AIAS Awards nominees announced

[Gadfly2317]

www.interactive.org

Check the site for nominees in all 36 Categories.
Winners will be announced on March 4.

. Game of the Year
Command & Conquer: Generals
Call of Duty
Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando
Rise of Nations
SSX 3 EA
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

I have just a few comments. It will be interesting to see who will get GOTY, which is presumably a run-off between Prince of Persia, KOTOR, and Zelda.

Prince of Persia took a total of 12 nominations, 2 of which were in PC Only categories; next up was KOTOR which took 10 nominations, 3 of which were PC Only categories, and Zelda: Windwaker with 9 total nominations. All three of these games have been selected as GOTY at some game-mag awards or the other, so it could be a toss-up here.

Xbox did well this year, wtih more exclusives nominated (remember last year, the razzing they were given for having nothing but one semi-exclusive in the whole thing, which was Splinter Cell.) Xbox had a much wider range of exclusive nominees this year in Crimson Skies, Rainbow Six 3, Project Gotham 2, Top Spin, and Grabbed by the Ghoulies. I thought the biggest snub was not even a nomination for Voodoo Vince in the best original music category, which is a category it won at Gamespot. (I didn't include KOTOR as an exclusive since it was co-developed as a PC game.)

GC had a fair showing with its exclusives: Zelda, Viewtiful Joe, F-Zero, MK: DD and Mario Party 5 all got a nomination in one category or the other.

I thought it was interesting that xbox gets called the racing king platform, but of the five nominees in the racing category, 4 of them were playable on Gamecube, but only 3 of the nominees were playable on xbox.

Someone else will need to step up and give their thoughts on PS2 and Sony's performance at the awards.

It did seem like a third pary dominated year for nominations. And maybe GC has third party woes, but you'd barely know it here. Almost all the big multi-system nominees were availabe on the GC as well: SSX III, Prince of Persia, Def Jam Vendetta, Soul Calibur 2, Beyond Good and Evil, XIII, Tony Hawk Underground, Madden 2004, True Crime. (I don't know if LOTR:Return of the King was on GC, or NBA Street Vol 2. Don't recall those.) Seemed Max Payne 2 was the only multi-plat nominated not on the cube (I'm sure I missed something. . . that was a lot of games to wade through.)

Anyway, take a look at the nominations and categories. Love to hear what everyone thinks.

[Gadfly2317]

What game didn't get a single nomination that you believe should be on there?

Best Handlheld--Why wasn't Wario Ware on there?

Should Otogi been on there somewhere, best art direction, or original music composition?

WHY WHY WHY was Grabbed by the Ghoulies nominated for ANYTHING??? Family Game? Is it even multi-player?

And I didn't see Panzer Dragoon anywhere. Am I getting senile, or didn't this come out in 2003? Just because it was february release, we shouldn't have forgotten it. Surely this one had some recognition deserved in the Visual Engineering, Art Direction, or Game Design categories.

Oh well.

[GameLegend]

Forgive me if i m being naive...but i thought most of the 'GAME OF THE YEAR' awards were awarded near the closing of a year. March 1st seems kinda late to annouce LAST YEAR's 'game of the year'....games.

[Gadfly2317]

Forgive me if i m being naive...but i thought most of the 'GAME OF THE YEAR' awards were awarded near the closing of a year. March 1st seems kinda late to annouce LAST YEAR's 'game of the year'....games.

The game magazines all rush to get their opinion lists out real quick. AIAS is the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences, and just like the Oscars, the voters are made up totally of industry insiders, professionals, executives, and so forth. March is when the Oscars run, too, isn't it? I'm not sure. I like this particular awards--not because it is necessarily any more valid, but it does often show what the people who make the games think the best games are, which can hold some indication of which direction the industry is headed. This year they kinda look like its all about sales numbers. Its not always so much like that.

[Deathstroke]

You could also technically call the GDC (Game Developers Conference) Awards the same thing.

["The Game"Evolution]

What game didn't get a single nomination that you believe should be on there?

Best Handlheld--Why wasn't Wario Ware on there?

Should Otogi been on there somewhere, best art direction, or original music composition?

WHY WHY WHY was Grabbed by the Ghoulies nominated for ANYTHING??? Family Game? Is it even multi-player?

And I didn't see Panzer Dragoon anywhere. Am I getting senile, or didn't this come out in 2003? Just because it was february release, we shouldn't have forgotten it. Surely this one had some recognition deserved in the Visual Engineering, Art Direction, or Game Design categories.

Oh well.

Oh well it happens.I'm not saying that we dont have a right to be pissed off about it but sometimes great games get ignored.As far as my GOTY pick goes my money is on Star Wars:Knights Of The Old Republic.

[Gadfly2317]

Oh well it happens.I'm not saying that we dont have a right to be pissed off about it but sometimes great games get ignored.As far as my GOTY pick goes my money is on Star Wars:Knights Of The Old Republic.

I would guess KOTOR or Prince of Persia will get it. Just going by sheer number of nominations, PoP is favored. Although I suppose it could be a surprise. They seemed real keen on the PC game Call of Duty.

[no.1gamer]

This group of individuals (gaming industry professionals???) always favor the Xbox and it's games. So my guess is that KOTOR wins the GOTY award. If KOTOR doesn't win it will be another multiplatform game appearing on the Xbox. The only other games that have a chance in hell are Call of Duty and Rise of Nations.

I'm not trying to be an @$$, but take a look at the past 2 years of awards. It works the same way when the oscars are given out to movies. The awards usually go to certain people even though other movies are obviously better.

Then of course there's the possibility that they'll not give the award to the Xbox (giving it a GOTY hat trick) specifically to not make themselves look like the biased @$$@$ they really are. We'll see...

[Gadfly2317]

This group of individuals (gaming industry professionals???) always favor the Xbox and it's games. So my guess is that KOTOR wins the GOTY award. If KOTOR doesn't win it will be another multiplatform game appearing on the Xbox. The only other games that have a chance in hell are Call of Duty and Rise of Nations.

I'm not trying to be an @$$, but take a look at the past 2 years of awards. It works the same way when the oscars are given out to movies. The awards usually go to certain people even though other movies are obviously better.

Then of course there's the possibility that they'll not give the award to the Xbox (giving it a GOTY hat trick) specifically to not make themselves look like the biased @$$@$ they really are. We'll see...

They've consistently nominated a lot of Nintendo games. Zelda Ocarina was an AIAS GOTY. And GOTY is just one award, and not necessarily most important one to me. Animal Crossing and Pikmin both picked up lots of nominations in things like art direction, innovation and game design. Sometimes GOTY just needs to have that thing called "mass appeal" too, which I guess is legitemate, even if it doesn't necessarily mean its the best or most original game, just the best game that also sold alot.

I did find Splinter Cell an odd pick for GOTY, but I don't know if it was MS bias. Remember that year that Xbox had almost nothing else get nominated at all--which basically validated what all us 'cubers said all 2002, which is that MS had a crap game line-up at that time. Their line-up has improved, and so has the number of games they've been nominated for this year.

Regardless, I'm looking forward to March 4. I'm always curious to see who gets it, and I guess I do see this as a more legit GOTY award than just going by whatever your favorite magazine picks.

[The Prince of Darkness]

This group of individuals (gaming industry professionals???) always favor the Xbox and it's games. So my guess is that KOTOR wins the GOTY award. If KOTOR doesn't win it will be another multiplatform game appearing on the Xbox. The only other games that have a chance in hell are Call of Duty and Rise of Nations.

I'm not trying to be an @$$, but take a look at the past 2 years of awards. It works the same way when the oscars are given out to movies. The awards usually go to certain people even though other movies are obviously better.

Then of course there's the possibility that they'll not give the award to the Xbox (giving it a GOTY hat trick) specifically to not make themselves look like the biased @$$@$ they really are. We'll see...

Hmmm...a conspiracy against Nintendo when it comes to reviews and accolades? Lol!! Face it Gamer maybe last year Metroid Prime did not get the award because the Academy just could not get past the lousy control scheme. Maybe SC got it because they thought that the title had mass appeal, and that it redefined the stealth genre. Maybe this year Zelda will not get it because the Academy does not think that Windwaker is anywhere close to the best in the Zelda series. Maybe they will give it to KOTOR because it is the best Star Wars game ever made. These are all speculations, of course, but I just wanted you to know that it is actually possible to think that way without there being any conspiracies involved.

[Tappy_Tibbons]

KOTOR for sure.

[no.1gamer]

I'm not saying that KOTOR isn't a great game by any means. I'm just saying that Zelda Wind Waker and Ratchet and Clank don't have a dying chance in hell of winning GOTY.

C&C Generals is a great game (check out the signature) but doesn't deserve a GOTY award. Well if it was on the Xbox it would.

[trebor]

KotOR shouldn't win simply because it had a game-halting glitch near the 36 hour mark that caused one to have to go to an earlier save or start the entire game over.

Seriously, if KotOR does win that sends a bad message to developers - it doesn't matter if you have a game riddled with bugs as long as it is popular. It's a bad trend to start.

[no.1gamer]

KotOR shouldn't win simply because it had a game-halting glitch near the 36 hour mark that caused one to have to go to an earlier save or start the entire game over.

Seriously, if KotOR does win that sends a bad message to developers - it doesn't matter if you have a game riddled with bugs as long as it is popular. It's a bad trend to start.

I didn't know about that bug? Should I not buy this game for the PC? All the reviews were good so I assumed it was glitch free?!?!

[The Prince of Darkness]

I'm not saying that KOTOR isn't a great game by any means. I'm just saying that Zelda Wind Waker and Ratchet and Clank don't have a dying chance in hell of winning GOTY.

C&C Generals is a great game (check out the signature) but doesn't deserve a GOTY award. Well if it was on the Xbox it would.

I know---KOTOR does not even get my vote for GOTY. I was just trying to give you a different perspective because I certainly feel like the GC has benefitted from its fair share of favorable reviews that I have not really agreed with. Just so you know:

(in order)

1. PGR2
2. PDO
3. Zelda
4. KOTOR
5. Topspin

[Hieremias]

I didn't know about that bug? Should I not buy this game for the PC? All the reviews were good so I assumed it was glitch free?!?!
You shouldn't buy it for the PC because there are better RPGs on the PC. A lot better.

But, that said, KotoR has been patched and I played it through to the end without any show-stopping bug.

[Hieremias]

I would guess KOTOR or Prince of Persia will get it. Just going by sheer number of nominations, PoP is favored. Although I suppose it could be a surprise. They seemed real keen on the PC game Call of Duty.
I'd pick Max Payne 2 over Call of Duty any day. Call of Duty was like Medal of Honor: one or two spectacular levels that were clearly the setpieces for the game, surrounded by extremely average segments just to fill out the length of the game. And the length wasn't long at all.

[Daman_He_Hate_Me]

I didn't know about that bug? Should I not buy this game for the PC? All the reviews were good so I assumed it was glitch free?!?!

The only thing he(Trebor) could be talking about is not even a bug, the condition occurs as a result of stupidity by the player, it is something I did myself and it took me a minute to figure it out.

This is what happens, there is a level where everyone in your party is captured except the Twilek girl Mission. You have to use Mission to free everyone, she is really good at cloaking, so basically you use her stealth skills to get through this part of the game. When you get to the middle of the mission you release all of your captured mates and at this very moment Mission and a few others go off to the Ebon Hawk. You finish the level with your strongest characters I think Bastilla and Carth. Anyway, this is where you encounter Malak and I Bastilla is captured even though you fight Malak to a draw. So all of your party escapes to the Ebon Hawk in a grand FMV. During the cinematics all the characters begin to talk about the situation, except when it is Mission's turn the game will lock up. Why? It is very frustrating, but the key is you can't see Mission. She is still Cloaked. When you rescued your buddies, at that moment if Mission was cloaked, that is how she ran off to the ship. So, you actually have to restart from a previous save, assuming you have one, if you don't, then you gotta restart the game(i think its actually quite funny). So you restart and get to the point right before Mission frees her friends, and you have to uncloak her BEFORE you free them. Then go ahead and complete the mission as normal, when you finish the stage the cut-scene runs voila, no problems.

So whether it is a bug or not is questionable, but it certainly had me spoofed for about a half-hour. Then I clued in on it just by watching the cut-scene and noticing Mission was missing. Don't let anyone fool you, this game is incredible and toward the end the action and fighting is so tense and non-stop.

[Daman_He_Hate_Me]

I'd pick Max Payne 2 over Call of Duty any day. Call of Duty was like Medal of Honor: one or two spectacular levels that were clearly the setpieces for the game, surrounded by extremely average segments just to fill out the length of the game. And the length wasn't long at all.

Man I thought MaxPayne2 was the biggest pile of steaming dookie. I swear I could only stand about an hour or two of it. It is absolutely horrible in every way imaginable. I think the problem is the bar has been raised for 3rd person action games by Splinter Cell. I know they share nothing in common. But MaxPayne2 is sooooo year 2001, the dialogue and story was horrible, not nearly as entertaining and clever as the first one. I was surprised that they changed very little about the game. I actually got all the way to the part where you play as the girl, then I took it back to blockbuster. I am amazed this game got nominated and that people enjoyed it, this game sucked even compared to Dead2rights, which had a much better and more articulated control scheme. MaxPayne the original was a unique and hardcore game, this game comes too late with too little innovation, and a baaaad story.

[Daman_He_Hate_Me]

You shouldn't buy it for the PC because there are better RPGs on the PC. A lot better.

But, that said, KotoR has been patched and I played it through to the end without any show-stopping bug.

It is funny, but I completely disagree with you. There are some great RPGS, but if you mean NeverWinterNights, which you mentioned in another post comparing KOTOR. Wrong. NeverWinterNights was good, but it was actually a step back, in my opinion, from Baldur's Gate and IceWindDale and Planescape. They switched to a 3D polygonal models, which I though would be good, but compared to the other series the world's and the monsters just weren't as impressive. On top of that, you had up to six characters in your party in the other games. In Neverwinter they chopped that down to 2 characters plus you could have a pet(spider, bear, etc) to fight with you. Other than that, the story and implementation of the pause fighting and the d&d rules were great. But I thought those changes definitely dropped it behind the previous games, and KOTOR. I was actually playing NWN on my PC when KOTOR came out, and while my interest in KOTOR took a while to ramp up, once I got my bearings I put down NWN and haven't been compelled to finish it, though I will. I think you are just hammering KOTOR cause it was co-developed dropped on the XBOX first and you hate consoles.
KOTOR is a great game, which I recommend getting on the XBOX if you happen to have an HDTV and a dolby soundsystem. If you have a crappy TV and no sound system, then get the PC version.

[trebor]

NeverWinterNights was good, but it was actually a step back, in my opinion, from Baldur's Gate and IceWindDale and Planescape.

I agree there. Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale and especially Baldur's Gate 2 were the best RPGs on any platform that I've ever played. They still remain untouched in that respect.

[Gadfly2317]

I know---KOTOR does not even get my vote for GOTY. I was just trying to give you a different perspective because I certainly feel like the GC has benefitted from its fair share of favorable reviews that I have not really agreed with. Just so you know:

(in order)

1. PGR2
2. PDO
3. Zelda
4. KOTOR
5. Topspin

That's a pretty reasonable list. Couldn't you have thrown the Ps2 a bone. . . didn't it have anything last year of top 5 calibur?

[Bob-the-Fish]

All the reviews were good so I assumed it was glitch free?!?!

This had me miffed about the game too. I have not found a single review anywhere that makes any mention of glitches, errors or bugs in KOTOR. I find that amazing since I played for a little over 15 hours and hit two. I never even got to the this horrendous bug with Mission that everyone talks about. My buddy played only got halfway through the first planet before he had to restart his game.
If you give a game like that GOTY then you should give TR: AOD action game of the year or platformer of the year. I mean if it wasn't for the lag, freezing, boring play and akward control, AOD was a good game. Really... It was... :p

There are some great RPGS, but if you mean NeverWinterNights, which you mentioned in another post comparing KOTOR. Wrong. NeverWinterNights was good, but it was actually a step back, in my opinion, from Baldur's Gate and IceWindDale and Planescape.

As for NWN, it wasn't designed to play just like the older BG games. I look at it as a way to play AD&D online. You're supposed to team up with other people who each play their own character and you can even have a DM and design your own dungeons. That's why you only control one character and one henchman. The older BG games are meant for single player where that one player controls all the characters in the group.

[The Prince of Darkness]

That's a pretty reasonable list. Couldn't you have thrown the Ps2 a bone. . . didn't it have anything last year of top 5 calibur?

If I added a few honorable mentions:

Viewtiful Joe, Ratchet and Clank 2, Prince of Persia, Crimson Skies