GAME CRITICS AWARDS: BEST OF E3 2006 ANNOUNCED

37 news organizations got together following E3, as they do every year, and collectively voted for what they felt were the best “hands-on” experiences from the current year’s E3 demonstrations. We’ve taken the liberty of listing both the nominees as well as the winners in each category. Check out the lists below – the winner is the game listed in bold with an attached link.

Best of Show
– Assassin’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
– Assassin’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
– Assassin’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
– Assassin’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 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 (Yuke’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 Meier’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/ATVI 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)

For those wondering just who those 37 organizations were, here’s the rundown;

TIME, Newsweek, Rolling Stone, Business 2.0, Wired, Giant, USA Today, Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, Gannett News Service, San Jose Mercury News, Comcast Games.net, Computer Gaming World, Electronic Gaming Monthly, Game Informer, Game Informer Online, Gamepro, GameSpot, GameSpy, Comcast GamesNet, Hollywood Reporter, 1UP.com, GamesRadar, IGN, Official PlayStation Magazine, Official Xbox Magazine, PC Gamer, Playboy, PSM, UGO.com, Yahoo! Video Games, Sympatico.ca, Game-Revolution, CNN/Money, G4TV, MTV & Electric Playground

So there you have it, congratulations to all the nominees and winners, glad to see Gears of War brought in a few awards and here’s to hoping someday this site is legitimate enough that we can add our hats to that panel. Check out the homepage for the Game Critics Awards here.