Game Critics Best of E3 2000 Awards

The 2000 Game Critics Award committee (www.e3awards.com) is pleased to announce the winners of the fourth annual Game Critics Awards for Best of E3. Bestowed by a panel of the Editors in Chief of nearly every major consumer game publication in North America, the Game Critics Awards are the gold-standard, unofficial press award of the Electronic Entertainment Expo.

"It was the closest year ever," commented Games Critic Award committee Chairman, Aaron John Loeb. "There were a handful of titles that had an amazing showing at this year's E3, and the competition between them was fierce. But at the end of the day, Peter Molyneux's Black & White swept the awards. It was the game of the show."

The awards are given to recognize excellence and forward thinking on the part of game designers and publishers. Games are only eligible for awards if they were playable in some form either on or off the show floor (demonstrations of working game engines by developers are eligible). Games shown only in video or loop presentations are only eligible for "Special Commendations."

This year's winners, as voted on by the over 30 members of the press on the award committee, follow:

Best Original Game:
Winner: Black & White (Lionhead Studios/Electronic Arts for PC)
Runner Up: Sigma (Relic Entertainment/Microsoft for PC)

Best Game, PC:
Winner: Black & White (Lionhead Studios/Electronic Arts)
Runner Up: Halo (Bungie Software)

Best Game, Console:
Winner: Jet Grind Radio (Sega for Dreamcast)
Runner Up: Conker's Bad Fur Day (Rare Ltd./Nintendo for Nintendo 64)

Best Peripheral/Hardware, PC:
Winner: nVidia GeForce 2 (nVidia)
Runner Up: Voodoo 5 5500 (3dfx)

Best Peripheral/Hardware, Console:
Winner: Xbox (Microsoft)
Runner Up: Dreamcast Maracas (Sega)

Best Action Game:
Winner: Halo (Bungie Software for PC)
Runner Up: Return to Castle Wolfenstein (Gray Matter Interactive/Activision for PC)

Best Action/Adventure Game:
Winner: Escape from Monkey Island (LucasArts Entertainment for PC)
Runner Up: Onimusha Warlords (Capcom for PlayStation 2)

Best Fighting Game:
Winner: Ultimate Fighting Championship (Anchor/Crave for Dreamcast)
Runner Up: Tekken Tag Tournament (Namco for PlayStation 2)

Best RPG:
Winner: Neverwinter Nights (Bioware/Interplay for PC)
Runner Up: Dungeon Siege (Gas Powered Games/Microsoft for PC)

Best Racing Game:
Winner: Need for Speed: Motor City (Electronic Arts for PC)
Runner Up: Gran Turismo 2000 (Polyphony Digital/Sony for PlayStation 2)

Best Simulation Game:
Winner: Mechwarrior 4 (Microsoft for PC)
Runner Up: Freelancer (Digital Anvil/Microsoft for PC)

Best Sports Game:
Winner: Madden NFL 2001 (Electronic Arts for PlayStation 2)
Runner Up: Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 (Neversoft/Activision for PlayStation)

Best Strategy Game:
Winner: Black & White (Lionhead Studios/Electronic Arts for PC)
Runner Up: Warcraft III (Blizzard Entertainment for PC)

Best Puzzle/Trivia/Parlor:
Winner: Samba de Amigo (Sega for Dreamcast)
Runner Up: Space Channel 5 (Sega for Dreamcast)

Best Online Multiplayer:
Winner: Neverwinter Nights (Bioware/Interplay for PC)
Runner Up: Anarchy Online (Funcom for PC)

Special Commendation for Graphics:
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (Konami for PlayStation 2)

Special Commendation for Sound:
None Awarded

A complete list of nominees, judges and past winners is available at www.e3awards.com.

The Game Critics Awards are in no way associated with the Electronic Entertainment Expo or the IDSA.

All trademarks are to property of their respective owners.