Naughty Dog's Uncharted 2: Among Thieves stole the show at yesterday's Interactive Achievement Awards, bagging Game of the Year and nine other awards. Have a look at the full list of winners:
- Game of the Year: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
- Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
- Casual Game of the Year: Flower
- Fighting Game of the Year: Street Fighter IV
- Role-Playing/Massively Multiplayer Game of the Year: Dragon Age: Origins
- Sports Game of the Year: FIFA Soccer 10
- Racing Game of the Year: Forza Motorsport 3
- Outstanding Achievement in Game Design: Batman: Arkham Asylum
- Adventure Game of the Year: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
- Social Networking Game of the Year: Farmville
- Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year: Brutal Legend
- Action Game of the Year: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
- Family Game of the Year: The Beatles: Rock Band
- Outstanding Innovation in Gaming: Scribblenauts
- Outstanding Achievement in Animation: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
- Outstanding Achievement in Visual Engineering: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
- Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
- Outstanding Achievement in Story -Adapted: Batman: Arkham Asylum
- Outstanding Character Performance: Batman: Arkham Asylum — Joker
- Outstanding Achievement in Online Game Play: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
- Outstanding Achievement in Story - Original: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
- Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
- Outstanding Achievement in Soundtrack: Brutal Legend
- Outstanding Achievement in Game Play Engineering: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
- Outstanding Achievement in Sound Design: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
- Outstanding Achievement in Portable Game Design: Scribblenauts
- Portable Game of the Year: Scribblenauts
There is not a lot to argue about here. I suppose Brutal Legend's Strategy award is a bit of a surprise, but I love that its endless supply of epic metal tunes snagged the Soundtrack award. Similarly, while some may suggest that the idea of Scribblenauts was better than the execution of the actual game, no one can deny its creativity. Finally, as much as I loved Mark Hamill's Joker in Arkham Asylum, I would absolutely have given the performance award to Nolan North for his amazing work as Nathan Drake. But that's just me.
The Interactive Achievement Awards have been presented by the Academy of Interactive Arts And Sciences since 1996. The Academy itself is comprised entirely of people who actually work in the games industry, and as a result, these are probably the most credible awards given to games (sorry, SpikeTV).
A full list of the credits for each winning game is available on the AIAS website. So how did your favorite games do? Are there any awards you would change?