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Mass Effect 2, Red Dead Redemption Dominate 14th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards
BioWare's sci-fi RPG landed three awards, including game of the year, while Rockstar's gritty Western wrangled five trophies at the annual DICE awards show.
In addition to the Mass Effect 2 accolades, BioWare founders Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk were inducted into the hall of fame for their impressive resumes that include critically acclaimed titles like Dragon Age, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Baldur's Gate, and Jade Empire. The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences also awarded former EA bigwigs Bing Gordon and Bill Budge with the lifetime achievement and pioneer awards, respectively. The creators of Heavy Rain, Limbo, and StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty also had nights to remember, with each title garnering multiple awards.
"The Interactive Achievement Awards is the time for the games industry to gather and honor the creativity and craft that goes into game making," said Academy president Martin Rae. "This year's Award winning games demonstrate the depth of talent, passion and innovation that distinguishes this compelling medium."
These awards likely mean more to the recipients than the overproduced Spike TV festivities because they are decided by a peer-based voting system. Check out the full list of winners below:
Game of the Year: Mass Effect 2
Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction: Red Dead Redemption
Casual Game of the Year: Angry Birds
Portable Game of the Year: God of War: Ghost of Sparta
Fighting Game of the Year: Super Street Fighter IV
Role-Playing/Massively Multiplayer Game of the Year: Mass Effect 2
Sports Game of the Year: FIFA Soccer 11
Racing Game of the Year: Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit
Adventure Game of the Year: Limbo
Social Networking Game of the Year: CityVille
Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year: StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty
Action Game of the Year: Red Dead Redemption
Family Game of the Year: Dance Central
Outstanding Innovation in Gaming: Heavy Rain
Outstanding Achievement in Animation: God of War III
Outstanding Achievement in Visual Engineering: Heavy Rain
Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction: Red Dead Redemption
Outstanding Achievement in Story: Mass Effect 2
Outstanding Character Performance: Red Dead Redemption – John Marston
Outstanding Achievement in Soundtrack: Rock Band 3
Outstanding Achievement in Sound Design: Limbo
Outstanding Achievement in Online Game Play: StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty
Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition: Heavy Rain
Outstanding Achievement in Game Play Engineering: Red Dead Redemption
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