Video Games Awards Nominations

[Cleric]

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts, the body responsible for the UK's equivalent to the Oscars, has announced the 2007 shortlist for its Video Game Awards. BAFTA last year raised the status of its games awards to the same level as the gongs given out to the film and television industries, and this year's event will continue that tradition--the London-based ceremony will be televised by Channel 4.

Games released in the UK between October 6, 2006, and December 31, 2007, were eligible for nomination to the awards, but had to be playable by the jury members by September 6 in order to be judged--which may account for the absence of Halo 3 from any of the shortlists this year. Games not ready for judging by September 6 "will be eligible in the following year's Awards," according to the BAFTA Web site.

Nintendo's Wii Sports has been shortlisted in seven categories, including Casual, Sports, Multiplayer and Innovation. Bioshock and Crysis are both nominated for the Best Game award, taking on Gears of War, Guitar Hero II, Kane & Lynch: Dead Men, and the omnipresent Wii Sports.

The number of categories has been reduced to 15 from 17 last year, and a the full shortlist is as follows:

Action and adventure
Crackdown (Realtime Worlds)
Gears of War (Epic Games)
God of War 2 (SCE Santa Monica Studio)
Orange Box (Valve)
Ratchet and Clank: Tools of Destruction (SCE Foster City Studio & Insomniac)
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Nintendo)


Artistic achievement
Bioshock (2K Boston/2K Australia)
Heavenly Sword (Ninja Theory)
Okami (Clover(Capcom))
Ratchet and Clank: Tools of Destruction (SCE Foster City Studio & Insomniac)
skate (EA Black Box)
Viva Pi?ata (Rare)


Best game
Bioshock (2K Boston/2K Australia)
Crysis (Crytek)
Gears of War (Epic Games)
Guitar Hero II (Harmonix)
Kane & Lynch: Dead Men (Eidos)
Wii Sports (Nintendo)


Casual
Big Brain Academy for Wii (Nintendo)
Cake Mania (Digital Embryo)
Guitar Hero II (Harmonix)
More Brain Training (Nintendo)
SingStar (SCE London Studio)
Wii Sports (Nintendo)


Gameplay
Crackdown (Realtime Worlds)
Gears of War (Epic Games)
Sega Rally (SEGA Racing Studio)
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Nintendo)
Warhawk (Incognito)
Wii Sports (Nintendo)


Innovation
fl0w (SCE Santa Monica Studio/Thatgamecompany)
Okami (Clover(Capcom))
Super Paper Mario (Intelligent Systems)
The Eye of Judgement (SCE Japan Studio)
Trauma Center: Second Opinion (Atlus USA)
Wii Sports (Nintendo)


Multiplayer
Battlefield 2142 (EA Dice)
Crackdown (Realtime Worlds)
Guitar Hero II (Harmonix)
Wii Sports (Nintendo)
World in Conflict (Massive Entertainment)
World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade (Blizzard Entertainment)


Original score
Final Fantasy XII (Final Fantasy XII Project Team)
God of War 2 (SCE Santa Monica Studio)
Lair (SCE Foster City Studio & Factor 5)
Okami (Clover (Capcom))
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Nintendo)
Viva Pi?ata (Rare)


Sports
Football Manager 2008 (Sports Interactive)
Colin McRae: DiRT (Codemasters)
FIFA 08 (EA Chicago)
MotorStorm (SCE External Development Studio & Evolution)
Virtua Tennis 3 (Sumo Digital)
Wii Sports (Nintendo)


Strategy and simulation
Command & Conquer: Tiberium Wars (Electronic Arts LA)
Forza Motorsport 2 (Turn 10) Medieval II: Total War Kingdoms (The Creative Assembly)
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas (Ubisoft Studios (Montreal))
Wii Sports (Nintendo)
World in Conflict (Massive Entertainment)


Story and character
Final Fantasy XII (Final Fantasy XII Project Team)
God of War 2 (SCE Santa Monica Studio)
Heavenly Sword (Ninja Theory)
Okami Clover (Capcom))
The Darkness (Starbreeze Studios)
The Simpsons Game (EA)


Technical achievement
Crackdown (Realtime Worlds)
Gears of War Epic Games)
God of War 2 (SCE Santa Monica Studio)
MotorStorm (SCE External Development Studio/Evolution)
Okami (Clover(Capcom))
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune (Naughty Dog)


Use of audio
Crackdown (Realtime Worlds)
Elite Beat Agents (iNiS)
Gears of War (Epic Games)
God of War 2 (SCE Santa Monica Studio)
Guitar Hero II (Harmonix)
skate (EA Black Box)


BAFTA One's To Watch Award (in association with Dare to Be Digital)
Ragnarawk (Voodoo Boogy)
ClimbActic (Carebox)
Bear Go Home (Phoenix Seed)


The PC World Gamers Award (voted for by the public)
Dr Kawashima's Brain Training (Nintendo)
FIFA 07 (EA Canada)
Football Manager 2007 (Sports Interactive)
Gears of War (Epic Games)
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories (Rockstar Leeds)
Resistance: Fall of Man (Insomniac)
Wii Play (Nintendo)

[brazed]

Crysis? Orange Box?

Yeah....right.

[Squirly]

World in Conflict which is out only now.

No SupCom.

Fail. :(

[Domanskip]

How can Wii sports be up for best game but not Zelda? Twilight Princess was amazing. GH2 is one of the most enjoyable games ever made so I would put it up there for Best Game but Bioshock should win for it's pure ability to impress and immerse.

[RossI RSA]

can somebody explain how games that haven't been released get nominated?

[FEN1X]

Crysis? Orange Box?

Yeah....right.

Whats wrong with them?

[brazed]

Whats wrong with them?

Not released yet...

[RossI RSA]

Well about that not released game stuff. Why are they even being nominated? Isn't that kinda like nominating a movie based on a trailer and hype alone?

[Miktar]

Yes, it's wrong - yet people keep doing it. Not sure why.

[FEN1X]

Maybe they've been allowed to view the games before release?

[someoneelse]

Cos all those bastards have had hands-on time with those unreleased games. Bastards.

[Miktar]

Usually not, actually.

[someoneelse]

Well that makes them even bigger bastards. Sortof.

[RossI RSA]

Usually not, actually.

Then what's the point? How can they nominate a game for anything if the judges haven't even played it?

[Toi]

How can they nominate a game for anything if the judges haven't even played it?

Hype, we judge games before they get released all the time.

It is still wrong though.

[RossI RSA]

Has anyone ever interviewed the organizers and the judges on this? I really want to hear there answer to this

[Toi]

A lot of money is thrown around in the gaming industry..............................I'm just saying.................

[RossI RSA]

I seriously wouldn't be suprised

[Squirly]

Sorry, but you don't give a movie an oscar if it's not even released by the time the oscars take place. They keep it for next year at which point people might say 'what? but that's old!' - but at least the nomination and the award (should the movie get it) have... what's that word again?

Merit! That's it.

[RossI RSA]

Well has a game that hasn't been released ever won an award?