Halo 4, Dishonored and The Last of Us top Game Critics Awards nominations

by Richard Mitchell on Jun 20th 2012 3:00PM

The nominees of the E3 2012 Game Critics Awards have been announced. Nominees for best of show include Dishonored, Halo 4, The Last of Us, Tomb Raider and Assassin's Creed 3. The games to receive the most nominations overall were Halo 4, The Last of Us and Dishonored, which each racked up four nominations. Meanwhile, the publisher to walk away with the most nominations was Sony Computer Entertainment at 12 nods, with Microsoft, Nintendo and EA tied in second place with eight each.

The nominees were voted on by various publications across print and the web, including our personal favorite: Joystiq. Winners will be announced on Tuesday, June 26.

You can see a full breakdown of nominations – sorted by category, genre and platform – on the Game Critics Awards website. Take in some more detailed stats – including platform and publisher nominations, and the number of nominations per game – right here.

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Tony Hawk says Ride was 'a bit rushed,' still thinks critics didn't give his board a chance

by David Hinkle on Mar 8th 2012 8:15PM

Even after all this time, Tony Hawk's stance is firm regarding the poorly received Shred and Ride games. He thinks critics made up their mind before giving the games and associated peripheral an honest chance -- even in the case of Ride, which he admits "was a bit rushed" due to time spent prototyping the board.

"I think that Ride was a bit rushed for a number of reasons, mostly because probably for about the first half of the development process it was just figuring out how to make a board and how to make it work -- we were in uncharted territory," he told Joystiq during an interview at GDC. "So the game was a bit rushed, but I still feel like the critics never really gave it a chance in terms of learning how to play. They got on it and went straight into expert mode, because supposedly they're expert gamers. And they didn't really learn the mechanics of how the board works, and so I felt like they already had their mind made up before it came out. It was a gimmick and it was a peripheral and whatnot, and they never really took the time to learn how to play it."

Its sequel, Tony Hawk Shred, was the game he thought Ride should've been, Hawk said. "I thought Shred was the game I wanted Ride to be, because I really felt like the board was more than just a skateboard, and it could be used as a snowboard. But by the time Shred came out, the peripherals were fading away, so it was bad timing in that respect, I guess. But I'm proud of the idea and I'm glad we took a chance because it was something bold to try and it was bad timing in the end."

But why make a board peripheral in the first place? Hawk said it's because of the dominance of peripheral-based gaming at the time -- remember Guitar Hero? -- the introduction of the Skate series, and because the Pro Skater series had become "diluted."

"It was mostly because the series had gotten really diluted," Hawk said. "Skate was coming into play and that really split the market for us. So I thought it was really time to do something new and peripheral-based games were very big right then and I felt like we could do something that is more revolutionary -- that's what we set out to do. I really do feel like the board we created was ahead of its time. It read your every motion." And if you're one of those individuals hoping for another peripheral-based skateboarding game from the vert champ, don't hold your breath.

Hawk has no hard feelings toward the Skate series. EA would ultimately bail on the franchise after its third installment -- though EA hasn't publicly said it wouldn't return to Skate in the future -- but Hawk lauded the series for its unique control scheme. "I appreciated that someone could come out with a new control scheme for a skaterboarding game. That was very unique and progressive. Honestly, I was happy that skating had come so far as a genre in video games that you could have two main titles. Prior to that, some people had tried to do skating games, but they were just copying us." Thrasher: Skate and Destroy, anyone?

Hawk's primary focus now is on Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD, something he hopes he'll be able to build upon through DLC characters and levels from other Tony Hawk's Pro Skater games.

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New York Videogame Critics Circle announces first annual awards show

by Ben Gilbert on Jan 13th 2012 8:30AM

Look, we're gonna be upfront about this, we're a little biased -- okay, I'm a little biased -- toward any news involving the New York Game Critics Circle (I'm the standing member for Joystiq), but we're putting together an awards show and it's gonna be totally boss. On February 2, a gaggle of us are taking over New York University's Cantor Film Center and holding an awards show to honor the best games of 2011 -- what we consider to be 2011's best, anyway.

Founding member (and occasional NPR correspondent) Harold Goldberg is heading up the proceedings with some assistance from various NYGCC members, while an unannounced, well-known voice man is on tap to MC the event. The first annual awards show will take place on February 2 and we've dropped the entire list of nominees after the break. It'll also be open to the public with limited seating, which we'll have more info on in the coming weeks.

Wondering who voted for said nominees? That list is right here, but rest assured that everyone involved is totally your favorite.

Big Apple Award – Best Game Batman: Arkham CityElder Scrolls V: SkyrimL.A. NoireMinecraftPortal 2Saints Row: The ThirdUncharted 3: Drake's DeceptionThe Legend of Zelda: Skyward SwordManhattan Award for Most New York-centric Game Batman: Arkham CityCrysis 2Resistance 3Sideway NYHerman Melville Award for Best Writing in a Game BastionBatman: Arkham CityL.A. NoirePortal 2Saints Row: The ThirdSerious Sam 3Battery Park Award: Best Handheld Console Game Aliens: InfestationProfessor Layton and the Last SpecterRayman 3DSuper Mario 3D LandTin Pan Alley Award: Best Overall Music in a Game BastionCatherineDark SoulsL.A. NoirePortal 2Saints Row: The ThirdThe Legend of Zelda: Skyward SwordThe A Train Award Best Mobile/iOS Game Contre JourFIFA 12Grand Theft Auto IIIInfinity Blade IISuperbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EPWhere's My Water?Off Broadway Award for Best Indie Game BastionFruit NinjaMinecraftRealm of the Mad GodSideway NYSuperbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EPThe Binding of IsaacStatue of Liberty Award for Best Open World Game Batman: Arkham CityDark SoulsDeus Ex: Human RevolutionL.A. NoireSaints Row: The ThirdGreat White Way Award for Best Overall Acting (Combines Male and Female Acting) Batman: Arkham CityL.A. NoirePortal 2Uncharted 3: Drake's DeceptionMad Man Award – Best Commercial Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (featuring Jonah Hill)Long Live Play – (Michael)The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3DS (featuring Robin Williams)Algonquin Roundtable Award for Best Videogame Book All Your Base Are Belong to Us by Harold GoldbergReady Player One by Ernest ClineReality Is Broken by Jane McGonigalReamde by Neal StephensonSuper Mario by Jeff Ryan

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