Editorials

The Last of Us Sweeps the 17th Annual DICE Awards

The Last of Us did at least fail to take home the Best Sports Game Award.

I loved The Last of Us. It wasn’t perfect, but it was an amazing experience. One thing I did complain about, however, was that it failed to innovate much, instead dedicating everything it had to the story and characters. That didn’t stop it from taking home the Outstanding Innovation in Gaming Award at the 17th Annual DICE Awards, much to the chagrin of a vast swath of those I follow on Twitter. In fact, The Last of Us took home 10 awards of the 12 categories it was nominated in, dropping only Outstanding Achievement in Gameplay Engineering and Online Game of the Year, the nomination for which is still a complete mystery to me. That said, The Last of Us, at least in my humble opinion, was more than deserving of many of the awards it did take home, and we at The Escapist applaud the hard work and dedication from the team at Naughty Dog that helped make this game what it is.

In related news, Eugene Jarvis, creator of Defender and Robotron 2084 was honored with the Pioneer Award for his legacy, as well as his continued work in the field. He is probably best known for Defender, the first side-scroller in video games. He’s even introduced coin-op arcade games as recently as 2004, continuing a tradition long after its popularity has waned. I’m apparently a couple years too young to appreciate his contribution with Robotron, but he was also responsible for one of my favorite bits of classic digital ultraviolence, NARC.

Without further ado, here’s the full list of winners for the 17th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards:

  • Adventure Game of the YearThe Last of Us
  • Downloadable Game of the YearBrothers – A Tale of Two Sons
  • Mobile Game of the YearPlants vs Zombies 2
  • Handheld Game of the YearThe Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
  • Outstanding Achievement in AnimationThe Last of Us
  • Outstanding Achievement in Art DirectionThe Last of Us
  • Outstanding Achievement in Visual EngineeringThe Last of Us
  • Outstanding Achievement in Gameplay EngineeringGrand Theft Auto V
  • Casual Game of the YearPlants vs Zombies 2
  • Family Game of the YearSuper Mario 3D World
  • Role-Playing/Massively Multiplayer Game of the YearDiablo III
  • Strategy/Simulation Game of the YearXCOM: Enemy Within
  • Outstanding Innovation in GamingThe Last of Us
  • Outstanding Achievement in Original Music CompositionBioshock Infinite
  • Outstanding Achievement in Sound DesignThe Last of Us
  • Outstanding Achievement in StoryThe Last of Us
  • Outstanding Character PerformanceThe Last of Us – Ellie
  • Online Game of the YearWorld of Tanks
  • Sports Game of the YearFIFA 14
  • Racing Game of the YearForza Motorsport 5
  • Fighting Game of the YearInjustice: Gods Among Us
  • Action Game of the YearBioshock Infinite
  • Outstanding Achievement in Game DirectionThe Last of Us
  • Game of the YearThe Last of Us

That’s what The Academy thinks, but what are your thoughts? Was The Last of Us really deserving of this kind of total sweep of the awards, or did indie titles like The Escapist‘s reader favorite Papers, Please get unduly cut from the running? Let us know in the comments.

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