<i>Edge</i> announces Award nominees

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.