Irrational Games" upcoming first person shooter sequel BioShock Infinite turned out to be the big winner among a collection of game journalists at E3 2011 earlier this month. This week the group announced that BioShock Infinite had won its Best of Show award along with three other categories in its annual list of games and hardware shown during the Los Angeles-based trade show that were given special recognition. In addition to Best of Show, BioShock Infinite won for Best Action/Adventure Game, Best PC Game and for Best Original Game. The game itself isn"t due for release until sometime in 2012 from publisher 2K Games
Three games won two categories each from the E3 2011 Game Critics Awards. The upcoming shooter military shooter Battlefield 3 won for best Action Game and also for Best Online Multiplayer. Bethesda Softwork"s fantasy RPG The Elder Scrolls V Skyrim won for Best Console Game and For Best Role Playing Game. Finally Sound Shapes, an upcoming mix of music rythum and platformer game for Sony"s upcoming PS Vita portable gaming console, won for Best Handheld Game and also for Best Social/Casual Game. The PS Vita itself won for Best Hardware.
The members of the Game Critics Awards are game journalists who covered E3 2011 earlier this month. The group is composed mostly of writers for gaming web sites and magazines but also includes more mainstream media outlets like Entertainment Weekly, Hollywood Reporter, and USA Today. Launched in 1998 the awards show off what impressed the group the most at E3. Sometimes, however, the game that might get a lot of E3 Game Critics Awards don"t quite live up to the hype when the game is actually released. A recent example is Spore which won for Best of Show in 2005 but was a critical disappointment when it finally came out in 2008.
The full list of winners is as follows:
Best of Show
BioShock Infinite (Irrational Games/2K Games for PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
Best Original Game
BioShock Infinite
Best Console Game
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Bethesda Game Studios/Bethesda Softworks for PS3, Xbox 360, PC)
Best Handheld Game
Sound Shapes (Queasy Games/SCEA for PSVita)
Best PC Game
BioShock Infinite
Best Hardware
PlayStation Vita (Sony Computer Entertainment)
Best Action Game
Battlefield 3 (Digital Illusions /Electronic Arts for PC, PS3, and Xbox 360)
Best Action/Adventure Game
BioShock Infinite
Best Role Playing Game
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Best Fighting Game
Street Fighter X Tekken (Capcom for PS3, Xbox 360, PSVita)
Best Racing Game
Forza Motorsport 4 (Turn 10 Studios/Microsoft Studios for Xbox 360)
Best Sports Game
FIFA Soccer 12 (EA Canada/EA Sports for PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
Best Strategy Game
From Dust (Ubisoft Montpellier/Ubisoft for PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
Best Social/Casual Game
Sound Shapes
Best Motion Simulation Game
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (Nintendo for Wii)
Best Online Multiplayer
Battlefield 3
Best Downloadable Game
Bastion (Supergiant Games/WB Games for PC, Xbox 360)