As we have come to expect, the 2002 Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles, CA. set about to highlight what the trends of the industry will be for the coming year. This year's expo, held in May 22 - 24, focused on the online features of the gaming industry and especially those of the next generation consoles.
The Game Critics Awards are the only independent E3 awards, voted on by editors from nearly 40 leading outlets that cover games, including the top magazines, online sites, newspapers, and television programs.
In this years' E3 Game Critic Awards, Doom III confirmed its dominant position in the gaming industry and was rewarded for raising gamers expectations.
The full list of awarded games is as follows:
Best of Show DOOM III (id Software/Activision for PC)
With a franchise as powerful as that bearing the name Doom, gamers demand that each iteration represents "the next big thing." Watching programming legend John Carmack manipulate the lone marine through the claustrophobic corridors, it was easy to get caught up in the revolutionary steps embodied by the technology on display. And all of that would do an injustice to the entrancing glimpses of terrifying gameplay, mixing hellish monsters with expert manipulation of the new technology. The buzz generated by this early show made Doom III the indisputable "must see" of E3 2002, and rightly deserves the recognition of Game of Show.
Runner-up: The Legend of Zelda (Nintendo for GameCube)
Best Original Game Psychonauts (Double Fine Productions/Microsoft for Xbox)
Tim Schafer is a man so creative that we’re almost inclined to kick him out of the gaming industry. Why? The bottom line is that he makes everyone else’s games look so damn derivative. In Psychonauts, Schafer has concocted a circus-like hodgepodge of zany characters and game environments to tell the story of Raz, a gifted little lad who must have just missed the application deadline to Professor Xavier’s school for the gifted. As a result, Raz is apparently shipped off to psychic summer camp to develop his psychic abilities, in the hopes that he one day might become a Psychonaut. At psychic summer camp, psychic-wannabe Raz can earn special psychic merit badges, one of we hope might be a badge that decrees a moratorium on the use of the word psychic in the game. But seriously, things get interesting when Raz gets to jump into the minds of 16 individuals at the nearby insane asylum, and in turn use his psychic abilities like firestarting and invisibility to defeat some real inner-demons. The third person action adventure gameplay is a departure from Schafer’s previous work, but his trademark originality is still here in spades.
Runner-up: Blinx: The Time Sweeper (Artoon/Microsoft for Xbox)
Best PC Game DOOM III (id Software/Activision for PC)
Among the quality games on display from the maturing console systems the PC stood loud and proud. Highlighting the monumental improvement in graphical fidelity, and gameplay manipulation of that technology, Doom III stood loud and proud. With fewer PC titles, the quality of those on display was impressively high, but Doom III dominated the buzz among onlookers. From the eerie shadowed corridors to the terror of seeing hell’s monstrosities in the mirror it was a display not to be forgotten.
Runner-up: Neverwinter Nights (Bioware/Atari for PC)
Best Console Game The Legend of Zelda (Nintendo for GameCube)
Miyamoto's latest Zelda outing takes common cel-shading techniques to an uncommon level of polish and detail. But Zelda isn’t only about amazing detail or sophisticated environments, it’s about expertly crafted experiences. The game bleeds character and a cohesive design that is more about cinematic subtleties than raw graphical horsepower. Zelda is a console adventure game in the truest sense: the player is drawn into Link’s world, but the development team never loses sight of the fact that it is the player who is always driving the gameplay. Despite the obvious similarities to the play mechanics found in the Zelda games for N64, Link breathes with new life. Simply put, Miyamoto maintains his focus on what makes a console adventure game great, and subsequently, he brings a great sample of his next console adventure to E3.
Runner-up: The Getaway (Team SOHO/Sony Computer Entertainment for PlayStation 2)
Best Console Hardware WaveBird Wireless Controller (Nintendo for GameCube)
Finally, someone gets the wireless console controller right and, in this case, that someone is Nintendo with its own Wavebird Wireless Controller. For anyone who has spent precious game time untangling cables or found themselves fighting with an unstable RF connection instead of fighting unstable virus-laden zombies, the Wavebird is a godsend. Yes, it works, and it works well, even with multiple controllers operational. The Wavebird is a testament to Nintendo and one small victory for those of us who prefer to recline during Rogue Leader without fear that the controller cord will evacuate in our moment of triumph.
Runner-up: Steel Battalion Controller (Capcom for Xbox)
Best Action Game DOOM III (id Software/Activision for PC)
While DOOM III stays true to the first-person-shooter series’ action horror roots, editors and industry attendees at E3 soon realized that the popular franchise had a completely new look and feel for its third incarnation. This time around, the team at id has given the series a graphical facelift, which left the demo etched in everyone’s mind. Many gamers might have to rebuild their PC’s to play the game due to its high-end hardware demands, but the investment should prove to be money well spent.
Runner-up: Metroid Prime (Retro Studios/Nintendo for GameCube)
