[BreakABone]

Best Racing Game
Auto Modellista
(Capcom for PlayStation 2)
It's certainly surprising to see such an impressive and inventive driving game from a company best known for its fighting games and zombie-ridden adventure games, but there's no denying Auto Modellista's appeal. Auto Modellista uses cel-shaded graphics to give it a very unique look, and to successfully distinguish itself from a genre crowded with faceless clones as well. Its visual design really has to be seen in motion to be appreciated, as animated special effects like collisions, dust trails, and clouds of burning rubber give this game a cartoonlike quality. But Auto Modellista isn't all flash. You'll get to jump behind the wheel of a number of recognizable and powerful cars, and its fluid control is reminiscent of classics like Ridge Racer and Daytona USA. It will even support Sony's PlayStation 2 online network, so trading cars and racing against others will be a snap. Capcom had many notable titles on display at its booth this year, but this stylish racer was arguably the largest draw among the bunch.

- Amer Ajami, Senior Editor, GameSpot

Runner-up:
Colin McRae Racing 3 (Codemasters for Multiple Platforms)


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Best Simulation Game
The Sims Online
(Maxis/Electronic Arts for PC)
Is Will Wright a genius? Or is he just the one-man advance team for an alien race, sapping our energies with games that gleefully absorb more and more of our time, until we're helpless to resist their ruthless march toward galactic rule? There's evidence for both in The Sims Online, which takes the sitcom ingenuity of The Sims and turns it into a reality TV soap opera. The fact that it deviates from the sword-and-sorcery games that currently dominate the MMORPG space - not to mention the plethora of sci-fi-inspired persistent state world games coming down the pipe-makes it remarkable. But the fact that it gives you multiple ways to play the game, and cleverly encourages you to play well with others, and explicitly rewards you for it -well, that makes it unprecedented. When The Sims Online launches this fall, it won't be competing with Everquest or Asheron's Call; its competition will be Friends and Everybody Loves Raymond - that's how effectively and uniquely it demands your time and attention. And there are so many brilliant concepts wrapped up in this game that the industry will be studying it - and copying it - for years to come. Resistance is futile.

--N'Gai Croal, General Editor, Newsweek

Runner-up:
Simcity 4 (Maxis/Electronic Arts for PC)


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Best Sports Game
NFL 2K3
(Visual Concepts/SEGA for Multiple Platforms)
Sometimes, you need to jettison what helped make you successful—even if you’re good at it—in order to move forward and thrive. For Sega, it must have been a tough decision to drop the Dreamcast and shutter its game console-hardware business in favor of concentrating on being an across-the-board third-party software publisher. However, that choice was likely the difference between hemorrhaging money in a battle against bigger console makers or prospering as their partner—the epitome of “If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em.” That Sega is focused on just software also benefits its game titles. A good example is NFL 2K3, which is competing against larger, more established sports-game brands, and more than holding its own. More realistic player animations, such as one-arm catches, and a Franchise Mode are obvious boosts from previous releases. However, the partnership with ESPN is a solid move, and will result in a familiar look to the presentation and other stylistic enhancements. It’s sad we lost the Dreamcast…but seeing what Sega’s accomplished during the transition makes the sacrifice worth it.

- Andy Eddy, Contributing Editor to Various Pubs

Runner-up:
Madden NFL 2003 (Electronic Arts for Multiple Platforms)


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Best Strategy Game
Command and Conquer Generals
(EA Pacific/Electronic Arts for PC)
Electronic Arts found an imaginative way to extend a classic Westwood franchise by adding a dose of current events. C&C Generals has the same intense focus on tactical combat, a stellar graphics engine that shows off detailed 3-D images in urban terrain, and a storyline that brings the franchise into modern-day warfare between a high-tech U.S. superpower, the Chinese war machine and a network of terrorists. The different fighting advantages of these combatants, ranging from B-52 and paratrooper attacks for the Americans to devastating shoulder-launched ground-to-air missiles for the terrorists, will make for plenty of familiar yet original Command & Conquer style sweaty-palm combat.

- Dean Takahashi, Senior Writer, Red Herring

Runner-up:
Age of Mythology (Ensemble Studios/Microsoft for PC)


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Best Puzzle/Trivia/Parlor Game
Super Monkey Ball 2
(Amusement Vision/Sega for GameCube)
Move over Donkey Kong. Here comes AiAi and his primate pals in Super Monkey Ball 2 for Nintendo’s GameCube. While it’s more of the same antics found in the original, we’re not complaining. Maneuvering the monkeys in their transparent bubbles through loopy tracks turns out to be a lot more fun than it sounds. Developed by Toshihiro Nagoshi of Sega Corp.’s Amusement Vision studio, the original Super Monkey Ball sold 200,000 copies in the U.S. since its release in November, enough to warrant a sequel, due out this fall.

-- Alex Pham, Technology Reporter, Los Angeles Times

Runner-up:
Chu Chu Rocket
(Sonic Team/Sega for GameBoy Advance)


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Best Online Multiplayer
Star Wars Galaxies
(Sony Online Entertainment/LucasArts for PC)
For the second year in a row, LucasArts and Sony Online wowed those who made an off-floor pilgrimage to see the progress on Star Wars Galaxies. The massively multiplayer online role-playing game takes place in the Star Wars universe between the happenings in the Episodes 4 and 5 of the film saga (Star Wars: A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back.) As with Sony Online’s Everquest, Galaxies will be a persistent world where, in this case, your character can interact with other budding bounty hunters or Jedi hopefuls. With all of the depth and trappings of the Lucas legend at their disposal, the developers could easily have thrust a rush job online and the faithful would have come. But based on the demonstration witnessed, it appears that the project is getting plenty of TLC -- evident from the fine tuning allowed in the character customization options to the realism of settings such as Jabba’s Palace. Whether gamers are searching for combat or they want to explore the eight or more planets expected initially, this is a Star Wars episode that has plenty of Force behind it.

- Mike Snider, Tech Reporter, USA Today

Runner-up:
The Sims Online (Maxis/Electronic Arts for PC)


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Special Commendation for Sound
DOOM III
(Trent Reznor/id Software/Activision for PC)
No game programmer envies the idea of competing against John Carmack’s latest 3D graphics engine. So imagine the challenge of trying to create a soundscape that not only matches but also compliments Carmack’s 3D magic. Leave it to Trent Reznor, frontman for Nine Inch Nails, to meet and exceed that challenge. Reznor’s richly textured 5.1 channel soundtrack literally rocked the theater, forming an important part of the ever-so-impressive multimedia assault that was DOOM III. Presented in a special theater at the Activision booth, Reznor’s pristinely mixed sound effects and cranked-to-the-max sound system made everything else at E3 sound like an old transistor radio.

-- Geoff Keighley, Associate Chairman, Game Critics Awards
Editor in Chief, GameSlice



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Special Commendation for Graphics
DOOM III
(id Software/Activision for PC)
id Software's animators took John Carmack's latest graphics technology and ran with it in their Doom III demo, which flattened just about everybody who saw it. Going for the utmost in realistic multiple-source lighting and shadows, id is sacrificing some speed in Doom III. But the total impact of the graphics, taken together with breathtaking sound effects, is at once spectacular and terrifying.

- Dean Takahashi, Senior Writer, Red Herring

As selected by, www.e3awards.com