Some BAFTA winners baffle; GRAW is game of the year
by Christopher Grant 
{ Oct 9th 2006 at 8:30AM }
Last week the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (that's BAFTA) awarded the British Academy Video Games Awards in seventeen categories. While we're all about mainstream acknowledgment of our favorite entertainment medium, from a respectable organization like BAFTA no less, you know we're never ones to leave well enough alone. Reading through the list of winners is difficult to reconcile with the industry we read and write about everyday. Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter was a pretty good game, but game of the year? At least it beat out game of the year competitor Black!While there are plenty of dubious winners, and even more dubious nominees, there are still plenty of welcome winners on the list, like Electroplankton, Guitar Hero, Shadow of the Colossus, and Psychonauts.
While the US has separate academies for movies (The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences), television (The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences), and video games (The Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences), BAFTA treats video games comparably with film and television. This is vastly different from many of the other video games awards ceremonies handed out by organizations tasked solely with judging the merits of interactive entertainment ... like, say, the Spike VGA awards. Sure, mainstream awards ceremonies may go a long way towards encouraging mainstream acceptance of video games, but we're pretty sure Joystiq readers aren't looking to awards shows to let them know what the best game of the year was. So 'stiq, was it GRAW?
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Joel @ Oct 9th 2006 9:22AM
I only have a side comment about Shadow of the Colossus. I've heard quite a few game sites talk about how great the game is, but I find it quite boring. I'm not sure if I can put up with finishing it. I'm only half way through it, but it has almost zero plot and is equivalent to a first-person puzzler with generally simple puzzles - figure out how to get on the colossus, climb the colossus, and stab the glowing spots - repeat until the game ends.
Sure, the game is beautiful and the first time you meet a colossus is intimidating, but after the first couple, it's really quite boring... at least for me. I was extremely interested in Shadow and Psychonauts from the different reviews, but since Shadow has turned out so painful, I'm not sure I should venture to Psychonauts since it's often spoken of in the same discussions as Shadow.
ihatejackthompson @ Oct 9th 2006 8:57AM
get bent jack, nobody cares, w()()t
Leper Messiah @ Apr 1st 2007 11:38AM
I dont have time for this chicken shit bullshit. Why do people who don't know anything about video games continue to attempt to cover them?
And its annoying as hell to do a "Game of the year" award when its not the end of the year.
TRUTH @ Oct 9th 2006 9:08AM
Jack is very simple minded.
Blaming games for school shootings is like blaming car manufactures for drive-bys or saying the Iraq war is because of terrorism.
ben @ Oct 9th 2006 9:09AM
I don't think GRAW should be game of the year. I mean, I owned it, it was good, but it wasn't THAT good. Oblivion should have been game of the year wayyyy before GRAW.
Jack: I personally don't agree with most of what you do regarding video games. But I think that you are right to go after Bully. I think that as soon as those kids get this game, violence is only going to increase. It has to. At the very least, the bullies will learn new tricks.
Fish @ Oct 9th 2006 9:12AM
Ooooh, Jack Thompson sighting!
Fish @ Oct 9th 2006 9:18AM
Oh, I meant to comment on the actual topic at hand.
Yeah, GRAW, WTF? It was good, but it wasn't a game of the year for sure. I'd even take Dead Rising over that, and Dead Rising is one of the most frustrating games I've ever played (fun as hell, don't get me wrong)
C. Grant @ Oct 9th 2006 9:18AM
Aye, kids! Twas the curious Jack Thompson monster. He's been put back in his cage.
JT: Let's keep it on topic. We have our own readers to crap all over our threads, k?
jesus_bon_jovi @ Oct 9th 2006 9:19AM
Yeah all these awards nominees and categories are all out of whack.. were these chosen by a small 'academy' of people or reflect the actual public (British Public?) cause i have never heard of Buzz!: The BIG Quiz (although i do notice that game is SCEE) and i cant see how LocoRoco could beat out Lego Star Wars 2 for 'Children's game' granted LocoRoco is cute and funny but i have read many reviews saying it gets boring fast. Yeah, this whole thing is confusing me...
computer games @ Oct 9th 2006 9:20AM
I don't care about public or media awards. My game of *this* year goes to Dead Rising! (that is until I see Gears Of War and hope it lives up to the hype!)
RandomDouche @ Oct 9th 2006 6:45PM
FUCK YOU JACK THOMPSON. YOU STUPID ASSHOLE, WHY ARE YOU STILL ALLOWED TO PRACTICE LAW IN THE U.S.? I SAY ALL US GAMERS POSTING COMMENTS ABOUT THIS TOPIC CALL THIS NUMBER AND IF IT TURNS OUT TO BE JACK THOMPSON'S NUMBER WE SHOULD LEAVE THOSE ANNOYING WASSSSUPPPP MESSAGES. MOTHERFUCK JACK THOMPSON!
Jon @ Oct 9th 2006 9:27AM
I'm so glad we don't have people like Jack Thompson in the UK. Well, we have a few but nobody listens to them.
His pitiful attempt at gaining some PR by calling Bully a "Columnbine Simulator" may grab him some headlines in the short term but once people see what the game is actually about he'll look really stupid.
So go on Jack, you carry on sending out your ridiculous press releases, the longer this coninues the more of a fool you make out of yourself.
Jon @ Oct 9th 2006 9:27AM
Oh and Buzz: The big quiz is one of the coolest games ever, I can't believe it didn't get released in America.
Turken @ Oct 9th 2006 9:29AM
Joel - You should still go ahead and give Psychonauts a try. Granted, I haven't played Shadow of the Colossus to compare it to, but I did really enjoy Psychonauts. The thing Psychonauts has going for it is that it's just a bunch of fun and doesn't take itself too seriously. And it has a decent story and gameplay mechanics as well. I didn't find it as life changing as some folks on the internet may claim it to be, but the time I spent playing it was definitely not wasted.
Lorben @ Oct 9th 2006 9:53AM
I agree with Turken. Give Psychonaunts a try. You can still get the PC version for $10 on Amazon.
Back on topic
GRAW is a good game. Would I have picked something else? Yeah, probably LocoRoco or Rocket Slime but you’ll never get everyone to agree that one game is better than other games.
Chris @ Oct 9th 2006 9:53AM
At first I was wondering what was so wrong aboust GRAW winning that GotY when it was an amazing game on all fronts, but after reading a few comments, I feel nostalgic for zombie slaying.
My assumption is that Dead Rising didn't qualify for the awards this time around (I don't know if that's true, I haven't seen the qualifications nor have I seen the list of nominees), but Dead Rising sucked too much time out of my life to go unawarded.
Oblivion was fun, definitely, but the only thing worth awarding it for is how everyone became obsessed with it when the Morrowind addicts told them they should be.
**And the only people who are worried about Bully are the people who haven't read anything about it, save for the title.
White Rose Duelist @ Oct 9th 2006 10:58AM
If LocoRoco is the best character the industry can come out with in a year, gaimg is doomed.
Lorben @ Oct 9th 2006 10:14AM
Wait, I just realized something. How is Psychonauts on that list? It's more than a year old.
Joel @ Oct 9th 2006 10:03AM
Turken and Lorben, thanks for responding. I'm curious if any pro-Shadow people will be yelling at me for not thoroughly enjoying the game, but your recommendations for Psychonauts is keeping me interested.
Other than price, is there any major difference between the PC and console versions of Psychonauts? If only for the replayability, I often get console games so that I can lend or swap the game/console to others to let them play the games I've bought. Depending on the PC game, this isn't always as easy to do with them.
Watership @ Oct 9th 2006 10:05AM
Why all the GRAW disbelief? Its the #2 xbox 360 game in terms of critical priase. So it's not suprirsing it won.
KrAzYmAn @ Oct 9th 2006 10:14AM
I would say obivion. I am playing shadow right now and I like it alot, it is not too hard. If this GotY counts the end of last year, then I would put RE4 for the PS2. I have also played psyconauts, but I never finished it. If was fun for the amount I played it.
Lorben @ Oct 9th 2006 10:22AM
Oh, wait, British. They got Psycohnauts in February.
“Other than price, is there any major difference between the PC and console versions of Psychonauts? If only for the replayability, I often get console games so that I can lend or swap the game/console to others to let them play the games I've bought. Depending on the PC game, this isn't always as easy to do with them.”
It doesn’t use Steam if that’s what you’re asking. It needs a cd key, but there shouldn’t be any major issues with letting a friend borrow it.
KR @ Oct 9th 2006 10:34AM
GRAW is a fine choice for game of the year. It's not my personal favorite, but it's a solid pick and the first must-have 360 game after launch.
burn23 @ Oct 9th 2006 10:47AM
personally, I would've given it to GRAW or Oblivion. Both have blown me away this year. GRAW is tough, looks great, plays great and is a giant leap for the franchise and genre. I really enjoy playing it.
js beckerist @ Oct 9th 2006 11:06AM
GRAW deserves it, and I'll tell you why:
1. The graphics are the best on any military style game I've ever seen. Only Crysis looks better, and that's not even close to being released yet!
2. 4 player local coop play. 16 player xbox live coop play. Let me say that again, you can play, with 15 of your pals (3 of which are sitting next to you) against the computer, on CAMPAIGN, with OBJECTIVES. Halo 2 doesn't come close, let alone any other game out there.
3. The weapons are diverse, numerous and beautiful. Replace the word "weapons" with "environments," "characters," "objectives," etc... This game is huge, graphically astounding and to top it all: FUN.
4. Name ONE game that comes close that was released this year...? Prey? No. Anything on PS2? hahahaha NO! I'm not a big PC gamer, but with games like Battlefield 2 (glitches-ahoy!), noooo... Lord of the Rings, BME II? Great game, but no... GRAW makes perfect sense, and would have been my vote by far!
Player1 @ Oct 9th 2006 11:29AM
I have to agree with js beckerist on some of the GRAW features. The fact that it let's you have guests for online play is something too many 360 games are missing. And playing co-op online is great. I only wish the had included more maps for it with the game instead of as an extra paid download.
Will @ Oct 9th 2006 11:36AM
Graw should be game of the year. It's definitely my favorite 360 game. Oblivion is great, but when it comes down to it it's just a better Morrowind. GRAW made serious leaps over previous games.
daxiang12 @ Oct 9th 2006 11:45AM
Joe, you are not alone. Being a hugh Ico fan, I found Shadow of colossus really boring too. And for some reason it gave me a lot of motion-sickness (I am fine with FPS though). I really wanted to finish it but I think last time I played, I was on the way to the third colossus.
Liquid @ Oct 9th 2006 11:52AM
Joel,
I feel your pain bro. I picked up Shadow of the Collosus because of all the praise it gets around here. Playing the first Collosus or two was really exciting and it felt as if I were controlling a movie. I am currently on Collusus 9 and haven't died since the first (when I was still trying to figure out what was going on). The game is original but the gameplay gets repetitive and I sometimes wonder why I need a homing beam on my sword. Why doesn't that voice from the sky, warp me to my next Collosus and save me the trouble of riding my horse there? I do have to say that the last Collosus I fought was a bit more difficult than the previous 7 and I hope this trend continues. Anywho, I am enjoying the game and plan on finishing, but it just didnt live up to the hype.
comradetrotskii @ Oct 9th 2006 1:36PM
No reason to worry about dubious choices, the Academy makes dodgy choices in everything it judges.
Thats the price of mainstream acceptance, mediocrity and banality are very often put on a pedestal.
NoBullet @ Oct 9th 2006 1:44PM
Shadow of the Colossus beating out Oblivion for adventure game? wtf. Did the people play these games for more than 10 minutes? How can Oblivion not win a single category??
Pince @ Oct 9th 2006 4:33PM
". Aye, kids! Twas the curious Jack Thompson monster. He's been put back in his cage.
JT: Let's keep it on topic. We have our own readers to crap all over our threads, k?"
Oh mister Grant, you speak the truth, hahaha. Funny stuff.
Anyways, after looking over their pool of nominees, they seem to be picking primarily from a group of about 10 games, some of which were rated as quite mediocre.
Hell, Loco roco was nominated for like half of the categories. Sure its a pretty cool game, nice art direction, interesting playstyle, but it is not good enough to warrant all of those nominations. Maybe some would disagree, but there are definitely some games being left out of the running.
Shannon @ Oct 9th 2006 4:58PM
What year is the list for? Does the stuff for the rest of year count as next year?
C. Grant @ Oct 9th 2006 7:24PM
Pince: Thanks! I thought it was funny. ;)