DICE 2013 Prodigious Opinion AKA Journey goes home with Everything But the Kitchen Sink

DICE 2013 Results and the Prodigious Opinion

As 2013 rolls onward, we all have certain things we can set our calendar by such as certain expo and rewards shows. So when I saw the 16^th annual DICE award nominees and winner tweets flood my Twitter feed, I once again realized that the time for the awards shows had come again. It also reminded me that, once again, I have failed to actually set my calendar by this and missed out on watching the live stream.

I am always late to the party, I try so hard to keep updated with these giant events but life has a funny way of making me look like a complete jerkbag and makes me feel ignorant when I begin a game discussion days after the event. But enough of my self-loathing, that’s an article for another time.

I truly was astounded by some of the winners of DICE awards, some were great news whiles others just made me ask who exactly made the final decision for the winner. I will do my best to keep my personal opinion from this writing, though don’t worry fans of my rants, I will certainly let you know how I feel about some of these wins/losses.

So, as my main man Mario would say, Let’s A Go!

This list will go in no particular order, so please do not shout at me for any odd line up I present.

Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction

• Journey (winner)
• Dishonored
• Far Cry 3
• The Unfinished Swan
• The Walking Dead

 

Prodigious Opinion: I must say I have never played Journey (which I really should), but as I have heard the game direction is very original and does stand out among these other titles. I have played 3 out of 5 of the nominees and I have to say that The Walking Dead didn’t have a specific direction, the story was the focus and Dishonored had decent direction and was matched with a great gameplay element but I have to wonder if they would match up to Journey, well that is if I had played it to compare. I’ll take this one from the judges with my lack of game experience.

Outstanding Innovation in Gaming

• Journey (winner)
• Nintendo Land
• Sound Shapes
• The Unfinished Swan
• The Walking Dead

Prodigious Opinion: Ok, so I see a trend here, innovation within a game is something I always look for and unfortunately I have only played The Walking Dead and innovative it is not. Sure it was a great game, but nothing new came from it. From what I have seen of Nintendo land, it’s low level innovative yet some interesting new things came out of it. I can’t say I know much of the other title but I have to wonder just how innovative it needed to be to enter this list. Either way, congrats to Journey for another win.

Downloadable Game of the Year

• Fez
• Journey
• Mark of the Ninja
• The Unfinished Swan
• The Walking Dead (winner)

 

Prodigious Opinion: This wasn’t much of a surprise for me, sure I am partially biased, but as far as this category goes, we all knew what would win before the award was announced. The Walking Dead by Telltale Games was one of 2012’s biggest hits and was downloaded so much that a full  episodic release for the PS3, Xbox 360, and PC. It was a title in which brought back the thrill of point and click adventure games, it also held such a great and compelling story. How could it not be the most downloaded? Ok biased attack over.

Handheld Game of the Year

• Gravity Rush
• Paper Mario Sticker Star (winner)
• Resident Evil Revelations
• Sound Shapes
• Uncharted: Golden Abyss

Prodigious Opinion: Ok, I’ll be honest, I’m not much of a handheld player, but I wished I had the most recent handheld consoles. Most of these titles, however I have played or tested all but one of these titles and have to say that out of all of the most creative and interesting of these had to be the winner, Paper Mario Sticker Star. Don’t get me wrong, I love Uncharted and Gravity Rush is very innovative and interesting to say the least but Paper Mario Sticker Star came out swinging and holds its own candle in this section.

Mobile Game of the Year

• Fairway Solitaire
• Hero Academy (winner)
• Horn
• Rayman Jungle Run

Prodigious Opinion: I’m going to get a lot of flack but I don’t mobile game so my input is null and void so instead of commenting, here is a picture of a Banana Phone!

 

Web Based Game of the Year

• Bingo Bash
• Burrito Bison Revenge
• CityVille 2
• Sim City Social (winner)
• Song Pop

Prodigious Opinion: Do I really need to say anything about this category? Web based games are great for those who like these simple games, I just can’t stand games like CityVille or FarmVille. So the fact that something other than any game ending in Ville won is a milestone in my opinion. NEXT CATEGORY!

Action Game of the Year

• Borderlands 2 (winner)
• Far Cry 3
• Halo 4
• Hitman: Absolution
• Sleeping Dogs

Prodigious Opinion: This category is a tough one as all the nominees were very tough contenders, all brought in their A Game. Halo 4, and Far Cry had to be my top two choices for this category however. Borderlands 2 was an all-out action title,  but the action felt too over the top to win a straight forward action. Too much action? Didn’t think it was possible for me to say that.

Adventure Game of the Year

• Assassin’s Creed III
• Darksiders II
• Dishonored
• New Super Mario Bros. Wii U
• The Walking Dead (winner)

Prodigious Opinion: Ok, Adventure Game of the year is a fairly lofty title. Many games these days all have the air of adventure, and it becomes hard to tell just who would qualify for such a lofty award. The nominees above all deserve the spot, and as much as I love The Walking Dead game, I feel that this award was not given to the true winner. I know, shocked to hear me say that, save your gasps for another time though. I personally thought TWD was more of a story based game, something that did have adventure elements in it but was more or less driven by the narrative. My choice for this category? Dishonored is my only choice in this category, that is only because I have no experience with AC3. Dishonored had a great adventure feel, while lacking in locale, it was a straight forward adventure title.

Casual Game of the Year

• Fairway Solitaire
• Journey (winner)
• Puzzle Craft
• Rayman Jungle Run
• Sound Shapes

Prodigious Opinion: So Journey wins again! Ok, that’s three for Journey, anyone else seeing there is a favorite amongst us? I can’t state an opinion about any of these games honestly, though the only true competition Journey had was probably Rayman Jungle Run from the titles. I just hope that this Journey train doesn’t keep moving down the line .

Family Game of the Year

• Dance Central 3
• Just Dance 4
• LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes
• Nintendo Land
• Skylanders Giants (winner)

 

Prodigious Opinion: This category is a really interesting one to pick from, the nominees have to have great single play experience, while at the same time be safe and fun for the whole family. While I believe picking a dancing or rhythm game as a nominee is a cop out, I feel the winner was well deserved. I have never played with Skylanders before, but I enjoy the premise. It holds a since of interactivity, growth, and even humor inside a tiny shell, though I’ll never accept Spyro being part of this cast, it shows to me that there is some real creativity behind this title.

Fighting Game of the Year

• Persona 4 Arena
• Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale (winner)
• Soulcalibur V
• Street Fighter X Tekken
• Tekken Tag Tournament 2

 

Prodigious Opinion: Ah the brawler of the awards. I heard the night of the ceremony who had won. I have to say, I was disappointed. Sure, I like Playstation All-Stars with all its flaws, but when placed up against big hitters like Soul Caliber, Tekken, and even the new IP Persona 4 Arena, I don’t see how it could last even one round. I can’t say for certain who I would pick, but I can say I’m just a bit disappointed by this awards winner.

Racing Game of the Year

• Forza Horizon
• LittleBigPlanet Karting
• MotorStorm RC
• Need for Speed Most Wanted (winner)
• Trials: Evolution

 

Prodigious Opinion: Can I be honest? I dislike racing games. There, it’s public knowledge now, so no secrets from me on these games. This award normally wouldn’t hold much for me and I’d be ok with the winner no matter what, however due to my sudden interest in LittleBigPlanet Karting. I wont say it deserves to have won the award, but I would think it a close second. Otherwise this category really holds  nothing for me.

Role-Playing/Massively Multiplayer Game of the Year

• Dust: An Elysian Tale
• Guild Wars 2
• Mass Effect 3 (Winner)

 

Prodigious Opinion:  What can I say in this situation, we have only 3 nominees and out of the 3 only one really feels like it doesn’t belong even in the race. Mass Effect 3 doesn’t really fit with Dust or GW2, I haven’t really played the other two, but I know when the games don’t match the category. Sure it is an RPG but it is not an MMO, GW2 is, and Dust is an arcade title for XBL and has a different feel than that of a RPG. This is a very convoluted category and I really wonder how this one was put together.

Sports Game of the Year

• FIFA Soccer 13 (winner)
• MLB The Show 2012
• NBA 2K13

Prodigious Opinion: No Comment Found. Next Category.

Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year

• FTL
• Minecraft 360
• Orcs Must Die 2
• Total War: SHOGUN 2- Fall of the Samurai
• XCOM: Enemy Unknown (winner)

Prodigious Opinion: So just at a glance at this list and of the winner, I’m both sad and proud of a few things. I’m proud of the fact that on this category, the majority of the nominees were either smaller end titles, ports, or Expansion packs. It is saying something when a developer can craft such a great item in a small package and get close to a win for game of the year in your field. However, I am sad to see that the only full packaged game had been named the winner. Sure it probably earned it, but I would have loved to see the other titles win.

Game of the Year

• Borderlands 2
• Far Cry 3
• Journey (winner)
• The Walking Dead
• XCOM: Enemy Unknown

Prodigious Opinion: This one confuses me so.  The nominees are so mix matched and some even should have been left out *cough*borderlands2*cough*. That being said, these games are not even the best or the brightest our year had to offer yet here they are, lined up for game of the year. I can’t help but feel that Far Cry 3 was robbed if these are the nominees. Oh yeah and.. JOURNEY WINS AGAIN!

Outstanding Achievement in Animation

• Assassin’s Creed III (winner)
• Far Cry 3
• Hitman: Absolution
• Mark of the Ninja
• Uncharted: Golden Abyss

 

Prodigious Opinion: This is a touchy one, but I have to say this one was probably well deserved, Far Cry 3 is a runner up in my opinion but again was handed to the right game.

Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction

• Borderlands 2
• Dishonored
• Far Cry 3
• Halo 4
• Journey (winner)

Prodigious Opinion: JOURNEY WINS! Art direction though, I agree with this award as the others were pale in comparison. I do believe Halo 4 had good art direction but to me art direction has to be original as well, and Halo has been done before and only some things can be tweaked on something preexisting. With the introduction of the Prometheans and their weapons, new designs were brought to light. Still, Journey won outright.

Outstanding Character Performance

• Borderlands 2: Tiny Tina
• Far Cry 3: Vaas Montenegro
• Halo 4: Cortana
• Mass Effect 3: Female Commander Shepard
• The Walking Dead: Lee Everett (winner)

Prodigious Opinion: When I begin to think about my review of this game, it must seem like I was more in love with The Walking Dead than I do now as I keep fighting them in the awards department. I love the game, it was amazing in every way in my opinion but for this award I think Cortana was honestly robbed. Her performance in Halo 4 was nothing short of spectacular and more emotional than it has ever been. Jen Taylor, voice of Cortana, had the deepest effect on me in the latest entry and I feel so strongly that she was robbed. I am happy for Lee for winning, don’t get me wrong, I just believe he deserved 2^nd.

Outstanding Achievement in Connectivity

• Call of Duty: Black Ops II
• Halo 4 (winner)
• Nike+ Kinect Training

 

Prodigious Opinion: Not too sure what to say here, still recovering from Cortana’s loss…. Though at least we can say it wasn’t Journey!

Outstanding Achievement in Gameplay Engineering

• Dishonored
• Gravity Rush
• Journey
• The Walking Dead
• XCOM: Enemy Unknown (winner)

Prodigious Opinion: The engineering in gaming is a difficult one to master and yet we have been pretty damn close this year. While I cannot vouch for XCOM’s engineering, I can say that Walking Dead, Gravity Rush, and Dishonored were all unique and deserve the praise they received, as well as the nomination.

Outstanding Achievement in Online Gameplay

• Borderlands 2
• Call of Duty: Black Ops II
• Diablo III
• Halo 4
• Journey (winner)

Prodigious Opinion: Wait… Journey… *Throws stack of papers in the air*

 

Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition

• Diablo III
• Far Cry 3
• Journey (winner)
• Mass Effect 3
• World Of Warcraft Mists Of Pandaria

Prodigious Opinion: Mass Effect 3 and Far Cry 3 both had a great mix of music and atmosphere, however Journey toppled them in this category. Again I have never played Journey but for this article I have taken the time to listen to some selections from the game. Color me impressed, the quality is just magnificent.

Outstanding Achievement in Sound Design

• Assassin’s Creed III
• Diablo III
• Journey (winner)
• Medal of Honor: Warfighter
• Syndicate

Prodigious Opinion: I think I’ll just retitle this piece “Journey Needs A new shelf for all its awards” I have to say I can’t call from experience, but I know Assassin’s Creed holds a great amount of work done just one sound design alone, and has impressed me majorly. The Fact That Journey won can only mean it was the best of the best. I mean who would rig an award show right?

 

Outstanding Achievement in Story

• Dishonored
• Journey
• Sleeping Dogs
• Spec Ops: The Line
• The Walking Dead (winner)

Prodigious Opinion: Finally an award that is handed to the best candidate in the lineup. You may have read my Walking Dead review for the PS3 and watched me go on and on about just how amazing this story truly was. This right here is the proof. I have never been so ensnared by a story inside a game than I was with The Walking Dead.  It draws you in, gets you invested and then cuts your heart strings at the last minute.

Outstanding Achievement in Visual Engineering

• Call of Duty: Black Ops II
• Halo 4 (winner)
• Hitman: Absolution
• Need for Speed Most Wanted
• Total War: SHOGUN 2- Fall of the Samurai

Prodigious Opinion: While I do believe the choice was great for this category, however I would like to say congratulations to Total War. An expansion pack made it into the finals of this category and that is an amazing feat. Just saying.

 

After all is said and done, I have a few words for this entire award show…. Journey Wins. It stole the hearts, and possibly money, of the gamers and made it the biggest winner of the show. I say my congratulations and that I guess I’ll need to play Journey at some point.

JOURNEY WINS!!!

___________________________________________________

As a heads up guys, I have recently placed my order for a capture card and a mic so I will soon enough have videos up such as video reviews, vlogs, and much more. Keep your eyes here for me, and also please follow me on twitter @respwnpoint as well as my personal page @jtheprodigy.