Red Dead Redemption Leads AIAS Nominees, Angry Birds HD Up For Top Award

The Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences has revealed its nominees for the 14th annual Interactive Achievement Awards, with Rockstar's Red Dead Redemption leading the field with nine nominations, including Game of the Year. The iPad's Angry Birds HD became the first iOS title to receive a Game of the Year nod this year, earning nominations for Outstanding Innovation and Casual Game of the Year as well. The iPhone version of Rovio's game launched in November 2009, but the AIAS considered the HD version as a separate game, allowing its nomination. Other nominees for the academy's top award include Sony's God of War III which earned six total nominations, Activision's Call of Duty: Black Ops with five total nominations, and EA's Mass Effect 2 with five nominations. Namco Bandai's Enslaved: Odyssey to the West made a surprisingly strong showing with six nominations, including Animation, Character Performance, Story and Adventure Game of the Year. "2010 saw many great achievements in interactive entertainment,” said AIAS president Martin Rae. “Great games are found everywhere - this year’s nominations illustrate the depth and breadth of our game experience for titles from core consoles, browsers and personal entertainment devices like the iPhone.” Winners will be announced at a ceremony hosted by returning host Jay Mohr during the 2011 DICE Summit on Thursday, February 10, and broadcast two days later on cable network G4. A full list of nominees in 26 categories follows: Family Game of the Year Dance Central | Microsoft Game Studios/MTV Games | Harmonix Music Systems Kirby's Epic Yarn | Nintendo | Good-Feel/HAL Laboratory LEGO Harry Potter Years 1-4 | Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment | Traveller's Tales Rock Band 3 | MTV Games | Harmonix Music Systems SingStar Dance | Sony Computer Entertainment America | SCE London Studio Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year Dawn of War II: Chaos Rising | THQ | Relic Entertainment Sid Meier's Civilization | V 2K Games | Firaxis StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty | Blizzard Entertainment | Blizzard Entertainment Supreme Commander 2 | Square Enix Gas | Powered Games Toy Soldiers | Microsoft Game Studios | Signal Studios Outstanding Achievement in Animation Call of Duty: Black Ops | Activision | Treyarch ENSLAVED: Odyssey to the West | Namco Bandai | Ninja Theory God of War III | Sony Computer Entertainment America | SCE Santa Monica Studio Red Dead Redemption | Rockstar Games | Rockstar San Diego Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction | Ubisoft | Ubisoft Montreal Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction Alan Wake | Microsoft Game Studios | Remedy Entertainment ENSLAVED: Odyssey to the West | Namco Bandai | Ninja Theory God of War III | Sony Computer Entertainment America | SCE Santa Monica Studio Kirby's Epic Yarn | Nintendo | Good-Feel/HAL Laboratory Red Dead Redemption | Rockstar Games Rockstar San Diego Outstanding Achievement in Visual Engineering Call of Duty: Black Ops | Activision | Treyarch God of War III | Sony Computer Entertainment America | SCE Santa Monica Studio Heavy Rain | Sony Computer Entertainment America | Quantic Dream Medal of Honor | Electronic Arts | Danger Close/Digital Illusions CE Metro 2033 | THQ | 4A Games Outstanding Achievement in Game Play Engineering Dance Central | Microsoft Game Studios/MTV Games | Harmonix Music Systems Kirby's Epic Yarn | Nintendo | Good-Feel/HAL Laboratory Red Dead Redemption | Rockstar Games | Rockstar San Diego Super Mario Galaxy 2 | Nintendo | Nintendo Super Scribblenauts | Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment | 5th Cell Outstanding Character Performance ENSLAVED: Odyssey to the West - Monkey | Namco Bandai | Ninja Theory God of War III - Kratos | Sony Computer Entertainment America SCE Santa Monica Studio Mass Effect 2 - Male Shepard | Electronic Arts | Bioware Red Dead Redemption - John Marston | Rockstar Games | Rockstar San Diego StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty - Tychus Findlay | Blizzard Entertainment | Blizzard Entertainment Outstanding Achievement in Story Alan Wake | Microsoft Game Studios | Remedy Entertainment ENSLAVED: Odyssey to the West | Namco Bandai | Ninja Theory Heavy Rain | Sony Computer Entertainment America | Quantic Dream Mass Effect 2 | Electronic Arts | Bioware Metro 2033 | THQ | 4A Games Role-Playing/Massively Multiplayer Game of the Year Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies | Nintendo | Square Enix Fable III | Microsoft Game Studios | Lionhead Studios Fallout: New Vegas | Bethesda Softworks | Obsidian Entertainment Mass Effect 2 | Electronic Arts | Bioware World of Warcraft: Cataclysm | Blizzard Entertainment | Blizzard Entertainment Outstanding Innovation in Gaming Angry Birds HD | Chillingo | Rovio Dance Central | Microsoft Game Studios/MTV Games | Harmonix Music Systems Heavy Rain | Sony Computer Entertainment America | Quantic Dream LIMBO | Playdead | Playdead Red Dead Redemption | Rockstar Games | Rockstar San Diego Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood | Ubisoft | Ubisoft Montreal Fable III | Microsoft Game Studios | Lionhead Studios Heavy Rain | Sony Computer Entertainment America | Quantic Dream StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty | Blizzard Entertainment | Blizzard Entertainment World of Warcraft: Cataclysm | Blizzard Entertainment | Blizzard Entertainment Outstanding Achievement in Soundtrack Dance Central | Microsoft Game Studios/MTV Games | Harmonix Music Systems DJ Hero 2 | Activision | FreeStyleGames Gran Turismo 5 | Sony Computer Entertainment America | Polyphony Digital Rock Band 3 | MTV Games | Harmonix Music Systems Outstanding Achievement in Sound Design Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood | Ubisoft | Ubisoft Montreal Battlefield: Bad Company 2 | Electronic Arts | Digital Illusions CE LIMBO | Playdead | Playdead Medal of Honor | Electronic Arts | Danger Close/Digital Illusions CE Red Dead Redemption | Rockstar Games | Rockstar San Diego Social Networking Game of the Year CityVille | Zynga | Zynga Family Feud | iWin/Backstage Technologies | iWin/Backstage Technologies FrontierVille | Zynga | Zynga Nightclub City | Booyah | Booyah Ravenwood Fair | Lolapps | Lolapps Adventure Game of the Year Alan Wake | Microsoft Game Studios | Remedy Entertainment Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood | Ubisoft | Ubisoft Montreal ENSLAVED: Odyssey to the West | Namco Bandai | Ninja Theory Heavy Rain | Sony Computer Entertainment America | Quantic Dream LIMBO | Playdead | Playdead Sports Game of the Year FIFA Soccer 11 | Electronic Arts | EA Canada MLB 10: The Show | Sony Computer Entertainment America | SCE San Diego NBA 2K11 | 2K Sports | Visual Concepts NHL 11 | Electronic Arts | EA Canada Racing Game of the Year Gran Turismo 5 | Sony Computer Entertainment America | Polyphony Digital ModNation Racers | Sony Computer Entertainment America | United Front Games/SCE San Diego Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit | Electronic Arts | Criterion Split/Second | Disney Interactive Studios | Black Rock Studio Fighting Game of the Year BlazBlue: Continuum Shift | Aksys Games | Arc System Works EA Sports MMA | Electronic Arts | EA Tiburon Super Street Fighter IV | Capcom | Capcom/Dimps UFC 2010 Undisputed | THQ | Yuke's Co. Outstanding Achievement in Online Game Play Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood | Ubisoft | Ubisoft Montreal Battlefield: Bad Company 2 | Electronic | Arts Digital Illusions CE Call of Duty: Black Ops | Activision | Treyarch Halo: Reach | Microsoft Game Studios | Bungie StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty | Blizzard Entertainment | Blizzard Entertainment Action Game of the Year Battlefield: Bad Company 2 | Electronic Arts | Digital Illusions CE Call of Duty: Black Ops | Activision | Treyarch God of War III | Sony Computer Entertainment America | SCE Santa Monica Studio Halo: Reach | Microsoft Game Studios | Bungie Red Dead Redemption | Rockstar Games | Rockstar San Diego Portable Game of the Year Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies | Nintendo | Square Enix God of War: Ghost of Sparta | Sony Computer Entertainment America | SCE Santa Monica Studio/Ready at Dawn Infinity Blade | Epic Games | Chair Entertainment Professor Layton and the Unwound Future | Nintendo | Level-5 Valkyria Chronicles II | Sega | Sega Casual Game of the Year Angry Birds HD | Chillingo | Rovio Bejeweled 3 | PopCap Games | PopCap Games Kinect Sports | Microsoft Game Studios | Rare Pac-Man Championship Edition DX | Namco Bandai | Namco Bandai Plants vs. Zombies | PopCap Games | PopCap Games Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood | Ubisoft | Ubisoft Montreal ENSLAVED: Odyssey to the West | Namco Bandai | Ninja Theory LIMBO | Playdead | Playdead Mass Effect 2 | Electronic Arts | Bioware Red Dead Redemption | Rockstar Games | Rockstar San Diego Game of the Year Angry Birds HD | Chillingo | Rovio Call of Duty: Black Ops | Activision | Treyarch God of War III | Sony Computer Entertainment America | SCE Santa Monica Studio Mass Effect 2 | Electronic Arts | Bioware Red Dead Redemption | Rockstar Games | Rockstar San Diego