Game Critics Best of E3 Nominations revealed

The 38 nominees for the Game Critics Awards for the best of E3 2006 have been revealed today. The Game Critics Awards are a symbol of gaming quality based on what was on show at this years E3 expo, and features categories such as Best of Show, Best Original Game, Best Hardware etc.

The game with the most nominations in different categories is the Xbox 360 title Gears of War with 5 nominations. Gears of War was closely followed by Assassin’s Creed, Bioshock, and Spore; each of which received 4 nominations. As far as publishers are concerned, Nintendo received a massive 14 nominations, with the closest competitor, EA coming second with just 11. Sony and Microsoft took up the rear on the publishing side, with both picking up third and fourth place respectively.

The Winners will be announced on May 31st 2006, so make sure you check back next week!

*Warning* The full list of nominees is HUGE! See it after the jump!

The 38 nominees for the Game Critics Awards for the best of E3 2006 have been revealed today. The Game Critics Awards are a symbol of gaming quality based on what was on show at this years E3 expo, and features categories such as Best of show, Best original game, Best hardware etc.

The game with the most nominations in different categories is Xbox 360 title Gears of War with 5 nominations. Gears of War was closely followed by Assassin’s Creed, Bioshock, and Spore; each of which received 4 nominations. As far as publishers are concerned, Nintendo received a massive 14 nominations, with the closest competitor, EA coming second with just 11. Sony and Microsoft took up the rear on the publishing side, with both picking up third and fourth place respectively.

Here’s the full list of nominations, sorted by category:

Best of Show
– AssassinÂ’s Creed (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft for PlayStation 3)
– Bioshock (Irrational Games/2K Games for PC and Xbox 360)
– Gears of War (Epic Games/Microsoft Games Studio for Xbox 360)
– Spore (Electronic Arts for PC)
– Wii (Nintendo)

Best Original Game
– AssassinÂ’s Creed (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft for PlayStation 3)
– Bioshock (Irrational Games/2K Games for PC/Xbox 360)
– Gears of War (Epic Games/Microsoft Games Studio for Xbox 360)
– LocoRoco (SCEJ/Sony Computer Entertainment for PSP)
– Spore (Electronic Arts for PC)
– Wii Sports (Nintendo for Wii)

Best PC Game
– Crysis (Crytek/Electronic Arts for PC)
– Enemy Territory: Quake Wars (Splash Damage/id/Activision for PC)
– Hellgate: London (Flagship Studios/Namco Bandai Games for PC)
– Supreme Commander (Gas Powered Games/THQ for PC)
– Spore (Electronic Arts for PC)

Best Console Game
– AssassinÂ’s Creed (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft for PlayStation 3)
– Bioshock (Irrational Games/2K Games for PC and Xbox 360)
– Gears of War (Epic Games/Microsoft Games Studios for Xbox 360)
– Mass Effect (BioWare/Microsoft Games Studio for Xbox 360)
– Super Mario Galaxy (Nintendo for Wii)

Best Handheld Game
– Elite Beat Agents (Inis/Nintendo for Nintendo DS)
– Killzone: Liberation (Guerrilla/Sony Computer Entertainment for PSP)
– LocoRoco (SCEJ/Sony Computer Entertainment for PSP)
– Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops (Kojima Productions/Konami for PSP)
– The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (Nintendo for Nintendo DS)

Best Hardware
– DS Lite (Nintendo)
– Logitech G25 Racing Wheel (Logitech for PC)
– PlayStation 3 (Sony Computer Entertainment)
– Wii (Nintendo)
– Xbox 360 Wireless Headset (Microsoft for Xbox 360)

Best Action Game
– Crysis (Crytek/Electronic Arts for PC)
– Enemy Territory: Quake Wars (Splash Damage/id/Activision for PC)
– Gears of War (Epic Games/Microsoft Games Studios for Xbox 360)
– Lost Planet: Extreme Condition (Capcom for Xbox 360)
– Resistance: Fall of Man (Insomniac/SCEA for PlayStation 3)

Best Action/Adventure Game
– AssassinÂ’s Creed (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft for PlayStation 3)
– Bioshock (Irrational Games/2K Games for PC and Xbox 360)
– God of War 2 (Sony Santa Monica/SCEA for PlayStation 2)
– Super Mario Galaxy (Nintendo for Wii)
– The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess  (Nintendo for GameCube/Wii)

Best Fighting Game
– Heavenly Sword (Ninja Theory/Sony Computer Entertainment for PS3)
– Mortal Kombat: Armageddon (Midway Games for PlayStation 2/Xbox)
– Tekken: Dark Resurrection (Namco Bandai Games for PSP)
– Virtua Fighter 5 (Sega for Arcade/PlayStation 3)
– WWE SmackDown! vs. RAW 2007 (YukeÂ’s/THQ for 360/PS3/PS2/PSP)

Best Role Playing Game
– Final Fantasy XII (Square Enix for PlayStation 2)
– Hellgate: London (Flagship Studios/Namco Bandai Games for PC)
– Mass Effect (BioWare/Microsoft Games Studio for Xbox 360)
– Neverwinter Nights 2 (Obsidian/Atari for PC)
– World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade (Blizzard for PC)

Best Racing Game
– Excite Truck (Nintendo for Wii)
– Formula One 06 (Studio Liverpool/SCEE for PlayStation 3)
– Gran Turismo HD (Polyphony Digital/Sony Computer Entertainment for PS3)
– MotoGP 06 (Climax/THQ for Xbox 360)
– Test Drive Unlimited (Eden Studios/Atari for Xbox 360, PC, PS2, PSP)

Best Simulation Game
– Microsoft Flight Simulator X (Microsoft Games Studio for PC)
– Sid MeierÂ’s Railroads! (Firaxis Games/2K Games for PC)
– Spore (Electronic Arts for PC)
– The Movies: Stunts and Effects (Lionhead Studios/Activision for PC)
– Wii Music Orchestra (Nintendo for Wii)

Best Sports Game
– Madden NFL 07 (Tiburon/EA for PS3 / Xbox 360)
– Madden NFL 07 (Tiburon/EA for Nintendo Wii)
– NBA 2K7 (Visual Concepts/2K Sports for Xbox 360)
– NCAA Football 07 (EA Tiburon/Electronic Arts for X360/PS2/Xbox/PSP)
– Wii Sports (Nintendo for Wii)

Best Strategy Game
– Company of Heroes (Relic/THQ for PC)
– Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle Earth II (EA for X360)
– Medieval 2: Total War (Creative Assembly/Sega for PC)
– Supreme Commander (Gas Powered Games/THQ for PC)
– World in Conflict (Massive Entertainment/Sierra for PC)

Best Puzzle/Trivia/Parlor Game
– Elite Beat Agents (Inis/Nintendo for Nintendo DS)
– Guitar Hero 2 (Harmonix/Red Octane for PlayStation 2)
– LocoRoco (SCEJ/Sony Computer Entertainment for PSP)
– Lumines II (Q Entertainment/Buena Vista Games for PSP)
– WarioWare: Smooth Moves (Nintendo for Wii)

Best Online Multiplayer Game
– Battlefield 2142 (Digital Illusions/Electronic Arts for PC)
– Enemy Territory: Quake Wars (Splash Damage/id/Activision for PC)
– Gears of War (Epic Games/Microsoft Games Studio for Xbox 360)
– Huxley (Webzen for PC/Xbox 360)
– World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade (Blizzard for PC)

I did warn you about the list size! The Winners will be announced on May 31st 2006, so make sure you check back next week!