14 DAY TRIAL // Game awards may come in different shapes and colors, but the BAFTA ones are indeed some of the biggest out there. And the 40 different nominees on the Academy's list are going to go neck and neck right until the moment of triumph, with a lot of amazing titles present and accounted for. Some were luckier than others, and ended up in more than just one category, but with the powerful competition and the contradictory nature of video games, the number of nominations received isn't going to outshine an actual award won.
The biggest games of the year would be pretty easy to spot, with four of them receiving an impressive amount of nominations, making a lot of the award battles go between just them. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves was nominated for ten categories, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 for nine, Batman: Arkham Asylum for eight and Assassin's Creed 2 for seven. BAFTA has also put together the GAME Award of 2009, which is the award that will be won by whoever the public decides.
Aside from the big names in the industry, BAFTA will also give away the BAFTA Ones To Watch Award, aimed at the smaller developers and their low-profile, but quality games. Together with Dare to Be Digital, BAFTA has nominated Colour Coded from PixelPirates, Quick as Thieves from Gentleman of Fortune and The Butterflyers' game, Shrunk!.
As for the rest of the awards, and the list of nominees, you can find these below, slightly organized.
Nominations for Action Game: Assassin’s Creed II, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, inFAMOUS, Left 4 Dead 2 and Uncharted 2: Among Thieves;
Nominations for Artistic Achievement: Assassin’s Creed II, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Flower, Streetfighter IV and Uncharted 2: Among Thieves;
Nominations for Best Game: Assassin’s Creed II, Batman: Arkham Asylum,Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, FIFA 10, Left 4 Dead 2 and Uncharted 2: Among Thieves; Nominations for Family & Social: The Beatles: Rock Band, Buzz! Quiz World, EyePet, Guitar Hero 5, New Super Mario Bros Wii and Wii Sports Resort;
Nominations for Gameplay: Assassin’s Creed II, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, New Super Mario Bros Wii, PixelJunk Shooter and Uncharted 2: Among Thieves;
Nominations for Handheld: Gran Turismo, LittleBigPlanet (PSP), LocoRoco Midnight Carnival, Mario and Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story, Professor Layton and Pandora’s Box and Scribblenauts;
Nominations for Multiplayer: Battlefield 1943, The Beatles: Rock Band, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Halo 3 ODST, Left 4 Dead 2 and Uncharted 2: Among Thieves;
Nominations for Original Score: Assassin’s Creed II, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, PixelJunk Shooter and Uncharted 2: Among Thieves;
Nominations for Sports: Colin McRae: DiRT 2, FIFA 10, Football Manager 2010, Forza 3, Wii Fit Plus and Wii Sports Resort;
Nominations for Story: Assassin’s Creed II, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Broken Sword – Shadow of the Templars: The Director’s Cut, Brutal Legend, Dragon Age: Origins and Uncharted 2: Among Thieves;
Nominations for Strategy: Command and Conquer 3: Uprising, Empire: Total War, FIFA Manager 10, Football Manager 2010, Halo Wars and Plants vs Zombies;
Nominations for Use of Audio Batman: Arkham Asylum, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, DJ Hero, Flower, Left 4 Dead 2 and Uncharted 2: Among Thieves;
Nominations for Use of Online: Battlefield 1943, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, FIFA 10, LittleBigPlanet (PSP), Singstar TakeThat and Uncharted 2: Among Thieves;
Nominations for GAME Award of 2009: Assassin’s Creed II, Batman Arkham Asylum, The Beatles: Rockband, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, FIFA 10, GTA China Town Wars, Legend of Zelda Spirit Tracks, Street Fighter IV, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves and Wii Sports Resort.