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Uncharted 2, Batman, Others Vie For Top Honors At Spike VGAs
by Kris Graft [PC, Console/PC]
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November 18, 2009
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Sony and Naughty Dog's Uncharted 2: Among Thieves and Eidos and Rocksteady's Batman: Arkham Asylum are poised to be big winners at the upcoming Spike TV Video Game Awards.
The PlayStation 3-exclusive Uncharted 2 and the multiplatform adventure beat-'em-up Batman led other nominees with eight and seven nominations, respectively. Both of the high-profile titles are up for Game of the Year.
Also up for Game of the Year are the recently-released games Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 from Infinity Ward and Activision, Assassin's Creed 2 from Ubisoft and Left 4 Dead 2 from Valve.
The Studio of the Year nominees coincide almost exactly with the Game of the Year nominees, with Infinity Ward, Naughty Dog, Valve and Rocksteady vying for the honor.
While the higher-profile, blockbuster games are contending for the top spot, there are some notable games that didn't have a huge marketing push that are nominated: Demon's Souls (Atlus and From Software), BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger (Aksys Games/Arc System Works), Scribblenauts (WBIE, 5th Cell), MadWorld (Sega, Platinum Games) and Plants Vs. Zombies (PopCap) are also up for awards in various categories.
Notable indie games mentioned in the "Best Independent Game Fueled By [Mountain] Dew" category include Twisted Pixel's 'Splosion Man, ThatGameComapany's Flower, Hemisphere Games' Osmos and RedLynx's Trials HD.
2009 VGA nominees were selected by a VGA Advisory Council consisting of experts from media outlets including GameTrailers.com, IGN, GameSpot, Gamasutra and others. The full list of nominees is below, as provided by Spike:
GAME OF THE YEAR
* Assassin's Creed 2 (Ubisoft)
* Batman: Arkham Asylum (Eidos Interactive - Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment / Rocksteady Studios)
* Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Activision Publishing / Infinity Ward)
* Left 4 Dead 2 (Valve)
* UNCHARTED 2: Among Thieves (Sony Computer Entertainment / Naughty Dog)
STUDIO OF THE YEAR
* Infinity Ward
* Naughty Dog
* Rocksteady Studios
* Valve
BEST SHOOTER
* Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Activision Publishing / Infinity Ward)
* Halo 3: ODST (Microsoft Game Studios / Bungie)
* Killzone 2 (Sony Computer Entertainment / Guerrilla Games)
* Left 4 Dead 2 (Valve)
BEST RPG
* Borderlands (2K Games / Gearbox Software)
* Demon’s Souls (Atlus / FromSoftware)
* Dragon Age: Origins (Electronic Arts / BioWare)
* Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story (Nintendo / AlphaDream)
BEST FIGHTING GAME
* BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger (Aksys Games / Arc System Works)
* Soulcalibur: Broken Destiny (NAMCO BANDAI Games / Project Soul)
* Street Fighter IV (Capcom / Capcom/Dimps)
* Tekken 6 (NAMCO BANDAI Games)
BEST INDIVIDUAL SPORTS GAME
* EA SPORTS Fight Night Round 4 (Electronic Arts / EA Canada)
* Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 (Electronic Arts / EA Tiburon)
* UFC 2009 Undisputed (THQ / Yuke’s Media Creations)
* Wii Sports Resort (Nintendo)
BEST HANDHELD GAME
* Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars (Rockstar Games / Rockstar Leeds)
* Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story (Nintendo / AlphaDream)
* Professor Layton and The Diabolical Box (Nintendo / Level-5)
* Scribblenauts (Warner Bros. Interactive / 5th Cell)
BEST GRAPHICS
* Batman: Arkham Asylum (Eidos Interactive - Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment / Rocksteady Studios)
* Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Activision Publishing / Infinity Ward)
* Killzone 2 (Sony Computer Entertainment / Guerrilla Games)
* UNCHARTED 2: Among Thieves (Sony Computer Entertainment / Naughty Dog)
BEST GAME BASED ON A MOVIE OR TV SHOW
* Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Atari / Terminal Reality)
* South Park Let’s Go Tower Defense Play! (Microsoft / DoubleSix)
* The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena (Atari / Starbreeze AB)
* X-Men Origins: Wolverine Uncaged Edition (Activision Publishing / Raven Software)
BEST MUSIC GAME
* DJ Hero (Activision Publishing / FreeStyleGames)
* Guitar Hero 5 (Activision Publishing / Neversoft Entertainment)
* LEGO Rock Band (MTV Games – Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment / Traveler’s Tales Games - Harmonix)
* The Beatles: Rock Band (MTV Games / Harmonix)
BEST DRIVING GAME
* Dirt 2 (Codemasters)
* Forza Motorsport 3 (Microsoft Game Studios / Turn 10)
* Gran Turismo (PSP) (Sony Computer Entertainment / Polyphony Digital)
* Need for Speed SHIFT (Electronic Arts / Slightly Mad Studios)
BEST ACTION ADVENTURE GAME
* Assassin’s Creed 2 (Ubisoft / Ubisoft Montreal)
* Batman: Arkham Asylum (Eidos Interactive - Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment / Rocksteady Studios)
* Brutal Legend (Electronic Arts / Double Fine Productions)
* UNCHARTED 2: Among Thieves (Sony Computer Entertainment / Naughty Dog)
BEST TEAM SPORTS GAME
* FIFA Soccer 10 (Electronic Arts / EA Canada)
* Madden NFL 10 (Electronic Arts / EA Tiburon)
* NBA 2K10 (2K Sports / Visual Concepts)
* NHL 10 (Electronic Arts / EA Canada)
BEST SOUNDTRACK
* Brutal Legend (Electronic Arts / Double Fine Productions)
* DJ Hero (Activision Publishing / FreeStyleGames)
* Guitar Hero 5 (Activision Publishing / Neversoft Entertainment)
* The Beatles: Rock Band (MTV Games / Harmonix)
BEST XBOX 360 GAME
* Batman: Arkham Asylum (Eidos Interactive - Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment / Rocksteady Studios)
* Forza Motorsport 3 (Microsoft Game Studios / Turn 10)
* Halo 3: ODST (Microsoft Game Studios / Bungie)
* Left 4 Dead 2 (Valve)
BEST Wii GAME
* MadWorld (SEGA / Platinum Games)
* New Super Mario Bros. Wii (Nintendo)
* Punch-Out!! (Nintendo / Next Level Games)
* Wii Sports Resort (Nintendo)
BEST PS3 GAME
* inFAMOUS (Sony Computer Entertainment / Sucker Punch)
* Killzone 2 (Sony Computer Entertainment / Guerrilla Games)
* Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time (Sony Computer Entertainment / Insomniac Games)
* UNCHARTED 2: Among Thieves (Sony Computer Entertainment / Naughty Dog)
BEST PC GAME
* Dragon Age: Origins (Electronic Arts / BioWare)
* Left 4 Dead 2 (Valve)
* Plants vs. Zombies (PopCap Games)
* The Sims 3 (Electronic Arts / The Sims Studio)
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
* Assassin’s Creed 2 (Ubisoft / Ubisoft Montreal)
* Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Activision Publishing / Infinity Ward)
* Halo 3: ODST (Microsoft Game Studios / Bungie)
* UNCHARTED 2: Among Thieves (Sony Computer Entertainment / Naughty Dog)
BEST MULTI-PLAYER GAME
* Borderlands (2K Games / Gearbox Software)
* Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Activision Publishing / Infinity Ward)
* Halo 3: ODST (Microsoft Game Studios / Bungie)
* Left 4 Dead 2 (Valve)
BEST PERFORMANCE BY A HUMAN MALE
* Bill Murray as Dr. Peter Venkman in Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Atari)
* Hugh Jackman as Wolverine in X-Men Origins: Wolverine Uncaged Edition (Activision Publishing)
* Samuel L. Jackson as Afro Samurai / Ninja Ninja in Afro Samurai (Surge)
* Shia LaBeouf as Sam Witwicky in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (Activision Publishing)
* Vin Diesel as Richard B. Riddick in The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena (Atari)
BEST PERFORMANCE BY A HUMAN FEMALE
* Eliza Dushku as Rubi Malone in WET (Bethesda Softworks)
* Kristen Bell as Lucy Stillman in Assassin’s Creed 2 (Ubisoft)
* Megan Fox as Mikaela Banes (Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen / Activision Publishing)
* Tricia Helfer as Dare (Halo 3: ODST / Microsoft Game Studios)
BEST CAST
* Brutal Legend (Electronic Arts / Double Fine Productions)
* Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard (D3 Publisher / Vicious Cycle)
* Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Atari / Terminal Reality)
* South Park Let’s Go Tower Defense Play! (Microsoft / DoubleSix)
* X-Men Origins: Wolverine Uncaged Edition (Activision Publishing / Raven Software)
BEST VOICE
* Arleen Sorkin as Harley Quinn in Batman: Arkham Asylum (Eidos Interactive – Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment)
* Claudia Black as Chloe Frazer in UNCHARTED 2: Among Thieves (Sony Computer Entertainment)
* Jack Black as Eddie Riggs (Brutal Legend / Electronic Arts)
* Mark Hamill as The Joker in Batman: Arkham Asylum (Eidos Interactive – Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment)
* Nolan North as Nathan Drake in UNCHARTED 2: Among Thieves (Sony Computer Entertainment)
BEST DOWNLOADABLE GAME
* Battlefield 1943 (Electronic Arts / DICE)
* Fat Princess (Sony Computer Entertainment / Titan Studios)
* Plants vs. Zombies (PopCap Games)
* Shadow Complex (Microsoft Game Studios / Chair Entertainment)
BEST DLC
* Fallout 3 – Broken Steel (Bethesda Softworks / Bethesda Game Studios)
* Fallout 3 – Point Lookout (Bethesda Softworks / Bethesda Game Studios)
* Grand Theft Auto IV: The Ballad of Gay Tony (Rockstar Games / Rockstar North)
* Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost & Damned (Rockstar Games / Rockstar North)
BEST INDEPENDENT GAME FUELED BY DEW
* ‘Splosion Man (Twisted Pixel)
* Flower (ThatGameCompany)
* Osmos (Hemisphere Games)
* Trials HD (RedLynx)
MOST ANTICIPATED GAME
* Bioshock 2 (2K Games / 2K Marin)
* God of War III (Sony Computer Entertainment / SCE Studios Santa Monica)
* Mass Effect 2 (Electronic Arts / BioWare)
* Starcraft II (Blizzard Entertainment)
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for best downloadable game. wipeout hd and its dlc fury is simply stunning.
Infamous is > than brutal legend for best action game.
Spike has no idea about games. It's all a lot of marketing and playing to the highest bidder. Of course they give voice awards to big name actors. How else are they gonna generate press and get attention from the mainstream audience? It's all for show. And it shows.
I'm sorry, but no. Spike is the last place I will ever go for any sort of subjective rating of video games and the people who are involved in making them.
because nothing says "Independent" like an unasked for sponsorship by a multinational sugar water company. I hear next year they're going to add a new category -
BEST ART GAME FUELED BY BLACKWATER
Why isn't Borderlands up there? It's an amazing game
I dont get "BEST XBOX 360 GAME". Assassin's Creed 2 nominated for game of the year, but somehow not for best xbox360 game?
Too many categories for voice acting. Just give the thing to Mark Hamill.
What a shame...first the video arcades get shut down, and now all the "good" games have to look like movies with HD graphics in order to get nominated for video game "awards". Why is the game industry dying like this?
Uncharted 2 should sweep all it's categories.