2011 Spike VGA nominees announced, Zelda to become first Hall of Famer

Spike TV has revealed its list of 2011 Video Game Awards (VGA) nominees, as well as the announcement it will be naming the Legend of Zelda franchise as its very first Hall of Fame inductee.

The video game hopefuls are split amongst 25 categories which cover every conceivable achievement in the industry from Best Games on individual consoles, to Best Independent Game, Best DLC, and Best Performance By a Human Male/Female. Overall, Portal 2 and Batman: Arkham City lead the pack with 12 and 10 nominations, respectively. Here's a glimpse at some of the top contenders:

Game of the Year

• Batman: Arkham City (Warner Bros Interactive / Rocksteady Studios)
• The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Bethesda Softworks / Bethesda Game Studios)
• The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (Nintendo)
• Portal 2 (Valve)
• Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception (Sony Computer Entertainment / Naughty Dog)

Best Shooter

• Battlefield 3 (Electronic Arts / DICE)
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (Activision / Infinity Ward / Sledgehammer Games)
• Gears of War 3 (Microsoft Studios / Epic Games)
• Rage (Bethesda Softworks / Id Software)

Best Independent Game

• Bastion (Supergiant Games)
• Minecraft (Mojang)
• Superbrothers: Sword and Sworcery EP (Capybara Games)
• The Binding of Isaac (Edmund McMillen)

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 DLC

• Fallout: New Vegas – Old World Blues (Bethesda/Obsidian)
• Mass Effect 2: Arrival (EA/BioWare)
• Mortal Kombat: Freddy Krueger (Warner Bros. Netherrealm Studios)
• Portal 2 Peer Review (Valve)

(You can find the complete list here here)

In addition to handing out its regular batch of awards this year, Spike TV will also be honoring the Legend of Zelda franchise with the inaugural space in its Video Game Hall of Fame.

"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, and one that has successfully transitioned from one game console generation to the next and continually shown the narrative and artistic potential of the medium."

You can cheer on Link and company, as well as catch some previews of the new Alan Wake and BioWare games, when Spike TV's 2011 VGAs air on December 10 at 8pm ET/5pm PT.