News: You know you need to know...
The second annual (and first live) Spike TV Video Game Awards are over. The dust has settled, the smoke has cleared (Snoop Dogg was the host after all) and the winners have been announced. So without further ado:
GAME OF THE YEAR
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (Rockstar Games)
BEST GAME BASED ON A MOVIE
The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay (Vivendi Universal Games)
BEST PERFORMANCE BY A HUMAN - FEMALE
Brooke Burke in Need For Speed Underground 2 (Electronic Arts)
BEST PERFORMANCE BY A HUMAN - MALE
Samuel L. Jackson in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (Rockstar Games)
CYBER VIXEN OF THE YEAR
BloodRayne in BloodRayne 2 (Majesco Games)
BEST DRIVING GAME
Burnout 3: Takedown (Electronic Arts)
BEST SPORTS GAME
Madden NFL 2005 (Electronic Arts)
BEST FIGHTING GAME
Mortal Kombat: Deception (Midway)
BEST ACTION GAME
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (Rockstar Games)
BEST FIRST PERSON ACTION
Halo 2 (Microsoft Game Studios)
BEST SONG IN A VIDEO GAME
Green Day "American Idiot" in Madden NFL 2005 (Electronic Arts)
BEST SOUNDTRACK
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (Rockstar Games)
DESIGNER OF THE YEAR
Jason Jones and Bungie Studios for Halo 2 (Microsoft Game Studios / Bungie Studios)
MOST ADDICTIVE GAME - VIEWERS CHOICE
Burnout 3: Takedown (Electronic Arts)
BEST GAMING PUBLICATION - FAN FAVORITE
Game Informer
BEST GAMING WEB SITE - FAN FAVORITE
www.gamespot.com
BEST MILITARY GAME
Call of Duty: Finest Hour (Activision)
BEST PC GAME
Half-Life 2 (Vivendi Universal Games)
BEST WIRELESS GAME
Might and Magic (Gameloft)
BEST GRAPHICS
Half-Life 2 (Vivendi Universal Games)
BEST NEW TECHNOLOGY
Nintendo DS (Nintendo)
BEST HANDHELD
Metroid: Zero Mission (Nintendo)
BEST MASS MULTI-PLAYER GAME
City of Heroes (NCsoft)
BEST RPG
Fable (Microsoft Game Studios)
Thus ends the video game world's latest push towards legitimacy. Some video game writers were less than impressed with Spike TV's presentation. But the night did feature several firsts, including first looks at EA's The Godfather and Midway's Fear & Respect. This night was also the first time Motley Crue has played together in years.
I'm sure everyone out there in video gaming land can't wait for next year's presentation of the "Vector Monkeys".
Note my sarcasm.