The Game Awards 2014′s full list of categories and nominees announced

The full list of categories and nominations for the upcoming Game Awards 2014 have been announced, with Bayonetta 2, Dark Souls II, Dragon Age: Inquisition, Hearthstone, and Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor vying for Game of the Year.

Other categories include Best Independent Game, Best Narrative, Best Shooter, Best RPG, and so on.

The Game Awards 2014, which replace the Spike VGAs, will be held on Friday, December 5, beginning at 6 p.m. Pacific Time (9 p.m. Eastern).

The full list of categories and nominees are as follows:

Game of the Year:

• Bayonetta 2


• Dark Souls II


• Dragon Age: Inquisition


• Hearthstone


• Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor

Best Independent Game:

• Broken Age – Act I


• Monument Valley


• Shovel Knight


• Transistor


• The Vanishing of Ethan Carter

Best Narrative:

• South Park: Stick of Truth


• The Walking Dead: Season 2


• The Wolf Among Us


• Valiant Hearts: The Great War


• Wolfenstein: The New Order

Best Performance:

• Adam Harrington as Bigby Wolf – The Wolf Among Us


• Kevin Spacey as Jonathan Irons – Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare


• Melissa Hutchinson as Clementine – The Walking Dead: Season 2


• Trey Parker as various voices – South Park: The Stick of Truth


• Troy Baker as Talion – Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor

Best Remaster:

• Grand Theft Auto V


• Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire


• The Last of Us Remastered


• Halo: The Master Chief Collection


• Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition

Best Action/Adventure:

• Alien: Isolation


• Assassin’s Creed Unity


• Bayonetta 2


• Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor


• Sunset Overdrive

Best Fighting Game:

• Killer Instinct: Season 2


• Persona 4 Arena Ultimax


• Super Smash Bros. 3DS


• Super Smash Bros. Wii U


• Ultra Street Fighter IV

Best Sports/Racing Game:

• FIFA 15


• Forza Horizon 2


• Mario Kart 8


• NBA 2K15


• Trials Fusion

Best Shooter:

• Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare


• Destiny


• Far Cry 4


• Titanfall


• Wolfenstein: The New Order

Best Role-Playing Game:

• Bravely Default


• Dark Souls II


• Divinity


• Dragon Age: Inquisition


• South Park: The Stick of Truth

Best Family Game:

• Disney Infinity 2.0


• Fantasia: Music Evolved


• Mario Kart 8


• Skylanders: Trap Team


• Tomodachi Life

Best Online Experience:

• Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare


• Dark Souls II


• Destiny


• Hearthstone


• Titanfall

Best Mobile/Handheld Game:

• Bravely Default


• Hearthstone


• Monument Valley


• Super Smash Bros. for 3DS


• Threes!

Developer of the Year:

• Blizzard


• Monolith


• Nintendo


• Telltale


• Ubisoft Montreal

Best Score/Soundtrack:

• Alien: Isolation


• Child of Light


• Destiny


• Sunset Overdrive


• Transistor

Games for Change:

• Mountain


• Never Alone


• The Last of Us: Left Behind


• This War of Mine


• Valiant Hearts: The Great War

Most Anticipated Game:

• Batman: Arkham Knight


• Bloodborne


• Evolve


• The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt


• Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End

eSports Player of the Year:

• Martin ‘Rekkles’ Larsson (League of Legends)


• Xu “Fy” Linsen (DOTA2)


• James “Firebat” Kostesich (Hearthstone)


• Christopher “GeT_RiGhT” Alesund (Counter-Strike: GO)


• Matt “NaDeSHoT” Haag (Call of Duty)

eSports Team of the Year:

• Samsung White (League of Legends)


• Evil Geniuses (DOTA2)


• Edward Gaming (League of Legends)


• Newbee (DOTA2)


• Ninjas in Pajamas (Counter-Strike: GO)

Trending Gamer:

• Evan “Vanoss” Fong


• Jeff Gerstmann


• PewDiePie


• StampyLongHead


• TotalBiscuit

Best Fan Creation:

• BEST Zelda Rap EVER!! By Egoraptor


• Luigi Death Stare by CZBwoi and Rizupicorr


• Mine the Diamond (Minecraft Song) by Tobuscus


• Minecraft — TITAN City by Colonial Puppet


• Twitch Plays Pokemon by Anonymous

The Game Awards 2014′s full list of categories and nominees announced

‘South Park’ Takes on Oculus VR and Free-to-Play in Latest Episodes

In its nearly 2 decade run on the air South Park has seemingly covered every pop culture or political topic under the sun. They’ve tackled everything from The Hobbit to alien abductions, Kickstarter to Food Network.

Sometimes the writers at South Park even tackle a gaming-related topic or two, and usually those episodes become instant classics. Who can forget the World of Warcraft episode from season 10?

However, this past two weeks has delivered a series of episodes that are sure to become instant favorites among gamers. This week’s episode was of particular interest because it focused on Virtual Reality and the Oculus Rift headset in a story that was trademark South Park.

Those who have yet to check out the South Park episode, titled “Grounded Vindaloop”, are highly recommended to head to Comedy Central and hit play. Even those who might not enjoy South Park on a regular basis (if at all) are encouraged to give this one a try. Without giving too much away, let’s just say that although VR is the focal point of the episode it functions as a clever piece of comedy writing all on its own.

Coincidentally, this is the second week in a row that South Park has tackled a gaming-related topic. Last week’s episode, “Freemium isn’t Free”, provided a satirical look at the free-to-play business model in games, specifically mobile RPGs. Like with the Oculus episode, “Freemium isn’t Free” features some inside baseball concepts that only gamers will get, but it still functions as an enjoyable romp for the boys of South Park. Since this season of South Park has been tying together more than in the past, we’d recommend watching that episode first and then moving on to “Grounded Vindaloop”.

After Facebook acquired Oculus for $2 billion it became very clear that VR was not the fad that some thought it to be. And now that South Park has incorporated Oculus into one of its episodes, the technology’s place in our culture is even further established. In fact, where the “Freemium isn’t Free” episode made fun of the free-to-play business model, this most recent episode actually touted VR as an immersive experience. Obviously, it’s not THAT immersive, but we wouldn’t be surprised to see a few gamers start to lose touch with reality.

What did you think of this week’s South Park episode? What other video game-related topics would you like to see the writers parody?

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Source: Comedy Central

Follow Anthony on Twitter @ANTaormina

‘South Park’ Takes on Oculus VR and Free-to-Play in Latest Episodes