This made for an extremely competitive awards season, as each gaming site elected its own Game of the Year, and last week saw The Last of Us dominating the D.I.C.E. Awards. Now the games of 2013 are set to go head-to-head once more in the British Academy Games Awards, which will take place in mid-March.
BAFTA announced the nominees today, and somewhat unsurprisingly The Last of Us is top dog once again with an impressive ten nominations. These include a Best Performer nomination apiece for Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson, as well as nominations for Artistic Achievement, Action and Adventure, Audio Achievement, Original Music, Multiplayer, Story, Game Design and - the big one - Best Game. Naughty Dog may well end up needing a wheelbarrow to carry home those golden masks.
Rockstar Games’ Grand Theft Auto V isn’t lagging too far behind, with a respectable nine nominations in categories including Best Game, Best British Game, Best Performer (for Steven Ogg, who voiced Trevor) and Game Innovation. Released to both critical acclaim and the usual controversy, Grand Theft Auto V was the first game in the franchise to feature three protagonists, with the player able to move between each of them at almost any time.
The second runner-up in the BAFTA nominations race is Tearaway, which is impressive considering for a game only available on a mobile platform. Released on the PlayStation Vita and developed by Media Molecule, the studio behind the LittleBigPlanet games, Tearaway is set in a paper world that definitely seemed to charm the Academy, based on the eight nominations it received in categories such as Game Innovation, Game Design and Best Game.
The latter is even more surprising, since Tearaway actually beat out Irrational Games’ BioShock Infinite for a Best Game nomination. BioShock Infinite, the spiritual sequel to Irrational’s critically-acclaimed FPS BioShock, suffered a critical backlash after the initial praise that it received and this seems to still be in full effect. BioShock Infinite did manage to achieve nominations for Audio Achievement, Artistic Achievement, Original Music and Best Performer (Courtnee Draper), but the snubs for Best Game and Best Story seem rather pointed.
On a slightly cheerier note, Galactic Cafe’s funny and cerebral indie title The Stanley Parable also scored four nominations, as did the dystopian bureaucracy simulator Papers, Please, which is up for a Best Game award. Other nominees for Best Game include Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag and Super Mario 3D World. Tomb Raider has three nominations, as does mobile title BADLAND and Beyond: Two Souls.
Page 2: Full List of 2014 BAFTA Game Nominations
Best Game
Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag Tearaway The Last of Us Grand Theft Auto V Super Mario 3D World Papers, Please
Action and Adventure
LEGO Marvel Super Heroes Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag The Last of Us Grand Theft Auto V Tomb Raider BADLAND
Game Innovation
Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons Tearaway Grand Theft Auto V The Stanley Parable Papers, Please Year Walk
Artistic Achievement
BioShock Infinite DEVICE 6 Beyond: Two Souls No No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch Tearaway The Last of Us
Mobile and Handheld
Tearaway Plants vs. Zombies 2 The Room Two BADLAND Ridiculous Fishing DEVICE 6
Audio Achievement
BioShock Infinite Grand Theft Auto V The Last of Us Battlefield 4 DEVICE 6 Tomb Raider
Multiplayer
World of Tanks Super Mario 3D World The Last of Us Grand Theft Auto V Battlefield 4 DOTA 2
BAFTA Ones to Watch Award
Project Heera: Diamond Heist The Unknown Size DOES Matter
Original Music
Tearaway Beyond: Two Souls BioShock Infinite The Last of Us Super Mario 3D World Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag
Best Performer
Steven Ogg (Trevor Phillips) - Grand Theft Auto V Kevan Brighting (The Narrator) - The Stanley Parable Courtnee Draper (Elizabeth) - BioShock Infinite Ellen Page (Jodie) - Beyond: Two Souls Ashley Johnson (Ellie) - The Last of Us Troy Baker (Joel) - The Last of Us
Best British Game
Tearaway The Room Two LEGO Marvel Super Heroes Gunpoint Grand Theft Auto V DmC Devil May Cry
Sports
F1 2013 Forza Motorsport 5 NBA 2K14 Football Manager 2014 FIFA 14 GRID 2
Debut Game
Remember Me Gunpoint Castles in the Sky Gone Home The Stanley Parable BADLAND
Story
The Last of Us Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch Grand Theft Auto V Gone Home The Stanley Parable Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons
Family
Rayman Legends Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons Tearaway Skylanders Swap Force Animal Crossing: New Leaf Super Mario 3D World
Strategy and Simulation
Civilization V: Brave New World XCOM: Enemy Within Forza Motorsport 5 Surgeon Simulator 2013 Democracy 3 Papers, Please
Game Design
Tearaway Tomb Raider Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag The Last of Us Grand Theft Auto V Papers, Please
Are these nominations on-point or undeserved? Tell us what games you think should walk away with BAFTA awards in the comments.
The British Academy Games Awards ceremony will take place on March 12, 2014.
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Source: BAFTA
