Best of 2004

Game of the Year

Winner: World of Warcraft
Publisher: Blizzard Entertainment
Developer: Blizzard Entertainment

Let me ask you this: what are games all about? If your answer goes something along the lines of, "they're all about fun and creating immersive game worlds," then you'll have a hard time disagreeing with our decision.

World of Warcraft wins the game of the year award on ActionTrip because Blizzard has succeeded in creating the most seamless and immersive fantasy world that we've visited this year.

As with any MMOG, the launch was plagued with technical issues, lag problems and server crashes, but overall, World of Warcraft has, in the eyes of many, managed to surpass their expectations - and those expectations were set pretty damn high mind you. It succeeded in bringing together fans of the Warcraft universe who've only played the RTS games and hardcore MMOG players by offering possibly the smoothest MMOG gameplay experience to date.

This as you all will agree, is a huge accomplishment for a game that was conceived with such monumentally ambitious goals. With the upcoming addition of the PvP battlegrounds, a proper PvP reward system, and new lands, the world of Azeroth is threatening to consume even more of our free time. Congrats to the team at Blizzard for winning this illustrious award, they've sure as hell earned it.

Runner-up: Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines.

Action Game of the Year

Winner: Half-Life 2
Publisher: VU Games
Developer: Valve Software

The sequel to the game that was the 'best shooter of all time' according to some, Half-Life 2, spent six years in development. The fans' excitement lost some of its fervor during the last year, which is not too surprising - Half-Life 2 has been delayed more times than a Julia Roberts wedding (She is *SO* pretty, don't you think? -Ed), so it was not until the last couple of months the fans have become frantic once again. Still, the task that this game had to fulfill was not an easy one: HL2 was expected to be 'the best', and everything other than that would be a sore disappointment. While HL2 was 'under construction', growing into one of the most epic game creations in the history of the gaming industry, the gaming community had the chance to see some visually imressive shooters such as Unreal Tournament 2004 and Far Cry, which set new standards for the FPS genre.

Bearing in mind all the numerous mishaps surrounding the release of this game, we feel we should appreciate Valve's effort all the more. It was also quite logical that the creation of HL2 was a story of controversy, broken promises, disappointments and great expectations (not to mention spending loads of cash). Let's name just a few of those problems - Mike Harrington leaving the project; Valve's giving up the idea of licensing id's Quake III engine; Gabe Newell's (aka 'Butter Boy') decision not to present HL2 at E3 2002; the fateful September 30 when Valve decided the game was not finished; the theft of HL2 source code by a German hacker; another missed date on September 30, 2004; the hype about the outstanding Source engine and of course, the entire Steam controversy. Finally, on November 16, 2004, the agony of Valve and the gaming community has ended - HL2 was released.

I guess there are lessons to be learned from this:

1. German teenagers are always to blame (Duh -Ed)
2. Valve should go to Hollywood - they'd have an outstanding career there
3. This game helps us realize the full potential of modern technology - when we compare it to the original, we are fully aware of the amazing change video games have undergone in the last six years
4. HL2 managed to live up to the hype, if only it hadn't ended like Matrix: Reloaded.

Runner-up: Far Cry.

RPG of the Year

Winner: Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines
Publisher: Activision
Developer: Troika Games

As you may have noticed, Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines was our runner-up for the game of the year, and if it hadn't been for World of Warcraft snagging the crown, Bloodlines surely would've secured the top slot as, well, the game of the year.

Vampire had performance issues and it felt somewhat unpolished, but it was also the best-rounded, at times bone-chilling, intelligent, superbly written and thoroughly innovative title with a great replay value that we played this year.

Whereas Half-Life 2 ends like a goddamn episode, and follows this new idiotic trend of episodic gaming, Bloodlines succeeds in being the next true Deus Ex heir.

Now if only the Troika programmers would get their act together :)

Runner-up: Silent Storm: Sentinels.