Winners

Best of Show | Fallout 4
(for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One)

Fallout 4’s gameplay is similar to that of Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas, the previous two main entries in the series. Returning features include a camera that can switch between a first-person and third-person perspective, and the ability to roam anywhere on the map. Fallout 4 introduces new features including a layered armor system, base-building, a dynamic dialogue system featuring 111,000 lines of dialogue,[2] an in-depth crafting system which implements every lootable object in the game, and much more. Enemies such as mole rats, raiders, super-mutants, deathclaws, and feral ghouls return in Fallout 4, along with the companion Dogmeat

– Aaron John Loeb
Chairman, Game Critics Awards

Best Original Game | Horizon Zero Dawn
(for PlayStation 4)
Horizon Zero Dawn is an upcoming action role-playing video game in development by Guerrilla Games and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment for the PlayStation 4 in 2016. It will be the first intellectual property developed by Guerrilla Games since Killzone in 2004 and will be the studio’s first attempt in developing a role-playing game.

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

Best Game, PC | Black & White
(Lionhead Studios/Electronic Arts)
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.

– Rob Smith
Editor in Chief, PC Gamer
Associate Chairman, Game Critics Awards

Best Game, Console | Oculus Rift
(for PC)
The Oculus Rift is a virtual reality headset developed and manufactured by Oculus VR, released on 28 March 2016, making it the first to kickstart consumer-targeted virtual reality headsets. After being founded two months prior, Oculus, as an independent company, proposed a Kickstarter campaign in 2012 to fund the Rift’s development. The project proved successful, raising US$2.5 million from the campaign for the development of the product. In March 2014, Facebook purchased Oculus for $2 billion.

– Brandon Justice
Editor in Chief, IGNDC

Best Peripheral/Hardware, PC | nVidia GeForce 6
(nVidia)
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.

– Rob Smith
Editor in Chief, PC Gamer
Associate Chairman, Game Critics Awards

Best Peripheral/Hardware, Console | Xbox
(Microsoft)
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.

– Frank O’Connor
Editor in Chief, DailyRadar.com Consoles

Best Action Game | Halo
(Bungie Software for PC)
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.

– Aaron John Loeb
Chairman, Game Critics Awards

Best Fighting Game | Ultimate Fighting Championship
(Anchor/Crave for Dreamcast)
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.

– Brandon Justice
Editor in Chief, IGNDC
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.

– Aaron John Loeb
Chairman, Game Critics Awards

Best Racing Game | Need For Speed 2015: Final Race
(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.

– Robert Mayer
Editor, Computer Games Online

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.

– Rob Smith
Editor in Chief, PC Gamer
Associate Chairman, Game Critics Awards

Best Sports Game | FIFA 16
(for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, iOS and Android)
FIFA 16 includes female footballers, with 12 women’s national teams: Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, England, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Sweden, and the United States. Notably missing is 2015 World Cup runner-up Japan, whose federation has a partnership with rival video game company Konami (the maker of rival soccer game franchise Pro Evolution Soccer). At the time of initial release, three modes are available for the women’s teams – offline friendlies (Match Day), online friendlies and a tournament mode based on the FIFA Women’s World Cup

– Chris Slate
Editor in Chief, 100% Independent PlayStation Magazine

Best Strategy Game | Sid Meier’s Civilization: Beyond Earth
(for PC )
Beyond Earth is a turn-based strategy game played on a hexagonal-based grid, iterating the ideas and building upon the engine of its predecessor, Civilization V.[8] Co-lead designer David McDonough described the relationship between the two games by saying “The bones of the experience are very much recognisably Civ. The idea of the cities, city-base progression, leaders, the passage of time, tile-based, turn-based, building improvements, technologies. A lot of them are very familiar themes to the Civ player.”

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

Best Online Multiplayer | Dance Central 3
(for Xbox 360)
Dance Central 3 is a music video game developed and published by Harmonix and co-developed by Backbone Entertainment. It is the third installment of the Dance Central series and was announced at E3 2012 during Microsoft’s press conference.[1] The game was released on October 16, 2012 in North & Latin America, & on October 19, 2012 in Europe, Asia, Australia, & Japan.

– Tom Russo
Editor in Chief, Next Generation Magazine

Special Commendation for Graphics | Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End
(for PlayStation 4)
Uncharted 4 is set several years after the events of Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception with Nathan “Nate” Drake, now retired as a fortune hunter, settled into a normal life with his wife Elena Fisher. His world is then turned upside down when his older brother Sam, long believed to be dead, suddenly reappears seeking Drake’s help. Together they embark on a globe-trotting journey in pursuit of a conspiracy behind Libertalia, a long lost pirate colony, and its fabled pooled pirate treasure. Naughty Dog outlined the game’s plot as “his greatest adventure yet and will test his physical limits, his resolve, and ultimately, what he’s willing to sacrifice to save the ones he loves”

– Geoff Keighley
Editor in Chief, GameSlice

Best Puzzle/Trivia/Parlor Game | Super Mario Maker
(for Wii U)
Super Mario Maker is a game creation and publishing tool and video game, which allows players to create their own levels from the Super Mario series using the Wii U GamePad, and then publish those levels to the Internet. Players can base their levels on the gameplay, and visual style of Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World and New Super Mario Bros. U, with their corresponding styles of physics, gameplay mechanics and enemy behavior.

– Frank O’Connor
Editor in Chief, DailyRadar.com Consoles