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
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