the game's thoughtful story and lovely world." Hamilton acknowledged that Infinite likely would have been difficult to sell at the mass market if it lacked the first-person shooter elements, but still said that the violent kills felt "indulgent and leering" and unnecessary for the game. Cliff Bleszinski, the creative lead of Gears of War, a series Bleszinski acknowledges as being purposely violent, agreed with these sentiments, saying he "felt the violence actually detracted from the experience". Dean Takahashi of VentureBeat felt that the game's nature as a first-person shooter limited its audience appeal due to the extreme violence inherent in the genre. In comparison, Rus McLaughlin of VentureBeat stated that the sudden onset of violence at the carnival at the start of the game was a necessary element to show that "Columbia is not perfect. It's ugly, xenophobic, and ready to explode." McLaughlin also considered the message carried by Infinite about the extreme nature of the violent acts Booker commits to be tied to his redemption by the end of the game. Similarly Jim Sterling from Destructoid considered the game's violence justified because the game's story is about violence itself. They believed that having a non-violent option would go against everything natural to the game itself and "those asking for a non-violent BioShock Infinite are asking for a different game entirely." Levine defended the game's depiction of violence, stating that using violence as a narrative device was as old as storytelling itself and that it was "a part of the storyteller's toolkit". He went on to say that art had a responsibility to authentically replicate and depict violence. He later explained that he felt "the reaction to the violence [in BioShock Infinite] is more an expression of people building confidence in the industry's ability to express itself in more diverse fashions". AwardsBioShock Infinite was nominated for or won multiple awards during its pre-release period. It was a nominee for Most Anticipated Game at the 2010 through 2012 Spike Video Game Awards, and won over 85 editorial awards at the 2011 Electronic Entertainment Expo 2011, 39 of which were Game of Show. The game also received two consecutive Golden Joystick Award nominations for One to Watch in 2011 and 2012. After release, Infinite won the Game of the Year award from multiple publications, including the Associated Press, CNN, Electronic Gaming Monthly, Entertainment Weekly, Forbes, and Games. The game also won Best