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It's the time of year again...when E3 is over and all the games that were announced at the show compete in the "Best of E3 2012" awards. True to their word, the nominations were posted on the 19th of June, although I suppose that depends on where you live (It's nearly 1:00 AM on the East Coast). The winner's will be picked by various judges from the world of video games with the winners announced on June 26, 2012. Last year there were 35 judges (including Game Informer) but this year's list hasn't been revealed just yet. I'm sure it will be very similar.
Anyway, just like in previous years...I list the categories and games...and then add my pick who I think will win and perhaps a comment about who I hope wins. Too easy.
Best of Show
- Assassin's Creed III
- Dishonored
- Halo 4
- The Last of Us
- Tomb Raider
Hard to say, and I think I know who Game Informer will vote for heh heh...but I have to pick (and hope) that The Last of Us gets it. I dunno though...Halo 4 is a legendary series and had a decent showing. Ah, heck...I think Assassin's Creed III will get it. Not my pick though.
Best Original Game
- Beyond: Two Souls
- Quantum Connundrum
- Unfinished Swan
Okay, now this one has to be The Last of Us...it just has to be. I know Beyond: Two Souls is getting a lot of attention and is truly a unique premise, so it wouldn't surprise me if it gets it, but I'm still going to go with The Last of Us.
Best Console Game
Nothing says console game quite like Halo, so I have to believe Halo 4 will win this award. It's riding on the legacy of its predecessors, and for that reason, coupled with a strong showing, I think it will win...and I'm okay with that.
Best Handheld/Mobile Game
- Assassin's Creed III Liberation
- Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion
- Infinity Blade Dungeons
- Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon
- New Super Mario Bros. 2
- Sound Shapes
Hmm. This is a hard one to pick, because frankly I'm not a huge handheld/mobile gaming expert. I'll take a swag at it and pick New Super Mario Bros. 2 - it is Mario after all. Everybody loves Mario, right.
Best PC Game
- Company of Heroes 2
- Hawken
- PlanetSide 2
- SimCity
- X-Com: Enemy Unknown
X-COM! I'm sorry what was the question again? Hah. I'm an old school gamer and any time I have a list that includes X-Com as an option, chances are I will pick it, if nothing more than just for nostalgia. In my defense, I never said I was going to be good at this.
Best Hardware/Peripheral
- Astro A50 Wireless Gaming Headset
- Rift VR Headset
- Wii U
- Wonderbook
- Skylanders: Giants Figures
Is there even any question?
Best Action Game
- Borderlands 2
- Call of Duty: Black Ops II
- Crysis 3
- Metal Gear Rising: Revengence
This is also the "too close to call" category. Wow. Just wow. I'm going to roll the dice and go with Call of Duty: Black Ops II. It's kind of hard to pass up such a prestigious series, but truly...any of these games could win and I would be pleased.
Best Action/Adventure Game
Another category difficult to call. I'd say it's between The Last of Us and Assassin's Creed III, with the latter pulling down a few more votes. I'm excited to see the results of this one.
Best Role Playing Game
- Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance
- Ni No Kuni
- Persona 4 Golden
- The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - Dawnguard
- South Park: The Stick of Truth
Hmm...which of these hails from a former Game of the Year winner. Skyrim, you say? I'm going to have to go with Dawnguard. Seems like a natural choice, but I guess we'll see.
Best Fighting Game
- Dead or Alive 5
- Injustice: Gods Among Us
- Persona 4 Arena
- PlayStation All-Stars: Battle Royale
- Tekken Tag Tournament 2
I don't remember hearing too much about any of these from E3, but I have been hearing a lot about Battle Royale, so on a whim I will go with it as the pick for this award.
Best Racing Game
- F1 2012
- Forza Horizon
- LittleBigPlanet Karting
- Need for Speed Most Wanted
- Sonic & All Stars Racing Transformed
I suppose it will come down to whether it's a real game or a cartoony game. If it's real we're looking at I'm going to go with Most Wanted, but if it's whimsical then I'll go with LBP Karting. I think serious wins over clever, so I'll go with NFS: Most Wanted.
Best Sports Game
- FIFA Soccer 13
- Madden NFL 13
- NBA 2K13
- NHL 13
- Pro Evolution Soccer 2013
They still make sports games? I'm going to go with the one that has the best balls.
Best Strategy Game
- End of Nations
- Pikmin 3
- XCOM: Enemy Unknown
See my comment above on Best PC Game. Hah.
Best Social/Casual Game
- Dance Central 3
- Game & Wario
- Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes
- Nintendoland
- Rock Band Blitz
For the former Blog Herding Master, I have to go with @amgo and Dance Central 3. Some of you will understand.
Best Motion Simulation Game
- Fable: The Journey
- Just Dance 4
- Wii Fit U
- Wonderbook: Books of Spells
Wii Fit U...people just seem to love Wii Fit.
Best Online Multiplayer Game
Ouch. Another one of those close battles. It has to be Halo 4 or Black Ops II. Alright already, I'll go with Black Ops II.
Best Downloadable Game
- Hell Yeah! Wrath of the Dead Rabbit
- Quantum Conundrum
- Retro City Rampage
- The Cave
Gosh, I haven't even heard of all of these...I'm going to go with the one I've heard of.
Okay, well there you have it. My picks for the Game Critics Awards - Best of E3 2012. If you feel like commenting with your selections or perhaps posting your own blog, I would encourage you to do so.
Check the official site out here.
P.S. This wasn't the blog I originally posted tonight, but since this is kind of "breaking news" I took the other one done and will repost it tomorrow. Cheers.
I think Forza will take the Racing Category. Everything else I agree with, except action game. I have to go with Crysis 3. I hate FPS (I just shelved Borderlands after a little over 2 hours of boredom), But Crysis 3 looks beautiful. I can't wat to get my hands on it.
Best of Show - Assassin's Creed 3
Best Original Game - Dishonored
Best Console Game - Halo 4
Best Handheld/Mobile Game - Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion
Best PC Game - X-Com: Enemy Unknown
Best Hardware - Wii U
Best Action Game - Call of Duty: Black Ops 2
Best Action/Adventure Game - Dishonored
Best Role-Playing Game - Elder Scrolls V: Dawnguard
Best Fighting Game - Injustice: Gods Among Us
Best Racing Game: Need for Speed Most Wanted
Best Sports Game: FIFA Soccer 13
Best Strategy Game: XCOM: Enemy Unknown
Best Social Game - Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes
Best Motion Simulation Game - Fable: The Journey
Best Online Multiplayer Game - Call of Duty: Black Ops 2
Best Downloadable Game - The Cave
Well, there's my list
Even though I'm a little biased as an Assassin's Creed fanboy lol, I still think The Last of Us deserves Best of Show. From what we've seen, I think Naughty Dog is on track to making another masterpiece.
For Best Role Playing Game, my bias is too strong lol. Definitely agree with Dawnguard.
BTW Saint, great blog
Best of Show: Assassin's Creed III(my jaw was on the floor with drool running out of it during the footage they showed of this)
Best Original Game: The Last of Us(wow, just wow)
Best Console Game: Tomb Raider(loving the new survival aspect of this)
Best Handheld/Mobile: Assassin's Creed III Liberation(I think I'm starting to see some bias here but Liberation looked like a damn good game.)
Best PC Game: Company of Heroes 2(loved the first and from what I saw this one is shaping up to not disappoint)
Best Hardware: Wii U(Come on it's a new freaking console why would I not give my personal award to the Wii U in this category.)
Best Action Game: Crysis 3(Crysis became my favorite FPS franchise of this generation with the first game in 2007 and it hasn't disappointed yet and 3 doesn't look like it will either plus the fact that it was just the alpha version of the game that they showed at E3, we are in for one hell of a game.)
Best Action/Adventure: Dishonored(I have been enamored with this game since I read GI's cover story last year and seeing it in action finally was amazing.)
Best Role-Playing Game: Dawnguard(honestly I don't know how this can be counted considering it is DLC and not the full game but whatever, it still had the best showing to me of any RPG.)
Best Fighting Game: Injustice: Gods Among Us(all I can say is it looked great, but coming from the guys that made Mortal Kombat, it should be.)
Best Racing Game: Need for Speed: Most Wanted(Criterion is revered among racing game fans and there is a good reason for that and if you want proof just look no further than this game, or their past work.)
Best Sports Game: Don't really care about this one so I'll just give it to FIFA 13.
Best Strategy Game: X-COM: Enemy Unknown(never played the original but hot damn did this look like fun.)
Best Casual Game: Lego Batman 2(once again not a really big category for me, but LB 2 looked the best out of the bunch.)
Skipping Motion Simulation category entirely.
Best Online Multiplayer Game: Planetside 2(come on, one giant map, hundreds to thousands of playere duking it out 24/7? Ahhh, multiplayer at its finest. That and the fact that it looks like it can hold its own gameplay and shooting wise against any modern shooter is a plus.)
Best Downloadable Game: The Unfinished Swan(this was a close one, coming down to this and The Cave, but just the fact that I like the style of game that Unfinished Swan looks to be caused it to win my vote. That and it looks fantastic.)
I had started to lose interest in the Assassin's Creed franchise, but this new game really grabbed my attention. I really enjoyed ACII, but I had enough games on my wishlist that I just couldn't get around to Brotherhood or Revelations. If I have the money at the time, ACIII will be day 1 for me.
It's a tough call for my personal choice for Best of Show. It's a toss-up between ACIII & Last of Us. This election year has really reignited my interest in the Revolutionary War & our founding fathers. If I was making a decision between these 2 games a few years ago, I'd easily go with Last of Us.
Assassin's Creed III Liberation is my handheld pick...I'm almost tempted to get a Vita just so I can play it.
Have you played enough PlanetSide 2? Are you really good at it?