4th G.A.N.G. Audio Awards Finalists Announced

The organizers of Game Audio Network Guild (G.A.N.G.) has announced the finalists for its 4th annual G.A.N.G. Audio Awards, voted and judged upon by the game audio industry and members of G.A.N.G. Winners for the awards will be announced at the 4th Annual G.A.N.G. Awards ceremony, taking place at 8:00pm - Thursday, March 23, 2006 in San Jose, CA during the Game Developers Conference. The awards event will be held at the Regency Ballroom of the Fairmont Hotel, and will include live video game music performances throughout the evening. The full list of finalists for the 4th annual G.A.N.G. Awards are as follows: Music Of The Year: Psychonauts, Destroy All Humans!, Advent Rising, King Kong, God of War. Sound Design Of The Year: Call of Duty 2, God of War, King Kong, Advent Rising, Star Wars: Republic Commando. Best Dialogue: Jade Empire, Oddworld Stranger's Wrath, Psychonauts, Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves, God Of War. Best Interactive Score: Myst V: End of Ages, God of War, Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves, Darkwatch, Star Wars: Republic Commando Best Cinematic/Cut-Scene Audio: Advent Rising, Oddworld: Strangers Wrath, Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones, God of War. Audio Of The Year: Best Original Soundtrack Album: Jade Empire, Advent Rising, Psychonauts, God of War Best Audio/Other: Nintendogs, Lumines, Sims 2, Trijinx: A Kristine Kross Mystery, Pursuit Force Best Live Performance Recording: Advent Rising, King Kong, Destroy All Humans!, God Of War, Jade Empire, SOCOM III Best Original Instrumental: "The Tragic Hero" - King Kong, "Main Theme" - Sly Cooper 3: Honor Among Thieves, "Rise of Aurelia" - Advent Rising, "Main Theme" - Jade Empire, "Main Theme" - Destroy All Humans!. Best Original Pop Vocal: "Santa Monica" - Indigo Prophecy, "Greater Lights" - Advent Rising, "Limelight" - Perfect Dark Zero, "Katamari on the Swing" - We Love Katamari. Best Original Vocal/Choral: "Wrath Divine" - God Of War, "Siren's Song" - God of War, "Revenge and Redemption" - God of War, "Muse" - Advent Rising, "Bounty Hunter" - Advent Rising. Best Use Of Licensed Music: Guitar Hero, SSX: On Tour, Wipeout Pure, The Warriors, Stubbs the Zombie Best Arrangement Of A Non-Original Score: Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas: Oogies Revenge, Gettysburg, Wild Arms: Alter Code F, Darkwatch. Most Innovative Use Of Audio: Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat, Guitar Hero, Eye Toy: Play 2, Electroplankton, Nintendogs. Best Sound Design In A Sports Game: Burnout Revenge, Madden NFL 2006, NBA 2K6, Need For Speed: Most Wanted. Best Use Of Multi-Channel Surround In A Game: Call of Duty 2, F.E.A.R., King Kong, Hulk: Ultimate Destruction, Doom 3. Best Game Audio Article, Publication or Broadcast: The Game Producer's Handbook, "Signature Soundtracks in Games", Cinescape - Richard Jacques, The Treatment of Music in Games- Part I, II, III, "The Devil's in the Details - Doom 3's Antimusic", 1UP.com - Video Games Live coverage. Best Sound Library: Quantum Leap RA (Rare Instruments), East West/Quantum Leap Symphonic Choirs, STYLUS RMX™ - Real Time Groove Module, Ivory - Grand Pianos, The Ear Accents Crimes & Suspense. Best Audio Software: STYLUS RMX™ - Real Time Groove Module, Cakewalk SONAR 5, Sony Vegas 6.0, M-AUDIO Ableton Live 5, Sony Sound Forge 8. Best Audio Hardware: PowerPlay Pro_Media Chair, Edirol R-09 WAV/MP3 Recorder, JBL LSR4300 Studio Monitors, Roland SP-404 sampler, M-Audio MicroTrack 24/96. Other presentations include Rookie of the Year, Best New Audio Technology & the G.A.N.G. Recognition Award. The Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented to retired game industry veteran Bobby Prince who is best known for his audio work in classic games such as Doom, Wolfenstein 3-D & the Duke Nukem series. "Each year it amazes me how far the game audio industry has come in such a short period of time, this years entries rival anything I've ever heard in a motion picture." said Tommy Tallarico, president and founder of G.A.N.G. "The G.A.N.G. Awards provide an important showcase for recognition of the amazing talent our industry has to offer."