With Halo 2 and Half-Life 2, expected to dominate the awards, the 2004 Best of Show E3 nominations have been announced and contain few surprises for those who visited the exhibition. The nominations cover the full range of products displayed at E3 this year and the winners will be announced on June 8.
This year, E3 reached a peak with a vast range of exciting titles on offer but also with hardware innovations and glitzy presentations. It was not only Nintendo's DS and Sony's PSP which ruled the show floor, exciting offerings such as the two graphics boards in one PC (Video Array Technology) from Alienware, a new console from Infinium Labs and hundreds of peripherals kept gamers eager.
Games make up the backbone of E3 and the strong favorites such as Halo 2, Half-Life 2 and Doom 3, were surrounded by surprise titles including Jade Empire, F.E.A.R. and Metroid Prime 2: Echoes.
Judge for yourselves by reading the full list of nominees below:
Best of Show
- Half-Life 2 (Valve/Vivendi Universal Games for PC)
- Halo 2 (Bungie/Microsoft for Xbox)
- Nintendo DS (Mobile Gaming System - Nintendo Co. Ltd)
- Sony PSP (Mobile Gaming System - Sony Computer Entertainment)
- Splinter Cell 3 (UbiSoft Montreal/UbiSoft for PC)
Best Action Game
- Doom 3 (Vicarious Visions/id/Activision for Xbox)
- F.E.A.R. (Monolith Productions/Vivendi Universal Games for PC)
- Half-Life 2 (Valve/Vivendi Universal Games for PC)
- Halo 2 (Bungie/Microsoft for Xbox)
- Metroid Prime 2: Echoes (Retro Studios/Nintendo for GameCube)
Best PC Game
- Half-Life 2 (Valve/Vivendi Universal Games for PC)
- Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle Earth (EALA/Electronic Arts for PC)
- Rome: Total War (Creative Assembly/Activision for PC)
- Sims 2 (Maxis/Electronic Arts for PC)
- Splinter Cell 3 (UbiSoft Montreal/UbiSoft for PC)
Best Console Game
- God of War (SCEA Santa Monica/SCEA for PlayStation 2)
- Halo 2 (Bungie/Microsoft for Xbox)
- Jade Empire (Bioware/Microsoft for Xbox)
- Metroid Prime 2: Echoes (Retro Studios/Nintendo for GameCube)
- Resident Evil 4 (Capcom for GameCube)
Best Peripheral/Hardware
- Alienware Video Array Technology (Alienware for PC)
- Donkey Konga Bongo Drums (Nintendo for GameCube)
- Nintendo DS (Mobile Gaming System - Nintendo Co. Ltd)
- Phantom Gaming Service (Infinium Labs, Inc.)
- Sony PSP (Mobile Gaming System - Sony Computer Entertainment)
Best Original Game
- Destroy All Humans! (Pandemic/THQ for PlayStation 2, Xbox)
- Donkey Kong Jungle Beat (Nintendo for GameCube)
- God of War (SCEA Santa Monica/SCEA for PlayStation 2)
- Jade Empire (Bioware/Microsoft for Xbox)
- Yoot Saito's Odama (Vivarium/Nintendo for GameCube)
Best Action/Adventure Game
- God of War (SCEA Santa Monica/SCEA for PlayStation 2)
- Prince of Persia 2 (UbiSoft Montreal/UbiSoft for All Systems)
- Resident Evil 4 (Capcom for GameCube)
- Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal (Insomniac Games/SCEA for PlayStation 2)
- Splinter Cell 3 (UbiSoft Montreal/UbiSoft for PC)
Best Fighting Game
- Def Jam: Fight for New York (EA Canada/EA for All Console Systems)
- Guilty Gear Isuka (Arc System Works/Sammy Studios for PlayStation 2)
- Mortal Kombat: Deception (Midway Games for PlayStation 2/Xbox)
- Rumble Roses (KCET/Konami for PlayStation 2)
- Street Fighter Anniversary Collection (Capcom for PlayStation 2/Xbox)
Best Role-Playing Game
- Fable (Big Blue Box/Microsoft for Xbox)
- Final Fantasy XII (Square-Enix for PlayStation 2)
- Jade Empire (Bioware/Microsoft for Xbox)
- Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords (Obsidian/LucasArts for PC/Xbox)
- Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines (Troika Games/Activision for PC)
Best Racing Game
- Burnout 3 (Criterion Games/Electronic Arts for PlayStation 2/Xbox)
- Enthusia Professional Racing (Konami for PlayStation 2)
- Forza Motorsport (Microsoft for Xbox)
- Gran Turismo 4 (Polyphony Digital/Sony Computer Entertainment for PlayStation 2)
- Street Racing Syndicate (Eutechnyx/Namco for All Console Systems)
Best Simulation Game
- Full Spectrum Warrior (Pandemic/THQ for PC/Xbox)
- Pacific Fighters (1C/UbiSoft for PC)
- Sims 2 (Maxis/Electronic Arts for PC)
- The Movies (Lionhead Studios/Activision for All Platforms)
- The Urbz: Sims in the City (Maxis/Electronic Arts for All Console Systems)
Best Sports Game
- ESPN NFL 2005 (Visual Concepts/ESPN Videogames for PS2/Xbox)
- FIFA Soccer 2005 (EA Sports/Electronic Arts for All Platforms)
- Madden NFL 2005 (EA Sports/Electronic Arts for All Platforms)
- Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2005 (EA Sports/Electronic Arts for All Platforms)
- Tony Hawk's Underground 2 (Neversoft/Activision for All Platforms)
Best Strategy Game
- Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle Earth (EALA/Electronic Arts for PC)
- Pikmin 2 (Nintendo for GameCube)
- Rome: Total War (Creative Assembly/Activision for PC)
- Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War (Relic/THQ for PC)
Best Puzzle/Trivia/Parlor Game
- Donkey Konga (Nintendo for GameCube)
- Donkey Kong Jungle Beat (Nintendo for GameCube)
- EyeToy: AntiGrav (Harmonix Music Systems/SCEA for PlayStation 2)
- Karaoke Revolution Volume 2 (Harmonix Music Systems/Konami for PlayStation 2)
- WarioWare, Inc. DS (Nintendo for Nintendo DS)
Best Online Multiplayer Game
- Battlefield 2 (Digital Illusions/EA Games for PC)
- EverQuest II (Sony Online Entertainment for PC)
- Halo 2 (Bungie/Microsoft for Xbox)
- Star Wars Battlefront (Pandemic Studios/LucasArts for PC, PS2, Xbox)
- World of Warcraft (Blizzard/Vivendi Universal Games for PC)
