LocoRoco and Ghost Recon lead BAFTA nominations

New IP and familiar franchises have received multiple nominations for The British Academy Video Games Awards, to be held on October 5th.

Sony’s quirky PSP title Loco Roco and Ubisoft’s gritty war sim Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter received the most praise with eight nominations each.

We love Katamari has amassed six nominations, while new IP Guitar Hero has bagged five nominations, followed by Dr Kawashima’s Brain Training with three nominations and SingStar Rocks garnering two.

“This year’s decision for the Academy to elevate games to an equal status alongside film and television has been praised by the industry, government and media, and the stage is firmly set for The British Academy Video Games Awards to become the industry and consumers’ benchmark of excellence,” said Paul Jackson, chairman of the BAFTA Games committee.

The full list of categories and nominations follows:

INNOVATION
Dr Kawashima's BRAIN TRAINING: How Old Is Your Brain? (Nintendo/Nintendo)
Electroplankton (Nintendo/Nintendo)
Guitar Hero (Red Octane/Harmonix Music)
LocoRoco (SCEE/SCEJ)
Shadow of the Colossus (SCEE/Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCEI))
We Love Katamari (Electronic Arts/Namco)

ARTISTIC ACHIEVEMENT
Black (EA Games/Criterion Games)
Hitman: Blood Money (Eidos Interactive/Io Interactive)
LocoRoco (Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE)/Sony Computer Entertainment Japan (SCEJ))
Shadow of the Colossus (SCEE/(SCEI))
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (2K Games/Bethesda Softworks)
We Love Katamari (Electronic Arts/Namco)

CHARACTER
Agent 47 in Hitman: Blood Money (Eidos Interactive/Io Interactive)
Han Solo in Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy (LucasArts/Traveller's Tales)
Lara Croft in Tomb Raider: Legend (Eidos Interactive/Crystal Dynamics)
LocoRoco in LocoRoco (SCEE/SCEJ)
Rogue in Rogue Trooper (Eidos/Interactive Rebellion)

STRATEGY
Age of Empires: The Age Of Kings (Nintendo/Majesco Entertainment)
Football Manager 2006 (Sega Europe/Sports Interactive)
Medieval II Total War (Sega Europe/The Creative Assembly)
Rise And Fall: Civilizations At War (Midway/ Stainless Steel)
Sid Meier's Civilization IV Warlords (2K Games/Firaxis Games)
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter (Ubisoft/Red Storm Entertainment)

CASUAL & SOCIAL
Buzz!: The BIG Quiz (SCEE/Relentless Software)
Dr Kawashima's BRAIN TRAINING: How Old Is Your Brain? (Nintendo/Nintendo)
Electroplankton (Nintendo/Nintendo)
Guitar Hero (Red Octane/Harmonix Music)
LocoRoco (SCEE/SCEJ)
SingStar Rocks! (SCEE/SCEE)

SCREENPLAY
24: The Game (SCEE/SCEE)
Psychonauts (THQ/Double Fine Productions & Majesco Entertainment)
Rogue Trooper (Eidos/Interactive Rebellion)
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (2K Games/ Bethesda Softworks)
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter (Ubisoft/Red Storm Entertainment)
Tomb Raider: Legend (Eidos Interactive/Crystal Dynamics)

CHILDREN'S
Daxter (SCEE/Ready At Dawn)
Ice Age 2: The Meltdown (VU Games/Vivendi Games)
Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy (LucasArts/Traveller's Tales)
LocoRoco (SCEE/SCEJ)
New Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo/Nintendo)
We Love Katamari (Electronic Arts/Namco)

GAMEPLAY sponsored by Nokia N-Gage
Guitar Hero (Red Octane/Harmonix Music)
Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy (LucasArts/Traveller's Tales)
LocoRoco (SCEE/SCEJ)
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (2K Games/Bethesda Softworks)
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter (Ubisoft/Red Storm Entertainment)
We Love Katamari (Electronic Arts/Namco)

SIMULATION
C-130 Hercules (Just Flight/Captain Sim)
Championship Manager 2006 (Eidos Interactive/Beautiful Game)
Football Manager 2006 (Sega Europe/Sports Interactive)
Rockstar Games presents Table Tennis (Take-Two Interactive/Rockstar San Diego)
The Movies (Feral Interactive/Lionhead Studios/Feral Interactive)
Trauma Center: Under The Knife (Nintendo/Nintendo)

MULTIPLAYER
2006 FIFA World Cup (Electronic Arts/EA Canada)
Animal Crossing: Wild World (Nintendo/Nintendo)
Battlefield 2: Modern Combat (EA Games/Digital Illusions)
Dungeons & Dragons Online: Stormreach (Codemasters/Turbine Inc.)
Guild Wars Factions (NCsoft/ArenaNet)
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter (Ubisoft/Red Storm Entertainment)

ACTION & ADVENTURE sponsored by PC World
Metroid Prime: Hunters (Nintendo/Nintendo)
Shadow of the Colossus (SCEE/(SCEI))
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (2K Games/Bethesda Softworks)
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter (Ubisoft/Red Storm Entertainment)
Tomb Raider: Legend (Eidos Interactive/Crystal Dynamics)
We Love Katamari (Electronic Arts/Namco)

TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT sponsored by Skillset
Battlefield 2: Modern Combat (EA Games/Digital Illusions)
Black (EA Games/Criterion Games)
Burnout Revenge (Electronic Arts/Criterion Games)
Just Cause (Eidos Interactive/Avalanche Studios)
Shadow of the Colossus (SCEE/(SCEI))
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter (Ubisoft/Red Storm Entertainment)

SPORTS
2006 FIFA World Cup (Electronic Arts/EA Canada)
Fight Night Round 3 (EA Sports/EA Chicago)
Football Manager 2006 (Sega Europe/Sports Interactive)
MotoGP '06 (THQ/Climax)
Pro Evolution Soccer 6 (Konami/Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo (KCAT))
Rockstar Games presents Table Tennis (Take-Two Interactive/Rockstar San Diego)

ORIGINAL SCORE
Dragon Quest: The Journey of the Cursed King (Square Enix/Level 5)
LocoRoco (SCEE/SCEJ)
Shadow of the Colossus (SCEE/(SCEI))
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (2K Games/Bethesda Softworks)
The Movies (Feral Interactive/ Lionhead Studios/ Feral Interactive)
Tomb Raider: Legend (Eidos Interactive/Crystal Dynamics)

SOUNDTRACK
B-Boy (SCEE/FreeStyleGames)
Guitar Hero (Red Octane/Harmonix Music)
Reservoir Dogs (Eidos Interactive/Volatile Games)
SingStar Rocks! (SCEE/SCEE)

AUDIO
Black (EA Games/Criterion Games)
Electroplankton (Nintendo/Nintendo)
LocoRoco (SCEE/SCEJ)
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter (Ubisoft/Red Storm Entertainment)
Tomb Raider: Legend (Eidos Interactive/Crystal Dynamics)
We Love Katamari (Electronic Arts/Namco)

GAME sponsored by PC World
Black (EA Games/Criterion Games)
Dr Kawashima's BRAIN TRAINING: How Old Is Your Brain? (Nintendo/Nintendo)
Guitar Hero (Red Octane/Harmonix Music)
Hitman: Blood Money (Eidos Interactive/Io Interactive)
Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy (LucasArts/Traveller's Tales)
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter (Ubisoft/Red Storm Entertainment)