Edge announces Award nominees

Eight games that have shown innovation in the past year are up for the Edge Award; winner will be announced in Edinburgh in August.

Games culture magazine Edge has announced the short list of nominees for its Edinburgh Interactive Entertainment Festival 2006 Edge Award. The category is designed to highlight titles that have shown some degree of innovation in the gaming world in the past year, taking no notice of whether or not that title enjoyed commercial success.

Here is a list of the eight nominees, with a summary of Edge's reasoning behind the choices:

Amped 3 (Xbox 360) for adding comedy and creativity to a serious-minded game, and recognizing its target audience.

Dr Kawashima's Brain Training (Brain Age) (Nintendo DS) for its cross-generational appeal and being [an] example of an effective, original game mechanic.

Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King (PlayStation 2) for exceptional quality in all components of the game.

Electroplankton (Nintendo DS) for demonstrating how simple, expressive playfulness can be as engrossing as goal-orientated, competitive gaming.

Fahrenheit (Indigo Prophecy) (PC, PlayStation 2, Xbox) for extending the moral choices within gaming, and combining emotional richness with visual impact.

Guitar Hero (PlayStation 2) for demonstrating a new approach to games that concentrates on how we feel, rather than what we do.

Killer7 (GameCube, PlayStation 2) for its visual and aural inventiveness, and living on in the minds of gamers long after they've moved on.

Ossu! Tatakae! Ouendan! (Nintendo DS) for challenging the stereotype of an engaging game, and being an example of the power of a story.

The winner will be announced at the Edge Award and EIEF06 Networking Party on August 21.

45 Comments

  • Killer_S

    Posted May 24, 2006 5:01 pm PT

    As much as I like Dragon Quest VIII, I have to admit that it doesn't really seem to fit into this list very well...

  • Kwiksilva

    Posted May 22, 2006 8:18 am PT

    Yea I hope 1 of the DS games wins

  • samuelroberts

    Posted May 22, 2006 1:25 am PT

    I'm buying Killer7, now. I wasn't paying enough attention to notice its out on the PS2, and now I can't wait.

    Shadow Of The Colossus deserves no credit; bland game with awkward controls despite the fact the atmosphere could be amazing. The flying enemies were great (the eel enemy too), but nah. It can go to hell.

    I think we'll see LocoRoco on it next year.

  • TargetDog

    Posted May 21, 2006 3:06 pm PT

    I really think Killer 7 is one of the craziest and unique games I've played for a long time. There are a bunch of games I love on that list, but I don't think some of them deserve to be on the list(Guitar Hero? We "felt" the game long before this game. DDR, anyone? Ouendan has an odd premise, but how is that enough to make it innovative? DQ is not innovative at all) and I can name a bunch of other games that should've been on that list.

  • dbrook

    Posted May 21, 2006 11:44 am PT

    I cant beleive that everyone is giving dragon quest so much grief......its good that its an old school RPG...i mean how many RPG's have you played recently apart from Final Fantasy that stay true to the genre......RPG's these days are getting too action orientated and are loosing their value........its the best RPG to come out recently because its a proper RPG and not some crappy american one like STAR WARS KOTOR ......but i do see everyone elses point....its not that innovatice sompared to the others but some of you make out that its a crap game....

  • samuelroberts

    Posted May 21, 2006 8:14 am PT

    DQ did seem a bit out of place, but its innovation IS in working on all key areas. Edge have a good point, here.

    Edge gave Burnout Legends 7/10, which possibly shows they're becomign less pretentious. It gave Resi 4 9/10, but I believe it was very close to getting the 10. They're doing well, and I enjoy their mag.

    Good choices, even if some of them are barely games at all.

  • slayerofshadows

    Posted May 20, 2006 5:45 am PT

    go DQ!

  • JapAngel

    Posted May 19, 2006 11:04 pm PT

    Indigo Prophecy, Dragon Quest + guitar hero (i still havnt got my hands on these games ), Go Go Go.....win it!

  • METALgearJES

    Posted May 19, 2006 10:19 am PT

    Good list, However Dragon Quest VIII is an old-school RPG, how is that innovative?

  • teknicz

    Posted May 18, 2006 9:57 pm PT

    Ouendan is one of the best games I've ever played, throughly engrossing, and definitely one of those games you don't want to put down no matter how many times you lose at it.

    Whether or not it's innovative (it's really just DDR with a touchscreen...and cool, humorous stories) I recommend everyone try it out anyways.

  • Maquis_UK

    Posted May 18, 2006 8:12 pm PT

    no psp 'games' ? oh right Akira on umd doesnt count. lol umd

  • varmintx

    Posted May 18, 2006 7:45 pm PT

    If "innovation in the gaming world" is the focus, then how is Shadow of the Colossus not on the list?

  • Maquis_UK

    Posted May 18, 2006 7:37 pm PT

    where is Mario Kart DS ? still, GO DS !!!

  • SkierSoccer

    Posted May 18, 2006 7:27 pm PT

    where Nintenodogs?

  • silverwolfe0170

    Posted May 18, 2006 4:49 pm PT

    I so hope that Guitar Hero wins. That game is hella fun and addicting.

  • nestea_king

    Posted May 18, 2006 4:07 pm PT

    lol every DS game should be on there. They all use the touch screen which is different from any other console on the market.

  • lalakool_16

    Posted May 18, 2006 3:30 pm PT

    GH all the way ppl.

  • Dirk13

    Posted May 18, 2006 2:42 pm PT

    my university professor was the founder of Edge Games

  • liquid_s

    Posted May 18, 2006 1:55 pm PT

    wooo EDINBURGH I LIVE THERE

  • makeyourself181

    Posted May 18, 2006 1:31 pm PT

    "Appart from Amped3 and Dragon Quest the rest are pretty innovative games IMO ... but personally i'd like to see Ouendan win it. That game is so pure..."

    Dude, have you played Amped 3? That game had such a different type of humor that has never been seen before, and it integrated that humor into the gameplay.

  • pspmad1

    Posted May 18, 2006 1:15 pm PT

    guitar hero will win

  • gastof

    Posted May 18, 2006 1:09 pm PT

    nice!!! Ds go.innovation forward.nintendo rocks

  • Hazeroth

    Posted May 18, 2006 12:52 pm PT

    Ooh, I'll have to check that out when I'm in Edinburgh. Anyone knows if this is open to the public?

  • bugsonglass

    Posted May 18, 2006 12:29 pm PT

    Appart from Amped3 and Dragon Quest the rest are pretty innovative games IMO ... but personally i'd like to see Ouendan win it. That game is so pure...

  • MovieMan200x

    Posted May 18, 2006 12:10 pm PT

    I don't understand why people think DQ does not belong on this list. The reason why it is on the list is because it is a fantastic game with near perfection in all of it's gameplay mechanics. It might not be wholly innovative, but it sure is to the series. This is the first game in the series to be completely 3D. Think of it like the jump between Final Fantasy 6 and 7. That was a drastic leap, and Final Fantasy 7 won all kinds of innovation awards when it was released.

    Anyway, I think it should go to one of 3 games... To me, it's a toss-up between DQ, Indigo Prophecy, and Brain Age.

  • N-DAWG88

    Posted May 18, 2006 11:59 am PT

    Go DS!

  • Heathcliff

    Posted May 18, 2006 11:25 am PT

    Nice to see Killer 7 getting some recognition. It was easily misunderstood and overlooked by much of gaming's media.

  • NeoJedi

    Posted May 18, 2006 11:20 am PT

    I just bought Guitar Hero today, gonna get it tomorrow by mail... can't wait to try it out!

  • big_tom_2k6

    Posted May 18, 2006 10:45 am PT

    what a gaming festival in my bonnie scotland? (edinburugh is in scotland by the way)

  • ffx-expert

    Posted May 18, 2006 10:37 am PT

    Indigo Prophecy Ftw.

  • dance_commander

    Posted May 18, 2006 10:31 am PT

    Guitar hero is going to take the award.

  • jonb4play

    Posted May 18, 2006 10:29 am PT

    Dragon Quest 8 was not that good, i realize it was by square, and i generally love their games, but what's the big fuss, it was just an okay game.

  • axes03

    Posted May 18, 2006 10:07 am PT

    I hope Amped 3 gets something. the story mode was so damn funny, even after i finished it i was screaming, AWESOME-NESS-NESS.

  • Ponsardin

    Posted May 18, 2006 9:18 am PT

    Indeed, Nintendo = Innovation. Or something like that.

  • comthitnuong

    Posted May 18, 2006 9:09 am PT

    w00t for brain traingin

  • Neb_The_Ninja

    Posted May 18, 2006 8:59 am PT

    Other than DQ, that's a great list.

  • sabru8

    Posted May 18, 2006 8:41 am PT

    cool

  • RAJA_RAMEEZ

    Posted May 18, 2006 8:23 am PT

    i belive indigo profecy is a good nomine

  • THEWINDWAKER10

    Posted May 18, 2006 7:45 am PT

    Finally, an award ceremony that's actually good...

  • Drachman

    Posted May 18, 2006 7:13 am PT

    w00t, good choices for nominees

  • Britesparc

    Posted May 18, 2006 6:50 am PT

    Sounds like a good list, just wish I'd played more of the games in it! Brain Training is probably the most innovative, although - natch - I've not played the bugger so I can't say that for certain (I'm just chuffed at how it's broken out of its niche). Of the games I have played, I'd plump for Killer 7 - it rocks.

  • visuall_basic

    Posted May 18, 2006 6:47 am PT

    Edge really loves Killer 7 for some reason. It took two awards in their "Best of 2005" issue. I'm betting it will win.

  • Annexx

    Posted May 18, 2006 6:40 am PT

    3 DS games...nice! I'm a big fan of Indigo also, and I think it's done a lot of good for the endarged species that is the adventure game. I hope it gets the nod.

  • Evangelion200

    Posted May 18, 2006 6:36 am PT

    I dont really understand how Dragon Quest made this list since it really didnt do anything that innovative. It just improved upon already used ideas and methods.

  • NekoFever

    Posted May 18, 2006 6:35 am PT

    Slightly pretentious list (it is Edge after all), but I hope Ouendan wins. I love that game and certainly hadn't played anything like it. Guitar Hero probably will, though.

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