Spike TV Awards Announce Presenter, Game Previews

Spike TV has announced that, at its upcoming Video Game Awards event, it will unveil previews of upcoming titles including Borderlands (2K), Gran Turismo 5 Prologue (Sony Computer Entertainment America), Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas 2 (Ubisoft) and TNA Impact (Midway). The company also announced that the event, now in its fifth year, will be hosted by film star Samuel L. Jackson for his third consecutive year, and will also feature a first look at the new DLC Halo 3 Maps from Microsoft Game Studios. The Video Game Awards honor outstanding achievements in games, designers, animation, breakthrough technology, music and performances of the past year in the industry. According to organizers, the night will feature award presentations and appearances by magician Criss Angel, "TNA" wrestling stars Kurt and Karen Angle, actress Tia Carrere, "Chuck" stars Joshua Gomez and Zachary Levi, skateboarding legend Tony Hawk, former NFL star Rocket Ismail, UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and "Ultimate Fighter 1" champ Forrest Griffin, and legendary boxing promoter Don King. Other perhaps dubiously game-related presenters include MTV reality couple Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt, NFL quarterback and Heisman trophy winner Matt Leinart, rock star Dave Navarro, "Jackass" Steve-O, comedian Patton Oswalt, comedian and Comedy Central star Brian Posehn, MTV's Tila Tequila, actor Anton Yelchin and many more will be announced shortly. In addition, the world's leading video game concert series, Video Games Live, will make their national television debut. Nominees for the awards were determined by the VGA Advisory Council, made up of a group of industry experts who will also pick the show's winners this year -- with the exception of the Most Addictive Game category, whose winner will be determined by fan vote. Games released between November 16, 2006 and December 1, 2007 were eligible for nomination.