Oblivion nabs Spike TV top honors
Cliffy B, Gears also snare awards, but crowd reacts in disbelief as run-and-gun title for the 360 misses top prize.
LOS ANGELES--Another Spike TV Video Game Awards show, another star-studded event that might not have appealed to hardcore fans of the subject it's supposed to celebrate. However, in its fourth try, the "First Network for Men" did pull off one of its best awards shows, in terms of both production and worthy nominees.
;)
The fourth annual Spike TV Video Game Awards were held at the Galen Center in Los Angeles Friday night, with veteran actor Samuel L. Jackson returning for the second consecutive year as the show's host.
The broadcast of Friday's event will be aired on the self-proclaimed "First Network for Men" next Wednesday at 10 p.m. ET/PT and will feature musical performances from Tenacious D and AFI. But GameSpot was in attendance this eve, with the results of the judges' voting below.
;)
The big winner of the night was The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, which scooped up five awards including the coveted Game of the Year prize. It wasn't a runaway victory for the Bethesda Softworks-developed game, though. Gears of War was neck-and-neck with Oblivion until the very last award--Game of the Year.
As the announcer listed off the nominees for Game of the Year, the greatest applause was aimed at Gears of War and Guitar Hero 2. But when Oblivion was announced as the winner, many in the crowd sounded stunned.
Oblivion also walked home with Most Addictive Game (voted on by the public), Best Performance by a Human (Male) for Patrick Stewart, Best Role-Playing Game, and Best Original Score. Gears of War took home four awards total, including Best Shooter, Best Graphics, Best Multiplayer Game, and Best Studio for its developers, Epic Games.
;)
The Critics' Choice Award, the only category open for games released after November 7 (games scheduled for release before the end of the year were eligible for the Critics' Choice Award), went to The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. By its requirements, the category was also the only chance for Wii or PlayStation 3 games to take home an award.
Tenacious D kicked off the ceremonies with the band's usual heavy-metal parody rock stylings, and Jackson continued the action with a few sketches before taking the stage in person. Helping Jackson out was Seth MacFarlane, bantering with the Snakes on a Plane star as the voice of Stewie Griffin from Family Guy. Presumably, Stewie will be animated in for the Wednesday broadcast.
There were some world-exclusive premieres, including footage of Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2, TNA Wrestling, and the opening cinematic from The Burning Crusade expansion of World of Warcraft. WOW got the deluxe treatment, with a congregation of robed, lip-synching figures taking the stage while the trailer showed above them, occasionally accompanied by some light pyrotechnics.
;)
Beyond that, most of the presenters were in good spirits as they delivered their hit-and-miss lines before an oft-indifferent crowd. Former Dallas Cowboy Michael Irvin let go of a Wii Remote three times on the backswing of a Wii Sports golf game in a staged event, Masi Oka of Heroes dissed the WNBA when presenting the Best Team Sports Game Award, and Tyrese used the opportunity to promote his upcoming CD in the only ad-lib of the night.
The highlight of the evening came when comedienne Sarah Silverman brought her usual shtick of sarcastic humor to the stage, which was unfortunately lost on most of those in the crowd. She went on a tirade against gamers, saying they "should get an award for their work in AIDS prevention" because they simply stand no chance of getting laid.
Thankfully for those in attendance, Silverman's remarks apparently didn't apply to them. The MTV-generation audience continually filed out of the auditorium throughout the night muttering, "I don't even play video games."
The results of the 2006 Spike TV Video Game Awards are as follows (winners in bold):
GAME OF THE YEAR
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Bethesda)
Okami (Capcom/Clover Studio)
Gears of War (Microsoft/Epic Games)
Guitar Hero 2 (Red Octane/Harmonix)
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter (Ubisoft)
CRITIC'S CHOICE
(game to be released after 11/15/2006 but before 12/31/2006)
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Nintendo/Nintendo EAD)
Resistance: Fall of Man (Sony Computer Entertainment America/Insomniac Games)
Medieval II: Total War (Sega/Creative Assembly)
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas (Ubisoft Montreal)
Wii Sports (Nintendo)
BEST DRIVING GAME
Burnout Revenge, Xbox 360 (Electronic Arts/Criterion Games)
Need For Speed Carbon (Electronic Arts/EA Black Box)
TOCA Race Driver 3 (Codemasters)
GTR 2 (10tacle Studios/SimBin Development Team)
BEST INDIVIDUAL SPORTS GAME
Rockstar Games Presents Table Tennis (Rockstar Games/Rockstar San Diego)
EA Sports Fight Night Round 3 (Electronic Arts/ EA Chicago)
Tony Hawk's Project 8 (Activision/Neversoft )
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 (Electronic Arts/EA Redwood Shores)
Top Spin 2 (2K Sports/Power and Magic)
BEST ACTION GAME
Dead Rising (Capcom)
New Super Mario Bros (Nintendo/Nintendo EAD)
Okami (Capcom/Clover Studio)
Saints Row (THQ/Volition)
Bully (Rockstar Games/Rockstar Vancouver)
BEST TEAM SPORTS GAME
NBA2K7 (2K Sports/Visual Concepts)
Madden NFL 07 (Electronic Arts/Tiburon)
NCAA Football 07 (Electronic Arts/Tiburon)
FIFA 07 (Electronic Arts/EA Canada)
NHL 07 (Electronic Arts/EA Canada)
CYBER VIXEN OF THE YEAR
Lara Croft - Tomb Raider: Legend (Eidos Interactive/Crystal Dynamics)
Alyx Vance - Half-Life 2: Episode 1 (Valve)
Princess Peach - New Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo/Nintendo EAD)
Enrica - Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Double Agent (Ubisoft Montreal)
Jen - Prey (2K Games/ Human Head Studios/3D Realms)
BEST SONG
"LocoRoco No Uta" by Nobuyuki Shimizu and Kemmei Adachi, LocoRoco (Sony Computer Entertainment America/SCE Studios Japan)
"Heavenly Star" by Genki Rockets, Lumines II (Buena Vista Games/Q Entertainment)
"Helicopter" by Bloc Party, Marc Ecko's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure (Atari/The Collective)
"Summer Shudder" by AFI in Madden NFL 07 (Electronic Arts/Tiburon)
"Lights and Sounds" by YellowCard, Burnout Revenge-XBOX 360 (Electronic Arts/Criterion Games)
BEST SOUNDTRACK
Guitar Hero 2 (Red Octane/Harmonix)
Madden NFL 07 (Electronic Arts/Tiburon)
Scarface: The World is Yours (Vivendi/Radical Entertainment)
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories (Rockstar Games/Rockstar Leeds / Rockstar North)
STUDIO OF THE YEAR
Clover Studio (Okami)
Relic (Company of Heroes)
Cliff Bleszinski /Epic Games (Gears of War)
Todd Howard / Bethesda Softworks (The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion)
Harmonix (Guitar Hero 2)
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Bethesda Softworks)
Bully (Rockstar Games/Rockstar Vancouver)
Electroplankton (Nintendo)
Okami (Capcom/Clover Studio)
Final Fantasy XII (Square Enix)
BEST FIGHTING GAME
Tekken: Dark Resurrection (Namco Bandai)
Dead or Alive 4 (Tecmo/Team Ninja)
Mortal Kombat Armageddon (Midway Games)
Street Fighter Alpha Anthology (Capcom)
God Hand (Capcom/Clover Studio)
BEST SHOOTER
Black (Electronic Arts/Criterion)
Prey (2K Games/ Human Head Studios/3D Realms)
Half-Life 2: Episode 1 (Valve)
Gears of War (Microsoft/Epic Games)
Call of Duty 3 (Activision/Treyarch)
BEST MILITARY GAME
Company of Heroes (THQ/Relic)
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter (Ubisoft)
Call of Duty 3 (Activision/Treyarch)
The Outfit (THQ/Relic)
Battlefield 2142 (Electronic Arts/EA UK/DICE UK)
BEST GRAPHICS
Gears of War (Microsoft/Epic Games)
Okami (Capcom/Clover Studio)
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter (Ubisoft)
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Bethesda Softworks)
Company of Heroes (THQ/Relic)
BEST HANDHELD GAME
New Super Mario (Nintendo/Nintendo EAD)
Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day (Nintendo)
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories (Rockstar Games/Rockstar Leeds/Rockstar North)
Tetris DS (Nintendo)
LocoRoco (Sony Computer Entertainment America/SCE Studios Japan)
BEST WIRELESS GAME
Diner Dash (Glu Mobile)
SWAT Force (Vivendi/KAOLink)
Tower Bloxx (Digital Chocolate)
Super K.O. Boxing (Glu Mobile)
BEST MULTI-PLAYER GAME
Gears of War (Microsoft/Epic Games)
Company of Heroes (THQ/Relic)
Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence (Konami/Kojima Productions)
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter (Ubisoft)
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Double Agent (Ubisoft Montreal)
BREAKTHROUGH TECHNOLOGY
Wii (Nintendo)
PS3 (Sony Computer Entertainment America)
DS Lite (Nintendo)
Electroplankton (Nintendo)
BEST PC GAME
Company of Heroes (THQ/Relic)
Half-Life 2: Episode 1 (Valve)
Battlefield 2142 (Electronic Arts/Digital Illusions CE)
Star Wars: Empire at War (LucasArts/Petroglyph)
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Bethesda)
BEST RPG
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Bethesda)
Final Fantasy XII (Square Enix)
Kingdom Hearts II (Square Enix)
Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria (Square Enix/tri-Ace)
BEST GAME BASED ON A MOVIE OR TV SHOW
Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy (LucasArts/Traveller's Tales)
The Godfather (Electronic Arts/EA Redwood Shores)
Scarface: The World is Yours (Vivendi/Radical Entertainment)
The Sopranos: Road to Respect (THQ/7 Studios)
Family Guy (2K Games/High Voltage Software)
BEST PERFORMANCE BY A HUMAN (MALE)
Seth MacFarlane in Family Guy (2K Games/High Voltage Software)
Gerry Rosenthal in Bully (Rockstar Games/Rockstar Vancouver)
Patrick Stewart in The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Bethesda Softworks)
Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Legend of Jack Sparrow (Bethesda Softworks/7 Studios/Buena Vista Games)
Kiefer Sutherland in 24: The Game (2K Games/SCEE Studios Cambridge)
BEST SUPPORTING MALE PERFORMANCE
Seth Green in Family Guy (2K Games/High Voltage Software)
James Woods in Scarface: The World is Yours (Vivendi/Radical Entertainment)
James Caan in The Godfather (Electronic Arts/EA Redwood Shores)
Philip Michael Thomas in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories (Rockstar Games/Rockstar Leeds/Rockstar North)
James Gandolfini in The Sopranos: Road to Respect (THQ/7 Studios)
BEST PERFORMANCE BY A HUMAN (FEMALE)
Vida Guerra in Scarface: The World is Yours (Vivendi/Radical Entertainment)
Tia Carrere in Saints Row (THQ/Volition)
Emmanuelle Vaugier in Need For Speed Carbon (Electronic Arts/EA Black Box)
Keely Haws in Tomb Raider: Legend (Eidos Interactive/Crystal Dynamics)
Rosario Dawson in Marc Ecko's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure (Atari/The Collective)
BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE PERFORMANCE
Rachel Leigh Cook in Kingdom Hearts II (Square Enix)
Elisha Cuthbert in 24: The Game (2K Games/SCE Studios Cambridge)
Brittany Murphy in Marc Ecko's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure (Atari/The Collective)
Mila Kunis in Family Guy (2K Games/High Voltage Software)
Lynda Carter in The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Bethesda)
BEST CAST IN A GAME
The Godfather (Electronic Arts/EA Redwood Shores)
Family Guy (2K Games/High Voltage Software)
Scarface: The World is Yours (Vivendi/Radical Entertainment)
Saints Row (THQ/Volition)
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Bethesda)
MOST ADDICTIVE GAME
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Bethesda)
Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day (Nintendo)
Gears of War (Microsoft/Epic Games)
Guitar Hero 2 (Red Octane/Harmonix)
Company of Heroes (THQ/Relic)
866 Comments
I suppose I agree with the majority of those choices and I am glad to see the Wii get breakthrough technology, but now since I already know who's won everything I will only be watching this for the WoW : Burning Crusade opening trailer, as well as Bioshock and other previews.
Gears is not (even close) to being the best multiplayer experiance of the year. Everything else is pretty good though...
Good to see Gears of War and Oblivion getting the respect they deserve. Much better than 50 cent: Bulletproof being nominated...wasn't that last year? good lord.
Best Individual Sports going to Tony Hawks? Shouldve gone to Rockstar... And MK getting best fighting? Thats Tekken's award...
Wow! Great too see lots of wins for Xbox 360! And also Oblivion deserves the rewards because it's a fantastic game.
[This message was deleted at the request of a moderator or administrator]
Other than a couple of categories, I very much agree. I'm wholly surprised that Gears didn't take top honors, but I'm not complaining. Oblivion deserved it.
Great picks actually... Although I agree GoW's multiplayer isn't that much fun... But in truth none of those games are that great in the multiplayer field.
Heh. Paperlink is just upset Zelda waunched too wate to be included in Goatee...
Oblivion rocks faces. I'm pleased for Bethesda it won top honours.
What in the Gods Heart? GOW has impressive graphic but it doesn't come any NEAR because of the visuals and outstanding coloring that Oblivion Has, not to mention the details it has in the game of the graphics. Oh well, the votes counts...
Oblivion should have got more awards. That was the best game i played in a long time there are so many games like GOW. and there are alot of games like that that are already out. only one oblivion out right now....
how did Patrick Stewart win, he is in it for about 10 seconds....
any way it is good to see Oblivion do well, and Company of Heroes is also desrving.
I'm actually kind of surprised and impressed that Okami was nominated for game of the year. That game seriously rocks.
Wow, those are pretty much dead-on to what I voted for. Funny how Oblivion wins GotY but loses best PC game to Company of Heroes.
Wow, why are Black and Prey on that list at all? A couple of the worst games(most especially Black) i've seen in YEARS. Was it that slow of a year for shooters?
how did Mortal Kombat Armageddon win the best fighting game award? So Midway's 'go for broke' method worked....
Tony Hawk won the sports game? that should have been Finght Night Round 3 since that seem to be the biggest upgrade in Next Gen.
WHAT??? GOW multiplayer is not fun??? If you think that it's because you suck and you don't know how to play you dummy!
Very fair...
Gears of War is a winner in my heart... sniffles. :-D
yeah i agreed %100 oblivion game of the year and gears best online and shooter i love my xbox360 every day more and more and my wii is cool better then my ps3 for sure plz dont buy ps3 now wait like a year and maybe i.ll get better now is useless i sell mine for $1200 prem. 60 gb
hmm I'm surprised at how much success Oblivion had at the awards. Personally I liked Oblivion to a certain extent, but it definitely wasn't the most addictive game in that list and it certainly lacked a certain appeal to complete the game. I mean the game was incredibly impressive and there's a bunch of crap to do in it, but at some point in the game it all starts feeling a bit too similar and the game almost becomes as tedious as doing a chore. O well...
lol, there's no way you can sell your PS3 for $1200, not anymore. The highest you can sell it for is $800 - $850. Prices are going lower and lower every day.
who sed that gears online is not fun???? are you noobie or mental that is bay far the best multyplayer online and coop if you are rare that,s ok but man the game is super well online cant stop playing it is better bay far
and oblivion %%100 game of the year i love both games alot xbox360 with the gems thise year
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[This message was deleted at the request of a moderator or administrator]
Anybody that has played gears knows Gears is game of the year.
ps3 for sell $$1200 is for real not kidding is the 60gb hidm cables and resistance fall of men overnight shipping
what do you mean no way oblivion is way much better then ff12 look at the score oblivion 9.6 final 9.0 plus forever fantasy 12,000000 is old same always come on
Heh. Paperlink is just upset Zelda waunched too wate to be included in Goatee...
Excuse me? Did I even say that in my message?
I was referring to Spike's VGA awards, which are usually nothing special.
To Optimusv2: I have played gears and oblivion, and I have to say for me Oblivion is better
Hmmm.... yeah, I identify Spike with the pinnacle of gaming excellence.
O_o
Guess I didn't miss much again.
Why would be people gasp in disbelief? Gears was a great game but it just couldn't hold a candle to Oblivion. Hell, I'm a shooter fan first and foremost and I can see this.
The times are a changin', and only Sony is a losin'. Nice line up this year, this award show finally has some merit. Okami mentions and Oblivion's domination mean there are actually gamers on the panel this year. Impressive.
just because oblivion got a higher score than FFXII doesnt mean its better. i played the game one time and enyoyed it for a short time. but in terms of storyline i say FFXII has the edge of oblivion.
Yes, actually it does. You should have played the game more than one time. I like FF12, it's in my PS2 at the moment, but it doesn't shake a stick at Oblivion. Nobody that's spent time with the two would disagree. R-Tard. (I love that term... South Park got me hooked
)
Oblivion is an awesome game, but Spike TV wouldn't know good gaming (or television for that matter), if it kicked them in the butt. I really don't take anything Spike TV says seriously, a perfect stranger has more credibility.
Featured Game
Developer: Bethesda Softworks
Genre: Role-Playing
Platform: PC
Release Date: Mar 20, 2006
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