Game Oscars

[Evil Gately]

With the Oscars only 5 days away, I thought it might be pretty cool to host our own Gaming Oscars, with you guys as the 'Accademy' voting on a shortlist of titles in each topic. You never know, it could turn into an annual thing! The games I'll choose will be from the last year or so, but, just like the real Oscars, some titles may be overlooked, but never mind! If I get more organised next year I might have a nominations thread!

When replying with your votes, please include your reasons why you've voted for each game. Also, I'll only be including titles that have had an English-language release (US or Europe). I have also not included any 360 titles, as I don't feel many members here at the 'Fan will have had much hands-on experience with them yet!

And the nominees are:

Technical/Artistic Accheivement in a Video Game:

[*]Shadow of the Colossus(PS2)[*]Metroid Prime 2: Echoes(NGC)[*]Half-Life 2(PC)[*]Resident Evil 4(NGC)[*]Kingdom Hearts, Chain of Memories(GBA)[*]Killer 7(Multi)[/list]


Best Use of Sound in a Video Game:

[*]Grand Theft Auto San Andreas(Multi)[*]Buzz!: The Music Quiz(PS2)[*]Halo 2(XB)[*]Fable: TheLost Chapters(Multi)[*]Battlefield 2(PC)[/list]


Best Visuals in a Video Game:

[*]Soul Calibur III(PS2)[*]Quake IV(PC)[*]Xenosaga Episode II[*]Metroid Prime 2: Echoes(NGC)[*]Shadow of the Colossus(PS2)[/list]


Best PC Game:

[*]Half-Life 2[*]Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle Earth[*]Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II, The Sith Lords[*]Battlefield 2[*]Darwinia[/list]


Best Gamecube Game:

[*]Fire Emblem: Path of Radience[*]Metroid Prime 2: Echoes[*]Tales of Symphonia[*]Killer 7[*]Resident Evil 4[/list]


Best PlayStation 2 Game:

[*]Soul Calibur III[*]Grand Theft Auto San Andreas[*]Shadow of the Colossus[*]Dragon Quest VIII[/list]


Best XBox Game:

[*]Kingdom Under Fire: Heroes[*]Halo 2[*]Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II, The Sith Lords[/list]


Best Hand-held Game:

[*]Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney(DS)[*]Grand Theft Auto Liberty City Stories(PSP)[*]Riviera(GBA)[*]Kingdom Hearts,Chain of Memories(GBA)[*]Advance Wars Dual Strike(DS)[/list]


So there you go, RPGFan's first Gaming Oscars! Get voting! I'll count up the votes on Sunday and post the results then! I'll also be placing my votes soon.

[Cauton]

Oh, I love this kind of stuff. However, I find that a lot of really good titles are missing from your nominations - I mean, where's Civilization 4 for the PC, or Ninja Gaiden Black for the Xbox? I'll play along, though, but I'll also list which games I think should've been included as well :)

Technical/Artistic Accheivement in a Video Game:
Shadow of the Colossus(PS2)
Why? Scale. The most amazing thing about Shadow of the Colossus was the fantastic sense of scale you got whole climbing the Colossi. These things really WERE huge, and you felt so very small in comparison. This also helped to give the game its epic feel. And the artistry was great to boot - the Colossi designs were awesome, and all the locales were breathtakingly beautiful. Unfortunently the game suffered from a very unstable frame rate, but I feel it can be forgiven considering all the other things SOTC got right.
Which game is missing? Dragon Quest VIII. Cellshading done right, with some really great character and (especially) monster designs and a world that really felt alive.

Best Use of Sound in a Video Game:
Battlefield 2
Why? Because it made you feel like were in the middle of a battlefield. Great sound direction and very realistic sounding effects (says I, who've never seen a gun in real life). Unfortunently the immersion was sometimes destroyed by hearing your squeaky voiced teen teammates talking.
Which game is missing? Call of Duty 2. Did everything Battlefield 2 did, only better.

Best Visuals in a Video Game:
Quake IV
Why? Well, because I haven't had enough time with the others to judge their graphics (well, except for XS EP2, which had the most awful looking hands in any game, ever, and therefor is disqualified). Also, the already very good-looking Doom 3 engine was pushed even further here. Shame the gameplay really couldn't live up to the great visuals.
What game is missing? God of War. What the hell did they do to my PS2?

Best PC Game:
Half-Life 2
Why? The sequel to arguably the best FPS ever released didn't disappoint, not even after all the delays. Great gampley, fantastic graphics, awesome pyshics engine and an interesting (if somewhot abruptly ending) story. Just playing around with the Gravity Gun and sawblades made it worth it's price.
Which game is missing? Civilization 4

Best Gamecube Game:
Resident Evil 4
Why? It's awesome. Not quite as good as the hype makes it out to be, but still awesome.
Which game is missing None, really.

Best PlayStation 2 Game:
Shadow of the Colossus
Why? Fantastic gameplay, aweinspiring visuals, great soundtrack and perhaps the best ending of any Playstation 2 game. SOTC is one of the best games realeased in a long, long time.
Which game is missing? Digital Devil Saga (1&2)

Best XBox Game:
Kingdom Under Fire: Heroes
Why? Because Halo 2 sucks, and The Sith Lord is way too buggy and unfinished.
Which game is missing? Ninja Gaiden Black.

[Professor Gast]

Gately: You forgot the second major Sony Computer Entertainment release of the year next to Shadow of the Colossus, God of War.

[TurnBasedDude]

Im going to vote later on, but I wonder though if its proper to also put games from 2004. That was in the past now and many of those games shined in their own way so I think just include games from 2005 (and perhaps early 2006 too) to the awards, but that is just me. Up to you if you want 2004 games around, just a bit of a suggestion :)

[Starbreaker]

Gately:  Shadow of the Colossus, God of War.

Christ, has anyone played this? I saw it running the other day in town and it looked fabulous for a PS2 title, and the fairy-tale iconic views were gorgeous.

Also, a very nice idea about the Oscars ^^ but... we have to get some freebies going =)

[Dyne]

What, no 'Best RPG' section?   Lol, j/k.

Anyways, I do not think this will work to well.  I think we should all submit one game of our choosing for each category, THEN make this list.  Since we get all opinions situated, you know?

[Evil Gately]

OK then, how about we scratch my list and everybody puts forward their own nominations? Come next week, I'll set up the short list and we can start voting then? If not, we'll carry on with my list and vote on them.

We'll use the same categories I've already started with. What I'll need from all of you is a title for each one.