Ryo & Verbal's 4th annual I.V.E.A. Awards

That time of the year again folks. Verbal and I have been very playing all the games nominated this year. It has been a tough year because so many great games came out. We tried to fit them all in but with three systems out there putting AAA titles week after week it is very hard coming up with winners and a good list of honorable mention (nominees) without leaving out great games. On a side note for the music awards the nominees go by the Japanese release date of the soundtrack cd, so some games might not have come out to US shores yet. I feel as though game soundtracks should stand on their own without the game backing them so therefore I don't feel it is required to play the game in order to enjoy the soundtrack. Also note this are console awards, not PC.

Without further delay...

IVEA AWARDS 2004


Music

Best Song /w Vocal

“I Want Love” sung by Melissa Williamson, composed by Akira Yamaoka, Silent Hill 3
“Flower of Happiness” sung by Youko Matsura, composed by Tenpei Sato, Digaea: Hour of Darkness
“1000 Words” sung by JADE from Sweetbox, composed by Noriko Matsueda & Takahito Eguchi, Final Fantasy X-2
“Late Goodbye” sung by Poets of the Fall composed by Marko Saaresto, Max Payne
"Chou" sung by Tsukiko Amano, Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly

Winner: “1000 Words” sung by JADE from Sweetbox, composed by Noriko Matsueda & Takahito Eguchi, Final Fantasy X-2


Best Song (Instrumental)

“Epilogue Theme”, composed by Noriko Matsueda & Takahito Eguchi, Final Fantasy X-2
“Rainbow Six 3 Theme” composed by Bill Brown, Rainbow Six 3
“So Alone, Be Sorrow”, composed by Motoi Sakuraba, Star Ocean 3: Till The End of Time
“Staff Roll”, composed by Motoi Sakuraba, Tales of Symphonia
“Speaking with the Stars”, composed by Motoi Sakuraba, Baten Kaitos

Winner: “Speaking with the Stars”, composed Motoi Sakuraba, Baten Kaitos


Best Original Soundtrack of the Year

Star Ocean 3: Till The End of Time, composed by Motoi Sakuraba
Tales of Symphonia, composed by Motoi Sakuraba
Baten Kaitos, composed by Motoi Sakuraba
Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits, composed by Takayuki Hattori and Michiru Ohshima
Disgaea: Hour of Darkness, composed Tenpei Sato
Beyond Good and Evil
Sword of Mana

Winner: Baten Kaitos

Best Platform Game

Jak 2
Persia: Sands of Time
Ratchet and Clank: Going Commando
Voodoo Vince
Castlevania Lament of Innocence

Winner: Prince of Persia: Sands of Time

Best First Person Shooter

Counter-Strike
Rainbow Six 3
Return to Castle Wolfenstein

Winner: Rainbow Six 3

Best RPG

Final Fantasy X-2
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits
Digaea: Hour of Darkness
Final Fantasy Tactics Advance
Xenosaga Episode I

Winner: Stars Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

Best Sports Game

Madden NFL 2004
ESPN NFL Football 2K4
ESPN NHL Hockey 2K4
Top Spin Tennis
Tony Hawk’s Underground

Winner: Top Spin Tennis

Best Adventure Game

Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker
Beyond Good and Evil

Winner: Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker

Best Fighting Game

Soul Calibur 2
Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution
Tekken 4

Winner: TIE: Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution & Soul Calibur 2

Best Survival Horror

Silent Hill 3
Grabbed by the Ghoulies
Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly

Winner: TIE Silent Hill 3 & Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly

Best Action Game

True Crime Streets of LA
The Getaway
Kill Switch

Winner: The Getaway

Best Writing

Beyond Good and Evil
Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne
Final Fantasy X-2
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
The Getaway

Winner: Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne

Best Cinematography

Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly
Prince of Persia: Sands of Time
Beyond Good and Evil
Xenosaga Episode 1

Winner: Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly

Best Voice Acting

Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne
Final Fantasy X-2
Beyond Good and Evil
The Getaway
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

Winner: Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

Best Graphics

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
Silent Hill 3
Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly
Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne
Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
Final Fantasy X-2
The Getaway

Winner: Silent Hill 3

Best Online Game

Counter Strike
Rainbow Six 3
Top Spin Tennis
Project Gotham Racing 2
Socom 2
Need for Speed Underground
Crimson Skies: High Road To Revenge

Winner: Rainbow Six 3

Best Racing Game

Need for Speed Underground
Project Gotham Racing 2
Mario Kart Double Dash

Winner: Mario Kart Double Dash

Verbal’s Favorite Game of the Year

Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne

Ryo’s Favorite Game of the Year

Rainbow Six 3

Best Game of the Year

Beyond Good and Evil
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
Max Payne 2: The Fall of the Max Payne
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

Winner: Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

Yeah, Call of Duty could have been on there, but since the Xbox version has yet to surface, it can't, maybe next year.

As for the absense of Crimson Skies and Viewtiful Joe. Verbal felt as though Viewtiful Joe got old very quickly, I only played the game a few times to get the feel of how it work and the premise. I agreed with him because while playing I felt the same way, that this is getting old pretty fast. As for Crimson Skies....errr copy and paste error from Word, it was supposed to be nominated in the Best Online Game cat. Fixing now. Thanks for pointing that out though.

As for Cheese's comment on The Getaway, the only others ones that were left out of the nominees were the Lord of the Rings: Return of the King and Panzer Dragoon Orta by accident. In any case, The Getaway would still win in both our books because of the cinematic quality was better than the ROTK game and more innovative than the others nominees as well. It also had one hell of a story and some of the best voice acting ever in a game.

I take it that you have heard this amazing soundtrack? If so, did you buy the cd? Comes in a nice case with some cool artwork.