The Game BAFTAs are taking place tonight! We’d like to wish everybody up for a nomination the very best of luck. The ceremony takes place at Tobacco Docks in London, and the whole show can be viewed live on Twitch from 5.30 p.m. (with the awards starting at 7 p.m.). Follow this link to get to the official BAFTA Twitch stream.
To celebrate, we’ve gone through the nominations and given our two pence worth as to who we think should get the award….
Artistic Achievement
- Far Cry 4
- Valiant Hearts
- Lumino City
- Monument Valley
- Assassin’s Creed Unity
- Hohokum
For us, Ubisoft have nailed this one. Assassin’s Creed Unity and Far Cry 4 were two of our favourite games of last year. Until the recent release of The Order, we thought Unity was the nicest thing we’d seen to date on this generation of consoles. So for us, Creed steals Artistic Achievement.
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Audio Achievement
- Disney Fantasia: Music Evolved
- Call Of Duty: Advanced Warfare
- The Sailor’s Dream
- Mario Kart 8
- The Banner Saga
- Alien: Isolation
Certainly one of the scariest games of the new generation, Alien: Isolation did some great work in creating tension and atmosphere with its eerie music and sound effects. Definitely a worthy contender!
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Ones to Watch Award in association with Dare to Be Digital
- Sagittarius – Too Mainstream
- Don’t Walk: RUN! -Torque
- Chambara – Overly Kinetic
Best Game
- Middle-Earth: Shadow Of Mordor
- Dragon Age: Inquisition
- Alien: Isolation
- Monument Valley
- Mario Kart 8
- Destiny
Developer Monolith Studio’s foray into the world of Middle Earth was a resounding success with critics and gamers alike. With its innovative combat and nemesis system Shadow of Mordor deserves success in this category.
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British Game
- Lumino City
- Forza Horizon 2
- Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions
- Alien: Isolation
- Monument Valley
- 80 Days
Creative Assembly did an exceptional job of bringing us the seminal Alien title we’ve all wanted for years. It would be a travesty if they didn’t win this award.
Debut Game
- The Banner Saga
- Counterspy
- Hitman Go
- The Vanishing Of Ethan Carter
- Never Alone (Kisima Ingitchuna)
- Shovel Knight
The Astronauts’ first game delivered cutting edge graphics, a mesmerising story and unique investigative gameplay. The Vanishing of Ethan Carter has to be a strong contender in this category.
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Family
- Little Big Planet 3
- The Lego Movie Videogame
- Minecraft: Console Editions
- Skylanders Trap Team
- Mario Kart 8
- Twelve A Dozen
Our geographical neighbours here in the North of England, Sumo Digital did a fantastic job on Little Big Planet 3. The hugely successful franchise is popular with kids and adults alike, with Sackboy now a global icon.
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Game Design
- Alien: Isolation
- Middle-Earth: Shadow Of Mordor
- Hearthstone: Heroes Of Warcraft
- Far Cry 4
- Threes
- Destiny
Shadow of Mordor’s Nemesis system puts it head and shoulders above its peers in this category we feel. The Uruks’ constant power struggles and evolution as you play through the game are truly excellent game design.
Game Innovation
- 80 Days
- Lumino City
- Alien: Isolation
- Middle-Earth: Shadow Of Mordor
- The Vanishing Of Ethan Carter
- Titanfall
Eschewing typical gameplay elements such as combat to focus on atmosphere and promote exploration, The Vanishing of Ethan Carter makes a bold step for innovation. We hope it gets the recognition it deserves in this category.
Mobile & Handheld
- 80 Days
- Hearthstone: Heroes Of Warcraft
- The Walking Dead: Season 2
- Threes
- Hitman Go
- Monument Valley
Offering a console like experience on the go, TellTale’s The Walking Dead: Season 2 is a huge achievement.
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Multiplayer
- Hearthstone: Heroes Of Warcraft
- Minecraft: Console Editions
- Titanfall
- Call Of Duty: Advanced Warfare
- Mario Kart 8
- Destiny
Whilst Destiny was a bit of a disappointment, no one can argue that its multiplayer aspects are some of the best of 2014. With new content still on the horizon, this will be a game that is popular online for the foreseeable future.
Music
- Disney Fantasia: Music Evolved
- The Banner Saga
- Alien: Isolation
- Middle-Earth: Shadow Of Mordor
- The Sailor’s Dream
- Far Cry 4
Alien: Isolation’s audio played a huge role is putting you on the edge of your seat throughout its gripping campaign. From the panic inducing knocks that the alien makes crawling through the ceiling spaces to its stellar voice acting, it would be a travesty if Alien: Isolation doesn’t pick this award up.
Original Property
- Titanfall
- Valiant Hearts
- Sunset Overdrive
- Monument Valley
- Kalimba
- The Vanishing Of Ethan Carter
With its unique art style and a story that tugs on the heart strings, Valiant Hearts was a brave development for UbiSoft. Hopefully the BAFTAS will give it some love.
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Performer
- Kevin Spacey – Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (Jonathan Irons)
- Melissa Hutchison – The Walking Dead: Season 2 (Clementine)
- Ashley Johnson – The Last of Us: Left Behind (Ellie)
- Adam Harrington – The Wolf Among Us (Bigby Wolf)
- Troy Baker – Far Cry 4 (Pagan Min)
- Logan Cunningham – Transistor (Transistor)
Is there really any competition here? The Last of Us: Left Behind was an epic DLC prequel that delivered a wonderful insight into Ellie’s character. Ashley Johnson delivers her lines perfectly, making Ellie one of the most realistic and interesting characters in years.
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Persistent Game
- Eve Online – Phoebe
- Destiny
- World Of Warcraft: Warlords Of Draenor
- World Of Tanks
- League Of Legends
- Runescape
We’re not even going to try to call this one as we’re not really educated enough to predict. We really can’t see Destiny winning it though. I mean, is it really a persistent game?
Sport
- OlliOlli
- Forza Horizon 2
- Football Manager 2015
- Madden NFL 15
- FIFA 15
- Trials Fusion
Roll7’s OlliOlli is an arcade masterpiece. Easy to learn but hard to master, it’s easy to lose track of time as you try time and time again to improve your high score. We feel this 2D skater is quite deserving of this award.
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Story
• 80 Days
• The Last Of Us: Left Behind
• Never Alone (Kisima Ingitchuna)
• The Wolf Among Us
• Broken Age
Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us was a masterclass in storytelling. When we learned it would be receiving story DLC in the form of a prequel featuring Ellie as the playable character we sighed, thinking it would be just another throwaway cash-grab. Luckily we were wrong. Even though you know the outcome of Left Behind, it doesn’t matter, if anything it possibly even adds more to the tension. It’s excellently written, paced and performed to create what is quite possibly the best piece of story DLC ever made. It just has to win this award.
