LittleBigPlanet cleans up at AIAS awards

By Tom Bramwell Published 23 February, 2009

While Bruce Shelley enters Hall of Fame.

Forget the Oscars, LittleBigPlanet has cleaned up at the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences' annual awards shindig, collecting eight gongs including best game, best console game and best game direction.

It was also a good night for the boys and girls of Valve (Left 4 Dead collected best PC game and best online game), and of Bethesda Softworks (Fallout 3 winning best RPG and best original story).

Then there was an "industry icon" award for Bruce Shelley, one of the founders of now-defunct Ensemble Studios.

There were some surprises in the list too, with Metal Gear Solid 4 only winning best original music, and it was nice to see World of Goo given the game design award, while Mirror's Edge was somehow deemed the best adventure game.

Meanwhile, Rock Band 2 won best soundtrack, which is a bit like giving "best colours" to a rainbow, but never mind.

The AIAS says that the voters on its "Peer Panels" are "the game industry's most experienced and talented men and women"

Check out the full list of nominees and winners (in bold) below.

Outstanding Achievement in Animation

  • Castle Crashers
  • Gears of War 2
  • Left 4 Dead
  • Metal Gear Solider 4: Guns of the Patriots
  • Prince of Persia

Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction

  • Dead Space
  • Fable II
  • LittleBigPlanet
  • Mirror's Edge
  • Prince of Persia

Outstanding Achievement in Visual Engineering

  • Gears of War
  • LittleBigPlanet
  • Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
  • Resistance 2
  • Tomb Raider: Underworld

Outstanding Achievement in Game Play Engineering

  • Fable II
  • Fallout 3
  • Left 4 Dead
  • Spore
  • Tom Clancy's EndWar

Outstanding Achievement in Online Gameplay

  • Call of Duty: World at War
  • Gears of War 2
  • Left 4 Dead
  • NHL 09
  • Rock Band 2

Outstanding Achievement in Original Story

  • Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway
  • Fable II
  • Fallout 3
  • Grand Theft Auto IV
  • Professor Layton and the Curious Village

Outstanding Achievement in Adapted Story

  • LEGO Batman: The Videogame
  • Mortal Kombat Vs. DC Universe
  • Naruto: The Broken Bond
  • Quantum of Solace
  • Star Wars: The Force Unleashed

Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition

  • de Blob
  • Dead Space
  • Fable II
  • Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
  • World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King

Outstanding Achievement in Soundtrack

  • Guitar Hero: World Tour
  • LittleBigPlanet
  • MotorStorm: Pacific Rift
  • Rock Band 2
  • SingStar PS3 Vol. 1

Outstanding Achievement in Sound Design

  • Dead Space
  • Gears of War 2
  • LittleBigPlanet
  • Prince of Persia
  • WipEout HD

Outstanding Achievement in Character Performance

  • Gears of War 2 - Dom
  • Gears of War 2 - Marcus
  • LittleBigPlanet - Sackboy
  • Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots - Old Snake
  • Tomb Raider: Underworld - Lara Croft

Outstanding Achievement in Game Design

  • Fable II
  • Fallout 3
  • Gears of War 2
  • Left 4 Dead
  • World of Goo

Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction

  • Fallout 3
  • Gears of War 2
  • Left 4 Dead
  • LittleBigPlanet
  • Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots

Outstanding Innovation in Gaming

  • Braid
  • Left 4 Dead
  • LittleBigPlanet
  • Spore
  • Wii Fit

Family Game of the Year

  • Boom Blox
  • LittleBigPlanet
  • Rayman Raving Rabbids TV Party
  • Rock Band 2
  • Wii Fit

Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year

  • Advance Wars: Days of Ruin
  • Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3
  • Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution
  • Sins of a Solar Empire
  • Tom Clancy's EndWar

Role-Playing Game of the Year

  • Fable II
  • Fallout 3
  • Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time
  • Tales of Vesperia

Adventure Game of the Year

  • Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia
  • God of War: Chains of Olympus
  • Mirror's Edge
  • Naruto: The Broken Bond
  • Prince of Persia

Action Game of the Year

  • Call of Duty: World at War
  • Dead Space
  • Far Cry 2
  • Gears of War 2
  • Grand Theft Auto IV

Massively Multiplayer Game of the Year

  • EVE Online: Quantum Rise
  • Pirates of the Burning Sea
  • PMOG
  • Warhammer Online; Age of Reckoning
  • World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King

Sports Game of the Year

  • FIFA 09
  • Madden NFL 09
  • MLB 08: The Show
  • NBA 2K9
  • NHL 09

Racing Game of the Year

  • Burnout Paradise
  • GRID
  • Mario Kart Wii
  • MotorStorm Pacific Rift
  • Pure

Fighting Game of the Year

  • Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe
  • Soul Calibur IV
  • Super Smash Bros. Brawl
  • Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix
  • WWE Smackdown Vs. Raw 2009

Casual Game of the Year

  • Braid
  • Mystery Case Files: Return to Ravenhurst
  • Patapon
  • Professor Layton and the Curious Village
  • World of Goo

Handheld Game of the Year

  • Advance Wars: Days of Ruin
  • Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia
  • God of War: Chains of Olympus
  • Patapon
  • Professor Layton and the Curious Village

Cellular Game of the Year

  • Reset Generation
  • Spore Origins
  • Trism

Computer Game of the Year

  • Fallout 3
  • Left 4 Dead
  • Mass Effect
  • Spore
  • World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King

Console Game of the Year

  • Fallout 3
  • Gears of War 2
  • Grand Theft Auto IV
  • LittleBigPlanet
  • Metal Gear Solid 4: Gun of the Patriots

Overall Game of the Year

  • Fallout 3
  • Grand Theft Auto IV
  • Left 4 Dead
  • LittleBigPlanet
  • Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
Picture of Tom.

About Tom Bramwell

Tom is Operations director of Eurogamer Network and Editor-at-Large of Eurogamer.net. He joined the company in February 2000.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Bramwell archive page.

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Comments (21) Latest comment 3 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Vanmunt #1 3 years ago

    Nice to see Dead Space get some lovin'.....

  • septimus #2 3 years ago

    "Nice to see Dead Space get some lovin'..... "

    +1

    Thought that also as I went through the list. DS almost seems underated to me somehow.

  • kangarootoo #3 3 years ago

    "the game industry's most experienced and talented men and women"

    So peers, school friends and ex-business associates then ;)

  • Vanmunt #4 3 years ago

    @septimus

    Only on EG it does, I think Dan 'lego batman is better than Dead Space' Whitehead really cocked up with his review and EG seem a to want to forget it!

  • Rash' #5 3 years ago

    Well deserved. Well done MM. I'm still playing the game long after other games that came out around the same time *cough* Mirror's Edge*cough*.

    The game should really have done better at retail. Here's hoping it's a slow burner.
    Edited by 2 at 23/02/09 @ 13:34

  • Widge #6 3 years ago

    oh. my. god. So Dan effectively wasn't allowed to give Dead Space a 7, regardless of whether or not he thought that was his value for the game? He should have looked around and gained consensus from all around for scoring instead.

  • Les #7 3 years ago

    Nice to see LBP get critical acclaim. But I guess Sony would trade that in right away for more sales. Showed it to a friend the other day and while he was impressed and really liked it, I doubt he will get it as all he plays these days is WoW. His consoles (Wii and PS3) have become dust collectors when it comes to gaming. The PS3 is used as a DVD player.

    And how can Fallout 3 get an award for the story?! It's an amusing title thanks to the VATS system but story telling isn't exactly one of its strengths.

  • sopaman #8 3 years ago

    "Meanwhile, Rock Band 2 won best soundtrack, which is a bit like giving "best colours" to a rainbow, but never mind."

    lol but so true

  • kinky_mong #9 3 years ago

    How is Braid a casual game?

  • penhalion #10 3 years ago

    @kangarootoo

    Actually you're spot on mate!

    These awards have never reflected the opinions of actual gamers in any way shape or form.

  • Vanmunt #11 3 years ago

    @widge

    maybe if he played the game, that would have helped.

  • DrDamn #12 3 years ago

    @Kinky_Mong
    I thought that too. A decent set of awards with a few weird exceptions like that.

  • leftlion #13 3 years ago

    I've never played left 4 dead so can somebody explain to me why it got put in the innovation category? Is it not just like every other FPS game out there?

  • penhalion #14 3 years ago

    @leftlion

    Pretty much. It's a game about shooting zombies with your team mates. The multiplayer is fun but, there is very little innovation in the game. I guess it won because there is zero innovation in all other games on the list so a little innovation in this case, went a long way!

  • shotgun44 #15 3 years ago

    i finally got around to playing dead space this weekend! I'd give it a 9 for gameplay, BUT, if you go back to the review and look at what Dan said; all the crititsisms are completely true. The storyline is a ridiculous series of menial tasks! I loved every minute of it but if you actually read the review you'll be able to see the 7 completely justified for all to see.

  • shotgun44 #16 3 years ago

    Shouldn't braid have won most innovative? I'm don't sit around bashing one off to it like some people but as far as innovation goes, it has a lot more that L4D!

  • Rash' #17 3 years ago

    penhalion, how can any award ceremony reflect the broad and differing views of it's audience? it's isn't possible. maybe these awards don't reflect your gaming tastes but your tastes aren't reflective of the whole gaming demographic.
    Edited by 2 at 23/02/09 @ 15:04

  • bad09 #18 3 years ago

    "Nice to see Dead Space get some lovin'..... "

    +1,000,000!!!

    "I've never played left 4 dead so can somebody explain to me why it got put in the innovation category? Is it not just like every other FPS game out there?"

    The first part of that post explains the second. Try it, it's amazing (ONLINE!) and it's not really like many FPS's (except you shoot obviously!)

  • Les #19 3 years ago

    ""Nice to see Dead Space get some lovin'..... "

    +1,000,000!!!"

    Got this recently from eBay, partly because of the recommendations in the comments sections around here. It seemed people that liked the old REs love this one as well. Hope I'll be able to enjoy it, given that it doesn't have fixed cameras... ;)

  • bad09 #20 3 years ago

    @ Les

    DS is great for any horror game fan.

    It only gets that "survival horror" feel on the harder difficulties (avoid normal or lower!) due to little ammo TBH and at it's heart it's still a (admittedly VERY GORY) shooter RE4 style, but it's a cracking game that shows Capcom how to make a sequel to RE4 (if you actually wanted another shooter RE of course).

  • lolife.se #21 3 years ago

    Fallout 3 for Outstanding Achievement in Original Story??? Force Unleashed for Outstanding Achievement in Adapted Story??? Mirror's Edge for Adventure Game of the Year???

    How about: AIAS for Outstanding Achievement in Complete and Utter Cluelessness? Laughable...
    Edited by 2 at 23/02/09 @ 21:18