eGamer Awards 2009: Best New IP/New Game

This award is a personal favourite of mine. Sure sequels can be awesome and all, and a lot of the best games in history are sequels, but there are times when we gamers long to see something new and different – heck, even something we’ve seen before but with a different name and concept is sometimes good enough for us. Numbers just seem to irritate gamers after a while, that’s a given, I mean, perhaps it has something to do with our love of being involved in something new, I don’t know. Ok, random thoughts aside, in this award we’ll be looking at all of the games that don’t have numbers attached to their names that are built upon new ideas, concepts, mechanics and names. Right, it’s time to get down to handing out eGamer’s 2009 Award for Best New IP/New Game – straight after the rundown.

The Rundown

It’s a great thing when developers decide to pursue new ideas, concepts, gameplay mechanics and all in all attempt to create an entirely new series or franchise. It’s never an easy thing, I mean we all know that starting something new can be a real bitch challenge. Everyone loves seeing something completely new or something that has “never been done before”, that I can state pretty easily. You’ll generally find that an enormous amount of excitement surrounds new IPs and new games, and a lot of the reason is that there is often so much riding on a new game. With a sequel, generally, and this is a very basic outlook, you use the tools and gameplay structure from the first or previous game(s) and upgrade – not to mention you always have a pretty good idea of what to expect from a sequel without hearing anything about it. When it comes to new games, you’re starting from scratch and building it all up. Sure you’ll borrow some gameplay ideas or popular mechanics and often base your game on another, but somewhere down the line you’ll have to come up with your own ideas and this is where the excitement lies. In a nutshell though, aside from what’s been mentioned, this award is given to a new game/IP that built itself up from scratch and delivered a truly amazing and spectacular gaming experience. Now that you’re equipped with some ideas of this award, let’s take a look at the nominees for eGamer’s 2009 Award for Best New IP/Game.

The Nominees

Borderlands

Borderlands is fully deserving of being a nominee for the simple reason that it excelled in nearly everything it did and, despite all complaints that it was a Fallout 3 clone, which it definitely isn’t, it managed to pull through and deliver an awesome, action packed first person shooter – one that is also hellishly addictive. Borderlands seems to be the beginning of an awesome franchise and, quite seriously, despite it’s simplistic nature and gameplay structure, it was a gem for casual gamers and those in favour of co-op. Sure Borderlands had its fair share of problems, mostly with its simplicity, but in the end it’s a game that you’re going to have plenty of fun with and, as a new game that had to deal with lots of crap before it was released, it has proven to be an awesome addition to 2009′s list and to gaming as a whole.

Batman: Arkham Asylum

It’s no puzzle why Batman: Arkham Asylum has made the nominees. Batman: Arkham Asylum stands today as the greatest comic book super hero game ever created and the Batman game that fans have always wanted. Despite all skepticism, doubt, concern and struggle, Arkham Asylum pulled through spectacularly and now revels in its grand success. I don’t think anyone expected Batman to achieve all that it has while it was still in development, and this game was probably one of the biggest and most pleasant surprises of 2009. Batman: Arkham Asylum really has what it takes to stand up to all the big name games out there and is definitely an awesome beginning to what may be a series of spectacular comic book super hero games. If you have a vision of the ultimate comic book super hero game, look no further than Batman: Arkham Asylum. If you’re looking for a new and exciting game to drift away from the stream of sequels, this should definitely be a top priority.

Prototype

There was so much anticipation, build up and hype for Prototype that it was scary. When Prototype released, we were very happy to say that Prototype was one of the few games that can have so much of hype behind it and still manage to live up to most of it. Today, I can say with confidence that Prototype is one of the best action sandbox games you can find, especially if you’re looking for a few minutes or a few hours of non-stop, fast paced, chaotic fun gameplay. Prototype makes this list because it set the bar damn high for sandbox gaming, well those that involve super powers. Of course it had lots of shortcomings, with its graphics, story and combat mostly, but a lot of it could be forgiven somewhat when you were killing armies of soldiers and causing complete destruction in a city that was yours to dominate. Prototype ultimately captured the feel of what it would be like to play as a powerhouse monster capable of taking on everyone and everything in a sandbox game world, and I can say easily that there would no objections if Radical Entertainment were to step up and do a sequel or another game like Prototype.

Brutal Legend

Brutal Legend came as a really nice surprise. When you first hear about the concept, it’s hard not to smile or make one or two jokes about Jack Black. When it was released however, many could see the originality, spark, exciting ideas and concepts and the awesomeness of a game that was Brutal Legend. The game had humour, character, style, great music, was really polished and had solid gameplay, and really can be placed on a separate pedestal to the rest of the fantastic games of this year – mostly due to its originality and cleverness. Naturally, the game had its shortcomings and things that could have been done better, but based on what it accomplished as a new game, Brutal Legends is fully deserving of making this list.

inFAMOUS

inFamous, as a complete package, really is an awesome game. Few games can truly captivate and involve you in their stories like inFamous can, and the exciting, enjoyable third person, action packed shooting with electrical powers only made the game greater. inFamous was a highly anticipated PS3 exclusive title, especially since it was the epic super powered rival to Prototype. I can say with confidence that both games turned out extremely well and you can’t go wrong playing either. However, focusing on inFamous, even though the game had its flaws in terms of sandbox elements, as a whole it’s a game I would recommend to anyone with a PS3 to take a look at, especially those who are looking for a fantastic story to become immersed in. inFamous fully deserves to be a nominee on this list, because it lived up mostly to the hype surrounding it and really has some fantastic gameplay, with the story being the driving force for you to continue playing and not leave your seat. Captivating, immersive, fun and spectacular as a complete package, inFamous can easily fit in with 2009′s best.

And the winner is…

inFamous doesn’t take the award, because it was held back by quite a lot of gameplay flaws. inFamous is definitely a game to be excited about and there is no doubt that it’s one of the best new game experiences of 2009, but it suffers from lack of variety, practically no difference between good and evil and didn’t really have much of a sandbox to play around in.

Neither does Prototype, because, despite it being one of the best sandbox action games of the year, it had a lot of flaws, similar to that of inFamous. On a graphical front Prototype was really lacking, there wasn’t much difference between the powers and they were unbalanced, there were lots of irregular difficulty curves and overall there was just far too much hype surrounding it for its own good. Yes, it did live up to most of the hype, which is admirable, but too much hype is never a good thing, since it can only lead to disappointment.

The winner isn’t Brutal Legend, because even though the originality, concepts, ideas and music were awesome, the game was plagued by a lot of flaws – many of them simple things. Perhaps one of the best things about the game is that it’s very different from the norm and something new to have a stab at, but the execution, a lot to do with the gameplay, had its shortcomings, which holds Brutal Legend back.

And Borderlands doesn’t take it either, because, even though it’s an awesome, hellishly fun and addictive adventure, it’s just far too basic, very repetitive and contains hardly any role playing elements to make it a true RPG. Borderlands is a party, fast paced and thrilling first person shooter through and through. Perhaps this is what they were opting for, but as a game too Borderlands lacks a lot of depth to make it a truly meaningful experience.

The WINNER of eGamer’s Best New IP/New Game Award of 2009 is…
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

Batman: Arkham Asylum!!!

Unquestionably, this year’s best new creation in gaming is Batman: Arkham Asylum. Whether it were action, stealth or being Batman, the game pulled it all off near flawlessly. There isn’t much left to be desired when you’re playing Arkham Asylum other than better use of Batman’s detective skills and gadgets, but regardless, it really is one of the best games of the year. Batman: Arkham Asylum delivers a message to all developers that comic book super hero games are not to be undermined and taken lightly – it truly has set the bar exceptionally high for all the other super heroes out there. Not only that, but Batman: Arkham Asylum has what it takes to stand up to most other games like it currently out there. Batman: Arkham Asylum is fully deserving of this award and we can’t wait to see where it goes next with the sequel.