BioShock receives 12 AIAS nominations

By Games Industry.biz Published 18 January, 2008

No Slitherlink, absurdly.

The Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences has announced the nominees for its 11th annual Interactive Achievement Awards, with BioShock receiving a record 12 nominations including Overall Game of the Year.

The peer-based awards recognise the outstanding products, talented individuals and development teams that have contributed to the advancement of the entertainment software industry.

"This year's finalists reflect the commitment game makers have to create compelling, engaging and exciting experiences for the expanding game playing audience," said AIAS president Joseph Olin.

"The 2008 nominees represent the tremendous talent and passion that our members bring to their craft. The Interactive Achievement Awards are dedicated to acknowledging the men and women who create these innovative and excellent games."

The partial list of finalists include:

Overall Game of the Year:

  • BioShock
  • Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
  • Rock Band
  • Super Mario Galaxy
  • The Orange Box

Console Game of the Year:

  • BioShock
  • Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
  • Mass Effect
  • Rock Band
  • Super Mario Galaxy

Computer Game of the Year:

  • BioShock
  • Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
  • Crysis
  • The Orange Box
  • World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade

Outstanding Innovation in Gaming:

  • Assassin's Creed
  • BioShock
  • Rock Band
  • Super Mario Galaxy
  • The Orange Box

Handheld Game of the Year:

  • Drawn to Life
  • Jeanne d'Arc
  • Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords
  • Ratchet and Clank: Size Matters
  • The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass

The awards ceremony, hosted by Jay Mohr, will take place during The D.I.C.E. Summit 2008 on February 7 at the Red Rock Resort in Las Vegas.

Read GamesIndustry.biz for the latest industry news and insight and numbers and muffins.

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Comments (26) Latest comment 4 years ago

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  • zoidberg #1 4 years ago

    Orange Box, all the way.

  • JediMasterMalik #2 4 years ago

    I really wsh everyone would stop pandering to the crowds with Bioshock, it was not that good! I played many games from last year which were better, and didn't end on such a low note.

  • JediMasterMalik #3 4 years ago

    I say NAY!

  • sharpfish #4 4 years ago

    This is getting ridiculous, Bioshock continually getting praise as being some holy grail of gaming when it does so many things wrong. I'm talking about the PC version mainly here. It's sub par, not even 'average' in many, many areas from core gameplay, controls, bugs, DRM, level design, pacing, fun factor... they are all off kilter, the story/theme/premise are above average for sure and this has made many people overlook the absolutely mediocre 'hit repetitive respawning splicer on head with wrench and repeat'.

    Fucking disgraceful that it keeps getting held up as a beacon of the industry when 2k couldn't even be arsed to polish the game properly nor think about GAMEPLAY first and THEME/GRAPHICS later.

    The more it wins the more I detest it as the piece of shit it is. I'd play system shock 2 over Bioshock everytime even with it's very dated graphics and know I was playing a game designed properly for PC. Bioshock over-reached, had lofty ambitions which the hype/previews spoke about endlessly and it just did not deliver but by then it was too late as the entire industry had based their pre-xmas season profits on it so everyone continued patting 2k on the back who were off on holiday instead of issuing patches to correct some very serious issues in the game (sound problems, crashes, loosing save games, piss poor controls). Note this is the PC version i'm talking about here mainly and those who've only played the 360 don't have a clue how bad the PC 'Port' Is, it wasn't even handled by the main team and is obviously ported by someone with no idea about PC centric design/ergonomics.


  • JediMasterMalik #5 4 years ago

    I didn't really have any tech issues on the PC version, besides a relatively poor framerate, I just thought the gameplay was sub-par and repetitive.

  • JediMasterMalik #6 4 years ago

    Yes, yes I did. Of the ones I played at least. Compared to Stalker and HL2, and Portal (Though I suppose it doesnt count). The things you do in that game make it far more interesting than the majority of what you do in Bioshock. It deserves to be praised for the fantastic story and that twist near the end, mind you. If that opinion makes you hate making PC games so much, then don't read internet message boards.

    I'll admit to not playing all the big FPS's of last year, but of the ones I played, Bioshock was the one I was looking forward to the most, and was subsequently let down by, the most. Perhaps it was part of the problem.

  • rogermellie #7 4 years ago

    I thought BioShock (PC) was great and I saw no bugs. It should at least win something for its art direction.

  • Biggles #8 4 years ago

    Yeah, Bioshock felt a bit average shooty shooty to me, but that's kind of missing the point. It's pushing that SS2/Thief/Deus Ex school of game design out to a whole new audience which will only mean more games like it in the future. Sure we've been playing games like this for a while now on the PC, but the fact that they've taken the art, gameplay, story, audio etc up a level from what joe public expects from an FPS (ie Halo) is only a good thing for the rest of us. Now every time someone goes to a publisher with a game idea that's a little bit different, has some intelligence and a bit of craft to it they can point to Bioshock and say 'look, these games do actually sell well' thus securing more funding, more resources and a better game as a result.

    But no, I wouldn't call it game of the year material, that would be Portal, no need for the rest of the box : )

  • zoidberg #9 4 years ago

    people... bioshock is bioshock. The Orange Box is MUCH better. It's taken AS A WHOLE. So, you get HL2 EP2, TF2 and Portal PUT TOGHETHER. There's no contest! The games have the BEST production value available thanks to Valve's extensive playtesting, and the Box as a whole is just perfect. And lets not forget about the original HL2 and EP1 being thrown in for fun.

    Bioshock can't top that. :)

  • moggsy #10 4 years ago

    @ sharpfish

    'hit repetitive respawning splicer on head with wrench and repeat'.

    So you had all of those lovely plasmids at your disposal and you chose to use the wrench! Use some imagination man :-)

    I for one am really enjoying Bioshock. Don't get much time to play games but the time I've spent with it has been a scream. No reason why it shouldn't be considered game of the year in my opinion.

  • zuljin #11 4 years ago

    I absolutely loved Bioshock... But in all fairness I had my head in a bucket and was living in a cave because I didn't see any previews, nor read any reviews. Just saw it on release date and bought it. Best game of 2007 by far for me...

  • Azazel #12 4 years ago

    Overall game of the year: Orange Box. Easily.

  • SomaticSense #13 4 years ago

    After buying and playing extensively every single major 360 release this year (apart from Eternal Sonata, which I plan to, and Kane & Lynch) I've found Bioshock to be by far the best, and the one I will have the fondest memories of.

    I went back and played through it again recently on Hard and without vitachambers, and it lost none of the awe I felt when playing through the first 2 thirds for the first time.If you play it 'properly' with patience and planning and a mixture of plasmids, the gameplay is as far removed from repetitive as any other recent FPS. Plus The plot was miles better than anything else I've played this year as well, both in concept and for sheer involvement.
    The last third wasn't as good as what went previously, but the first 2 thirds or so was a damn sight better than anything else out there and crammed in more ideas than the whole of many games this year. So many people keep bringing up the opinion that "the ending was crap, therefore........." which is total toss. I get the impression most people seemed to love the majority of the game up to the big reveal, so why are people letting the crappy parts at the end tarnish the rest? Halo 1 was absolute shit after level 5, but no one seems let that hold it down.

    Fair enough, people are entitled to their opinions, but to anyone branding it as a sub-par game....... well....... I'd be interested to find out your best games of the year, because as far as my experience goes only SMG rivals it or even comes close.

    For the record, I wasn't overly hyped for Bioshock either, so it all comes down to the gameplay experience for me. It's seems so many people actually just want to hate the game.
    Edited by 1 at 18/01/08 @ 11:24

  • Lexx87 #14 4 years ago

    I hate all the people who say nay to Bioshock

  • SomaticSense #15 4 years ago

    Zoidberg, you fighting for a staff job at Valve or something? I know they largely hire from the community and all, but I'm sure that you have to have at least some skill in games production......
    Edited by 1 at 18/01/08 @ 11:41

  • Kropotkin #16 4 years ago

    First off, where is Crackdown? Yes it was released in January 07 but that shouldn't mean it gets forgotten. As for Bioshock well I played the PC version over the 360 on the assumption that it would play and look better. I personally found it easier to play on the PC, just like Orange Box was and also found the comments made by console players about Halflife 2 amusing if somewhat out of date. "Commentary in a game? Wow that's cool!". Yes and its been around for over 2 years before you saw it. *sigh*

  • skillian #17 4 years ago

    I know it sounds kind of snobby/elitist, but I think Bioshock was much more impressive for console players than PC players.

    I don't know taht many gamers in RL so it's only anecdotal, but I know three PC players who played Bioshock, and none of them finished it. I got as far as the leafy/tree level, and it just kind of tailed it. I never made a conscious decision to stop playing, but just never went back to it after a while.

    It's definitely not a sub-par game, but for me at least it was nothing special.

  • Vin #18 4 years ago

    Correct. It's a seminal bit of work.

    GOTY, easily.

  • miiiguel #19 4 years ago

    One can argue if would rate BioShock GotY or not, but when the speech slips to enlightned statments as "BioShock is sub-par", we know we went into a personal - "I hate that ppl love it" - thing.

  • Muddtallica #20 4 years ago

    The Orange Box seems an absolutely fantastic package, and I intend to buy it as soon as I have any money, but am I the only one who's a little confused at the amount of critical praise being afforded to what is largely just a compilation pack of older games? I know that Portal and Team Fortress are all new and exclusive, but from all I hear they are sweet but relatively short supplements to the meat and potatoes of the package, three games which are available separately anyway? I think I might be misinformed here, so correct me if I'm wrong, but to me this just seems like Francis Ford Coppola adding ten minutes onto the end of The Godfather and then resubmitting it for Oscar contention...

  • Bursk #21 4 years ago

    a race-to-the-finish FPS

    Wasn't that largely because there was no walk button?

  • Freek #22 4 years ago

    Just because Bioshocks third act is weak doesn't make the game crap. And we don't hand out awards for "value for money", that's no reason to give it to Orange box. Being a good compilation disc isn't enough.
    There's some fantastic stuff on there though but those games would be judged individually and it's probably going to be close in the overal awards season.
    Edited by 1 at 18/01/08 @ 16:06

  • zoidberg #23 4 years ago

    @SomaticSense -> I do have some "game" skills, as I helped code the game Cotropitorii and Romanii In Spatiu. I also launched Romanii In Spatiu in nationwide (in Romania, I know it doesn't count) retail and the company is moving on from there. BUT, the Orange Box still is, if taken as a whole, the best game of the year. (A game, not a collection of games).

    @Muddtallica -> The Orange Box has the NEW episode of HALF LIFE 2, called EPISODE TWO. It was supposed to be sold only as Episode 2. Then Valve thought, hey... we're making Team Fortress 2 and Portal, why not include them in the deal, since EPISODE TWO is just an EPISODE in an EPISODIC game (hence, much shorter), and with all three, people would pay $49 for it all and get their money's worth. But NOOO. Then they said, what about CONSOLES? We're doing this on consoles as well... and maybe NOT EVERYONE has played Half Life 2... OR Half Life 2 EPISODE ONE. So why not include them in, for free? Oh well... that nice.

    So the Orange Box has three NEW games and TWO old games (plus HL2 DeathMatch and Lost Coast, but that's another thing). Also, I'm not getting into the Black Box thing and all... It would complicate it even more. Also, Team Fortress 2 and Portal are SO WELL DONE that most reviewers and gamers alike can honestly say they are WORTH the money paid for the whole package... In any case, for $49 you're getting 5 games... it's a bargain, and, if taken AS A WHOLE, it all adds up to GAME OF THE YEAR.

    Where's my money Mr. Newell?!

  • Feanor #24 4 years ago

    "Pc players should look closer to home if they have problems running the game."

    No, they should look at the makers of the game who completely fucked up the mouse control.

  • Chalee #25 4 years ago


    It's true that bioshock has some problems, like the weak 'third act' (although it must be pointed out that although it is a 'third' act it constitutes significantly less than a third of the time you're likely to spend playing the came) - but I feel that the overall experience is brilliant nonetheless.. Okay so you have to do repetitive hacking minigames and there are only a handful of baddie types, but that, at least for me, does not ruin the experience of exploring a beautifully imaginative world and toying with some very entertaining super powers...

    I guess it all comes down to what you want from games - if you want atmosphere and narrative, there aren't gazillions of better options on the market for sure..

    Am I the only person on earth who likes BOTH the Orange Box and Bioshock? Surely we must be the overwhelming majority?

  • FaceOmeter #26 4 years ago

    The Orange Box is not a game!