Spike TV sets awards show noms, celebs

Spike TV's Video Game Awards show is returning this year, and it's bringing some actors, rappers, and rockers with it. The 2005 edition of the awards show will take place Friday, November 18 in Los Angeles. The show praises the best in the business, as voted on by industry vets, and is accompanied by celebrities and musicians.

This year, Samuel L. Jackson (Pulp Fiction, Snakes on a Plane) steps to the mic as the show's MC. Jackson is no stranger to video games, as he won Spike's award for Best Performance by a Human Male for playing a crooked cop in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.

Also appearing will be Snoop Dogg (last year's host), Carmen Electra, The Rock, Vin Diesel, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Ozzy Osbourne.

As for the games, Ubisoft's not-yet-released Peter Jackson's King Kong thumped its chest by leading all nominees with seven nods, including Best Action Game and Best Graphics. Blizzard's World of Warcraft, Electronic Arts' James Bond 007: From Russia With Love, and Activision's Call of Duty 2 all trail the great ape by one nomination.

And the nominees are:

GAME OF THE YEAR
God of War (Sony Computer Entertainment America)
Resident Evil 4 (Capcom)
Call of Duty 2 (Activision, Inc.)
World of Warcraft (Blizzard Entertainment)
F.E.A.R. (Vivendi Universal Games)

BEST ACTION GAME
Resident Evil 4 (Capcom)
Peter Jackson's King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie (Ubisoft)
The Warriors (Rockstar Games)
50 Cent: Bulletproof (Vivendi Universal Games)
God of War (Sony Computer Entertainment America)

BEST INDIVIDUAL SPORTS GAME
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 06 (Electronic Arts)
SSX On Tour (Electronic Arts)
Tony Hawk's American Wasteland (Activision, Inc.)
Top Spin (2K Sports)
Fight Night Round 2 (Electronic Arts)

BEST TEAM SPORTS GAME
Blitz: The League (Midway)
Madden NFL 06 (Electronic Arts)
NBA 2K6 (2K Sports)
World Soccer Winning Eleven 8 International (Konami)
NBA Street V3 (Electronic Arts)

CYBER VIXEN OF THE YEAR
Charlize Theron as Aeon Flux in Aeon Flux (Majesco Entertainment)
Jessica Alba as Invisible Woman in Fantastic 4 (Activision, Inc.)
Traci Lords as Cassandra Hartz in True Crime: New York City (Activision, Inc.)
Joanna Dark in Perfect Dark Zero (Microsoft Game Studios)
Maria Menounos as Eva in James Bond 007: From Russia With Love (Electronic Arts)

BEST GAME BASED ON A MOVIE
Star Wars Battlefront II (LucasArts)
Peter Jackson's King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie (Ubisoft)
The Warriors (Rockstar Games)
James Bond 007: From Russia With Love (Electronic Arts)
The Matrix: Path of Neo (Atari, Inc.)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A HUMAN -- MALE
50 Cent in 50 Cent: Bulletproof (Vivendi Universal Games)
Jack Black in Peter Jackson's King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie (Ubisoft)
Michael Chiklis in Fantastic 4 (Activision, Inc.)
Sean Connery in James Bond 007: From Russia With Love (Electronic Arts)
Terrence "T.C." Carson in God of War (Sony Computer Entertainment America)

BEST SUPPORTING MALE PERFORMANCE
Eminem in 50 Cent: Bulletproof (Vivendi Universal Games)
Dr. Dre in 50 Cent: Bulletproof (Vivendi Universal Games)
Christopher Walken in True Crime: New York City (Activision, Inc.)
Michael Clarke Duncan in The Suffering: Ties That Bind (Midway)
Diddy in Marc Ecko's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure (Atari, Inc.)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A HUMAN -- FEMALE
Charlize Theron in Aeon Flux (Majesco Entertainment)
Naomi Watts in Peter Jackson's King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie (Ubisoft)
Josie Maran in Need for Speed Most Wanted (Electronic Arts)
Jessica Alba in Fantastic 4 (Activision, Inc.)
Cornelia Hayes O'Herlihy as Fiona Belli in Haunting Ground (Capcom)

BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE PERFORMANCE
Maria Menounos as Eva in James Bond 007: From Russia With Love (Electronic Arts)
Rosario Dawson in Marc Ecko's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure (Atari, Inc.)
Natasha Bedingfield in James Bond 007: From Russia With Love (Electronic Arts)
Mariska Hargitay in True Crime: New York City (Activision, Inc.)
Traci Lords in True Crime: New York City (Activision, Inc.)

BEST CAST
Fantastic 4 (Activision, Inc.)
Peter Jackson's King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie (Ubisoft)
50 Cent: Bulletproof (Vivendi Universal Games)
True Crime: New York City (Activision, Inc.)
James Bond 007: From Russia With Love (Electronic Arts)

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
"Maybe We Crazy" by 50 Cent in 50 Cent: Bulletproof (Vivendi Universal Games) "Lights and Sounds" by Yellowcard in Burnout Revenge (Electronic Arts)
"When I Get Angry" by Spider Loc in Madden NFL 06 (Electronic Arts)
"Getting Up Anthem: Part I" by Talib Kweli and Rakim in Mark Ecko's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure (Atari, Inc.)
"Error Operator" by Taking Back Sunday in Fantastic 4 (Activision, Inc.)

BEST SOUNDTRACK
Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories (Rockstar Games)
50 Cent: Bulletproof (Vivendi Universal Games)
Tony Hawk's American Wasteland (Activision, Inc.)
Guitar Hero (RedOctane)
SSX On Tour (Electronic Arts)

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Call of Duty 2 (Activision, Inc.)
We Love Katamari (Namco Hometek Inc.)
God of War (Sony Computer Entertainment America)
Indigo Prophecy (Atari, Inc.)
Perfect Dark Zero (Microsoft Game Studios)

DESIGNER OF THE YEAR
David Jaffe for God of War (Sony Computer Entertainment America)
Rob Pardo for World of Warcraft (Blizzard Entertainment)
Michel Ancel for Peter Jackson's King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie (Ubisoft)
Shigeru Miyamoto for Nintendogs (Nintendo Co. Ltd.)
Craig Hubbard for F.E.A.R. (Vivendi Universal Games)

PONTIAC BEST DRIVING GAME AWARD (Viewer's Choice)
Gran Turismo 4 (Sony Computer Entertainment America)
L.A. Rush (Midway)
Forza Motorsport(TM) (Microsoft Game Studios)
Burnout Revenge (Electronic Arts)
Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition (Rockstar Games)

MOST ADDICTIVE GAME FUELED BY MOUNTAIN DEW (Viewer's Choice)
We Love Katamari (Namco Hometek Inc)
World of Warcraft (Blizzard Entertainment)
Lumines (Ubisoft)
Nintendogs (Nintendo Co. Ltd)
Meteos (Nintendo Co. Ltd.)

BEST FIGHTING GAME
Fight Night Round 2 (Electronic Arts)
Soul Calibur III (Namco Hometek Inc.)
Tekken 5 (Namco Hometek Inc.)
Darkstalkers Chronicle: The Chaos Tower (Capcom)
Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks (Midway)

BEST FIRST-PERSON ACTION
Call of Duty 2 (Activision, Inc.)
Far Cry Instincts (Ubisoft)
F.E.A.R. (Vivendi Universal Games)
Battlefield 2 (Electronic Arts)
Perfect Dark Zero (Microsoft Games Studio)

BEST MILITARY GAME
Call of Duty 2 (Activision, Inc.)
Brothers in Arms: Earned in Blood (Ubisoft)
Battlefield 2 (Electronic Arts)
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Chaos Theory (Ubisoft)
SOCOM 3: U.S. Navy SEALs (Sony Computer Entertainment America)

BEST GRAPHICS
Peter Jackson's King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie (Ubisoft)
Call of Duty 2 (Activision, Inc.)
F.E.A.R. (Vivendi Universal Games)
Project Gotham Racing 3 (Microsoft Game Studios)
Resident Evil 4 (Capcom)

BEST HANDHELD GAME
Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories (Rockstar Games)
Lumines (Ubisoft)
Nintendogs (Nintendo Co. Ltd.)
Meteos (Nintendo Co. Ltd.)
Burnout Legends (Electronic Arts)

BEST MULTIPLAYER GAME
World of Warcraft (Blizzard Entertainment)
SOCOM 3: U.S. Navy SEALs (Sony Computer Entertainment America)
Battlefield 2 (Electronic Arts)
City of Villains (NCSoft)
Guild Wars (NCSoft)

BEST BREAKTHROUGH TECHNOLOGY
Sony PSP (Sony Computer Entertainment America)
Xbox 360 (Microsoft Game Studios)
Nintendogs Voice Recognition (Nintendo Co. Ltd.)
Unreal Engine 3 (Epic Games Inc.)
Facial Mo-cap of NBA Live 06 (Electronic Arts)

BEST PC GAME
Call of Duty 2 (Activision, Inc.)
F.E.A.R. (Vivendi Universal Games)
Sid Meier's Civilization IV (2K Games)
World of Warcraft (Blizzard Entertainment)
Battlefield 2 (Electronic Arts)

BEST RPG
Jade Empire (Microsoft Game Studios)
X-Men Legends II: Rise of the Apocalypse (Activision, Inc.)
Dungeon Siege II (Microsoft Game Studios)
Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords (LucasArts)
World of Warcraft (Blizzard Entertainment)

BEST WIRELESS GAME
Marc Ecko's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure (Atari, Inc. & Glu)
Need for Speed Underground 2 (EA Mobile)
Massive Snowboarding (Gameloft)
The Incredibles 3D (Disney Mobile)
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Chaos Theory (Gameloft)

BEST GAMING NEWS PUBLICATION
Game Informer
Official Xbox Magazine
EGM

BEST GAMING WEBSITE
http://www.1up.com
http://www.gamespot.com
http://www.ign.com

BEST GAMING BLOG
http://www.kotaku.com
http://www.joystiq.com
http://games.slashdot.org/