BAFTA nominees announced, Batman: Arkham City and L.A. Noire take lead

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) has announced its picks for the GAME British Academy Video Game Awards. The list of nominees include the usual suspects, with extra attention given to Rocksteady's Batman: Arkham City and Team Bondi's L.A. Noire, which lead the pack with eight nominations each.

Vying for the title of Best Game are other AAA contenders including The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, FIFA 12, Portal 2, and The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. BAFTA has also seen fit to expands its categories to include trophies for Debut Game, Online-Browser, Online Multiplayer, and Performer – the latter of which includes deserving nods to Mark Hamill (Joker) in Batman: Arkham City, Nolan North (Nathan Drake) in Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception, and Stephen Merchant (Wheatley) in Portal 2.

Place your bets on the full list below:

Best Game

Batman: Arkham City

Fifa 12

LA Noire

Portal 2

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

Action

Assassin's Creed Revelations

Batman: Arkham City

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

Deus Ex: Human Revolution

Portal 2

Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception

Strategy

Dark Souls

Deus Ex: Human Revolution

Football Manager 2012

From Dust
Ghost Recon
Shadow Wars

Total War: Shogun 2

Story

Batman: Arkham City

Deus Ex: Human Revolution

LA Noire

Portal 2

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception

Artistic Achievement

Batman: Arkham City

LA Noire

LitteBigPlanet 2

Rayman Origins

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception

Design

Batman: Arkham City

LA Noire

LittleBigPlanet 2

Portal 2
Super Mario 3D Land

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Debut Game

Bastion

Eufloria

Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet
Shadow Planet

LA Noire

Monstermind

RIFT

Audio Achievement

Batman: Arkham City

Battlefield 3

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

Dead Space 2

The Nightjar

Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception

Family

Dance Central 2

Kinect Sports 2

Lego Pirates of the Caribbean

Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars

LittleBigPlanet 2

Mario Kart 7

Game Innovation

Bastion

Child of Eden

From Dust

LA Noire

LittleBigPlanet 2

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

Mobile and Handheld

Dead Space iOS

Magnetic Billiards: Blueprint

Peggle

Quarrel

Super Mario 3D Land

The Nightjar

Online – Browser

Gardens of Time

I Am Playr

Monstermind

Resistance 3

Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure

The Sims Social

Online-Multiplayer

Assassin's Creed: Revelations

Battlefield 3

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

Dark Souls

Gears of War 3

LittleBigPlanet 2

Original Music

Assassin's Creed: Revelations

Batman: Arkham City

Deus Ex: Human Revolution

LA Noire
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception

Performer

Aaron Stanton (Cole Phelps) – LA Noire

Mark Hamill (The Joker) – Batman: Arkham City

Nolan North (Nathan Drake) – Uncharted 3:Drake's Deception

Stephen Fry (Narrator) – LittleBigPlanet 2

Stephen Merchant (Wheatley) – Portal 2

Togo Igawa (Dipolomat, Advisor and Military General) – Total War: Shogun 2

Sports/Fitness

Dance Central 2

DiRT 3
Fl 2011

FIFA 12
Kinect Sports 2

Your Shape Fitness Evolved 2012

BAFTA Ones to Watch AwardJoust
Dreamweaver
Tick Tock Toys

The finalists for BAFTA's GAME Audience Award were posted last week, and are still open for voting. The winners from all 16 categories will be announced during the Academy's big show on Friday, March 16 in London.

Matt Bradford wrote news and features here at GamesRadar+ until 2016. Since then he's gone on to work with the Guinness World Records, acting as writer and researcher for the annual Gamer's Edition series of books, and has worked as an editor, technical writer, and voice actor. Matt is now a freelance journalist and editor, generating copy across a multitude of industries.