Last night, the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences held its 14th annual Interactive Achievement Awards in Las Vegas. They're a little like the Spike TV Video Game Awards, only with more respect and less misfired attempts at entertaining the gaming community. The top prize of the night, Game of the Year, went to BioWare's "Mass Effect 2," though Rockstar Games' "Red Dead Redemption" had a better overall showing, with five awards earned.
In addition to GotY, the BioWare role-playing game also picked up honors for Outstanding Achievement in Story and Role-Playing/Massively Multiplayer Game of the Year. "Red Dead," on the other hand, nabbed Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction (deservedly, I might add), Outstanding Achievement in Gameplay Engineering, Outstanding Achievement in Character Performance, Outstanding Achievement in in Game Direction and Action Game of the Year.
So... achievement unlocked then, right?
PlayStation 3-exclusive adventure "Heavy Rain" and indie beaut "LIMBO" also got some love. Quantic Dreams' latest picked up Outstanding Achievement awards Visual Engineering and Original Music Composition as well as one for Outstanding Innovation in Gaming. Meanwhile, "LIMBO" took a top honor as Adventure Game of the Year along with Outstanding Achievement in Sound Design.
In the special awards category, BioWare founders Greg Zeschuk and Ray Muzyka were inducted into the organization's hall of fame. Former Electronic Arts CEO and Audible.com founder Bing Gordon got the Lifetime Achievement award. And finally, Bill Budge, the man behind early PC games "Raster Blaster" and "Pinball Construction Set," was honored with the Pioneer Award.
Check out a full list of the winners below:
Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition
"Heavy Rain"
Outstanding Achievement in Soundtrack
"Rock Band 3"
Outstanding Achievement in Sound Design
"Limbo"
Adventure Game of the Year
"Limbo"
Outstanding Achievement in Online Game Play
"StarCraft II"
Action Game of the Year
"Red Dead Redemption"
Sports Game of the Year
"FIFA 11"
Fighting Game of the Year
"Super Street Fighter IV"
Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year
"StarCraft II"
Portable Game of the Year
"God of War: Ghost Of Sparta"
Casual Game of the Year
"Angry Birds HD"
Social Networking Game of the Year
"CityVille"
AIAS Lifetime Achievement Award
Bing Gordon
Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction
"Red Dead Redemption"
Game of the Year
"Mass Effect 2"
