Batman: Arkham Asylum takes Bafta 2010 Game crown
Story by Jack Foley
TOP rated game Batman: Arkham Asylum has taken the coveted best game crown at the Video Game Baftas (2010).
The title, developed in Britain, beat off competition from Uncharted 2: Among Thieves to land the top prize. It also picked up a trophy for best gameplay.
The game is set in a scenario in which superhero Batman is asked to tackle a series of old foes in an asylum setting – players can choose which role they would like (whether hero or villain, including The Joker).
Arkham Asylum‘s triumph was one of the ceremony’s big surprises given that Uncharted 2 had gone into the event as favourite, with the most nominations.
It did, however, take four other awards, including best action and story.
One prize that did go according to pre-ceremony prediction was Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 picking up the publicly voted for prize, as sponsored by high-street store Game.
Modern Warfare 2 became the biggest selling game of all time in 2009 following overwhelming sales success.
Further prizes went to LittleBigPlanet, which won the award for best handheld game and Left 4 Dead 2, which took the best multiplayer game prize for the second year.
The ever-popular football game Fifa 10, by EA Sports, also scooped two prizes, for best sports title and best use of online options.
Bafta also presented a lifetime achievement Fellowship to game maker Shigeru Miyamoto, the man behind titles such as Super Mario, Donkey Kong and The Legend of Zelda.
The Bafta awards – which took place on Friday, March 19, 2010 – is one of the biggest nights in the UK gaming calendar with the winners of 14 of the categories chosen by industry figures.
The awards recognise “artistic, creative and technical innovation in video games”.
Bafta has been giving out awards to the games industry since 1998, although it only became a separate event in 2004.
The main winners in full:
Best Game – Batman: Arkham Asylum
Action – Uncharted 2
Gameplay – Batman: Arkham Asylum
Family and Social – Wii Sports Resort
Sports – Fifa 10
Story and Character – Uncharted 2
Strategy – Empire: Total War
Best use of Audio – Uncharted 2
New Talent – Shrunk
Multiplayer – Left 4 Dead 2
Original Score – Uncharted 2
Handheld – LittleBigPlanet
Artistic Achievement – Flower
Use of Online – Fifa 10