2001 Winners 

The winners of the 2001 E3 Game Critics Awards were as follows:

Best of Show
Nintendo GAMECUBE 
(Nintendo)

If you were at E3, you probably experienced the crush that was Nintendo's booth. If not, suffice it to say that breathing and moving were purely impossible as ten thousand people tried to fight their way through the crowd to catch thirty-second glimpses of the GAMECUBE, Nintendo's little purple wonder. Countless hoards were seen sprinting through the expo every morning when the floor opened to get one more look at Nintendo's latest -- and, perhaps, greatest.  

-- Aaron Loeb, Chairman, Game Critics Awards

Runner-up:
Star Wars
Galaxies
 
(Sony Online Entertainment/LucasArts for PC)

Best Original Game
Majestic 
(Anim-X/Electronic Arts for PC)
In an industry dominated by sequels and franchises, creating the truly unique gaming experience is an increasingly rare occurrence. This category, therefore, is an important one for the industry at large, and EA’s Majestic perfectly highlights the potential that current technology represents for building compelling games. By blending common desktop programs such as Instant Messengers, the Web, chat rooms and streaming audio and video, and blurring the lines between game-created conspiracy content with that already inhabiting the web, Majestic builds a spooky, intense and original game on the familiar precepts of adventure and puzzle games. It’s a bold and compelling step into a whole new area of game design, and richly deserves to be recognized as a mark of original creativity.

-- Rob Smith, Associate Chairman, Game Critics Awards;
Editor in Chief, PC Gamer Magazine

Runner-up:
Pikmin
 
(Nintendo for GAMECUBE)

Best PC Game
Star Wars Galaxies 
(Sony Online Entertainment/LucasArts)
Far from the cacophony of the show floor, a small and non-descript 15x20 foot room hosted what was one of the most talked-about demos at the show: Star Wars Galaxies.  Going into the room, most journalists were only mildly enthused by the idea of LucasArts building a persistent-state Star Wars universe.  But coming out of the demo, journalists couldn't stop talking about Star Wars Galaxies…for days on end.   LucasArts, in partnership with Sony Online, the creators of EverQuest, revealed a game that is epic in scope, rich in potential, and simply breathtaking to look at.  Set across a span of time that encompasses all the Star Wars movies, the game will have 8 playable species and just about anything else you can think of.  For instance, the brief demo included a photo-realistic C-3PO walking along the Tatooine desert, not to mention a complete space combat component that puts X-Wing to shame.  While Galaxies is admittedly early in development, it only took 15 minutes in that small room to convince our judges that the force is back with LucasArts.    

-- Geoff Keighley, Associate Chairman, Game Critics Awards;
Editor in Chief, GameSlice

Runner-up:
Medal of Honor Allied Assault
 
(2015 Inc./Electronic Arts for PC)

Best Console Game
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty 
(Konami for Sony PlayStation 2)

Hideo Kojima and his team at Konami have really outdone themselves this time. Where else can you find a game where the simple act of opening a locker can contain layers and layers of gameplay? Where else can you find graphics that seem to leapfrog the state of the art? Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty is destined to continue the Metal Gear tradition of taking the gameplay above and beyond the technical limitations of the host console, while innovating, captivating and entrancing at every turn. An already legendary blend of stealth, strategy and all out action; a clear winner.

-- Frank O'Connor, Executive Editor, Official Xbox Magazine

Runner-up: 
Star Wars
Rogue Leader: Rogue Squadron 2
 
(Factor 5/LucasArts for GAMECUBE)

Best PC Hardware
Nvidia's GeForce 3 
(Nvidia)

Want your PC games to look as good as can possibly be? Want them to sport all the possible graphical wizardry? Get a GeForce3. Quite simply, no PC hardware dominated E3 as much as Nvidia’s latest graphics powerhouse. The GeForce3’s abilities are already being put to great use, and with PC owners able to enjoy a common format that all games seem to take advantage of, that’s a truly positive step forward for PC gaming.

-- Rob Smith, Associate Chairman, Game Critics Awards;
Editor in Chief, PC Gamer Magazine

Best Console Hardware
Nintendo GAMECUBE 
(Nintendo)

The Little Console That Could. Nintendo's zero-hype strategy towards the
GAMECUBE launch at E3 paid off handsomely. Most who saw the purple Kleenex box-sized successor to the N64 were unexpectedly impressed. Much of the GAMECUBE can be defined by what it is NOT. The console is not a DVD player. Nor will it be able to download MP3s out of the box. This is a streamlined game machine, pure and simple. Though nominally underpowered compared to its rivals, the GAMECUBE is surprisingly nimble, thanks to a lightning-fast MoSys memory architecture. So games such as WaveRace and Luigi's Mansion stack up gamely to anything seen so far on the Xbox or PlayStation 2. And at $199.95, the GAMECUBE is coming in at two-thirds the price of its beefier competitors.  As a added bonus, the GAMECUBE is compatible with the GameBoy Advance, which can be used as an extra controller.

-- Alex Pham, Technology Reporter, Los Angeles Times

Runner-up: 
Microsoft Xbox 

(Microsoft Corp.)

Best Action Game
Star Wars Rogue Leader: Rogue Squadron 2 
(Factor 5/LucasArts for GAMECUBE)

Sure it's the same old Star Wars from 20 years ago. You get a chance to blow up the Death Star or fight the battle on Hoth. What's new about that? Well, this time around, you finally get to do it in style, with the kind of graphics that rival those seen in the original trilogy.  Fast framerates, a ton of space combat, and to top it all off, it's from the same team that did the original Rogue Squadron -- LucasArts knows how to stay on target.

-- Dean Takahashi, Senior Writer, Red Herring

Runner-up: 
Medal of Honor Allied Assault 

(2015 Inc./Electronic Arts for PC)

Best Action/Adventure Game
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty 
(Konami for Sony PlayStation 2)

Building brilliantly on a heritage begun on the Nintendo NES and MSX, the Metal Gear Solid franchise has reached its zenith on the PlayStation2. Although it’s immediately apparent that this is a staggering technological feat, the true genius of the game is in its innovative gameplay and truly compelling narrative. Each nugget of new gameplay and video eked out of Konami is a feast for fans of the series and an awe-inspiring spectacle for those new to the game.

-- Frank O'Connor, Executive Editor, Official Xbox Magazine

Runner-up: 
Devil May Cry 

(Capcom for Sony PlayStation 2)

Best Fighting Game
Super Smash Bros. Melee 
(Nintendo for GAMECUBE)

Only Nintendo has been able to wrest fighting games from the dark niches of convoluted arcane gaming and deliver a fighting game that everyone can enjoy. Super Smash Bros. Melee, with its glossy three-dimensional characters and flashy interactive battle environments, splashes Nintendo’s signature characters on screen and twists them into a dazzling specular melee that pays tribute to Nintendo’s ability to provide gaming fun for players of all ages and abilities. Super Smash Bros. Melee is going to be a kaleidoscope of flashy, four-player fun come November.

-- Jules Grant, Executive Editor, Electric Playground

Runner-up: 
Capcom vs. SNK 2: Mark of the Millennium 

(Capcom for Sony PlayStation 2)

Best Role Playing Game
Neverwinter Nights 
(BioWare/Interplay for PC)

For the second year running, Bioware's Neverwinter Nights takes top honors in the role-playing game category for its brilliant mix of ballsy ambition and fantastic playability. If the game were just a gorgeous single-player RPG with 60-hours of gameplay, it would be enough. But Bioware has slathered on a next-generation world building system that has all of us panting with anticipation.

-- Aaron John Loeb, Chairman, Game Critics Awards

Runner-up: 
Final Fantasy X 

(Squaresoft for Sony PlayStation 2)

Best Racing Game
Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec 
(Polyphony Digital Inc./SCEA for Sony PlayStation 2)

When Sony unveiled the PlayStation 2 at E3 in 1999, the company chose to exhibit only one title: the next generation of Gran Turismo racing.  Two years later, Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec is revving up for release.   If there was a test for realism in videogames similar to the Turing Test for robots, this game would be first to pass the bar.  Sure, this is your standard racing game, but it is dressed to the nines with snazzy visuals.  Matter of fact, the cars look so polished you half-expect a bottle of turtle wax to come in the box.  Best of all, this game has substance to back up the flashy visuals.  For instance, the computer-controlled drivers remember when you cut them off and will do anything they can to return the favor.  Simply put, this is a long way from Test Drive 1.

-- Geoff Keighley, Associate Chairman, Game Critics Awards;
Editor in Chief, GameSlice

Runner-up: 
Project Gotham Racing 

(Bizarre Creations/Microsoft for Microsoft Xbox)

Best Simulation Game
The Sims Online 
(Maxis/Electronic Arts for PC)

One of the few titles to capture the attention of gamers and grandmas alike, The Sims showed the world that you don't have to be "hardcore" to enjoy playing games.   Now The Sims Online is poised to bring online interaction to the masses.  It seems the more people want to escape into a fantasy land, the more they want to get back to the real world -- so it makes sense that Maxis is doing their part by offering up what promises to be one of the most realistic depictions of "life" we've ever seen. 

-- Tal Blevins, Editor in Chief, IGN PC

Runner-up: 
Sid Meier's SimGolf 

(Firaxis/Maxis/Electronic Arts for PC)

Best Sports Game
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 
(Neversoft Entertainment/Shaba/Activision for Sony PlayStation 2)

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater arguably kept the PlayStation (and in fact the sport of skateboarding) alive and kicking longer than it might otherwise have been. The game’s evolution to PlayStation 2 has vastly enhanced both the form and function of the Tony Hawk universe, while maintaining a firm grip on the indefinable, almost ethereal qualities that made the gameplay of the original so compelling. A series of brilliantly populated and action-packed levels lift the game from its ghostly, quiet origins, thrusting the series into a realistic and vibrant world, with a perfect sense of place.

-- Frank O'Connor, Executive Editor, Official Xbox Magazine

Runner-up: 
NBA Street 

(NuFX/EA Canada /Electronic Arts for PlayStation 2)

Best Strategy Game
Age of Mythology 
(Ensemble Studios/Microsoft for PC)

Ensemble Studios has proved with the Age series that you don’t need buzzwords like 3D to sell RTS games when those games are backed by and beautifully detailed and balanced representations of the historical units. By pulling its next RTS, Age of Mythology, into the 3D age, the developer has lost none of the graphical fidelity, and in fact managed to use the engine effectively to weave a more involved and character-driven storyline. Using the popular mythologies of the Greeks, Norsemen and Egyptians, there’s plenty of scope for legendary creatures to be at the forefront of fast, tactics-driven online skirmishes.

-- Rob Smith, Associate Chairman, Game Critics Awards;
Editor in Chief, PC Gamer Magazine

Runner-up: 
Republic: The Revolution 

(Elixir Studios/Eidos for PC)

Best Puzzle/Trivia/Parlor Game
Pikmin 
(Nintendo for GAMECUBE)

The folks at Nintendo call this "ants and plants." While this sounds about as exciting as a grass-growing sim, even hard-core gamers couldn't wait to get their hands on this oddball game after creator Shigeru Miyamoto demonstrated it at the Nintendo press conference. Was it just the Miyamoto Magic, or does this game really have legs? While opinions differ about "Pikmin," all agreed that this was one of the most curious and inventive offerings at E3.

-- Alex Pham, Technology Reporter, Los Angeles Times

Runner-up: 
Chu Chu Rocket

(Sonic Team/Sega for GameBoy Advance)

Best Online Multiplayer
Star Wars Galaxies 
(Sony Online Entertainment/LucasArts for PC)

The biggest single game -- the talk of everyone at this year’s E3 -- was the first showing of Verant’s online RPG set in the Star Wars universe. The demo of incredible-looking technology, expansive gameplay, and lessons learned from several years of digging the trenches of the massively multiplayer genre, proved that Verant is at the very top of this kind of gameplay. Let’s face it: who doesn’t want to try to become a Jedi, play a Wookie, visit Tatooine, or go on an Ewok hunt (this last bit wasn’t confirmed as an option, but should be)? The experience of the developer, evident talent in building stunning engines, and subject matter supplied by LucasArts make this the game worth buying a GeForce3-powered PC for…really.

-- -- Rob Smith, Associate Chairman, Game Critics Awards;
Editor in Chief, PC Gamer Magazine

Runner-up: 
Neverwinter Nights

(BioWare/Interplay for PC)

Special Commendation for Sound
Medal of Honor Allied Assault 
(2015 Inc./Electronic Arts for PC)

In the assault to the senses that is E3, it's quite rare to catch even a hint of sound from most games.  However, sound design is so important to the full effect of Allied Assault that Electronic Arts made sure you could hear it, choosing to build a special presentation theater for the game. From the distinctive metal PING you hear when a member of the allied forces uses up his stripper clip, to the cinematic quality environmental audio -- rain on tin roofs, boots on creaky wooden stairs) -- sound is an integral part of the game's design. A good ear is one of the keys to survival every player must hone.

-- Aaron John Loeb, Chairman, Game Critics Awards

Special Commendation for Graphics
None Awarded