LOS ANGELES: Zachary Levi has performed at the Oscars, and now he’s hoping to pump dignity into the Spike Video Game Awards.
“As a gamer, I definitely want to bring as much legitimacy and respect to the game community as I possibly can,” said the “Chuck” star, who performed a song from Disney’s “Tangled” with Mandy Moore earlier this year at the Academy Awards, and is serving as the host of Saturday’s ninth annual Spike Video Game Awards.
The show, which will be broadcast live from Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City, will honor outstanding achievements within the gaming industry over the past year, as well as debut never-before-seen footage from such upcoming games as “Metal Gear Solid: Rising,” ‘‘Tom Clancy’s Rainbow 6 Patriots” and “BioShock Infinite.”
“I’m jazzed about hosting the awards,” said Levi earlier this week during a break from filming on the “Chuck” set. “I’m very excited and very nervous all at the same time. I’ve always had so much respect for guys and girls who host awards shows.”
“Portal 2,” the mind-bending puzzler from Valve, leads this year’s batch of nominees with 12 nods, ahead of a pair of fellow game of the year nominees: Rocksteady’s superhero sequel “Batman: Arkham City,” which is up for 10 awards, and Naughty Dog’s globe-trotting adventure “Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception,” which has nine nominations.
Other titles up for game of the year include Bethesda Softworks’ role-playing epic “The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim” and the latest entry in Nintendo’s “Zelda” franchise, “The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword.” The fantastical 25-year-old series will be honored as the show’s first-ever hall of fame recipient.
“So many people appear to appreciate ‘The Legend of Zelda,’” said Japanese “Zelda” creator Shigeru Miyamoto through a translator Friday. “I’m very, very thankful for all the ‘Zelda’ fans, especially the ‘Zelda’ fans in the United States.”
The winners of most of the show’s categories are chosen by an advisory council, while the best trailer and most anticipated game winners will be selected by viewer votes.