Ten Ton Hammer Presents GCDC 2008 Awards (original) (raw)
After days of walking the convention floors, recording hours of video, and writing tons of stories, we look back at the best of the best of the Leipzig GCDC 2008 Convention.
Best of Show - Warhammer Online
Warhammer Online needs Europe like Mythic doesnt need another GOA marketing snafu, so it was no surprise that Mythic brought its a-game to Leipzig. An informal poll of the Ten Ton Hammer team revealed that WAR edged out its rivals in all categories: best booth, best presentation, and best trailer. While Age of Conans booth and the World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King trailer were both kickass (props to AoC and Funcom especially for devoting such a large swath of floor space to a single, already-released MMORPG), it was WAR that made this years trip to Leipzig singularly memorable.
Surprise Hit of Show - Champions Online
No matter how much our Editor-in-Chief raved after spending a day at Cryptic Studios, it took a trip to Germany to make the Ten Ton Hammer team true believers in the comic book bliss that is Champions Online. The just announced roles system promises a new variation on an tired old class-based tune, and COs unique cell shading, epic art and animation, and worldwide scope that goes way beyond the familiar urban setting. Seeing the game in action made Champions Online our MMORPG to watch in early 2009, though Jumpgate Evolution visually wowed us and left us longing to dust off our old X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter diskettes until the game launches next year.
Best Free-to-Play - Runes of Magic
With a unique look and rich environment, Runes of Magic promises an intriguing journey through a story driven experience. Impressing us not just with enormous zones to explore, they are adding a deep player housing system to store items and display trophies. Boasting a dual class system that will allow dozens of combinations, the customization options were also quite exciting. However, What seemed to really set this game apart was the time put into the lore which was extensive and original. When you add all this up and consider it will be Free to Play, you have a serious contender when this game launches.
Best Independently Published Game - EVE Online
Despite a new round of indy contenders, this gorgeously complex space-based slugfest just keeps reinventing itself, with 2 major expansions (including Trinity - a DirectX 10 redux and much more - and Revelations II - a Empyrean Age kick in the pants that added factional warfare to the game) and the somewhat rocky (but very compelling) advent of online games democracy in the form of the Player Council. EVE Online continues to grow in stature and size and we have a funny feeling that, even with five years of EVE development under their belt, CCP is just getting started.
Most Innovative - The Chronicles of Spellborn
We thought the fantasy MMORPG category had been done to death until we encountered The Chronicles of Spellborn last year, and the game continues to surprise us. The spindly character models, intuitive gameplay ethereal backdrop, and aura of mystery surrounding the storyline once again left us spellbound for Spellborn. Best of all, the publishing deal with Acclaim Games announced at Leipzig seems to mean that the game will be subscription-free in North America, but were still waiting on the final word.
Best Art Direction - Aion
While some might deem Aion: Tower of Eternity as over-the-top Asian in terms of its anime-inspired character models and swirling pastel dreamscapes, we feel right at home watching prime time Cartoon. Maybe thats why we awarded Aion with Best Art Direction, but we dont think theres any denying that this is the most aesthetically pleasing MMORPG currently in development.
Best Expansion - World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King
The reigning champion of MMORPGs brings aerial combat and siege vehicles along with another ten levels chock full of content, and Blizzard shows that they learned a thing or two from Burning Crusade with design choices like creating two points of entry to expansion content.
Congratulations to all of the winners! Be sure to check out all of our Leipzig Games Convention 2008 Coverage. Or take a trip down Memory Lane and check out Last Year's Winners.