Spike TV Announces Categories and Nominees for 5th Annual 'Video Game Awards'

NEW YORK, Nov. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Spike TV's "Video Game Awards" returns this year with a 5th anniversary celebration that will gather some of the world's hottest creators and designers as they honor the year's greatest achievements gaming. This year, Halo 3 and BioShock lead the way with seven nominations apiece, including the night's most prestigious category, Game of the Year.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060322/NYW096LOGO)

Spike TV's 2007 "Video Game Awards" tapes Friday, December 7 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas and will premiere Sunday, December 9 (9:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT).

"Since Spike TV's inception, the 'Video Game Awards' and developing video game programming has been a priority and an integral part of our brand," says Casey Patterson senior vice president, event production and executive producer of the 2007 'Video Game Awards,'" "In our 5th year of the 'VGA's,' I'm thrilled with how far we've come as a network to establish our overall presence in the video game world. With the success of Spike TV's late night series, 'Game Head' and the integration of GameTrailers into the MTVN family, we continue to expand our in-house expertise. In addition, we've brought together an advisory council of some of the most respected and influential experts in the video game industry to select this year's winners. The 'VGA's' are all about giving gamers one definitive, major entertainment event to celebrate the best games of the year and the emerging superstars who make them."

The year's biggest celebration for gamers returns to Las Vegas for the fifth anniversary. Spike TV's 2007 "Video Game Awards" will be a multi- platform event, integrating special categories exclusive to mobile voting. These mobile-exclusive categories include Mobile Game of the Year, Best Action Game, Best Casual Game, Best Multiplayer Game, Best Visual Design and a special award for Innovation in Mobile Gaming.

Nominees for Spike TV's 2007 "Video Game Awards" were determined by the VGA Advisory Council, made up of a group of the most well respected experts in the industry who, for the first time in history, will also determine the show's winners. Games released between November 16, 2006 and December 1, 2007 were eligible for nomination. Fan voting, however, will not be left out, as the winner in the Most Addictive Game category will be solely determined by the fans. Voting for the award begins today only at http://www.vga.spiketv.com/ and will close Saturday, December 8. Categories and nominees are listed below.

The official sponsors of Spike TV's 2007 "Video Game Awards" are Burger King(R), GameStop(TM), Mountain Dew, Stride(TM) Gum, Tag(TM), U.S. Air Force, and Verizon Wireless.

Spike TV's 2007 "Video Game Awards" pays tribute to the outstanding achievements of games, designers, animation, breakthrough technology, music and performances of the past year in the industry. The awards also provide a glimpse at the future of gaming -- including exclusive sneak peeks and world premiere footage of some of the most anticipated games of 2007 and beyond.

Following are the nominees for Spike TV's 2007 "Video Game Awards:" GAME OF THE YEAR BioShock (2K Games/ 2K Boston -- 2K Australia) Halo 3 (Microsoft Game Studios/ Bungie Studios) The Orange Box (Valve/ Valve) Mass Effect (Microsoft Game Studios/ BioWare) STUDIO OF THE YEAR 2K Boston/ 2K Australia Bungie Studios Valve Harmonix BEST SHOOTER Halo 3 (Microsoft Game Studios/ Bungie Studios) Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Activision/ Infinity Ward) The Orange Box (Valve/ Valve) BioShock (2K Games/ 2K Boston -- 2K Australia) BEST RPG Mass Effect (Microsoft Game Studios/ BioWare) Eternal Sonata (Namco Bandai Games/ tri-Crescendo) Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions (Square Enix/ Square Enix) Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 (Atlus/ Atlus) BEST MILITARY GAME Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Activision/ Infinity Ward) Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 (Ubisoft/ Red Storm Entertainment -- Ubisoft Paris) World in Conflict (Sierra/ Massive Entertainment) Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas (Ubisoft/ Ubisoft Montreal) BEST INDIVIDUAL SPORTS GAME skate (Electronic Arts/ EA Black Box) Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08 (Electronic Arts/ EA Tiburon) Tony Hawk's Proving Ground (Activision/ Neversoft) Virtua Tennis 3 (Sega/ Sega-AM2) BEST HANDHELD GAME The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (Nintendo/ Nintendo) Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions (Square Enix/ Square Enix) Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords (D3Publisher/ Infinite Interactive) Syphon Filter: Logan's Shadow (Sony Computer Entertainment/ Sony Bend) BEST GRAPHICS BioShock (2K Games/ 2K Boston -- 2K Australia) Crysis (Electronic Arts/ Crytek) Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Activision/ Infinity Ward) Mass Effect (Microsoft Game Studios/ BioWare) BEST GAME BASED ON A MOVIE OR TV SHOW The Simpsons Game (Electronic Arts/ EA Redwood Shores) Naruto: Rise of a Ninja (Ubisoft/ Ubisoft Montreal) The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar (Midway Games -- Turbine/ Turbine) John Woo Presents Stranglehold (Midway Games/ Midway Games) BEST RHYTHM GAME Rock Band (MTV Games/ Harmonix) Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (Activision/ Neversoft) Jam Sessions (Ubisoft/ Plato) Guitar Hero Encore: Rock the 80s (Activision/ Harmonix) BEST DRIVING GAME Forza Motorsport 2 (Microsoft Game Studios/ Turn 10 Studios) Project Gotham Racing 4 (Microsoft Game Studios/ Bizarre Creations) DiRT (Codemasters/ Codemasters) Need for Speed Prostreet (Electronic Arts/ EA Black Box) BEST ACTION GAME God of War II (Sony Computer Entertainment/ SCE Studios Santa Monica) Assassin's Creed (Ubisoft/ Ubisoft Montreal) Super Mario Galaxy (Nintendo/ Nintendo) Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction (Sony Computer Entertainment/ Insomniac Games) BEST TEAM SPORTS GAME Madden NFL 08 (Electronic Arts/ EA Tiburon) NHL 08 (Electronic Arts/ EA Canada) NBA 2K8 (2K Sports/ Visual Concepts) Winning Eleven: Pro Evolution Soccer 2007 (Konami/ Konami) BEST SOUNDTRACK Rock Band (MTV Games/ Harmonix) Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (Activision/ Neversoft) BioShock (2K Games/ 2K Boston -- 2K Australia) Tony Hawk's Proving Ground (Activision/ Neversoft) BREAKTHROUGH TECHNOLOGY Rock Band (MTV Games/ Harmonix) The Orange Box/ Portal (Valve/ Valve) Halo 3 -- Saved Films/ Theatre Mode (Microsoft Game Studios/ Bungie Studios) Crysis (Electronic Arts/ Crytek) BEST XBOX 360 GAME BioShock (2K Games/ 2K Boston -- 2K Australia) Halo 3 (Microsoft Game Studios/ Bungie Studios) Mass Effect (Microsoft Game Studios/ BioWare) The Orange Box (Valve/ Valve) BEST WII GAME Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (Nintendo/ Retro Studios) Super Mario Galaxy (Nintendo/ Nintendo) Super Paper Mario (Nintendo/ Nintendo) The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Nintendo/ Nintendo) BEST PS3 GAME Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction (Sony Computer Entertainment/ Insomniac Games) Heavenly Sword (Sony Computer Entertainment/ Ninja Theory) Warhawk (Sony Computer Entertainment/ Incognito Entertainment) Uncharted: Drake's Fortune (Sony Computer Entertainment/ Naughty Dog) BEST PC GAME The Orange Box (Valve/ Valve) World in Conflict (Sierra/ Massive Entertainment) Crysis (Electronic Arts/ Crytek) BioShock (2K Games/ 2K Boston -- 2K Australia) BEST ORIGINAL SCORE Halo 3 (Microsoft Game Studios/ Bungie Studios) BiShock (2K Games/ 2K Boston -- 2K Australia) Mass Effect (Microsoft Game Studios/ BioWare) God of War II (Sony Computer Entertainment/ SCE Studios Santa Monica) BEST MULTI-PLAYER GAME Halo 3 (Microsoft Game Studios/ Bungie Studios) The Orange Box (Valve/ Valve) Rock Band (MTV Games/ Harmonix) Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Activision/ Infinity Ward) MOST ADDICTIVE GAME Halo 3 (Microsoft Game Studios/ Bungie Studios) The Orange Box (Valve/ Valve) Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (Activision/ Neversoft) Wii Sports (Nintendo/ Nintendo)

Albie Hecht, Oscar(R)-nominated producer and co-creator of the "Kids' Choice" and "Video Game Awards," and Casey Patterson, senior vice president, event production & talent development for Spike TV will serve as executive producers of Spike TV's 2007 Video Game Awards. Greg Sills is supervising producer, Alicia Portugal is producer and Scott Fishman is executive in charge of production.

Spike TV is available in 96.1 million homes and is a division of MTV Networks. MTV Networks, a division of Viacom International Inc. .