The complete list of 2011 Spike Video Game Awards nominees have been announced! Every year since 2003, Spike has honored the best in video gaming with a ceremony celebrating all that we love. There are 26 categories this year, each with a very strong list of nominees.
Last year, Red Dead Redemption took the grand prize of “Game of the Year” and two weeks ago the nominees for the 2011 game of the year were announced. The event has a lot of amazing games in the running to win this year and Game Rant can only wait in anticipation to see who will take home this year’s “Game of the Year,” even though the real excitement comes from the new trailers and announcements.
There are many exclusives which have been mentioned already. At this year’s Spike VGAs, Hideo Kojima will reveal truths behind Metal Gear Solid: Rising and the Transformers: Fall of Cybertron trailer will also be revealed. Alan Wake 2 will also make a special appearance.
The Legend of Zelda franchise will also be honored in the first ever “Hall of Fame” award. Geoff Keighley, publisher relations of Spike said, “It is only natural to start with ‘Zelda,’” in terms of the first inductee. Casey Patterson, executive producer of the VGAs and executive vice president of event production for Viacom Media Networks Entertainment Group spoke on behalf of the new award:
“The ‘VGAs’ always celebrate the best games of the year and previews the future with world premieres…Now our Video Game Hall of Fame will recognize the game franchises throughout history that have brought the industry to where it is today.”
View the entire list of 26 categories and their nominees below:
GAME OF THE YEAR
- Batman: Arkham City
- The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
- The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
- Portal 2
- Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception
STUDIO OF THE YEAR
- Bethesda Game Studios
- Naughty Dog
- Rocksteady Studios
- Valve
BEST XBOX 360 GAME
- Batman: Arkham City
- Forza Motorsport 4
- Gears of War 3
- Portal 2
BEST PS3 GAME
- inFAMOUS 2
- Killzone 3
- LittleBigPlanet 2
- Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception
BEST Wii GAME
- Disney’s Epic Mickey
- Kirby’s Return to Dream Land
- Lost in Shadow
- The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
BEST PC GAME
- Battlefield 3
- Minecraft
- The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings
- Portal 2
BEST HANDHELD/MOBILE GAME
- Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective
- Infinity Blade
- Super Mario 3D Land
- Jetpack Joyride
BEST SHOOTER
- Battlefield 3
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
- Gears of War 3
- Rage
BEST ACTION ADVENTURE GAME
- Assassin’s Creed: Revelations
- Batman: Arkham City
- The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
- Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception
BEST RPG
- Dark Souls
- Deus Ex: Human Revolution
- Dragon Age II
- The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
BEST MULTI-PLAYER
- Battlefield 3
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
- Gears of War 3
- Portal 2
BEST INDIVIDUAL SPORTS GAME
- Fight Night Champion
- Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12: The Masters
- Top Spin 4
- Virtua Tennis 4
BEST TEAM SPORTS GAME
- FIFA Soccer 12
- NBA 2K12
- NHL 12
- MLB ’11: The Show
BEST DRIVING GAME
- DiRT 3
- Driver: San Francisco
- Forza Motorsport 4
- Need For Speed: The Run
BEST FIGHTING GAME
- The King of Fighters XIII
- Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds
- Mortal Kombat
- WWE All Stars
BEST MOTION GAME
- Child of Eden
- Dance Central 2
- The Gunstringer
- The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
BEST INDEPENDENT GAME
- Bastion
- Minecraft
- Superbrothers: Sword and Sworcery EP
- The Binding of Isaac
BEST ADAPTED VIDEO GAME
- Back to the Future: The Game
- Batman: Arkham City
- Captain America: Super Soldier
- LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars
BEST SONG IN A GAME
- “Build that Wall (Zia’s Theme)” by Darren Korb – Bastion
- “Exile Vilify” by The National – Portal 2
- “I’m Not Calling You a Liar” by Florence + the Machine – Dragon Age II
- “Setting Sail, Coming Home (End Theme)” by Darren Korb – Bastion
- “Want You Gone” by Jonathan Coulton – Portal 2
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
- Bastion
- Batman: Arkham City
- Deus Ex: Human Revolution
- Portal 2
BEST GRAPHICS
- Batman: Arkham City
- LA Noire
- Rage
- Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception
BEST PERFORMANCE BY A HUMAN MALE
- J.K. Simmons as Cave Johnson – Portal 2
- Mark Hamill as The Joker – Batman: Arkham City
- Nolan North as Nathan Drake – Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception
- Stephen Merchant as Wheatley – Portal 2
BEST PERFORMANCE BY A HUMAN FEMALE
- Claudia Black as Chloe Frazer – Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception
- Ellen McLain as GLaDOS – Portal 2
- Emily Rose as Elena Fisher – Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception
- Tara Strong as Harley Quinn – Batman: Arkham City
BEST DOWNLOADABLE GAME
- Bastion
- Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet
- Stacking
- Trenched
BEST DLC
- Fallout: New Vegas – Old World Blues
- Mass Effect 2: Arrival
- Mortal Kombat: Freddy Krueger
- Portal 2 Peer Review
MOST ANTICIPATED GAME
- BioShock: Infinite
- Diablo III
- Halo 4
- Mass Effect 3
- The Last Guardian
The 2011 Spike VGAs will premiere live Saturday, December 10 at 8 PM Eastern / 5 PM Pacific.
Who do you expect to win “Game of the Year”?
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Source: Sacbee
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GAME OF THE YEAR: SKYRIM
MOST ANTICIPATED GAME: MASS EFFECT 3
Surprised Skyrim wasn’t a nominee for best original score. Really like some of the songs so far
I think Rocksteady should be up for studio of the year. Small studio that put out (arguably) the best game this year and is the ONLY studio to ever make a truly great superhero game.
So they aren’t doing the best character of the year? Dod they decide not to do it again? Of they do I think this year would be good. I personally think that they should have dom santiago from gears just bcuz his role in the game.
>Looks at GOTY award
>Sees list
>My Opinion on no Gears of War 3
Seriously? Gears of War 3 was THIS YEARS MOST ANTICIPATED GAME OF THE YEAR! Yet, its not a GOTY nominee yet Uncharted, Portal 2, and LoZ is on there. I am not surprised about Skyrim do its a good game or whatever havent played it yet. But seriously Gears 3 had over 1 mill pre-orders and it was the most ANTICIPATED game of ’11 yet no GOTY nominee. Yay ok whatever just my opinion
dragon age 2 for best rpg…
BARF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
that piece of crap shouldnt be anywhere on any list.
In my opinion, I believe that Skyrim will win the Game of the Year. It has more play value than the other games, considering how much game play there is.