Another year has come and gone and The Game Awards has come to an end. It has been an evening rife with plenty of shocking announcements and much deserved wins from across a wide array of different games both indy and triple A alike. I’ll do my best summarize some of the biggest and most noteworthy reveals into one article so as not to bombard everybody’s news-feed. I’ll start with some of the big announcements and end on the awards themselves.
NEW XBOX SERIES X ANNOUNCED ALONG WITH HALO INFINITE AS LAUNCH TITLE
In a report that was previously posted on this site, Phil Spencer took to the stage to announce the next generation Xbox Console…Xbox Series X and that the next chapter in the Halo saga, HALO:INFINITE will be its high profile launch title. He went over some of the specs you could expect and to be honest it wasn’t the least bit shocking. 8k resolutions at 120 frames per second should be what’s expected of the next generation, so nothing shocking there. What really tickled my fancy was the sly mention of the next Halo game as the launch title. I was bummed we weren’t going to get one more Halo game for this generation but it’s a smart move for it to be the launch title.
GEARS TACTICS announced
Though technically announced at E3 in 2018, this game was mysteriously missing out of the E3 2019 presentation. Well it’s definitely a reality now because not only was a release date of April 28th 2020 announced but it also brought to the awards show… a brand-new trailer!!! This looks to replace the cover-based shooter mechanics of the mainline Gears titles with a more turn based strategy like something you’d find in an XCOM title. The trailer was very exciting and I can’t wait to play a different style of Gears game next year.
WOLF AMONG US 2 ANNOUNCED
Everyone one of you reading this article, who can claim to be a gamer, have at one point or another played a TellTale Games title. Whether it be their most famous Walking Dead series, or there recently released Batman and Guardians of the Galaxy titles. This kind of “high end” choose your own adventure is excellent counter programming to the normal Triple A fare you guys are used to. Well, it was revealed at the awards show tonight that Wolf Among US 2 is actually getting a second season despite TellTale Studios being unceremoniously shot down last year and only being relaunched this past August. This series seems to have attained a certain level of status in the TellTale pantheon of games which would explain why this has taken a certain level of priority. No other details have been announced, but we will keep you posted as they are.
DARK ALLIANCE featuring DND CHARACTERS IS ANNOUNCED
A successor to Baldur’s Gate was also revealed this evening in the form of a new game called simply Dark Alliance. It will be published by Tuque Games in conjunction with DND publisher Wizards of the Coast. It is slated for release in 2020 on both console and PC. It purports to be a 3rd person action-RPG where you and 3 of your friends could join for hours and hours of hack and slash co-op fun. It will feature some of the most iconic characters across DND’s entire history as both playable characters AND NPCs.
AWARDS RECOGNITION
2019 was an amazing year for games. A lot of instant classics were released this year dating all the way back to January!!! Everything from the Resident Evil 2 remake to Untitled Goose Game and even Call of Duty: Mobile we’re nominated for one award or another. So let’s run down some of the biggest award winners.
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, from Dark Souls creator FROM SOFTWARE, took home the top prize of Game of the Year while also nabbing Action/Adventure Game of the year as well. Disco Elysium, a top down old school indy RPG currently only available for the PC (soon for consoles as well) nabbed the most awards for the night bringing home trophies for Fresh Indie Game; Best RPG; Best Independent Game and Best Narrative. I have been following this title through the interwebs for a while now but you can be rest assured that I will be purchasing and playing this title the first chance I get. The Multiplayer Game of the year went to Apex Legends and that’s honestly no surprise, it is one of the most fun and inventive free to play FPS titles I’ve ever had the pleasure of playing with a rather robust and exciting online community. Consumate actor and all around badass Mads Mikkelsen won the award for Best Performance for his portrayal of the enigmatic Cliff in Death Stranding which also won for Best Score and Soundtrack. Everyone’s favorite fighting game from the house that Mario built, Super Smash Brothers Ultimate won for best fighting game. Luigi’s Mansion 3 took home the award for best family game and that’s easy to see why, this is hands down the best Mario affiliated title I’ve had the pleasure of playing in a very long time. Devil May Cry 5 won the award for Action Award and it is one of the most artistically insane games I’ve ever played and you should stop reading this right now and go pick it up.
That just about covers all the main talking points. It was an award show just like any other awards show but geared towards the gaming lifestyle. Green Day stopped by to play a few songs but to be perfectly honest, their new music really sucks and the performance was absolutely boring and typical GD fluff. There were a few huge surprises in terms of announcements and few upsets. It was a fairly entertaining show and I look forward to all the gaming splendor that 2020 has to offer.
