Last night the stars came out for the 10th Annual Game Developers Choice Awards and Nathan Drake continued his awards season dominance. After winning nearly everyting at the DICE Awards, Uncharted 2 cleaned house at the GDC Awards, taking home five trophies. Here’s the full list of nominees and winners for each category:
Game of the Year
Assassin’s Creed II (Ubisoft Montreal)
Batman: Arkham Asylum (Rocksteady Studios)
Demon’s Souls (From Software)
Dragon Age: Origins (BioWare)
WINNER: Uncharted 2 (Naughty Dog)
Best Game Design
Assassin’s Creed 2 (Ubisoft Montreal)
WINNER: Batman: Arkham Asylum (Rocksteady)
Flower (Thatgamecompany)
Plants vs. Zombies (PopCap)
Uncharted 2 (Naughty Dog)
Best Handheld Game
Flight Control (Firemint)
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars (Rockstar Leeds/Rockstar North)
Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks (Nintendo EAD)
WINNER: Scribblenauts (5th Cell)
Spider: The Secret of Bryce Manor (Tiger Style)
Best Visual Art
Assassin’s Creed II (Ubisoft Montreal)
Borderlands (Gearbox Software)
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Infinity Ward)
Flower (Thatgamecompany)
WINNER: Uncharted 2 (Naughty Dog)
Best Technology
Assassin’s Creed II (Ubisoft Montreal)
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Infinity Ward)
Killzone 2 (Guerrilla Games)
Red Faction: Guerrilla (Volition)
WINNER: Uncharted 2 (Naughty Dog)
Best Writing
Batman: Arkham Asylum (Rocksteady Studios)
Brutal Legend (Double Fine)
Dragon Age: Origins (BioWare)
Halo 3: ODST (Bungie)
WINNER: Uncharted 2 (Naughty Dog)
Best Audio
Brutal Legend (Double Fine Productions)
Dragon Age: Origins (BioWare)
Flower (Thatgamecompany)
Rock Band: The Beatles (Harmonix)
WINNER: Uncharted 2 (Naughty Dog)
Innovation
Demon’s Souls (From Software)
Flower (Thatgamecompany)
Plants vs. Zombies (PopCap)
WINNER: Scribblenauts (5th Cell)
Uncharted 2 (Naughty Dog)
Best Debut
League of Legends (Riot Games)
The Maw (Twisted Pixel)
Spider: The Secret of Bryce Manor (Tiger Style)
WINNER: Torchlight (Runic Games)
Zeno Clash (ACE Team)
Best Downloadable Game
WINNER: Flower (Thatgamecompany)
PixelJunk Shooter (Q Games)
Plants vs. Zombies (PopCap)
Shadow Complex (Chair Entertainment)
Trials HD (RedLynx)
Best New Social/Online Game
Bejeweled Blitz (PopCap)
Dungeon Fighter Online (Neople/Nexon)
WINNER: Farmville (Zynga)
Free Realms (Sony Online Entertainment San Diego)
Restaurant City (Playfish)
In addition to these categories, John Carmack was also given a Lifetime Achievement Award, and Gabe Newell received the Pioneer Award.
So it would seem that Uncharted 2 is basically the game industry’s version of The Hurt Locker except it was actually successful. Does Uncharted deserve the recognition? Those of us here at Kombo seem to think so, as the title performed very well in our very own 2009 Awards. The game really was a technical marvel and just downright fun to boot, so it’s hard to disagree with the platitudes being heaped upon it. Of course, someone out there is going to complain so go on, let’s hear it. Why is Uncharted 2 actually the worst game ever made? Convince us, oh mighty convincer.
