{"id":4864,"date":"2009-11-19T13:26:00","date_gmt":"2009-11-19T11:26:00","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"-0001-11-29T22:00:00","slug":"vga-game-of-the-year-09-nominees-announced","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/business\/4864-vga-game-of-the-year-09-nominees-announced","title":{"rendered":"VGA Game of the Year 09 nominees announced"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>While many SA gamers may not be familiar with Spike TV&rsquo;s annual Video Game Awards, many US gamers regard them as gaming&rsquo;s equivalent to the MTV Music Awards of gaming. This year the event will take place on December 12.<\/p>\n<p>The most hotly debated category is the Game of the Year (GOTY) award.&nbsp; Apart from the GOTY award, the VGAs also nominate a best studio, best graphics, best Xbox 360\/PS3\/PC\/Wii game and many more.<\/p>\n<p>The VGAs are widely criticized for choosing games based on their popularity rather than quality, as well as other shortcomings. A prime example was when Halo won the award for best PC game in 2003, when it was in actual fact a two year old console port.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Last year&rsquo;s awards<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Game of the Year: Grand Theft Auto 4<\/p>\n<p>Studio of the Year: Media Molecule<\/p>\n<p>Best Shooter: Gears of War 2<\/p>\n<p>Best RPG: Fallout 3<\/p>\n<p>Best Graphics: Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots<\/p>\n<p>Best PC Game: Left 4 Dead<\/p>\n<p>Best Xbox 360 Game: Gears of War 2<\/p>\n<p>Best Wii Game: Boom Blox<\/p>\n<p>Best PS3 Game: LittleBigPlanet<\/p>\n<p><strong>This year&#8217;s nominees<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>VGA has released the list of nominees for the various awards in 2009<\/p>\n<p>We have marked our predictions with italics, and our votes with an asterix. <em>Italics<\/em> = what will win, *= what we think should win.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Game of the Year <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Assassin&rsquo;s Creed 2 (Ubisoft \/ Ubisoft Montreal)<\/p>\n<p>Batman: Arkham Asylum (Eidos Interactive &ndash; Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment \/ Rocksteady Studios)<\/p>\n<p><em>Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 <\/em>(Activision Publishing \/ Infinity Ward)<\/p>\n<p>Left 4 Dead 2 (Valve)<\/p>\n<p>Uncharted 2: Among Thieves* (Sony Computer Entertainment \/ Naughty Dog)<\/p>\n<p><em>No Borderlands, inFamous,Killzone 2?<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Studio of the Year <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>Infinity Ward <br \/><\/em><\/p>\n<p>Naughty Dog*<\/p>\n<p>Rocksteady Studios<\/p>\n<p>Valve<\/p>\n<p><em>No Gearbox?<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Best Shooter <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2<\/em>* (Activision Publishing \/ Infinity Ward)<\/p>\n<p>Halo 3: ODST (Microsoft Game Studios \/ Bungie)<\/p>\n<p>Killzone 2 (Sony Computer Entertainment \/ Guerrilla Games)<\/p>\n<p>Left 4 Dead 2 (Valve)<\/p>\n<p><em>Again, where&#8217;s Borderlands?<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Best RPG <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>Borderlands<\/em> (2K Games \/ Gearbox Software) (There it is:)<\/p>\n<p>Demon&rsquo;s Souls (Atlus \/ FromSoftware)<\/p>\n<p>Dragon Age: Origins* (Electronic Arts \/ BioWare)<\/p>\n<p>Mario &amp; Luigi: Bowser&rsquo;s Inside Story (Nintendo \/ AlphaDream) <br \/><strong><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Best Fighting Game<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger (Aksys Games \/ Arc System Works)<\/p>\n<p>Soulcalibur: Broken Destiny (NAMCO BANDAI Games \/ Project Soul)<\/p>\n<p>Street Fighter IV (Capcom \/ Capcom\/Dimps)<\/p>\n<p><em>Tekken 6* <\/em>(Namco Bandai Games)<\/p>\n<p><strong>Best Individual Sports Game <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>EA SPORTS Fight Night Round 4 (Electronic Arts \/ EA Canada)<\/p>\n<p>Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10* (Electronic Arts \/ EA Tiburon)<\/p>\n<p>UFC 2009 Undisputed (THQ \/ Yuke&rsquo;s Media Creations)<\/p>\n<p><em>Wii Sports Resort<\/em> (Nintendo)<\/p>\n<p><strong>Best Handheld Game <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars* <\/em>(Rockstar Games \/ Rockstar Leeds)<\/p>\n<p>Mario &amp; Luigi: Bowser&rsquo;s Inside Story (Nintendo \/ AlphaDream)<\/p>\n<p>Professor Layton and The Diabolical Box (Nintendo \/ Level-5)<\/p>\n<p>Scribblenauts (Warner Bros. Interactive \/ 5th Cell)<\/p>\n<p><strong>Best Graphics <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Batman: Arkham Asylum (Eidos Interactive &ndash; Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment \/ Rocksteady Studios)<\/p>\n<p>Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Activision Publishing \/ Infinity Ward)<\/p>\n<p><em>Killzone 2<\/em> (Sony Computer Entertainment \/ Guerrilla Games)<\/p>\n<p>Uncharted 2: Among Thieves* (Sony Computer Entertainment \/ Naughty Dog)<\/p>\n<p><strong>Best Game Based on a Movie or TV Show <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>Ghostbusters: The Video Game* <\/em>(Atari \/ Terminal Reality)<\/p>\n<p>South Park Let&rsquo;s Go Tower Defense Play! (Microsoft \/ DoubleSix)<\/p>\n<p>The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena (Atari \/ Starbreeze AB)<\/p>\n<p>X-Men Origins: Wolverine* (Activision Publishing \/ Raven Software)<\/p>\n<p><strong>Best Music Game <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>DJ Hero* <\/em>(Activision Publishing \/ FreeStyleGames)<\/p>\n<p>Guitar Hero 5 (Activision Publishing \/ Neversoft Entertainment)<\/p>\n<p>LEGO Rock Band (MTV Games &ndash; Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment \/ Traveler&rsquo;s Tales Games &ndash; Harmonix)<\/p>\n<p>The Beatles: Rock Band (MTV Games \/ Harmonix)<\/p>\n<p><strong>Best Driving Game <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Dirt 2 (Codemasters)<\/p>\n<p><em>Forza Motorsport 3<\/em>* (Microsoft Game Studios \/ Turn 10)<\/p>\n<p>Gran Turismo (PSP) (Sony Computer Entertainment \/ Polyphony Digital)<\/p>\n<p>Need for Speed SHIFT (Electronic Arts \/ Slightly Mad Studios)<\/p>\n<p><strong>Best Action Adventure Game <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Assassin&rsquo;s Creed 2 (Ubisoft \/ Ubisoft Montreal)<\/p>\n<p>Batman: Arkham Asylum (Eidos Interactive &ndash; Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment \/ Rocksteady Studios)<\/p>\n<p>Br&uuml;tal Legend (Electronic Arts \/ Double Fine Productions)<\/p>\n<p><em>Uncharted 2: Among Thieves*<\/em> (Sony Computer Entertainment \/ Naughty Dog)<\/p>\n<p><strong>Best Team Sports Game<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>FIFA Soccer 10*(Electronic Arts \/ EA Canada)<\/p>\n<p>Madden NFL 10 (Electronic Arts \/ EA Tiburon)<\/p>\n<p><em>NBA 2K10 <\/em>(2K Sports \/ Visual Concepts)<\/p>\n<p>NHL 10 (Electronic Arts \/ EA Canada) <br \/><strong><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>No PES?<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Best Soundtrack <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>Br&uuml;tal Legend<\/em>* (Electronic Arts \/ Double Fine Productions)<\/p>\n<p>DJ Hero (Activision Publishing \/ FreeStyleGames)<\/p>\n<p>Guitar Hero 5 (Activision Publishing \/ Neversoft Entertainment)<\/p>\n<p>The Beatles: Rock Band (MTV Games \/ Harmonix)<\/p>\n<p><strong>Best Xbox 360 Game <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Batman: Arkham Asylum* (Eidos Interactive &ndash; Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment \/ Rocksteady Studios)<\/p>\n<p>Forza Motorsport 3 (Microsoft Game Studios \/ Turn 10)<\/p>\n<p><em>Halo 3: ODST<\/em> (Microsoft Game Studios \/ Bungie)<\/p>\n<p>Left 4 Dead 2 (Valve)<\/p>\n<p><strong>Best Wii Game <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>MadWorld (SEGA \/ Platinum Games)<\/p>\n<p><em>New Super Mario Bros. Wii* <\/em>(Nintendo)<\/p>\n<p>Punch-Out!! (Nintendo \/ Next Level Games)<\/p>\n<p>Wii Sports Resort (Nintendo)<\/p>\n<p><strong>Best PS3 Game <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>inFAMOUS (Sony Computer Entertainment \/ Sucker Punch)<\/p>\n<p>Killzone 2 (Sony Computer Entertainment \/ Guerrilla Games)<\/p>\n<p>Ratchet &amp; Clank Future: A Crack in Time (Sony Computer Entertainment \/ Insomniac Games)<\/p>\n<p><em>Uncharted 2: Among Thieves*<\/em> (Sony Computer Entertainment \/ Naughty Dog)<\/p>\n<p><strong>Best PC Game<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>Dragon Age: Origins*<\/em> (Electronic Arts \/ BioWare)<\/p>\n<p>Left 4 Dead 2 (Valve)<\/p>\n<p>Plants vs. Zombies (PopCap Games)<\/p>\n<p>The Sims 3 (Electronic Arts \/ The Sims Studio)<\/p>\n<p><em>No Dawn of War II? And where is Anno 1404?<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Best Original Score <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Assassin&rsquo;s Creed 2 (Ubisoft \/ Ubisoft Montreal)<\/p>\n<p><em>Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2* <\/em>(Activision Publishing \/ Infinity Ward)<\/p>\n<p>Halo 3: ODST (Microsoft Game Studios \/ Bungie)<\/p>\n<p>Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (Sony Computer Entertainment \/ Naughty Dog)<\/p>\n<p><strong>Best Multiplayer Game <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Borderlands (2K Games \/ Gearbox Software)<\/p>\n<p><em>Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2<\/em>*(Activision Publishing \/ Infinity Ward)<\/p>\n<p>Halo 3: ODST (Microsoft Game Studios \/ Bungie)<\/p>\n<p>Left 4 Dead 2 (Valve)<\/p>\n<p><strong>Best Independent Game Fuelled by DEW <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&lsquo;Splosion Man (Twisted Pixel)<\/p>\n<p>Flower (ThatGameCompany)<\/p>\n<p>Osmos (Hemisphere Games)<\/p>\n<p><em>Trials HD*<\/em> (RedLynx)<\/p>\n<p><strong>Most Anticipated Game <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Bioshock 2 (2K Games \/ 2K Marin)<\/p>\n<p>God of War III (Sony Computer Entertainment \/ SCE Studios Santa Monica)<\/p>\n<p><em>Mass Effect 2<\/em> (Electronic Arts \/ BioWare)<\/p>\n<p>Starcraft II* (Blizzard Entertainment)<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.mygaming.co.za\/forum\/showthread.php?p=145119#post145119\" target=\"_self\">Have your say on the 2009 VGA nominees<\/a> in the forums<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Killzone 2, Borderlands and infamous did not make the cut <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":161,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sma_x_autopost_status":"idle","_sma_x_autopost_error":"","_sma_x_post_id":"","_sma_facebook_post_id":"","_sma_instagram_post_id":"","_sma_x_attempts":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4864","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-business"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4864","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/161"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4864"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4864\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4864"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4864"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4864"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}