn (Titanfall 2)
Best Narrative
· Firewatch (Campo Santo)
· Inside (Playdead)
· Mafia 3 (Hangar 13/2K Games)
· Oxenfree (Night School Studio)
· Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End (Naughty Dog/Sony) *Winner
Best Art Direction
· Abzu (Giant Squid/505 Games)
· Firewatch (Campo Santo)
· Inside (Playdead) *Winner
· Overwatch (Blizzard)
Best Music/Sound Design
· Battlefield 1 (DICE/EA)
· Doom (id Software/Bethesda) *Winner
· Inside (Playdead)
· Rez Infinite (Enhance Games)
· Thumper (Drool)
Best Performance
· Alex Hernandez as Lincoln Clay (Mafia 3)
· Cissy Jones as Delilah (Firewatch)
· Emily Rose as Elena (Uncharted 4)
· Nolan North as Nathan Drake (Uncharted 4) *Winner
· Rich Summer as Henry (Firewatch)
· Tory Baker as Sam Drake (Uncharted 4)
Games for Impact Award
· 1979 Revolution (iNK Stories)
· Block’Hood (Plethora Project/Devolver Digital)
· Orwell (Osmotic Studios/Surprise Attack)
· Sea Hero Quest (Glitchers)
· That Dragon, Cancer (Numinous Games) *Winner
Best Independent Game
· Firewatch (Campo Santo)
· Hyper Light Drifter (Heart Machine)
· Inside (Playdead) *Winner
· Stardew Valley (ConcernedApe/Chucklefish)
· The Witness (Thekla)
Best Mobile/Handheld
· Clash Royale (Supercell)
· Fire Emblem Fates (Intelligent Systems/Nintendo)
· Monster Hunter Generations (Capcom)
· Pokemon Go (Niantic) *Winner
· Severed (Drinkbox Studios)
Best VR Game
· Batman: Arkham VR (Rocksteady/Warner Bros.)
· EVE: Valkyrie (CCP Games)
· Job Simulator (Owlchemy Labs)
· Rez Infinite (Enhance Games) *Winner
· Thumper (Drool)
Best Action Game
· Battlefield 1 (DICE/EA)
· Doom (id Software/Bethesda) *Winner
· Gears of War 4 (The Coalition/Microsoft)
· Overwatch (Blizzard)
· Titanfall 2 (Respawn/EA)
Best Action/Adventure Game
· Dishonored 2 (Arkane Studios/Bethesda) *Winner
· Hitman (IO Interactive/Square Enix)
· Hyper Light Drifter (Heart Machine)
· Ratchet & Clank (Insomniac Games/Sony)
· Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End (Naughty Dog /Sony)
Best RPG
· Dark Souls 3 (From Software/Bandai Namco)
· Deus Ex: Mankind Divided (Eidos Montreal/Square Enix)
· The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Blood and Wine (CD Projekt RED) *Winner
· World of Warcraft: Legion (Blizzard)
· Xenoblade Chronicles X (Monolith Soft/Nintendo)
Best Fighting Game
· Killer Instinct Season 3 (Iron Galaxy Studios/Microsoft)
· The King of Fighters XIV (SNK/Atlus USA)
· Pokken Tournament (Bandai Namco Studios/The Pokemon Company)
· Street Fighter 5 (Capcom) *Winner
Best Family Game
· Dragon Quest Builders (Square Enix)
· LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens (TT Fusion/Warner Bros.)
· Pokemon Go (Niantic) *Winner
· Ratchet & Clank (Insomniac Games/Sony)
· Skylanders: Imaginators (Toys for Bob/Activision)
Best Strategy Game
· Civilization 6 (Firaxis Games/2K Games) *Winner
· Fire Emblem Fates (Intelligent Systems/Nintendo)
· The Banner Saga 2 (Stoic Studio/Versus Evil)
· Total War: Warhammer (The Creative Assembly/SEGA)
· XCOM 2 (Firaxis Games/2K Games)
Best Sports / Racing Game
· FIFA 17 (EA Canada/EA Sports)
· Forza Horizon 3 (Playground Games/Microsoft) *Winner
· MLB The Show 2016 (SIE San Diego Studio/Sony)
· NBA 2K17 (Visual Concepts/2K Sports)
· Pro Evolution Soccer 2017 (PES Productions/Konami)
Best Multiplayer Game
· Battlefield 1 (DICE/EA)
· Gears of War 4 (The Coalition/Microsoft)
· Overcooked (Ghost Town Games/Team17)
· Overwatch (Blizzard) *Winner
· Rainbow Six Siege (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft)
· Titanfall 2 (Respawn/EA)
Most Anticipated Game
· God of War (SIE Santa Monica Studio/Sony)
· Horizon: Zero Dawn (Guerrilla Games/Sony)
· Mass Effect: Andromeda (BioWare/EAs)
· Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar)
· The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo) *Winner
Best eSports Player
· Faker – [Lee Sang-Hyeok] SK Telecom T1, League of Legends
· Coldzera – [Marcelo David] SK Gaming, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive *Winner
· Byun-Hyun Woo – Starcraft 2
· Infiltrator – [Lee Seeon-woo] Team Razer, Street Fighter 5
· Hungrybox – [Juan Debiedma] Team Liquid, Super Smash Bros.
Best eSports Team
· SK Telecom T1 – Game: League of Legends
· Wings Gaming – Game: DOTA 2
· SK Gaming
· ROX Tigers – Game: Leauge of Legends
· Cloud 9 *Winner
Best eSports Game
· Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (Valve)
· DOTA 2 (Valve)
· League of Legends (Riot)
· Overwatch (Blizzard) *Winner
· Street Fighter 5 (Capcom)
Trending Gamer
· AngryJoeShow
· Boogie2988 *Winner
· Danny O’Dwyer
· JackSpeticeye
· Lirik
