The Friday’s Gamer Awards 2008

 

 

 

 

 

 

Best Developer

What a story this was. A true rags to riches tale, the rise of this company should be more than enough to inspire many small developers. When the PS3 came out, nobody had even head of them. 18 months on, and they may well have created the console

’s best game yet. The FG Best Developer Award for 2008 goes to…Media Molecule

Best Publisher

These people published more of the big games this year than any other, with games like LittleBigPlanet, Resistance 2 and MotorStorm: Pacific Rift.

SCE

Best Newcomer

Dead easy, this one.

LittleBigPlanet

Best Sequel.

The art of making a good sequel is to keep what made the original so great and improve on the areas where it fell short. And this is yet another skill that Rockstar have mastered. San Andreas is unarguably one of the greatest games of all time. And now so is its sequel.

Grand Theft Auto IV

Best Exclusive Title.

This is the game that would make you want to buy the only console on which you can play it. And there can be no doubt which title is making Gates, Shigsy or Kutaragi most sick:

LittleBigPlanet

Best PC Game.

If there was an award for best God game of 2008, this would walk it. If there was an award for best God game of all time, this would give even The Sims a run for its money. Will Wright

’s done it again.

Spore.

Best PS3 Game.

If it

’s the best exclusive title, it’s going to be the best on its own console. A hat-trick for MM’s master creation.

LittleBigPlanet.

Best Wii Game.

Now we come to what is easily the most difficult decision so far. I could either give this to Mario Kart Wii or SSBB. It was a tough one and I gave it much consideration before plumping for:

Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

Best Xbox 360 Game.

Remember, this award is not for the best exclusive on a console, simply the best game on a console. So, for that reason, this has to be award number 2 for the best selling game of all time.

Grand Theft Auto IV.

Best Action/Adventure

It needs no words.

Grand Theft Auto IV.

Best Driving

It looks gorgeous, the crashes are spectacular, the jumps incredible, the speed insane and the vehicles as diverse as an East London primary school.

MotorStorm: Pacific Rift

Best Fighting

There weren’t many in this category this year, but even if there had been, this would have won anyway. The argument over whether this is better than Melee will rage for a long time. That aside, however, this is a truly epic title that gave us not only great fun, but also the chance to pit the two biggest icons in video gaming history against each other.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

Best Platformer/Puzzle

Now, this game versus a proper 64/Galaxy Mario title would be an interesting battle to see. But there was no such challenge in 2008, so it’s another for

LittleBigPlanet.

Best Shooter

Big guns. Big aliens. Big battles. Even bigger aliens. Everything you need to win this award, but with extra guns, battles and aliens.

Resistance 2

Best Sports

It has been one of the weirdest seasons in this sport in recent memory. But there was nothing unusual about this year’s instalment in this series. For its 20^{th anniversary, EA pulled out all ths stops and made on of the best football games ever.}’s news coverage which won it both awards.

Madden NFL 09.

Best Originality.

I mean, come on! Some of these are just too easy.

LittleBigPlanet.

Best Plot.

Put it this way. There

’s only one game this year I could see being made into a film. And a good one, too, not any of this Benjamin Button snooze-a-thon bollocks.

Grand Theft Auto IV.

Best Setting.

It

’s Liberty City! What else could win?Best Soundtrack.

Grand Theft Auto IV.

Madden NFL 09.

 

Best AI.

Good artificial intelligence is vital in any game, but especially in a shooter. Part of the reason this game earned 92% is because of the awesome AI, so it wins this one.

Resistance 2.

Best Atmosphere.

Again, this was a really tough one to judge. But in the end, the blood and guts and dark, gloomy mayhem won me round.

Gears of War 2.

Best Box Art.

Now, at first, you may question my pick here. But let me explain. You look at this box art and deep inside you, you know that it feels right. But it just feels so, so wrong.

Madden NFL 09.

Best Characters.

Any game which provides a character proclaimed as the new Pikachu just has to win this award. Meet Sackboy, the cutest thing in the known Universe.

LittleBigPlanet.

Best Customisation.

Seriously? You need me to explain this?

LittleBigPlanet.

Best Enemies.

For the scale, variety and downright terrifyingnessitity, this has to go to those wonderful people at Insomniac.

Resistance 2.

Best Marketing.

Again, this may seem an odd choice, but when you think about it, did any game get as much free advertising for as long a period of time leading up to its release as this? I think not.

Madden NFL 09.

Best Moment.

For the awe-inspiring, jaw-dropping, mouth-watering, breathtaking, fear-inducing sight of more than a dozen Chimera ships in the skies over the San Francisco Bay.

Resistance 2

Best Multiplayer.

Just. So. Much. Fun.

Grand Theft Auto IV.

Best News Coverage.

This kind of ties in with the marketing award, in that it was this game

........

Again, this was another tough choice. I narrowed it down to GTA IV and LBP. GTA had the smorgasbord of songs we’ve come to expect of the series, but LBP was just sooo relaxing. In the end, I went with:

Grand Theft Auto IV.

Best Storytelling.

No one can even come close to Rockstar on this.

Grand Theft Auto IV.

Best Trailer.

This trailer, released on March 29 of last year, was watched by so many people that it literally broke the internet. Not even typing ‘Google’ into Google can do that.

 

Grand Theft Auto IV

.The Graphics Award

Amazingly, this game has yet to scoop an award. But it has now, thanks to looking just so great. It may be Snake’s final game, it may not. But regardless, this was a super title and would have earned a hell of a lot more awards if it had not been for this year’s stellar line-up.

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots.

The Gameplay Award

The way a game plays is perhaps the most vital element of games design. Some games are blessed by having a development team who care passionately that it should work flawlessly, and the winner of this award, its eighth in fact, is as close to flawless in terms of gameplay as you’ll find.

LittleBigPlanet.

The Lifespan Award

This series is legendary in terms of how replayable it is. And so there should be no surprise when I tell you that the series’ latest instalment has won this award. Yup, winning its record tenth title, it’s…

Grand Theft Auto IV.

Console of the Year 2008

Resistance 2

, MLB 09: The Show, MotorStorm: Pacific Rift, Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, Grand Theft Auto IV, LittleBigPlanet. Against Gears 2 and Brawl? Games on this console won 29 out of a possible 33 awards. And if you count the non-games awards, it scooped 32 of 36. Need I say any more?

The Sony PlayStation 3

Game of the Year 2008

And here we are. After 366 days of awesomeness, I present you with what is, in the humble opinion of FG, the best game of the year. So here you go:

The Friday’s Gamer Game of the Year Award 2008 goes to:

*drum roll*

Grand Theft Auto IV.