The nominations for the Game Critics Awards Best of E3 were announced last night. "Fallout 3," "Gears of War 2," "Little Big Planet," and "Mirror's Edge" made the shortlist for Best of Show.
I was one of 36 members of the gaming media who judged and voted this year for the best games of E3. All games had to be presented at E3 and been playable for judges. Last week, I submitted a ballot of my picks for nominees. Everyone's votes were weighted in order to produce the final nominees list.
I have until late Thursday to cast my vote for the winner for each of these categories. I've got most of my picks selected but am still unsure of a few.
(The full list follows, as do my notes on which of my picks for nominations are missing from the list, including the yanked Best Simulation category.)
A few notes on the list:
- I like most of what's on here. Looking over the nominations I submitted, some of the games that I picked that didn't make the cut were EA's graphically impressive DS rhythm-RPG "Zubo" [Edit: I mis-typed that as "Zubos" - sorry!] for Best Handheld and THQ's DS tower-defense/isometric-action game "Lock's Quest" for Best Handheld and Best Strategy. I gave "PixelJunk Eden" one of my nods for Best Original. But I can't complain with what made the cut. Lots of good games.
- The Best Simulation category was cut. I nominated four games for that category, in the following order: 1) "Spore," 2) "HAWX," 3) "Sim City Creator," 4) "Wii Music." Awards co-organizer Geoff Keighley tells me it was dropped because there weren't enough nominees.
- Fellow judge Brian Crecente, of Kotaku, doesn't think "Street Fighter IV" should have been eligible. He makes his case here. I refute it here.
- I abstained from voting in the Best Social/Casual category, since I felt it would be awkward to have to choose between MTV-made "Rock Band" and "Guitar Hero." I skipped the Best Sports category because I didn't play enough games of that type to make a fair assessment.
GAME CRITICS AWARDS NOMINEES FOR BEST OF E3 2008
Best of Show
- Fallout 3 (Bethesda Softworks for PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
- Gears of War 2 (Epic Games/Microsoft Game Studios for Xbox 360)
- LittleBigPlanet (Media Molecule/Sony Computer Entertainment for PlayStation 3)
- Mirror's Edge (DICE/Electronic Arts for PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
- Spore (Maxis/EA for PC)
Best Original Game
- Flower (ThatGameCompany/Sony Computer Entertainment for PlayStation 3)
- Left 4 Dead (Valve/EAP for PC, Xbox 360)
- Little Big Planet (Media Molecule/Sony Computer Entertainment for PlayStation 3)
- Mirror's Edge (DICE/Electronic Arts for PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
- Spore (Maxis/EA for PC)
Best Console Game
- Fallout 3 (Bethesda Softworks for PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
- Gears of War 2 (Epic Games/Microsoft Game Studios for Xbox 360)
- LittleBigPlanet (Media Molecule/Sony Computer Entertainment for PlayStation 3)
- Resistance 2 (Insomniac Games/Sony Computer Entertainment for PlayStation 3)
- Resident Evil 5 (Capcom for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
Best Handheld Game
- Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia (Konami for Nintendo DS)
- Chrono Trigger DS (Square-Enix for Nintendo DS)
- Puzzle Quest: Galactrix (D3Publisher, Nintendo DS, PC, Xbox 360)
- Resistance: Retribution (Bend Studio/Sony Computer Entertainment for PSP)
- Rhythm Heaven (Nintendo for Nintendo DS)
Best PC Game
- Dragon Age: Origins (BioWare/EA for PC)
- Left 4 Dead (Valve/EAP for PC)
- Spore (Maxis/EA for PC)
- Warhammer 40000: Dawn of War II (Relic/THQ for PC)
- Warhammer Online (EA Mythic/EA for PC)
Best Hardware
- Lips Microphone (Microsoft for Xbox 360)
- Rock Band 2 Ion "Drum Rocker" Set (ION Audio/MTV Games for Xbox 360)
- Wii MotionPlus (Nintendo for Wii)
Best Action Game
- Far Cry 2 (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft for PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
- Gears of War 2 (Epic Games/Microsoft Game Studios for Xbox 360)
- Left 4 Dead (Valve/EA for PC, Xbox 360)
- Mirror's Edge (DICE/Electronic Arts for PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
- Resistance 2 (Insomniac Games/Sony Computer Entertainment for PlayStation 3)
Best Action/Adventure Game
- Dead Space (EA Redwood Shores/EA for PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
- Prince of Persia (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
- Resident Evil 5 (Capcom for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
- Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (LucasArts for PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii, Xbox 360)
- Tomb Raider: Underworld (Crystal Dynamics/Eidos for PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
Best Role Playing Game
- Chrono Trigger DS (Square-Enix for Nintendo DS)
- Dragon Age: Origins (BioWare/EA for PC)
- Fable 2 (Lionhead/Microsoft Game Studios for Xbox 360)
- Fallout 3 (Bethesda Softworks for PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
- Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood (BioWare/Sega for Nintendo DS)
Best Fighting Game
- Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe (Midway Chicago/Midway for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3)
- Soul Calibur IV (Namco-Bandai Games for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
- Street Fighter IV (Capcom for Arcade)
- Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix (Capcom for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
Best Racing Game
- Baja: Edge of Control (2XL Games/THQ for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
- Midnight Club: Los Angeles (Rockstar San Diego/Rockstar Games for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
- MotorStorm: Pacific Rift (Evolution Studios/Sony Computer Entertainment for PlayStation 3)
- Pure (Black Rock/Disney Interactive Studios for PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
Best Sports Game
- Madden NFL 09 (Tiburon/EA for All Systems)
- NBA Live 09 (EA Canada/EA for All Plaforms)
- Shaun White Snowboarding (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft for All Systems)
- Skate It (EA Black Box/EA Montreal for Nintendo Wii/DS)
- Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 09 (Tiburon/EA Sports for PC, PS3, Wii, Xbox 360)
Best Strategy Game
- Command and Conquer: Red Alert 3 (EALA/EA for PC, Xbox 360)
- Empire: Total War (Creative Assembly/Sega for PC)
- Halo Wars (Ensemble Studios/Microsoft Game Studios for Xbox 360)
- Tom Clancy's EndWar (Ubisoft Shanghai/Ubisoft for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
- Warhammer 40000: Dawn of War II (Relic/THQ for PC)
Best Social/Casual/Puzzle Game
- Guitar Hero World Tour (Neversoft/Red Octane/ATVI for All Systems)
- Lego Batman: The Videogame (Traveler's Tales/Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
- LittleBigPlanet (Media Molecule/Sony Computer Entertainment for PlayStation 3)
- Rock Band 2 (Harmonix/MTV Games/EAP for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
- Wii Sports Resort (Nintendo for Wii)
Best Online Multiplayer Game
- Gears of War 2 (Epic Games/Microsoft Game Studios for Xbox 360)
- Left 4 Dead (Valve/EAP for PC, Xbox 360)
- LittleBigPlanet (Media Molecule/Sony Computer Entertainment for PlayStation 3)
- Resistance 2 (Insomniac Games/Sony Computer Entertainment for PlayStation 3)
- Rock Band 2 (Harmonix/MTV Games/EAP for All Systems)