Inside Gaming Awards Nominees Announced

If you love video games and think they deserve more recognition, how about an awards show to help them get more time in the spotlight? If you think that’s a good idea, you’re in luck so read on from this official press release.

Between now and December 7th, community voting is open for the Gamers’ Choice awards. It’s a very unique and cool (if not first of its kind) voting mechanic: there is one video for each nominee, and each video view counts as a vote. Each video contains clickable links to easily navigate around all the categories and nominees. There’s even a community contest, with five $1,000 shopping sprees up for grabs.

The awards show itself will be held at the Redbull House in Santa Monica, CA on 12/11/09, one day before the VGA’s. Then on 12/15/09, a special episode of Inside Gaming will feature all of the winners and related industry news.

The “Inside Gaming Awards” will form two special editions of the “Inside Gaming” series. The first special was broadcast Friday, November 27th, 2009 with “Inside Gaming’s” host “The Dead Pixel” launching over 90 nomination videos across 18 categories. Nominees will be eligible for two separate awards – the official industry “Inside Gaming Award” and a “Gamer’s Choice Award”, which will be chosen by community votes between the dates of Nov. 27th and December 7th.

Community votes will be counted based on the number of views each nomination video receives during the two week voting period. Check out the full list of Inside Gaming Awards Nominees for 2009 after the jump.

Game of the Year
1. Batman Arkham Asylum (Eidos/Warner Bros, Rocksteady Studios)
2. Borderlands (2K Games, Gearbox Software)
3. Halo 3: ODST (Microsoft, Bungie)
4. Modern Warfare 2 (Activision, Infinity Ward)
5. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (Sony, Naughty Dog)

Best Trailer
1. Castlevania: Lords of Shadow (Konami)
2. Halo 3: ODST (Microsoft, Bungie)
3. Modern Warfare 2 (Activision, Infinity Ward)
4. Star Wars: The Old Republic (LucasArts/BioWare)
5. Resident Evil: The Dark Side Chronicles (Capcom)

Best Multiplayer
1. Borderlands (2K Games, Gearbox Software)
2. Left 4 Dead 2 (Valve, distributed by EA)
3. Modern Warfare 2 (Activision, Infinity Ward)
4. Street Fighter IV (Capcom)
5. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (Sony, Naughty Dog)

Best Narrative
1. Assassin’s Creed 2 (Ubisoft, Ubisoft Montreal)
2. Brutal Legend (EA, Double Fine)
3. Halo 3 ODST (Microsoft, Bungie)
4. Modern Warfare 2 (Activision, Infinity Ward)
5. Uncharted 2 (Sony, Naughty Dog)

Best Art Direction
1. Assassin’s Creed 2 (Ubisoft, Ubisoft Montreal)
2. Batman Arkham Asylum (Eidos/Warner Bros, Rocksteady Studios)
3. Borderlands (2K Games, Gearbox Software)
4. Muramasa: The Demon Blade (Ignition Entertainment, VanillaWare)
5. The Saboteur (EA, Pandemic)

Best Animation
1. Assassin’s Creed 2 (Ubisoft, Ubisoft Montreal)
2. Batman: Arkham Asylum (Eidos/Warner Bros, Rocksteady Studios)
3. Brutal Legend (EA, Double Fine)
4. Street Fighter IV Capcom)
5. Uncharted 2 (Sony, Naughty Dog)

Best Game Cinematography
1. Assassin’s Creed (Ubisoft, Ubisoft Montreal)
2. Batman Arkham Asylum (Eidos/Warner Bros, Rocksteady Studios)
3. Brutal Legend (EA, Double Fine)
4. Modern Warfare 2 (Activision, Infinity Ward)
5. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (Sony, Naughty Dog)

Best Replayability
1. Borderlands (2K Games, Gearbox Software)
2. Fat Princess (Sony, Titan Studios)
3. Left 4 Dead 2 (Valve, distributed by EA)
4. Modern Warefare 2 (Activision, Infinity Ward)
5. Street Fighter IV (Capcom)

Best Indie Game
1. Auditorium (Cipher Prime)
2. Groov (Funkmasonry Industries)
3. I MAED A GAM3 W1TH ZOMBIES 1N IT!!!1 (Ska Studios)
4. Osmos (Hemisphere Games)
5. Zeno Clash (ACE Team)

Most Compelling Character
1. Eddie Riggs ‐ Brutal Legend (EA, Double Fine)
2. The Joker – Batman Arkham Asylum (Eidos/Warner Bros, Rocksteady Studios)
3. Nathan Drake – Uncharted 2 (Sony, Naughty Dog)
4. Ezio – Assassin’s Creed 2 (Ubisoft, Ubisoft Montreal)
5. “Gay Tony” Prince – GTA IV: The Ballad of Gay Tony (Rockstar, Take Two Interactive)

Best DLC (best content pack/expansion content)
1. Burnout Paradise – Big Surf Island (EA, Criterion)
2. Call of Duty: World at War – Map Packs (Activision, Treyarch)
3. Fallout 3 – Expansions (Bethesda)
4. Gears of War 2 – All Fronts Collection (Microsoft, Epic Games)
5. Grand Theft Auto IV – Expansions (Rockstar Games, Rockstar North)

Best Downloadable Game (games only available digitally for purchase or free download)
1. Battlefield 1943 (EA, DICE)
2. Fat Princess (Sony, Titan Studios)
3. Flower (Sony, thatgamecompany)
4. Plants vs. Zombies (PopCap)
5. Shadow Complex (Chair Entertainment, Microsoft)

Best Control
1. Halo 3 ODST (Microsoft, Bungie)
2. Left 4 Dead 2 (Valve, distributed by EA)
3. Modern Warfare 2 (Activision, Infinity Ward)
4. Red Faction: Guerrilla (THQ, Volition)
6. Street Fighter IV (Capcom)

7. Most Original Game
1. 1 vs. 100 (Microsoft)
2. Borderlands(2K Games, Gearbox Software)
3. Demon’s Souls (Atlus)
4. Plants vs. Zombies(PopCap)
5. Scribblenauts (Warner Bros, 5th Cell)

Best Game Innovation
1 vs. 100 ‐ Massively Multiplayer Online game show with real prizes (Microsoft)
1. Demon’s Souls ‐ Multiplayer integration (Atlus)
2. DJ Hero ‐ Turntable controller (Activision, FreeStyleGames)
3. Red Faction: Guerrilla ‐ Environmental destruction system (THQ, Volition)
4. Tony Hawk Ride – Experimentation with motion control (Activision, Robomodo)

Best Original Score
1. Assassin’s Creed 2 (Ubisoft, Ubisoft Montreal)
2. Brutal Legend (EA, Double Fine)
3. Halo 3: ODST (Microsoft, Bungie)
4. Modern Warfare 2 (Activision, Infinity Ward)
5. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (Sony, Naughty Dog)

Best Weapon
1. Nano Rifle ‐ Red Faction: Guerrilla (THQ, Volition)
2. Silenced pistol ‐ Halo: ODST (Microsoft, Bungie)
3. Hidden gun ‐ Assassin’s Creed 2 (Ubisoft, Ubisoft Montreal)
4. AC ‐ 130 ‐ Modern Warfare 2 (Activision, Infinity Ward)
5. Clementine – Brutal Legend (EA, Double Fine)

Best Sound Design
1. Brutal Legend (EA, Double Fine)
2. Borderlands (2K Games, Gearbox Software)
3. Left 4 Dead 2 (Valve, distributed by EA)
4. Modern Warfare 2 (Activision, Infinity Ward)
5. Uncharted 2 (Sony, Naughty Dog)