MonsterVine Game of the Year 2012 Awards – Day 2

To me, “Best Game on Console X” isn’t just a console exclusive GOTY award. I find that concept to be far beyond outdated and just provokes childish console wars. I’ve always felt this category awards the title that gave the exact experience the console in question’s library needed and delivered on all fronts. Halo 4 definitely fit the bill for the Xbox 360 by improving everything about the console’s flagship title from the action, to the story, to the music, and even finally gave Call of Duty competitive on the front of competitive multiplayer. I put around eight months worth of time into Halo 3 and hadn’t been happy with a Halo game since. I’m proud to say Halo 4 reignites that passion and makes me just enjoy using Xbox Live again. – James Cobb, Co-Founder

Halo 4 is a beautiful game on every level. The visuals manage to squeeze the aging 360 hardware and produce visuals that compete with the power hungry PC games. 343 Industries made the best Halo game yet released and kept it true to its Bungie roots. I’ve sunk so many hours into this game at the end of 2012 and I plan on playing it throughout 2013. – Austin Adamson, Associate Editor

Best Xbox Live Arcade – Mark of the Ninja

You know what I’m sick and tired of? Some team of two to ten people making a Super Mario Bros clone but turning up the edgy to full power and never looking back as they go write their acceptance speech for “Best Indie Game” or some variation of that award before they start beta testing. I’m glad to see my colleagues think the same as instead of FEZ the Mediocre, we gave the award to Mark of the Ninja. A beautiful sidescroller that takes the stealth approach to gameplay in a somewhat open world. This game awards patience, creativity, and the true reflexes of a ninja. Don’t miss it, guys. It’s a gem. – James Cobb, Co-Founder

Doing stealth in a game is hard, making a player feel in complete control while performing stealth actions is nearly impossible but Mark of the Ninja manages to achieve some of the best stealth this generation. The transparency of the game’s systems is what gives that feeling of being an awesome ninja that can sneak by everyone undetected, or kill everyone from the shadows. This is some of the most fun I had with games this year. – Austin Adamson, Associate Editor

Best Visual Style – Journey

I really don’t have much to say on this subject other than…. Really? This was up for debate? Journey’s style takes the best elements of The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker and fuses them with the likes of Ico through a mad science experiment to create the best visuals in a game ever. I’m not kidding. The artstyle is simplistic, but uses that simplicity in a clever manner to flesh out an entire world with bright and beautiful colors. It’s amazing when games like Journey prove you don’t need the photogenic resolution and 3D glasses to create visuals that will never age. Good job, Thatgamecompany. Good job. – James Cobb, Co-Founder

Out of all the nominees Journey was the one that really stood out the most. Besides looking absolutely gorgeous it also invoked memories of Laurence of Arabia and Aladdin. It was something I’d seen before but at the same time something new which really stood out to me. – Diego Escala, Reviews Editor

One of the best things that Journey does is use “okay” graphics, but it does so in a way that helps it stand apart as extremely eye catching. Every time I played through this game, I loved to watch the sand, carpets and other visual effects; not just because they were pretty, but they were deceivingly so. On top of that, the environments and colors went far in creating a relaxing, encapsulating experience. The last time I can remember a title doing this was JapanStudio’s Shadow of the Colossus. It’s good to see video games still striving for an art form, and this game seals the deal. – George Treviranus, Graphic Designer

Journey is a beautiful game to watch. The way the sunlight covered the sand and made it bleed a fiery orange was absolutely stunning. And with the mountain always in the background, the art became part of the game’s goal rather than the environment. – Trevor Stamp, News Editor

Best Nintendo 3DS – Kid Icarus

Remember what I said earlier about award categories similar to this? I’ll admit, I was thinking of Kid Icarus’s relationship with the 3DS while writing that. Kid Icarus brought everything the 3DS needed in one fantastic package, with a free stand inside. I won’t get into all of it, as I just tried and it almost turned into its own review. I will quickly say my favorite element of this game is the risk and reward difficulty system. The more I push myself, the more rewards I get. It’s a refreshing feeling of satisfaction that gives me a bit of pride in myself in a similar fashion to the classics of yesteryear. I’ve never been one to jump on the Sakurai bandwagon, but if he can keep delivering products like this, I’ll call him the next Miyamoto and where a shirt with “fanboy” labeled across the front. I must truly say thank you to the boys at Nintendo and Project Sora for such a great experience. Just don’t keep me waiting too long for the sequel. – James Cobb, Co-Founder

Despite this game having a wonky control scheme that makes it difficult to play in a variety of locations or for very long without being fatigued, the gameplay is solid with deep combat and loot mechanics. The mixture of air and land combat paired with the brilliant, self-aware writing makes this game a charming gem, and a must play for 3DS owners. – Austin Adamson, Associate Editor