This past weekend Spike TV played host to the ninth annual Video Game Awards. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim took home the Vector Monkey trophy for Game of the Year, besting Portal 2, Batman Arkham City, Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception, and The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. Throughout the night, host Zachary Levi (Chuck) interacted with neat in-show augmented reality animations from the aforementioned nominees. Skyrim also won Best RPG and helped Bethesda get crowned Studio of the Year. Portal 2 was recognized multiple times throughout the night; it won Best PC Game, Best Multiplayer Game, Best Performance by Male and Female, and Best DLC. Arkham City also won multiple awards for Character of the Year (The Joker), Best Xbox 360 Game, Best Action Adventure Game, and Best Adapted Video Game. This year the Gamer God Award went to Blizzard Entertainment, and Shigeru Miyamoto was on hand to accept the first ever Video Game Hall of Fame Award for The Legend of Zelda. After the break you’ll find a list of all the night’s winners and losers.
Though the awards play a big part of the VGAs every year, it’s the world premiere footage from upcoming games that really gets gamers amped. Among the most celebrated were Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us, Command and Conquer: Generals 2 from Bioware, Alan Wake’s American Nightmare, Fortnite from Epic Games (introduced by Cliffy B. himself), Irrational Games’ Bioshock Infinite, and Blizzard’s introductory cinematic for Diablo III. And then were was the VGAs epic finale. Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima stepped on stage to unveil the latest pulse-pounding trailer for Metal Gear Rising. This one took my breath away; it’s a must-see. Jump after the break to watch all of the world premiere trailers screened at the VGAs.
GAME OF THE YEAR
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
STUDIO OF THE YEAR
Bethesda Game Studios
CHARACTER OF THE YEAR
The Joker – Batman: Arkham City
VIDEO GAME HALL OF FAME AWARD
“The Legend of Zelda”
GAMER GOD AWARD
Blizzard Entertainment
BEST XBOX 360 GAME
Batman: Arkham City
BEST PS3 GAME
Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception
BEST Wii GAME
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
BEST PC GAME
Portal 2
BEST HANDHELD/MOBILE GAME
Super Mario 3D Land
BEST SHOOTER
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
BEST ACTION ADVENTURE GAME
Batman: Arkham City
BEST RPG
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
BEST MULTI-PLAYER
Portal 2
BEST INDIVIDUAL SPORTS GAME
Fight Night Champion
BEST TEAM SPORTS GAME
NBA 2K12
BEST DRIVING GAME
Forza Motorsport 4
BEST FIGHTING GAME
Mortal Kombat
BEST MOTION GAME
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
BEST INDEPENDENT GAME
Minecraft
BEST ADAPTED VIDEO GAME
Batman: Arkham City
BEST SONG IN A GAME
“Build that Wall (Zia’s Theme)” by Darren Korb – Bastion
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Bastion
BEST GRAPHICS
Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception
BEST PERFORMANCE BY A HUMAN MALE
Stephen Merchant as Wheatley – Portal 2
BEST PERFORMANCE BY A HUMAN FEMALE
Ellen McLain as GLaDOS – Portal 2
BEST DOWNLOADABLE GAME
Bastion
BEST DLC
Portal 2 Peer Review
MOST ANTICIPATED GAME
Mass Effect 3
GAMETRAILERS.COM TRAILER OF THE YEAR
Assassin’s Creed: Revelations – E3 2011 Trailer
EA SPORTS NFL BLITZ DIGITAL COVER ATHLETE
Ray Rice