Game for a BAFTA?

One of the biggest dates in any gamers' calendar is almost here. The annual BAFTA Video Game Awards will take place on March 10th at the London Hilton Hotel - and with voting lines now open, gamers are being encouraged to cast their votes to ensure their favourite title from the past year gets a gong.

We've come a long way since the dawn of gaming in the '70s. Back then we were pretty much limited to whacking a bleepy little ball around the TV screen with a couple of paddles. Today, through the likes of Next Generation gaming, we have seen the introduction of high definition graphics, handheld consoles and live gaming - meaning games now appeal to people from all ages and genders.

The Nintendo Wii, with its innovative interface and family friendly catalogue of games, helped prompt a major change in gaming habits as families moved consoles into the living room to play on together.

Games are now as big as Hollywood. The BAFTA Awards, including a category sponsored by high street retailer GAME, reflect that. Nominees compete for Awards including Best Story & Character, Technical Achievement, Innovation, Original Score and a host of others that reflect the creativity and artistic discipline responsible for gaming's huge success.

Little BigPlanet, Guitar Hero World Tour and Wii Fit are just a few of the games, which have enjoyed enormous success in the last year and they've also made the shortlist of ten candidates vying for this year's GAME Award of 2008. This year's nominees are:

- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
- Fallout 3
- Gears of War 2
- Grand Theft Auto IV
- Guitar Hero World Tour
- Left 4 Dead
- LittleBigPlanet
- Professor Layton and the Curious Village
- Wii Fit
- World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King

Anne-Marie Flynn, Head of Awards at BAFTA says, "The great thing about the GAME Award shortlist is that it reflects the real diversity of games capturing the public's imagination. After some very heated debate the panel decided upon these ten great games and now the public has the chance to have their say. All will be revealed at the Awards ceremony on March 10th."

Tricia Brennan of GAME, who sponsor the BAFTA Awards shortlist, says: "Gaming is now for everyone and we believe the shortlist reflects this - so whatever age you are, we want to know what your favourite game from the list is."

For your chance to vote for Game Of The Year, follow the link below. Winners will be announced on 10th March 2009.

For more information visit baftagameaward.com.