Just a week after MegaGames announced what the gamers think with the Top 10 MegaGames of 2004, a panel of idustry experts has agreed with MG readers and has honored Half-Life 2 nine Interactive Achievement Awards.
The interactive entertainment industry's elite creative talent and business executives gathered together on Tuesday evening, February 1, to honor the top video games of 2004, at the 8th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, held during the annual D.I.C.E. Summit in Las Vegas.
If you wish to find out what gamers thought of 2004 titles visit the Top 10 MegaGames of 2004.
Voted and judged upon by game industry peer panels from the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS), the professional organization dedicated to the advancement and recognition of interactive arts, the awards celebrate outstanding technical and artistic achievement in the world of interactive entertainment.
said Joseph Olin, president of the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. This year's winners not only represent some of 2004's most popular games, but they also embody the spirit and innovation that has driven this industry since its inception.
Winners of the 8th annual interactive achievement award categories are listed below, along with the corresponding publishers and developers, respectively.
1. Game Of The Year Awards
-- Game Of The Year - Half-Life 2 (Vivendi Universal Games/Valve)
-- Console Game Of The Year - Halo 2 (Microsoft/Bungie)
-- Computer Game Of The Year - Half-Life 2 (Vivendi Universal Games/Valve)
2. Innovation Awards
-- Innovation in Computer Gaming - Half-Life 2 (Vivendi Universal Games/Valve)
-- Innovation In Console Gaming - Katamari Damacy (Namco Hometek Inc./Namco Limited)
3. Craft Awards
-- Outstanding Achievement In Art Direction - Half-Life 2 (Vivendi Universal Games/Valve)
-- Outstanding Achievement In Animation -Half-Life 2 (Vivendi Universal Games/Valve)
-- Outstanding Character Performance, Male - Robert Guillaume - Half-Life 2 (Vivendi Universal Games/Valve)
-- Outstanding Character Performance, Female - Judy Dench - Golden Eye: Rouge Agent (Electronic Arts/EA/LA)
-- Outstanding Achievement In Soundtrack - Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (Rockstar Games/Rockstar North)
-- Outstanding Achievement In Original Musical Composition - Fable (Microsoft/Big Blue Box)
-- Outstanding Achievement In Sound Design - Halo 2 (Microsoft/Bungie)
-- Outstanding Achievement In Game Play Engineering - Half-Life 2 (Vivendi Universal Games/Valve)
-- Outstanding Achievement In Online Game Play - Halo 2 (Microsoft/Bungie)
-- Outstanding Achievement In Visual Engineering - Half-Life 2 (Vivendi Universal Games/Valve)
-- Outstanding Achievement In Game Design - Katamari Damacy (Namco Hometek Inc./Namco Limited)
-- Outstanding Achievement In Character Or Story Development - Fable (Microsoft/Big Blue Box)
4. Genre Awards
A. Console
-- Platform Action/Adventure Game Of The Year - Prince of Persia: Warrior Within (Ubisoft/Ubisoft Montreal)
-- Action/Adventure Game Of The Year - Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (Rockstar Games/Rockstar North)
-- Action Sports Game Of The Year - Tony Hawk's Underground 2 (Activision/Neversoft)
-- First Person Action Game Of The Year - Halo 2 (Microsoft/Bungie)
-- Children's Title Of The Year - Sly Cooper 2 (Sony Computer Entertainment America/Sucker Punch)
-- Family Game of the Year - Donkey Konga (Nintendo/Namco)
-- Fighting Game Of The Year - Mortal Kombat: Deception (Midway/Midway Chicago)
-- Racing Game Of The Year - Burnout 3 (Electronic Arts/Criterion)
-- Role Playing Game Of The Year - Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door (Nintendo/Intelligent Systems)
-- Sports Simulation Game Of The Year - ESPN NFL 2K5 (Sega/Visual Concepts)
B. Wireless & Handheld
-- Wireless Game Of The Year - Super Mario 64 DS (Nintendo)
-- Handheld Game Of The Year - Metroid: Zero Mission (Nintendo)
C. Computer
-- Action/Adventure Game Of The Year - Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow (Ubisoft/Ubisoft Shanghai, Paris, Annecy Studios)
-- Children's Game Of The Year - Backyard Skateboarding (Atari/Humongous Entertainment)
-- Downloadable Game Of The Year - The Incredibles: Escape from Nomanisan Island (Disney Online)
-- Family Game Of The Year - Zoo Tycoon 2 (Microsoft/Blue Fang Games)
-- First Person Action Game Of The Year - Half-Life 2 (Vivendi Universal Games/Valve)
-- Role Playing Game Of The Year - Neverwinter Nights: Kingmaker (BioWare/BioWare)
-- Sports Game Of The Year - Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2005 (Electronic Arts/Electronic Arts Redwood Shores)
-- Strategy Game Of The Year - Rome: Total War (Activision/Creative Assembly)
D. Online
-- Massive Multiplayer/Persistent World Game Of The Year -World of WarCraft (Vivendi Universal Games/Blizzard)
Dominating this year's awards recipient categories for Game of the Year, Innovation, Craft and Computer awards was Half-Life 2 (Vivendi Universal Games/Valve.)
Half-Life 2 was a huge challenge creatively as well as for the company, said Gabe Newell, CEO and Founder, Valve. To be honored with nine Interactive Achievement Awards is a great symbol that all those years of hard work and investment were absolutely worth it.
