With the recent release of Portal 2 and the sales blitzkrieg of family friendly peripherals such as the Xbox Kinect and the Sony Move, are M rated games being given a run for their money?

The most recent trend in gaming has been violence, sex, more violence and skyrocketing sales.  However, with the explosion and appeal of Nintendo’s Wii, a tidal wave of family friend games found new energy.  Zombies, soldiers, evil aliens and scantily-clad heroines found themselves being forgotten and passed over for plumbers, motion tracked sports and children movie adaptations. 

However, is this a good thing?  Are we truly paying more attention to what is and what is not acceptable for our children?  Or are we using gaming consoles to play better baby-sitters?  Just because we are examining the content of our younger generations’ digital entertainment does not necessarily mean we are looking at their time spent and their development?

Besides, can E+ and family friendly games truly win against Gears of War, Resident Evil, Mass Effect and Mortal Kombat?  Or can these kid friendly additions merely hope to hang on to what little territory they currently have? 

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The first thing you notice when you start playing Alan Wake is that it is beautiful, as your ferry slowly comes into Bright Falls you have time to wonder around the deck and get a good view of the environment and it is stunning. This is emphasised by the golden glow the sun gives off through the…

While normally a channel for ultimate fighting, “manswers” about breasts and marathons of SCI, on December 12th, gamers ruled Spike TV with the 9th annual Video Game Awards 2009.

The show opened up with a scene-stealing premiere of what looks to be the sequel to the critically-acclaimed Batman: Arkham Asylum.  The audience and room were bathed in green light and gas while the screen took everyone in a digitized tour of a decaying, under-sieged Gotham City while a healing Joker watched on.

Big winners through the night included Jack Black for Best Voice Actor in a Game (surprisingly beating out Mark Hamill), Assassin’s Creed 2 for Best Action/Adventure, Rocksteady Studios picked up the award for Studio of the Year and NHL 10 iced heavy-hitting Madden for Team Sports Game.  Shadow Complex won for Best Dowloadable Game, the unusual Flower took the prize for Best Independent Game and actors Hugh Jackman and Megan Fox won for Best Performance by Human Male and Female in a Game respectively.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 won Best Shooter and Best Multiplayer beating out Halo 3: ODST, Killzone2 and Left For Dead 2.  The shooter should also have been the recepient of Presented by The Oddest Celebrity Pairings - Mike Tyson and the cast of Jersey Shores (?)

Best Xbox 360 Game was claimed by Valve’s Left 4 Dead 2.

Premieres are always big news at the awards show.  The audience was treated to first time views of True Crime, TRON: Evolution - the game, Deadliest Warrior - the game, Prince of Persia: Forgotten Sands, Spec Ops: the Line and of course, the much hyped HALO: Reach.  The sequel to last year’s Star Wars: The Force Unleashed was debut by VGA former host and fan favorite Samuel L. Jackson (who described himself as a Bad A** Motherf*****r.)  And who would disagree?

RPG of the Year was taken by BioWare’s DragonAge: Origin and the Best Racing Game award went to Microsoft’s Forzr Motorsport Racing 3.

Musicians Greenday unveiled their next year’s presence in the world of Rockband.  Speaking of music, the Best Music Game Award was presented to Beatles Rock Band by majestic royalty Stevie Wonder.

A preview of the live action Prince of Persia movie was introduced by film star Jake Gyllenhaal.  While the file looks exciting, many, both game fan and not, are still holding their breaths given Hollywood’s rocky past with game-to-movie translations.

Gyllenhaal also announced the big winner of the evening, Game of the Year.  The highest honor went to Uncharted 2: Among Thieves.  The game also won PS3 Game of the Year and Best Graphics.

Spike’s VGA is good at giving everyone what they want: games, premieres all wrapped up in a tight format.  There are really no long-winded speeches, unwanted musical acts (this year, the audience was entertained by the Dogfather himself, Snoop) and plenty of pop & subculture celebrities.  Although the sex appeal has been toned down somewhat, who can forget the year Vida Guerra strutted across stage?

The VGA was narrated by the always sensual, uncredited sci-fi actress Claudia Black, also of Uncharted 2.