VGA Nominees Announced, Legend of Zelda Honored

Spike TV announced the nominations for their ninth annual Video Game Awards show, airing Dec. 10 at 8:00 PM ET/ 5:00 PM PT. Portal 2 leads with 12 nominations, with Batman: Arkham City closely behind with 10 nominations.

Spike also announced its first Video Game Hall of Fame Award, which honors the most memorable and innovated video game franchises.

“Now our Video Game Hall of Fame will recognize the game franchises throughout history that have brought the industry to where it is today,” said Casey Patterson executive producer of the “VGAs” and executive vice president of event production for Viacom Media Networks Entertainment Group.

The inaugural winner of the Video Game Hall of Fame award will go to The Legend of Zelda series, and receive a special tribute during the Video Game Awards.

“It is only natural to start with ‘Zelda,’” said Geoff Keighley, executive in charge, publisher relations, Spike. “‘The Legend of Zelda’ is a franchise that inspired many of us to see the potential of games when it debuted 25 years ago, one that has successfully transitioned from one game console generation to the next and has continually shown the narrative and artistic potential of the medium.”

The Video Game Awards will also feature world premiers of anticapted games coming in 2012 and beyond. Bioshock Infinite, Transformers: Fall of Cybertron, and Tom Clancy’s Rainbow 6 Patriots are just to name a few.

Check out the full list of nominations below:

GAME OF THE YEAR
Batman: Arkham City
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
Portal 2
Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception

STUDIO OF THE YEAR
Bethesda Game Studios
Naughty Dog
Rocksteady Studios
Valve

BEST XBOX 360 GAME
Batman: Arkham City
Forza Motorsport 4
Gears of War 3
Portal 2

BEST PS3 GAME
inFAMOUS 2
Killzone 3
LittleBigPlanet 2
Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception

BEST Wii GAME
Disney’s Epic Mickey
Kirby’s Return to Dream Land
Lost in Shadow
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

BEST PC GAME
Battlefield 3
Minecraft
The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings
Portal 2

BEST HANDHELD/MOBILE GAME
Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective
Infinity Blade
Super Mario 3D Land
Jetpack Joyride

BEST SHOOTER
Battlefield 3
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
Gears of War 3
Rage

BEST ACTION ADVENTURE GAME
Assassin’s Creed: Revelations
Batman: Arkham City
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception

BEST RPG
Dark Souls
Deus Ex: Human Revolution
Dragon Age II
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

BEST MULTI-PLAYER
Battlefield 3
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
Gears of War 3
Portal 2

BEST INDIVIDUAL SPORTS GAME
Fight Night Champion
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12: The Masters
Top Spin 4
Virtua Tennis 4

BEST TEAM SPORTS GAME
FIFA Soccer 12
NBA 2K12
NHL 12
MLB ’11: The Show

BEST DRIVING GAME
DiRT 3
Driver: San Francisco
Forza Motorsport 4
Need For Speed: The Run

BEST FIGHTING GAME
The King of Fighters XIII
Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds
Mortal Kombat
WWE All Stars

BEST MOTION GAME
Child of Eden
Dance Central 2
The Gunstringer
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

BEST INDEPENDENT GAME
Bastion
Minecraft
Superbrothers: Sword and Sworcery EP
The Binding of Isaac

BEST ADAPTED VIDEO GAME
Back to the Future: The Game
Batman: Arkham City
Captain America: Super Soldier
LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars

BEST SONG IN A GAME
“Build that Wall (Zia’s Theme)” by Darren Korb – Bastion
“Exile Vilify” by The National – Portal 2
“I’m Not Calling You a Liar” by Florence + the Machine – Dragon Age II
“Setting Sail, Coming Home (End Theme)” by Darren Korb – Bastion
“Want You Gone” by Jonathan Coulton – Portal 2

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Bastion
Batman: Arkham City
Deus Ex: Human Revolution
Portal 2

BEST GRAPHICS
Batman: Arkham City
LA Noire
Rage
Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A HUMAN MALE
J.K. Simmons as Cave Johnson – Portal 2
Mark Hamill as The Joker – Batman: Arkham City
Nolan North as Nathan Drake – Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception
Stephen Merchant as Wheatley – Portal 2

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A HUMAN FEMALE
Claudia Black as Chloe Frazer – Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception
Ellen McLain as GLaDOS – Portal 2
Emily Rose as Elena Fisher – Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception
Tara Strong as Harley Quinn – Batman: Arkham City

BEST DOWNLOADABLE GAME
Bastion
Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet
Stacking
Trenched

BEST DLC
Fallout: New Vegas – Old World Blues
Mass Effect 2: Arrival
Mortal Kombat: Freddy Krueger
Portal 2 Peer Review

MOST ANTICIPATED GAME
BioShock: Infinite
Diablo III
Halo 4
Mass Effect 3
The Last Guardian

GAMETRAILERS.COM TRAILER OF THE YEAR
Assassin’s Creed: Revelations – E3 2011 Trailer
Batman: Arkham City – Hugo Strange Reveal Trailer
Dark Souls – Ignite ’11 Debut Trailer
Dead Island – GDC 11 Cinematic Trailer
Deus Ex: Human Revolution – Purity First Infomercial
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – In-Game Debut Trailer
Hitman: Absolution – E3 2011 Trailer
Prey 2 – E3 2011 Trailer
Tomb Raider – E3 2011 Trailer
Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception – E3 2011 Trailer