In a world dominated by the Call of Duties, Battlefields, and Halos of competitive multiplayer - it was refreshing to see this year's Spike TV VGAs Multiplayer Game of the Year didn't go to a game based on competitive multiplayer, but rather to a game that solely support co-op gameplay in Borderlands 2. The game also took home an award for Best Shooter.
While the VGAs themselves have always been a little too mainstream for most gaming media, the VGAs ARE mainstream in the audience they appeal to. That's what makes having Borderlands 2 win the category of best multiplayer game so amazing. But perhaps it was a new leaf turned over by the show put on by SpikeTV and produced by Mark Burnett, who created shows such as Survivor.
While the show still contained all the celebrities and flashiness, it did change it's tone in my opinion. This year's VGAs saw a much tamer look at the industry and they even awarded Game of the Year to an episodic downloadable adventure game - The Walking Dead. Either way it's good to see a co-op game get such mainstream attention, especially one so GOOD as Borderlands 2.
Here is the full list of this year's winners with co-op games in bold.
Game of the Year - The Walking Dead: The Game (Telltale Games) Studio of the Year - Telltale Games Best Xbox 360 Game - Halo 4 (Microsoft Studios/343 Industries) Best PS3 Game - Journey (Sony Computer Entertainment/thatgamecompany) Best Wii / Wii-U Game - New Super Mario Bros. U (Nintendo) Best PC Game - XCOM: Enemy Unknown (2K Games/Firaxis Games) Best Handheld / Mobile Game -Sound Shapes (Sony Computer Entertainment/Queasy Games) Best Shooter - Borderlands 2 (2K Games/Gearbox Software) Best Action Adventure Game - Dishonored (Bethesda Softworks/Arkane Studios) Best RPG - Mass Effect 3 (Electronic Arts/BioWare) Best Multi-Player Game - Borderlands 2 (2K Games/Gearbox Software) Best Individual Sports Game - SSX (Electronic Arts/EA Canada) Best Team Sports Game - NBA 2K13 (2K Sports/Visual Concepts) Best Driving Game - Need For Speed Most Wanted (Electronic Arts/Criterion Games) Best Fighting Game - Persona 4 Arena (Atlus/ARC System Works/Atlus) Best Adapted Video Game - The Walking Dead: The Game (Telltale Games) Best Independent Game - Journey (thatgamecompany) Best Graphics - Halo 4 (Microsoft Studios/343 Industries) Best Song in a Game - "Cities" by Beck (Sound Shapes) Best Original Score - Journey (Sony Computer Entertainment/thatgamecompany) Best Performance By a Human Male - Dameon Clarke as Handsome Jack (Borderlands 2) Best Performance By a Human Female - Melissa Hutchison as Clementine (The Walking Dead: The Game) Best Downloadable Game - The Walking Dead: The Game (Telltale Games) Best Social Game - You Don't Know Jack (Jellyvision Games) Best DLC - Dawnguard – The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Bethesda Softworks/Bethesda Game Studios) Most Anticipated Game - Grand Theft Auto V (Rockstar Games)