Why the 2011 VGAs Rocked

Ladies and gentleman I stand corrected. I had every expectation that the 2011 Video Game Awards were going to be two hours of boring television. Boy was I was wrong. The 2011 VGA's were great. Really great. I enjoyed watching it from beginning to end. Here are some reasons why the 2011 Video Game Awards Rocked.

Better Music

The VGA's made a bunch of additions to the show this year that rocked. One of the additions was an in house DJ by the name of Deadmau5. He's already official when it comes to rocking awards shows since he was the inhouse DJ at the 2010 VMA's. A bunch of people tuned in just to see Deadmau5 perform.

Of course on television his epic music and light shows kept getting cut short thanks to commercials, but he did his thing. Deadmau5 also introduced a new helmet which is way more detailed than the one he had on at the VMA's. The new helmet is cool because it has a bunch of videogame designs on it. The Right Eye is Pac Man and I see a 1UP logo on his right ear. Very appropriate for the occassion.

Great Host

A great awards show begins with a great host, and Zachary Levi was just that. His Portal 2 leap across the venue was a great entrance, and the guy knew what he was talking about. That's a huge step up from last years host, Neil Patrick Harris, who was cool, but I couldn't really relate to the him as a gamer. Zacahry Levi was funny as well. His joke about him and Jane Lynch being sexy male hosts had me laughing. He also kept the show moving. I wouldn't mind if he came back to host the Video Game Awards again.

Better Presenters  

Remember the people who presented at last years Video Game Awards? Me either. This year we saw a bunch of famous faces present awards, trailers, and musical guests. The guys from that show Workaholics were hilarious when they presented the trailer to Alan Wake. They came out as if they won an award and went on to introduce Alan Wake 2. By the way they were presenting the trailer it wasn't clear if they knew the game they were presenting or not adding to the humor. 

What about Charlie Sheen presenting? That was definitely a highlight of the night. Say what you want about Charlie Sheen, that man is winning. Gotta give kudos to Will I Am and Hulk Hogan. The special guests that attended this year makes me want to go to next years VGA's. I'd get to mingle with some stars for real.

Hall of Fame

This year the Video Game Awards gave out it's version of the Lifetime Achievement Award by inducting The Legend of Zelda into the Video Game Hall of Fame. The only thing bigger than Zelda being the first game inducted into the Hall of Fame was creator Shigeru Miyamoto being there to accept the award. Both Zelda & Shigeru Miyamoto deserve that first spot in the Hall of Fame.

Despite all of the recent controversy around rumors of Miyamoto is retiring, it was good to see him on stage smiling. Something tells me this isn't the last time we'll see Miyamoto accepting a Hall of Fame award. I give it 3 years tops before Mario makes his way into the Hall of Fame. The Videogame Hall of Fame is a genius award within itself. I look forward to seeing what game get inducted next.

Teabagging

You know those award shows where the person who wins give a really long acceptance speech? The VGA's aren't one of them. Gone are the days of people thanking everyone from GOD to the cleaning lady at their hotel. If you take too long at the VGA's you risk getting teabagged by a US Soldier.

I thought the host was joking when he said if you take too long accepting your award you'll get teabagged. That was until the guys at Infinity Ward set off the alarm for going too long on their acceptance speech for Best Shooter. Next thing you know the soldiers on the stage Teabagging one of the guys from Modern Warfare 3. How's that for a win? You've got the best selling game of the year, the award for best shooter, and you got teabagged on stage. I look forward to the day I get to accept a VGA. The only thing I'll have on my mind is avoiding getting teabagged. Until next year.

Why I Want the Special Edition of Skyward Sword

I can't even remember the last time I played my Wii. If I remember correctly I was playing Donkey Kong Returns last November. It's sad. I see it everyday in my living room collecting dust. It saddens me to think that I could have traded in my Wii a year ago and not even missed it. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is the only reason why I haven't traded in my Wii.

I've come close to trading in my Wii on many different occasions. The first time I almost traded it in, I decided to trade in my Gamecube peripherals instead. They included Super Mario Sunshine, Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker, a Gamecube memory card, and a Gamecube Controller. I got $20 from my friend Simon at Patriot Games, and put gas in my car.

I came really close to selling my Wii the other day. I was strapped for cash and needed gas to get to school. I began to get the cords together when I noticed my one and only Wiimote sitting by itself. I thought of the Special Edition of The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword.

"Doesn't that include a Wiimote?" I thought to myself.

I began to do my research. Not only does the Special Edition of Skyward Sword include a gold covered Wiimote, the Wiimote has the Wii Motion Plus built into it. I then found out that the Wii Motion Plus is required to play Skyward Sword. I've had my Wiimote since 2007. It doesn't have any of bells and whistles that newer Wiimote's have. My Wiimote was officially obsolete. I grabbed my Wiimote and an extra nunchuck I've had laying around and traded both in for $15 dollars at Patriot Games. To the Gas station.

As the holidays approach, the first thing on my Christmas List is the Special Edition of The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. It's $79.99 and the Wiimote that comes in the Special Edition looks cool. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is the final game for my Wii before I trade it in. It's going to be nice to be able to play it with a cool new controller.

Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D Impressions

The first time I played The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time was on the Nintendo Gamecube. I got a copy of the Master Quest version after I preordered Legend of Zelda: WindWaker. I was excited to play it after years of hearing how it was one of the best videogames ever released. I played it for maybe 2 hours and was done. I couldn't get over how dated the games graphics looked on my Gamecube. A big selling point of Ocarina of Time when it was announced on the Nintendo 3DS was Nintendo reworked the textures and animations to make the graphics look a lot better. I won't be the last to say that Ocarina of Time is a good looking game on the Nintendo 3DS.

I was curious how a Ocarina of Time was going to look with 3D graphics. I do best with the 3D settings as low as possible. It brings out the 3D effect a little bit, and doesn't strain my eyes when I look at the screen. The higher I move the gyroscope the harder it is for me to see what's going on. I start seeing double which gets annoying. It's all about the angle you hold your 3DS when the 3D effect is high. I like to lay back and play my 3DS so I spend more time adjusting my arms when the gyropscope is high. The game looks cool when the 3D is set high. I just can't play the game with high settings that long.

I would describe Ocarina of Time's gameplay as "difficult." This game is nowhere near as intuitive as Legend of Zelda: Windwaker in my opinion. An example is in Zora's Domain. How was I supposed to know Jabu Jabu needed a fish in order to open his mouth? It makes sense, but I find myself on Youtube watching the walkthrough for this game constantly. I still have fun playing it though. I was stuck in Jabu Jabu's mouth for maybe 2 weeks, but I finally got out. Something tells me I have a long way to go before I finish this game. I can't wait to experience more and find out why this game is so important to videogame history.