Best of Show
Wii
(Nintendo)
It's a good thing Nintendo got the name change of its next console out of the way before E3. With the shock of that announcement mostly over, the company proceeded to become the talk of the show (and possibly a fire hazard for the LA Convention Center) by inviting audiences to get their hands on an impressive lineup of fun and interesting software for the Wii...not to mention that wild controller. People practically
stampeded to try it out--either that or they waited in line for hours. Yet most of them seemingly still came away more excited than ever by Nintendo's weird, inspired vision for how gaming could be different.
Some important questions remain about how the Wii will finally turn out, but by giving E3 show-goers a taste of what playing games on the Wii will be like, Nintendo seemed to gather much more momentum for the system's launch later this year. So despite how many great-looking games were on display at this year's show, the Wii stood out as the single most exciting and remarkable new product at E3 2006.
- Greg Kasavin, Executive Editor, GameSpot
Best Original Game
Spore
(Maxis/Electronic Arts for PC)
With Spore, storied game designer Will Wright is taking “god” games to the Nth power, creating an original game that we expect will devour many hours peeling back its many layers. Wright didn’t stop with his ingenious game parameters that let you nurture your characters from amoebas into interstellar explorers. He takes the game online in a stealth mode that uploads other players' creations so that we can explore the strange new worlds and new civilizations that they create – without the hassle of actually dealing with them. As the guys on the TV ads for Guinness beer say, “Brilliant!”
- Mike Snider, USA Today
Best Hardware/Peripheral
Wii
(Nintendo)
Set aside your potty humor for a sec (Nintendo's Wii wins "Best Hardware"? Too easy...) — this console's legit! While its competitors are improving (bigger, better, prettier) on what's already out there, Nintendo is moving the game console experience in a different direction altogether. The Wii — with its funky motion-sensing and sound-emitting controller, always-online awareness, and retro-friendly virtual console — promises new, totally fresh gameplay experiences that will appeal to the young and old, hardcore and casual, and even the "cool kids" who won't mind looking like idiots while frantically waving a piece of plastic in the air. Can one machine really do and be all that? The three-hour lines to see Nintendo's Wii at E3 seem to indicate, "Hell yes."
-- Dan "Shoe" Hsu, Editor in Chief, Electronic Gaming Monthly
Best Console Game
Gears of War
(Epic Games / Microsoft Games Studio for Xbox 360)
The hype machine's been in motion for a full year on this title, but it took an E3 hands-on multiplayer demo to prove that Gears of War packs as much substance as style. The demo had players take up arms as either the Coalition of Ordered Government (COG) forces or the nasty, subterranean race known as the Locusts. A few of the many features that set GOW ahead of the action pack include a context sensitive cover system for ducking and crouching with the tap of the A button, and an atmospheric, jittery 3rd person camera. In short, a great-looking, unique and fun as hell game sure to be blowing up the Live servers come Q4. Oh, and that chainsaw bayonet? A thing of beauty.
-- Alex Porter, Senior Editor/Producer, MTV Digital
Best PC Game
Spore
(Maxis/Electronic Arts for PC)
When Spore won Best PC Game last year, it was at least partly a vote of faith. With not much gameplay to go on yet, the Game Critics judge were nevertheless blown away by Will Wright's audaciously ambitious game design, which finds you evolving from single-celled organism to interplanetary space traveler. At this year's E3, Spore was much more "real"-- and, guess what? It wins again. Once again, no PC game at the show came close to matching Spore's originality, scope, and breadth of design. As Will Wright personally demo'ed the game--creating a creature, spawning, forming a society, building a city, venturing into space and beyond--you could hear audible gasps from the packed theater, as it became more and more clear that what was once just a cool idea is fast becoming an even cooler reality. Spore was *the* event for PC gamers this E3, and thus an easy call for Best PC Game.
- Jeff Green, Editor in Chief, Computer Gaming World
Best Handheld Game
The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
(Nintendo for Nintendo DS)
The Legend of Zelda franchise is pure gaming gold, and who better than Nintendo knows how to buff up its 24-carat richness. Anybody doubt that Phantom Hourglass would shine for DS? Amid stiff and deserving competition from Nintendo's own DS product line this game cast out all the proper hooks with a rich storyline, impressive cel-shaded graphics goodness, and innovative touchscreen gameplay to haul in E3 honors. Phantom Hourglass will pick up where the GameCube’s Wind Waker left off, and nothing could be finer for Zelda fans. Despite the obvious difference in processing power the graphics were spot on, but creative touchscreen action is what will make Phantom Hourglass shine. Frankly, as far as E3 demos went, this version even matched up well against Twilight Princess for the Wii.
-- Wes Nihei, Editor, GamePro
Best Action Game
Gears of War
(Epic Games / Microsoft Games Studio for Xbox 360)
Who knows what it is about certain games. Is it how they look? Maybe. Is it how they play? That’s a lot of it. Is it the talent behind the project? Possibly. But there’s no doubt about it, some games just manage to magically capture the gamers’ imagination like no others. It’s what we like to call the “it” factor. Halo has “it.” Metal Gear Solid has “it,” and no one can deny Gears of War its rightful place as the “it” game of E3 2006. From the game’s mysterious dilapidated sci-fi aesthetic to its arrestingly intense spin on futuristic shooter gameplay, Gears gives us that twinge in our bellies – that twinge we got when we first stumbled on the Flood in Halo, discovered a secret cave in Zelda or carjacked our first sedan in Grand Theft Auto. It's a rare game that accomplishes this feat in such early form, and for this reason, Gears of War deserves every bit of the attention it's receiving.
-- Francesca Reyes, Editor in Chief, Official Xbox Magazine
Best Action/Adventure Game
Assassin's Creed
(Ubisoft Montreal / UbiSoft for PlayStation 3)
Few games at this year’s E3 screamed “next generation” more than Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed. From the first glimpse of its big gorgeous graphics (the screen shots are true in-game, not “target”) through its Prince of Persia-meets-Thief gameplay, Assassin’s Creed provides an excellent taste of what the PS3 can and will deliver. Ubisoft’s A-team – the Montreal Studio – is creating Assassin’s Creed like the blockbuster it wants to be: an epic Crusades setting with a super-acrobatic hero in an intriguing storyline that has some surprising twists yet to be revealed.
The character design, both main and NPC, is noteworthy. Ubi Montreal has always brought a deep sense of gravity to their main characters (when climbing, jumping and fighting, there’s a real-world “weight”) and our assassin is no different as he traverses buildings and leaps from rooftop to rooftop with believable effort. Ubi is upping the NPC role by making them reactive. When our hero runs through crowds, he has to do it quietly and carefully; too much bumping can upset the wrong people, people who’ll turn on him and slow him down – or worse.
- Tom Byron, Editor in Chief, Official PlayStation Magazine
Best Role Playing Game
Mass Effect
(Bioware / Microsoft Games Studio for Xbox 360)
With no less than three previous titles winning this very category (Baldur's Gate in 1998, Neverwinter Nights in 2000-2002, and Jade Empire in 2004), veteran RPG developer BioWare is at it again in 2006. This year they wowed RPG fans at E3 with Mass Effect, the first in an already-announced trilogy of sci-fi RPGs.
With a deep storyline, incredibly detailed environments, full character customization, and branching conversations that have a profound impact on gameplay, BioWare isn't straying too far from the formula that has made them RPG champions in the past. However, what they are doing differently is refining all of these elements to create what looks to be one of the most elegant and well-designed RPGs we've ever seen.
BioWare is throwing a few new bits into the mix, such as real-time squad-based combat with a tinge of RTS styling as well as creating a world where realistic facial animations and eye movements are important gameplay elements, even if the alien denizens are all digital. Expect a return of the ethical choices that we saw in Knights of the Old Republic and Jade Empire as well, only this time it's not just on a personal level -- it extends to your squad mates, who may leave your party depending on where your morality meter swings.
From what we saw at E3, Mass Effect promises to be more open-ended and in-depth than any BioWare RPG to date, and that's saying a lot.
-- Talmadge Blevins, Editorial Director, IGN.com
Best Racing Game
Excite Truck
(Monster Games / Nintendo for Wii)
Nintendo and Monster Games have traded in dirt bikes for off-road trucks in their first arcade flavored racer for the Wii. As Nintendo strives to get everyone into playing their games, both the hardcore and casual gaming set can easily adapt to Excite Truck's control scheme. Subtracting the nunchuck, everything is easily controlled using the Wii remote's tilt functionality.
While visually not the most stunning game speeding to Nintendo's new console, Excite Truck is all about addictive fast-paced racing, dynamically changing landscapes, turbo boosting, huge air, and colossal crashes - Yosemite Sam mud flaps not included.
-- Billy Berghammer, Managing Editor, Game Informer Online