Day 2 is here, and with it come our Technical Awards. Today we celebrate everything from the best graphics, to best voice acting and best writing. We also crown the Studio of the Year today. Remember to tune in every day as we continue our specialty awards, and end with the coveted Game of the Year award on Friday.
In case you missed any of our previous awards, here they are in a convenient list.
Best Original Soundtrack – Mass Effect 3
Mass Effect 3 might not have had the best ending that fans hoped for, but it did have a stellar soundtrack. Each song was able to elicit different feelings from sadness to hope, despair to joy. The soundtrack, suffice it to say, was an emotional rollercoaster from the very first minute you booted the game, until the credits.
The credit has to be given to Sascha Dikiciyan & Cris Velasco for composing such an amazing soundtrack
Runner up: Journey
Best Graphics (Technical) – Halo 4
Master Chief might have been gone for five years, but he showed absolutely no signs of aging. 343 Industries have done a phenomenal job at making the game look absolutely gorgeous, given today's available technology. Everything from the varied environments to the details of Master Chief's suit we're impeccably designed and modeled, giving the game an 'almost next-gen' look.
If next year is the year for next-gen consoles, I can't wait to see the improvements. However, if I had to live with these graphics for the next five years, I think I'd be completely fine with it.
Runner up: The Witcher 2
Best Graphics (Artistic) – The Walking Dead
While Halo 4 took our breath away in terms of technical capabilities, The Walking Dead impressed us with its comic book aesthetics. Telltale studio has done fans of both the show and the comics proud, by presenting the game in a manner that can still be considered somewhat realistic, yet still retain the look of a motion comic book.
While The Walking Dead proved that licensed video games can be just as good as any other games, when done right, it also made everyone realize that you don't need top notch graphical capabilities to grab people's attention.
Runner up: Journey
Best Voice Acting – Mark Meer / Jennifer Hale as Commander Shepard (Mass Effect 3)
This one is tough to just give to Mark Meer and Jennifer Hale, as we feel the entire cast of Mass Effect 3 deserves a mention for the superior voice acting delivered from start to finish. However, we did crown a single winner, or two in this case. Commander Shepard was the shining beacon of hope, courage and strength, no matter the gender that was chosen. Both Mark Meer and Jennifer Hale did an astounding job delivering each line with complete conviction, whether it was the decision to leave a fellow team member behind for good, or the final rally to save planet Earth.
Mordin, Garrus, Wrex, Miranda and others are all spectacularly voiced characters, but after all, it was Commander Shepard's story, and both Mark Meer and Jennifer Hale deserve this award.
Runner up: Dameon Clarke as Handsome Jack (Borderlands 2)
Best Dialogue/Writing – The Walking Dead
Mass Effect 3 might have taken the award for best voice acting, but as far as The Walking Dead is concerned, it delivered one of the best writing we've seen in quite a long time. Branching conversations led to various outcomes in each episode (though the ending remained the same no matter what) and provided some of the most tense moments in video game history.
The Walking Dead is one of those games that you play more than once to not only experience the branching paths in each episode, but to also experience the amazing writing and dialogue options that went into making this game. Trust us, if you haven't yet taken the plunge into The Walking Dead video game, you owe it to yourself to buy it now.
Runner up: Mass Effect 3
Studio of the Year – Telltale Games
Telltale games proved that turning a licensed property into a video game can not only be done right, it can be successful. From the stellar Back to the Future game to the not-so-much Jurassic Park game, and everything in between, Telltale knows how to make adventure games. They also figured out an incredibly successful formula to keep fans interested in their games for months to come (literally) by spreading out their games over four or five episodes that get released each month.
This year Telltale games knocked it out of the park with The Walking Dead. It helped that it was based on an awesome Comic Book series and incredibly popular TV show. The Walking Dead however told its own story, one before the events which involve Rick Grimes and the gang. Thus, Telltale was able to weave a story that was full of tense situations, chilling moments and tough choices.
We know that Telltale not only has a second season of The Walking Dead in store for next year, but a few other games as well, and we can't wait to get our hands on them.
Runner up: Ubisoft
