Nintendo, Spore, and Gears of War are the critics' favorites.
by Daemon Hatfield
May 31, 2006 - The official Game Critics Awards for E3 2006 have been announced.
Nintendo leads the pack with five awards, including Best of Show and Best Hardware. Spore won more awards than any other game, taking home Best Original Game, Best PC Game, and Best Simulation Game. Right behind Spore was Gears of War, with Best Console Game and Best Action Game.
The Game Critics Awards is an independent group of journalists from 37 leading North American media outlets that cover the videogame industry, including our very own goat-bearded satyr of an editorial director: Tal Blevins.
The full list of winners is included below:
BEST OF SHOW
Wii
(Nintendo)
BEST ORIGINAL GAME
Spore
(Maxis/Electronic Arts for PC)
BEST PC GAME
Spore
(Maxis/Electronic Arts for PC)
BEST CONSOLE GAME
Gears of War
(Epic Games / Microsoft Game Studios for Xbox 360)
BEST HANDHELD GAME
The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
(Nintendo for Nintendo DS)
BEST HARDWARE
Wii
(Nintendo)
BEST ACTION GAME
Gears of War
(Epic Games / Microsoft Game Studios for Xbox 360)
BEST ACTION/ADVENTURE GAME
Assassin's Creed
(Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft for PlayStation 3)
BEST FIGHTING GAME
Heavenly Sword
(Ninja Theory / Sony Computer Entertainment for PlayStation 3)
BEST ROLE PLAYING GAME
Mass Effect
(Bioware / Microsoft Game Studios for Xbox 360)
BEST RACING GAME
Excite Truck
(Nintendo for Wii)
BEST SIMULATION GAME
Spore
(Maxis / Electronic Arts for PC)
BEST SPORTS GAME
Wii Sports
(Nintendo for Wii)
BEST STRATEGY GAME
Supreme Commander
(Gas Powered Games / THQ for PC)
BEST PUZZLE/TRIVIA/PARLOR GAME
Guitar Hero II
(Harmonix / Red Octane for PlayStation 2)
BEST ONLINE MULTIPLAYER GAME
Enemy Territory: Quake Wars
(Splash Damage/id/Activision for PC)