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!!!

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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.

Prodigious Jay’s Game of the Year: 2012

As I stated in my previous article, 2012 was a big year full of game releases. Many sequels saw the light of day and new IP’s came out of no where and made us excited. Not all of the releases were good games, I could think of any entire list of horrible releases that came out, but I’ll be a bit more civil than that.

*cough*Residentevil6,Xcom,FinalFantasyXIII-2,DragonBallZKinect*cough*

I could go on with this, but I will hold my tongue for now. *WARNING: The last statement was a lie, more horrible titles will be humiliated soon enough!*

Every year that passes, a huge slew of releases is released and among them are so really great titles. I mean, how could you not compete with such titles as Sing Party and Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2013? All joking aside, many AAA titles did push for releases this year and a lot of them released some amazing pieces of work.

Now you must be asking yourself, “How do you plan to sift through all these great gaming titles to decide a GOTY?” Very easily, I will compile both personal gameplay experience and the major review scores of the year. Now a minor disclosure: My final decision will not be swayed by the review scores of those around me, I do have final say even if my personal experience is limited I will still do my best to judge the game appropriately based on if I am still overly interested in a title I have not yet played.

I mean, hell, I never have time to play EVERY game! But Imagine if I did….

Now for the contenders, I can’t have too many titles entering the fray all at once. My article would be way too long for my own good.

Borderlands 2: Many people called me on this game, telling me that this article should just be called Borderlands 2 game of the year. I wont say whether or that opinion is the same for me, as of this portion of the article. With a grounded stance with its previous entry in the series, BL2 brought back the mayhem, the destruct, and the ass-load of guns from the first title and then shoved it in a cloning machine built by the biggest sailor with a horrible potty language problem. With the niche market of co-op shooters and wanton destruction, Borderlands 2 definitely earned it’s entry.

Halo 4 Imagine your favorite series reaches its peak and goes silent for some time. The gameplay was great, the visuals were stunning, and the story was fine for what we wanted in a game. Now imagine another studio closely involved with the original creator revives the series and kicks it into a spastic over-drive. Thus we have Halo 4. 343 Studious took the reigns from Bungie for this sequel, at first many a gamer were skeptical if this title would hold any air in its sails. Thankfully for 343 AND for us, they final product blew our minds. New graphics, new weapons, a fully immersive story (something Halo sorely lacked in its heyday.), and improved gameplay added directly on top of the same elements that made the series great in the first place. Halo 4 opened itself up for greatness, and earned its spot in the running for Game of the Year.

Dishonored: The widely known concept of revenge can be interrupted in many ways. For some it’s the small victories against those they hate that give them satisfaction, while other believe the one’s accused will need to pay dearly to feel satisfied. In Dishonored, the main character is wronged in one of the worst ways and throughout the span of the game he seeks to get revenge, but is left with the choice to kill his targets or ruin their life for the remaining time they stay among the living. Many times we are left with so dire of a choice that your anger may blind you that will push you forward to just end one’s life without worrying what is to happen in the end. With an open ended solution set environment, allowing you to either rush in or choose stealth, as well as the amazing powers of dark magic, Dishonored gained it’s spot so easily and in such a bloody fashion.

Call Of Duty: Black Ops 2: In this installment of Call of Duty we are shown something that is so hard to find. A recreation of a game we already saw the year before. Wait…. All flaws aside, the Black Ops franchise has always side stepped the main series, in a good way. Its original story, its integration with the Zombies games, and even a nod to the old school text based game, Zork. The latest installment showed us some improved gameplay and some amazing graphical improvements while entertaining us with the off the wall story. Black Ops 2 stood beside the rest as a game of the year.

Hitman: Absolution: Agent 47 came back into the light, if only before he switched his wardrobe with the security guard outside my door. In Absolution 47 is trying to redeem himself for all the dark and sordid things he has done throughout his life.. by doing the same dark and sordid things to the ones who told him to. Violence beats violence, right? Right? With a slew of weapons at his disposal, brand new costumes available to him, including a gardener, and the more intense story line that shows just how far one man will go for redemption, 47 sealed the spot for Game of the Year

And Finally…

Far Cry 3: Welcome to the island, our local attractions include; Pirate gangs looking to take and kill whatever they can get, grand cannabis fields, and bloodthirsty animals waiting to rip off your flesh. Welcome to the Island. Far Cry 3 introduced us to the underworld of crime on the island regions, showing us that pirates are indeed still vicious, animals are wild and unpredictable, and that a tattoo will give you super powers if you join the right tribe of locals. Amazing graphics, great ways to traverse the landscape (my favorite is hand gliding), and interesting side quests that keep the game interesting. When all was said and done, it solidified its placed in the GOTY category.

Final Verdict:
This year was tough indeed, even having to narrow it down the ones above was a difficult task. I have thought a while on it, based the decision on my experience and my feelings towards many of these titles. I have personally played some of each of those above, so it gave me a better insight, giving me some edge on making a decision.

In the end I had to go with… *drum roll*

Far Cry 3!

My decision was split between Dishonored, Halo 4, and Far Cry 3. Yet the more time I spent with the games themselves, I began to feel they were each individually amazing. Far Cry 3 set itself apart from the rest by showcasing an amazing mix of amazing setting and gameplay and vast amount of exploration. Call me a sucker, but I love an open world to explore. Sure, Borderlands 2 is a massive expanse to explore, I just couldn’t get the feeling that it didn’t look real enough for me. I love the game, don’t get me wrong, Far Cry 3 just took the cake for me.

So, what do you guys think? Who was game of the year for you?
Leave a comment below or follow me on twitter @RespwnPoint and facebook/tehrespawnpoint and leave me your answer there.