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.
After Mr. Miyamoto accepted the Hall of Fame award, I began wondering what game would be inducted into the Hall of Fame at the 2012 VGA's. Would Miyamoto be back on stage to bring Mario into the Hall of Fame? Would Hideo Kojima swag it out for Metal Gear Solid? Would Cliff Blizinski announce Resident Evil 7 if he accepted the Hall of Fame Award? The world will never know since the VGA's didn't give out a Hall of Fame Award this year.
What I'm trying to say is the VGA's Hall of Fame Award is a big deal, and it's a shame it wasn't awarded this year. There are plenty of games and developers that deserve their moment where gamers can thank them for creating timeless art. Yes video games are art Roger Ebert. Hopefully I'll be in the audience as the Hall of Fame Award is given at the 2013 Video Game Awards. Maybe I'll be the one presenting the award. Guess we'll have to watch the VGA's next year to find out. Until next year VGA's.
