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WinnersThe 2000 Game Critics Awards Committee is proud to announce the recipients of our Best of E3 Show Awards: Best
of Show: When the Game Critics
Awards began four years ago, Peter Molyneux had just departed from Bullfrog
to found Lionhead Studios and begin work on a game called Black & White.
Four years later, Black & White concludes its E3 presentations as
the Best of the Show. With its
amazing graphics and diverging storyline based on how good or evil the
player manages to be, Black & White is destined to be one of the
classics. Runner Up: Jet Grind Radio (Sega for Dreamcast) Best
Original Game: Everything is hunky-dory in the
land of Eden. That is until you
arrive, threatening to change the world into your own version of utopia.
Black and White, from famed designer Peter Molyneux and Lionhead
Studios, is unlike any game before thanks to its open-ended sandbox-like
game design. Amid a sea of
sameness on the E3 show floor, we felt Black and White's unique and
thought-provoking design easily broke through the clutter. Runner
Up: Sigma (Relic Entertainment/Microsoft for PC) Best
Game, PC: Who says that being at three E3s
is a bad thing? This year Black & White jelled into a game that blends
established game concepts with incredible new AI resulting in one
breathtaking experience. In a category brimming with high quality titles
that offer the potential for commercial success to go with their surefire
critical acclaim, Peter Molyneux's latest opus stood head and shoulders
above the rest. Runner
Up: Halo (Bungie
Software) Best
Game, Console:
Thanks largely to the lingering
presence of fading consoles and the arrival of a new player, the field for
Best Console Game was considerably more crowded in years past. However,
Sega's Jet Grind Radio still managed to stand out from the crowd with its
distinct visual style, engaging design, spot-on gameplay and an incredible
soundtrack. Not too shabby. Runner
Up: Conker's Bad Fur Day (Rare
Ltd./Nintendo for Nintendo 64) Best
Peripheral/Hardware, PC:
PC hardware continues to improve
at a blinding pace, with the fight for the number one spot in the graphics
department being hard fought between two huge clans. With the GeForce 2,
nVidia has scored a decisive hit with a card that packs incredible
performance on top of its established image quality. At E3, GeForce 2 was
the best addition to any PC right now. Runner
Up: Voodoo 5 5500 (3dfx) Best
Peripheral/Hardware, Console:
The nominees in this category were
disparate -- Xbox, Dreamcast, PS2, Dreamcast Maracas, and the Dreamcast
Mouse. But when all is said and done, nothing excites us more than a new
console, and Microsoft's Xbox was simply too cool to ignore. The DVD,
networking from the outset and phenomenal graphics processing not only
promise great things, but also utilize proven, stunning technology.
Even more, it offers previously unheard of ease of use for
developers. Runner
Up: Dreamcast Maracas (Sega) Best
Action Game:
Shown to only a select few at E3
'99, Halo has been building buzz all year long.
So it was no wonder that people waited in line for up to an hour to
see game designer and uber-brain Jason Jones show off the Halo engine and a
movie that left every jaw in the room on the floor.
Everyone with a pulse who saw Halo at E3 2000 is feverishly
anticipating its release. We
were no exception. Runner
Up: Return to Castle Wolfenstein
(Gray Matter Interactive/Activision for PC) Best
Action/Adventure Game:
In a surprisingly strong category
this year, LucasArts' fourth Monkey Island game stood head and simian
shoulders above the rest. We couldn't resist the combination of the series'
superb sense of humor, the new 3D graphics, and the overall quality of this
title. It's good to see LucasArts back in the saddle with a top-notch
adventure title. Runner
Up: Onimusha Warlords
(Capcom for PlayStation 2) Best
Fighting Game:
While many of us were expecting to
be blown away by one of the genre's traditional combatants, the likes of
Tekken Tag Tournament and Dead or Alive 2 never saw the knockout blow
coming. Anchor's Ultimate
Fighting Championship surprised us all, as it is clearly on pace to be one
of the most detailed, realistic fighters ever. We can't wait to step into
the ring. Runner Up: Tekken Tag Tournament (Namco for PlayStation 2) Best RPG: Neverwinter Nights(Bioware/Interplay for PC)With the renaissance of RPGs, Best
RPG of E3 has been an annual slugathon between some of the year's best
titles. This year Neverwinter
Nights takes the laurels, if nothing else for sheer chutzpah.
Placing the world building in the hands of the player, this beautiful
AD&D based game is destined to be the more-addictive-than-crack game of
2001. Runner Up: Dungeon Siege (Gas Powered Games/Microsoft for PC) Best Racing Game: Need for Speed: Motor City(Electronic Arts for PC)What could be cooler than
boulevard cruising and drive-in styling in a classic hunk of Detroit iron?
Not much; out of the pack of slick racing games we thought EA's multiplayer
hotrod crossed the finish line first. Great atmosphere, trick looks, and the
potential for deeper online gameplay than most racers give this one the
checkered flag. Runner Up: Gran Turismo 2000 (Polyphony Digital/Sony for PlayStation 2) Best Simulation Game: Mechwarrior 4(Microsoft for PC)Though the quantity of simulation
offerings was limited, the quality was sky high. In a close contest,
MechWarrior 4 received the nod for its incredible style and graphical flair,
backed by shrewd design and control decisions that should ensure even
greater success than its auspicious predecessors.
The MechWarrior series is in safe hands, and looks as though it's
just going to keep getting better. Runner Up: Freelancer (Digital Anvil/Microsoft for PC) Best Sports Game: Madden NFL 2001(Electronic Arts for PlayStation 2)Madden's debut on the PS2 was
easily the best sports title shown at E3 and was one of the top games of the
show, period. The title features amazing real-life graphics that aren't
hindered by the problems seen in the early Japanese PS2 titles. Expect
Madden alone to sell plenty of PS2s at launch. Runner Up: Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 (Neversoft/Activision for PlayStation) Best Strategy Game: Black & White(Lionhead Studios/Electronic Arts for PC)Here's a strategy game where there
is no set path to victory. In
Black and White, the story and gameplay change according to your choices.
You'll use a majestic hand cursor to throw elfin citizens around a
world, cast mystical spells, and in a tip of the hat to Tamagotchi, develop
a creature to carry out your ever desire.
With so many layers of gameplay wrapped in a compelling narrative,
Black and White does much to counter the myth that all strategy games have
to play the same way. Runner Up: Warcraft III (Blizzard Entertainment for PC) Best Puzzle/Trivia/Parlor Game: Samba de Amigo(Sega for Dreamcast)Perhaps the most fun of all the
categories, the Best Puzzle/Trivia/Parlor category also encompasses the
strangest range of game styles. And perhaps strangest of all was Samba de
Amigo, a brilliant combination of software and hardware -- in the shape of
Sega's proprietary Maracas! The game is also unique in that it's most fun
viewed from the other side of the screen; watching two adults in Maraca
combat is priceless. Runner Up: Space Channel 5 (Sega for Dreamcast) Best Online Multiplayer: Neverwinter Nights(Bioware/Interplay for PC)Neverwinter Nights deservingly
captures the award for best online game, largely because it fosters online
the same type of intimate gaming experience several friends would share in a
pen and paper session. Bioware's comprehensive and user-friendly game editor
will make it easy for players to create new modules to be shared online. Not
to mention stunning 3D graphics, a refined interface and the AD&D third
edition rules. This is a complete, cutting-edge package for online RPG fans. Runner Up: Anarchy Online (Funcom for PC) Special Commendation for Graphics: Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty(Konami for PlayStation 2)If the sight of hundreds of gamers
watching the Metal Gear Solid 2 trailer at E3 didn’t convince us this was
a great looking game, we only needed to watch the video ourselves to become
believers. In one scene, hero
Snake’s flashlight vignettes the screen while melons are pummeled with
bullets, bursting into millions of particles.
Metal Gear Solid 2's trailer had so much
visual panache it felt like an action movie come to life.
We just hope it plays as good as it looks. Special Commendation for Sound: None AwardedNote: Award winners please contact the chairmen for information on how to obtain high-resolution artwork of the award logo and usage guidelines.
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