Working Title 07.03.09: The 2nd Annual Workies Halftime Awards Winners

Posted by Jordan Williams on 07.03.2009

The winners are revealed!...Sort of. So who will it be this year? Who won the Packie McReary reward for Manliness? How about Dormroom Dominator...and just who was nominated for Game of the Year So Far? Time to find out.

Welcome to the #1 Column to laugh maniacally at the fact that the best movie director ever (Michael Bay) is running away with everyone's money over Transformers 2 (which admittedly wasn't THAT bad of a movie), WORKING TITLE. Sorry about the lack of a column last week, Windows Vista seems to like to go through these phases where it doesn't like working. Couple that with the fact that Florida has been getting shat on by constant thunderstorms that knock out the internet and you will see that it's just been a pretty fucked up week.

But if anything this allowed me to catch up my column on my blog and get their votes counted over for the Workies Halftime Awards as well. So for once we have some pretty clear cut winners and I don't have to rely on my awesome panel to do the voting.

Also...it's my birthday today (at the time this will be posted) so kickass.

So now that the nominees for The 2nd Annual Workies Halftime Awards are out, and we've had time to vote it's time to see who actually won something.

The 2nd Annual Workies Halftime Awards - The Winners


The Packie McReary Award for Manliness

Even though it has been renamed it's still the award for the most badass character in gaming. It doesn't HAVE to be a man...but hey, sometimes the girls don't know how to bring the kickass as far as video games this year. So let's take a look at the nominees

Alex Mercer
He might not be big on words, but he can pick up a tank and throw it 500 feet while still managing to keep a hoodie on. Couple that with the fact that he can live out all of our dreams of being a kickass old woman for the entire game and yeah, you get someone who is pretty manly.


Little Mac
The guy can probably beat the shit out of you without ever throwing an uppercut. Of course this is isn't the reason he is manly. It might be the fact that if he punches you in your stomach at the right time he will KILL YOU. But that's not it either. It's the fact that he trains in a pink jumpsuit in New York and no one fucks with him. That's why.


Rufus
He. Is. Fat. No, really. That's the only reason he's nominated.


Chris Redfield
His game might not have been what we all expected, but it's obvious that he has been juicing up and anyone who can put up with Sheva's annoying ass is a fucking saint in my book.



Cole McGrath
He and Alex Mercer will always be compared to the other due to the story of their games, but Cole is different in the sense that he can't throw a car that fucking far...he will just throw a lightning bolt far enough to zap everyone in a 5 mile radius. Unless he is that pussy 'good' version, in which case he'll save a bunny from a tree or some shit.



And the winner is...

ALEX MERCER


It was actually a close one with Rufus with Little Mac coming in second. It seems that although Cole McGrath had supposedly the better game but overall he was in dead last in the voting. Maybe people just don't like him as a hero and more as an avatar? Either way despite Alex's wooden personality it just goes to show you that gamers really are violent sociopaths that want nothing but to destroy all mankind and cause wanton destruction. I'm pretty sure that came out a lot worse than I intended.

Game Mechanic/Character That Can Die in A Fire

Hate a character? Hate a part of a game or a thing people do? Well this award is for you. So who did we send to the furnace of fanboy hell this year? And no, no consoles are wagglan was included because they were included last year. Also casual gaming is just too easy of a target to pick on so I didn't include them either. No worries though, the winner won by a landslide.


Sheva Alomar (Resident Evil 5)
To say that people wanted to shoot her in the face after the first chapter is an understatement. People wanted to shoot her in the face almost right from the get go. What with her constant dying, never helping, and her just plain psychotic love for using her weak ass pistol despite the fact that you will give her more awesome weapons. It just seemed that Sheva was working AGAINST you more than with you. Now who's the racist?

Glass Joe v2 (Punch-Out!!!)
You know? I got a lot of shit for admitting that Joe knocked me the fuck out. The thing is I know he knocked the fuck out of all of you and you are all just too pussy to admit it. The fact that he does that stupid smirk of mock surprise after he knocked you on your face just made you want to throw a Molotov at him even more.

Rage Quitting
It's ruined a lot of online experiences this year, and it seems like no one wants to fix it or address it. But it's obvious that we want to fixed NOW, if it doesn't get fixed soon I think I might just rage quit while I am winning at a game just to spite the rage quitter. Yeah, that'll teach 'em.

Seth (Street Fighter IV)
Speaking of people with no balls. Seth is just a jerk. It's been said time and time again that fighting game final bosses are always candidates for Death by Fire, but Seth's bisected naked body is slowly finding his way into hatred only known to fuckers like Geese Howard and Rugal. And that's a pretty big fucking deal.



And the winner is...

RAGE QUITTING


Rage Quitting, for those that don't know is the act of quitting a game completely in a fit of rage. The rage can stem from many things such as losing (in which you quit at the last second so the match doesn't count as a loss) or a dramatic turn of events that will make you lose (a 4th Qtr comeback), or something simple as a random event not going your way (BAAW! I WANTED TO BE INFECTED FIRST!). The point of rage quitting is really just to save face and your own ass, but it is very flawed. In games like UFC Unleashed a rage quit actually nullifies the match that was just played, meaning that that hard fought victory is now gone and the loser still walks away with his record intact. In most other games, especially team based games; it puts the quitter's team at a severe disadvantage. So yes, until a system is put in place to punish rage quitters, it deserves to die in a fire.

The "This Is Not Going to End Well" Award

Now what kind of videogame blogger/columnist would I be if I didn't have a bad outlook on all things new, huh? This award is for those games that we just don't think are going to be up to snuff, or maybe they just won't be a great as they are being hyped. So who can we pick to say "I told you so" later?

Left 4 Dead 2
Now I am a big fan of this game and I will probably buy it the day it comes out, but there's about 25,000 people that disagree with me. I think that this one is not if the game will be good, it's if that the game will be so much better and bigger than Left 4 Dead 1 that it really needed a sequel. Personally I think that if the game is good people won't care. But like I said, there's a HUGE amount of people that think otherwise.

Halo 3: ODST
Much like Left 4 Dead 2, people are wondering if this should be a full priced purchase in itself or priced as an expansion it looks like all we are getting is just a five hour expansion and the same multiplayer from Halo 3 but at a full price. I know the Halo fanboys will be all over it but how will the mass populace take to it?

Silent Hill: Shattered Memories

Of course anytime a game changes gears, the fanboys have a little botchiest and it seems that Silent Hill is getting the treatment again. But I don't think the outlook of this game is looking bad due to the changes they have made; I think it's just the fact that it's a 'hardcore' game for the Wiki and those have not been selling that well lately. Ironically the same people that complain about the lack of hardcore titles on the Wiki are the same ones that won't buy them when they DO come out.


And the winner is...

HALO 3: ODST



This was our first tough one, as the voting came pretty close. ODST beat out Left 4 Dead 2 just by a few scant votes, it seems like people have more faith in Valve than in Bungie. So, what is the big deal with this and why do people think it's going to fail? From what I can tell it's just the fact that this game is being billed as an expansion, no bones about it. This is not a full game and was never touted as a full game...yet it is being charged full price. This sounds a lot like the argument surrounding Left 4 Dead 2 but the thing is Valve is saying this IS a full game, Left 4 Dead 2 apparently a full new game with tons of new changes, etc etc. That and we don't even know what the price of L4D2 is going to be in the long run. But Bungie is openly saying that this is NOT a full game and it is NOT Halo 4/Reach...but they are going to charge you full price for it. That does seem sort messed up now, doesn't it? I'll say this. ODST better be fucking rock awesome, because I think if it is anything less than stellar than people are going to let them hear it.

The Dormroom Dominator Award

Play it online, play it split screen, or play it with two hobos you grabbed off the street. The whole point is that you are going to play these games with a lot of people and you love the fuck out of it. That is...well...you love the fuck out of it until Madden comes out. This award should just be renamed "That one award Madden will win in December". Let's see if someone proves that wrong or these games hold up.

UFC Undisputed
In what many are calling the Fight Night Killer, UFC Undisputed dropped in a big way earlier this year after an impressive demo that got fans and non-fans chomping at the bit for this game. The game has done very well on Xbox Live outside of the Rage Quitters and it looks like UFC has a new market in which it will work its magic on to bring in the money. That...and...it's the only chance that any of us have at beating Anderson Silva.

The Godfather 2
Yep, I still don't get it. This game was not that good at all yet it is still getting a ton of play online. Either people really want their fix before Mafia 2 comes out or this game must be one of those "horrible single player, great online" type games. Color me surprised.

Red Faction: Guerilla
Funny Ah-nold one liners aside, now that I have actually spent a long time with this game (Blockbuster is not going to like me too much) I do see how this game can be fun as fuck online. A ton of modes to play around with as well as Wrecking Crew for the Online Challenged, and this game looks like it might be the type to have a life on Xbox Live well after the single player experience dries up.


And the winner is...

UFC UNDISPUTED


So you wanna be a fucking fighter? Well we finally got our chance without having to live in a house with 15 other guys and we still liked it. The game isn't 100% perfect but it does represent the UFC well and furthermore sets up a great foundation on which the game can build into a franchise. I don't think there is anyway that this game will be a One and Done sort of game and I fully expect to see this use the Madden and WWE style of yearly sequels (referred to as Roster Updates by most) to keep it going. With the wide range of MMA fans around the world and especially in hot videogame markets like the United States and Japan, this game will definitely have a life online around the world and the series can only go up from here.

Workaholics Halftime Game of the Year

You know, you motherfuckers actually sent a lot of shit in for game of the year so far. The thing is...no one actually voted. Well, no one voted enough for there to be a clear cut winner. So I compiled a list of the games that got the most votes and let you all have a second shot at voting. So, just like last year and the year before you have a vote at choosing who will be crowned Game of the Year So Far and get a nom in the end of year voting. Last year's winner was GTAIV but it fell prey to Fallout III at the end of the year, maybe this time it will be different?

UFC Undisputed
Our current Dormroom Dominator is arguably the surprise hit of the first half since a lot of people were sleeping on this game until they played the demo. This is proof that that stupid "Preorder the game to get the Demo" campaign just doesn't work. Either way UFC: U 2009 has proven that a sports game can be good and still end up in the same breath as "Game of the Year". Maybe if NHL 10 is as good as it was last year it won't get snubbed either.

InFamous
It came out before Prototype but was announced around the same time and both of them were near inseparable in the hype. As it turns out InFamous has been regarded as the better game of the two and a lot of votes went to what seems to be PS3's killer app of the first half. Does it have what it takes to beat out the competition or will it be forgotten like so many other action titles?

Red Faction: Guerilla
No one really saw this game coming. Well, that's not entirely true. No one really saw this game coming out well. The last Red Faction game wasn't that great and now taking it from a first person shooter to a third person action game was going to be a bit of a test but it seems like it lived up to it well. Completely destructible environments as well as a downright addictive online mode have helped this game step into the limelight this summer. Kind of funny that this game is set on Mars, and has a hammer that can bring skyscrapers to the ground but is STILL more realistic than Saints Row.

Killzone 2
What's this? Two PS3 Exclusives in the running for Game of the Year So Far? I said it last year that this year would be the year that PS3 would start to show that it's serious and with Killzone 2 and InFamous it looks like they are ready to play ball and capitalize on the lack of a full Gears or Halo game this year. Either way Killzone definitely filled that science fiction shooter that Resistance filled last year. It's probably the most played PS3 Exclusive on PSN and might be one of the best games they have released so far this year.

MadWorld
I struggled with this. The Wiki has been VERY quiet for a long time now and really hasn't had any big hits on it's hands in awhile. But I felt that The Wiki needed to be represented somehow so I decided to toss MadWorld in here despite the fact that no one voted for it. It was the game many were heralding as the Wii's big hardcore seller for the beginning of the year and while it hasn't sold well it has gotten some good reviews. Maybe SEGA could ironically be the thing that saves Nintendo.

Street Fighter IV
Street Fighter IV. I admit I was skeptical as fuck about this game (I think I even nominated it for "Not Going To End Well" nominees last year) but I am glad to say that the game turned out above and beyond my expectations. With the pedigree that Street Fighter had there was no real reason to doubt it, but it had been gone for so long and other fighting games had taken it's title that we just didn't know if it had it in it to make a comeback. We were wrong. Not only did Street Fighter make a comeback but it might end up being the best game of the year. Note that I didn't add "So Far" to that.

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From one insanely short column to another. Now that we have our winners we can finally move onto something else. I was reading my monthly Game Informer (comes with the territory) and I noticed a little article talking about The Perfect RPG. In which they took parts from other RPGs and put them together to make the 'perfect' RPG. I like that idea.

And I think I'm going to steal it. Hopefully they won't get too angry. So next week I will kick off the currently unnamed series with a look at the 'perfect' fighting game. What parts from your fighting games could come together to make the perfect one? You'll just have to find out.

Oh yeah, and I'll reveal who the GOTYSF is as well.

Until next time, I'm Jordan Williams and...BAYSPLOSIONS!