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Spike Video Game Awards 2011 video roundup
Didn't get a chance to watch the Spike Video Game Awards on Saturday night? Maybe you don't have cable, or your appetite for awkward television programming is limited; regardless, we want to help you help yourself and we're going to do that the only way we know how. A video game blog post. Want to see every single premiere or trailer from the VGAs? We've got them helpfully assembled just past the break. Start at the top and work your way to the bottom, and your friends and family will all just assume you were glued to Spike all Saturday night ... so plan accordingly.
GlaDOS' voice will return in Dota 2
Ellen McLain, the voice of none other than Portal 2's GlaDOS, was probably the most charming celebrity to stroll down the red carpet at the Spike Video Game Awards. Sure, the reality show stars and athletes may have attracted more attention, but McLain was all smiles as she used her operatic voice to talk about how great the limo ride to the show was. "This is so funny," she laughed, "the last time I was in a limo was in LA in 1981 with Rex Harrison! So only thirty years later, I have my second limo ride!" McLain said she too has been charmed, by the fan response to her popular character. "I love the way the fans are wondering who is Chell, is Chell the offspring of GlaDOS and Cave Johnson, all this stuff. And I also think that the Portal games have drawn a lot of young women into gaming." She said that she and husband John Patrick Lowrie, who also does voices for Valve's games, have "gone to some fancons, and the women are so excited, they come in and they're either dressed up like Chell or they're dressed up like GlaDOS." And we haven't heard the last of McLain yet. "Eric Wolpaw told me in the limo," she said, "that it has been announced, John and I have both done voices for Dota 2. So we're going to be in there." "There are a lot of characters in Dota 2," confirmed Lowrie. "There are like 100 characters, so we've done quite a few of them."
Stranger's Dream is the last planned Bastion DLC
Supergiant Games' creative director Greg Kasavin made his way down the red carpet at yesterday's Spike Video Game Awards, and stopped to speak with Joystiq about releasing the excellent Bastion on the Google Chrome browser platform. "It was an interesting project from a bunch of different angles," he said. "We were very curious about it technologically, because I'll be the first to admit that as a game player, I have certain preconceptions about what browser-based gaming is like." The whole project took about two months to make, and the team was uncertain they'd match the console version in quality, despite assurances from Google. "We were skeptical, but we got it up and running and we were like whoa, this actually works." The company is also planning on releasing a pack of DLC called "The Stranger's Dream" next week that will take players through another Who Knows Where sequence about the Rucks character. When asked if there will be more DLC after that, Kasavin gave a flat "no," but he's not so clear about whether this is the end of Bastion for good: "We don't know that for sure, but it's the end of our plans." So what's Supergiant up to next, then? "We have a bunch of little things brewing and whatnot," Kasavin promises. As for platforms or genres, however, he told us that "it's too early to say."
Skyrim to have multiple DLC releases, powerful buckets
Game Director Todd Howard was at the Spike Video Game Awards yesterday to accept a well-deserved Game of the Year award for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, and he said to Joystiq that the game's popularity has surprised even the development team. "We thought it would do well," he said, "but it has gone above and beyond." One of the surprising effects of that popularity is the many YouTube videos (and "arrow in the knee" references) out there, but Howard says one in particular stood out to Bethesda. "I think our favorite really is putting the buckets on the heads," he laughed. "It was like day two, and we went, what? Do we fix that? Our lead programmer is pissed and wants to fix it, and I said I'm not sure we should. That's one of those where maybe we leave it in." Howard couldn't yet share plans for DLC, but he says it will be focused on "ways to make the game better, not just have more, because the game is so big. So we're going through ideas right now, and processing everything people are doing in the game, and trying to think of ways that we can improve it." There will be multiple releases (as with Bethesda's past games), but Howard says they "don't have a timetable. They won't be quick, and they'll have a lot of meat on them." For all of its successes, the one thing Skyrim doesn't have is other players. Is there a chance we'll ever see a multiplayer title, or even an MMO, from Howard and his company? "You can never say never to anything like that," he admitted, "but it's not what our focus is. This type of game is where our hearts are, what we get excited about, and that's what we want to focus on. We don't want to lose that focus and we never want to sacrifice anything in the singleplayer game just to have it be multiplayer."
Cliff B talks Fortnite: 'There's no dudebros in it'
We cornered Epic lead Cliff Bleszinski on the VGAs red carpet yesterday to talk about the newly announced Fortnite, and he says that it'll be very different fare from the popular Gears of War series. "There's no dudebros in it," he told us outright. "Not that there's anything wrong with that, right? But creatively for the team, Gears has been amazing for us. But it's fun to kind of stretch our wings and do something that's a little different from the usual." Epic's Lee Perry is the project lead on this one, but Bleszinski says that he definitely is involved in playing the game and giving feedback on development. "It was a project that was pitched internally. I was a staunch supporter of the idea, because the game is just like a no-brainer -- I was like yes." So Epic is hard at work on Fortnite, Chair Entertainment is doing Infinity Blade on iOS, and we're curious as to what Bleszinski is up to lately. "I just hang out at the beach these days," he joked. "No, trust me, I have plenty to work on, it's just a lot of unannounced stuff. Trying to figure out where a lot of things are going in the next five years." Given the success of Chair's iOS offerings, is that platform something that Epic's main branch would consider making games for? Bleszinski says no. "If we were to do that, which we're not, we'd probably make like six or seven iOS games. Our bread and butter is still with triple A and it's still largely with console, but it remains to be seen what happens."
Here are the winners of the 2011 Spike Video Game Awards
Regardless of what you think about the actual Spike Video Game Awards broadcast, with its frustrating focus on everything but the actual video game awards, we don't think that means the awards themselves are any less valid. That could be because this writer is a judge (disclosure!) but if you have a look at the list of winners past the break, you won't find a single award for Mountain Dew, though you will find plenty for games like Skyrim, Portal 2, Bastion, and Skyward Sword.
BioWare announces Command and Conquer: Generals 2 [Update: First screens!]
The hand-wringing tweets and posts about the possible direction for BioWare's unannounced game have proven all for naught, as EA and BioWare announced the Frostbite 2.0 powered Command and Conquer: Generals 2 at tonight's VGAs. The game is set to be released in 2013. Update: We've got the official PR from Electronic Arts, found at the Source link below. Most notable is this line: "Command & Conquer Generals 2 is being developed by a new BioWare studio, BioWare Victory, and is coming exclusively to the PC in 2013." So Victory Games is now BioWare Victory and its plans for a PC-exclusive C&C game are still in place. Wow! %Gallery-141548%
Just like we said, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance developed by Platinum Games
Konami's Metal Gear Solid: Rising is now Platinum Game's Metal Gear Rising: Reveangeance, just as we were lead to believe by the trailer that leaked earlier today. Raiden, apparently channeling his unstoppable child soldier roots, has gone fully cyborg ninja in order to hack, slash and grotesquely dismember every single thing that exists. We're not going to lie, the idea of taking a RAY model Metal Gear head on with a robotic lightning sword makes us tingle in very specific, covert places.
BioShock Infinite VGA trailer plays a little ditty
BioShock Infinite gets calm and says, "We're gonna do it in an emotional montage. MONTAGE!"
Stay awhile and watch Diablo 3's introductory cinematic
At the Spike VGAs, some dudes from those American Pie movies awarded Blizzard with this year's Gaming God award. Mike Morhaime, Frank Pearce, and Allen Adham took to the stage to accept, revealing Diablo 3's final introductory cinematic. As you can imagine -- actually, wait, don't imagine. Just watch it above already!
Epic Games announces Fortnite
With Gears of War 3 concluding Epic's flagship franchise this year, it's on to something new for the developer. It was kind enough to show just what that is tonight at Spike's VGAs: Fortnite. Fortnite sees characters building forts and emplacements against monsters and other terrors of the night. Platforms were not announced.
Transformers: Fall of Cybertron rolls out in the fall of 2012
If you prick an Autobot, does it not leak Energon? If you stare longingly into Bumblebee's eyes, is it not kinda weird a bit? If a Dinobot roars, do you not run for your life, screaming and crying and probably peeing your pants a little all at the same time? Yeah, we thought so. Based on the VGA 2011 teaser above, it looks like Transformers: Fall of Cybertron will have all of those things. And Devastator.
Amazing Spider-Man faces off against giant robo spider
Here's the full trailer of that Amazing Spider-Man teaser from last week, featuring Spidey fighting an army of robo spiders.
Liveblogging the Spike 2011 Video Game Awards
Well, we just watched the last ten minutes of The Rundown, which means -- what else? -- we're watching Spike TV. That means two things: The VGAs are about to come on, and Sean William Scott just cut off a little piece of our soul, and devoured it wholesale. Ladies and gentlemen: The Spike 2011 VGAs. Let's do this thing. Oh God.
Alan Wake's American Nightmare is a spooky XBLA battle between light and dark
Looks like the rumors were right, at least partially: Alan Wake's American Nightmare will be an XBLA exclusive title wherein our titular hero is pitted against Mr. Scratch, an apparently egotistical and especially evil version of Alan. Evil birds, evil satellites and everything you'd expect lurks within the Spike TV Video Game Awards trailer, as well as in your very soul.
Rainbow Six: Patriots' VGA 2011 teaser answers to no one
Apparently the system of checks and balances we were taught in school doesn't apply any more.
Mass Effect 3 trailer sees Shepard get a little help from wormy friends
Shepard and Krogan and Reapers and GIANT SAND WORMS! RUUUUUUN!
Tekken Tag Tournament 2 coming to consoles 'Holiday 2012'
Before this year's Spike TV Video Game Awards properly started, the event's pre-show debuted a live-action, non-gameplay trailer for Tekken Tag Tournament 2. Aside from being well choreographed and remarkably stylish, the trailer offers little insight into the title other than the fact that it will be coming to unknown consoles sometime during the 2012 holiday season. Tekken Tag Tournament 2 is already out in Japanese arcades, and five select North American arcades across the country.
Sony confirms post-fungal-apocalypse title The Last of Us, due in 2012
At tonight's VGAs, Sony and Spike finally quit teasing us and formally announced The Last of Us, the next game from Uncharted developers Naughty Dog. Set in an America ravaged by a horrifying fungal infection that has left a few survivors in a desperate struggle for survival, it's super unique and you never would have guessed I wrote this before it was officially announced or anything. The trailer indicates a very Uncharted-looking bunch of people running from some very 28 Days Later(-meets-demonic-broccoli) looking infected. Color us excited. The Last of Us is due exclusively for the PlayStation 3 in 2012. Update: The press release is out, linked at the Source link below, and the official site is up at www.lastofus.com. There's not much in the way of information, but the presser does note that "The Last of Us is developed by some of the industry's most talented game designers including Bruce Straley, game director, and Neil Druckmann, creative director." The plot description goes something like this: "Abandoned cities are being reclaimed by nature and the remaining survivors are killing each other for food, weapons and whatever they can get their hands on. Joel, a ruthless survivor, and Ellie, a brave young teenage girl who is wise beyond her years, must work together to survive their journey across what remains of the United States."
Watch the Spike TV Video Game Awards, right here on Joystiq!
Update: And it's over! Thanks for joining us! If you're like a lot of folks these days and rely entirely on services like Netflix and Hulu for your daily intake of episodic television goodness, you may think that your fiscal living situation will prevent you from watching this year's Spike TV Video Game Awards ceremony. Not so! The fact that you're reading this means you have an internet connection of some kind, which means that you can't hide from you can watch the awards live, right here on Joystiq, thanks to the handy embedded live stream above. As always, we'll also be liveblogging the event and posting individual posts for big news, but we really recommend checking out the stream for the full experience.
