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##### Vol. 2, Issue 7
December 21, 1999

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From the Mouth of Madness:

The Other Awards

by Jason "loonyboi" Bergman

o another year has gone by here at loonygames. Whee! It's always tough to decide on the "best" game for each year, but this year was especially difficult.

There were a number of personal disappointments for me. Neither Messiah or Daikatana actually made it out this year, and I was (still am, in fact) looking forward to playing both of them.

In Daikatana's case, I was genuinely expecting it to give Quake III Arena a run for its money in the Deathmatch category...but sadly, it was delayed one last time. Messiah probably would have made a good challenger to Unreal Tournament's action category...oh well.

But regardless, there were some clear winners. The fun thing about this year's awards, is that the games I voted for didn't necessarily take the prize. Two glaring examples come to mind: the winner of our Playstation Game of the Year Award was Silent Hill. I like the game, no question. Heck, I think it's a great game. But better than Final Fantasy VIII? Heck no. I blame Nick Ferguson for that one...his vote toppled it over.

And then there's the N64 category. I guess I was the only one that fell for Rare's Donkey Kong 64 hook, line, and sinker, since I was the only one to vote for it. Oh, well.

I was personally torn between voting for Sonic's Pocket Adventures, Bust-A-Move Pocket and Pokemon Yellow for my handheld game of the year. Of course, it didn't matter anyway, since the rest of the votes went for Pokemon Pinball, but still. I ended voting for Pokemon Yellow, since it is by far the largest game there (with almost 50 hours of gameplay in the normal storyline - not including mini-games and collecting extras). And heck, when all's said and done, it's just a fun game. I can't argue with that. :)

But, there were also some categories that didn't go into the regular loony awards...which I happily present here for all to see:

The Other Awards

Most Insane Number of Logos on a Game Box: Unreal Tournament

Can you believe they managed to cram fourteen logos onto the UT box? Some of them, okay, I can understand. The company logos need to be there. Fine. But the Linux Penguin? Yeesh.

Best Packaging: Quake III Arena (limited tin box)

Damn, that thing rules. I personally bought an extra copy just to keep it unopened. :)

Worst Freebie in a Box: Gabriel Knight: Blood of the Sacred, Blood of the Damned

I tell ya, that comic book that's included with the game is unbelievably hideous. The writing is just awful, and the art, while interesting, certainly doesn't make for easy reading.

I almost wish they had forgone the whole thing and done a poorly shot live action intro. Almost.

Most Crap in a Box: Ultima IX: Ascension (Dragon Edition)

This uber-elite version of the game came with all kinds of stuff, including: every previous Ultima game (in the main series, anyway) including the VII add-ons, a soundtrack CD, a little ankh, a cloth map, an imitation leather journal, a stylin' spell book, and would you believe, more? Cool stuff.

Best By-line on a Web Site

- Jason "loonyboi" Bergman is the editor in chief here at loonygames. Boo yah!

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Credits: Illustration © 1999 Dan Zalkus. From the Mouth of Madness is © 1999 Jason Bergman. All other content is © 1999 loonyboi productions. Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited, you cartoonish villian, you.