E3 2011: BioShock Infinite scores at Game Critics Awards
Irrational's action adventure lands four trophies, including Best of Show; Battlefield 3, Sound Shapes, Elder Scrolls V nab two each; Bastion, Forza 4, PS Vita also honored.
The votes are in for the Game Critics Awards Best of E3 2011 honors, and BioShock Infinite has won big. Irrational Games' agoraphobic-terrifying action adventure racked up an award for every category it was nominated in, including Best of Show, Best Original Game, Best PC Game, and Best Action/Adventure Game.
The 2K Games title's haul bested that of fellow quadruple nominee Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception, which was shut out completely. Coming in at two wins each were Battlefield 3 (Best Action Game, Best Online Multiplayer), Sound Shapes (Best Handheld Game, Best Social/Casual Game), and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Best Console Game, Best Role-Playing Game).
Over a half-dozen games grabbed one trophy a pop. Bastion earned Best Downloadable Game, while FIFA Soccer 12 scored Best Sports Game. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword whirled its way to the Best Motion Simulation Game title as Forza Motorsport 4 took a victory lap for Best Racing Game. Street Fighter X Tekken socked it to the Best Fighting Game category, while the PlayStation Vita won plaudits for in the Best Hardware category. From Dust came in first amongst the Best Strategy Game nominees.
The Game Critics Awards Best of E3 2011 nominees are determined by a panel of judges from 35 different publications. These include GameSpot, the Associated Press, Game Informer, the Hollywood Reporter, Joystiq, and USA Today. A full list of the winners and nominees is below.
Best of Show
- Batman: Arkham City (Rocksteady/WB Games for PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
- WINNER: BioShock Infinite (Irrational Games/2K Games for PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
- The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Bethesda Game Studios/Bethesda for PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
- Tomb Raider (Crystal Dynamics/Square Enix for PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
- Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception (Naughty Dog/SCEA for PlayStation 3)
Best Original Game
- Bastion (Supergiant Games/WB Games for PC, Xbox 360)
- WINNER: BioShock Infinite (Irrational Games/2K Games for PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
- From Dust (Ubisoft Montpellier/Ubisoft for PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
- Journey (Thatgamecompany/SCEA for PlayStation 3)
- Sound Shapes (Queasy Games/SCEA for PS Vita)
Best Console Game
- Batman: Arkham City (Rocksteady/WB Games for PS3, Xbox 360)
- Mass Effect 3 (BioWare/EA Games for PS3, Xbox 360)
- WINNER: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Bethesda Game Studios/Bethesda for PS3, Xbox 360)
- Tomb Raider (Crystal Dynamics/Square Enix for PS3, Xbox 360)
- Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception (Naughty Dog/SCEA for PlayStation 3)
Best Handheld/Mobile Game
- Contre Jour (Mokus/Chillingo/EA for iPad, iPhone)
- Mario Kart (Nintendo/Nintendo for 3DS)
- WINNER: Sound Shapes (Queasy Games/SCEA for PS Vita)
- Super Mario (Nintendo EAD Tokyo/Nintendo for 3DS)
- Uncharted: Golden Abyss (SCE Bend Studio/Naughty Dog/SCEA for PS Vita)
Best PC Game
- Battlefield 3 (DICE/EA Games for PC)
- WINNER: BioShock Infinite (Irrational Games/2K Games for PC)
- End of Nations (Petroglyph Games/Trion Worlds for PC)
- Star Wars: The Old Republic (BioWare Austin/EA Games for PC)
- Torchlight 2 (Runic Games/Perfect World for PC)
Best Hardware
- WINNER: PlayStation Vita (Sony Computer Entertainment)
- Rocksmith (Ubisoft San Francisco/Ubisoft for PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
- Sony 3D Display (Sony Computer Entertainment)
- Wii U (Nintendo)
- Zoom for Kinect (Nyko)
Best Action Game
- WINNER: Battlefield 3 (DICE/EA Games for PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (Infinity Ward/Sledgehammer/ATVI for PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
- Gears of War 3 (Epic Games/Microsoft Studios for Xbox 360)
- Prey 2 (Human Head Studios/Bethesda for PC, PS3, and Xbox 360)
- Rage (id Software/Bethesda for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360)
Best Action/Adventure Game
- Assassin's Creed: Revelations (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft for PC, PS3, and Xbox 360)
- Batman: Arkham City (Rocksteady/WB Games for PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
- WINNER: BioShock infinite (Irrational Games/2K Games for PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
- Tomb Raider (Crystal Dynamics/Square Enix for PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
- Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception (Naughty Dog/SCEA for PlayStation 3)
Best Role-Playing Game
- Dark Souls (From Software/Namco Bandai Games for PS3, Xbox 360)
- Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning (Big Huge Games/38 Studios/EAP for PC, PS3, and Xbox 360)
- Mass Effect 3 (BioWare/EA Games for PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
- Star Wars: The Old Republic (BioWare Austin/EA for PC)
- WINNER: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Bethesda Game Studios/Bethesda for PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
Best Racing Game
- Driver: San Francisco (Ubisoft Reflections/Ubisoft for PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
- WINNER: Forza 4 (Turn 10 Studios/Microsoft Studios for Xbox 360)
- Mario Kart (Nintendo/Nintendo for 3DS)
- Need for Speed: The Run (EA Black Box/EA Games for PC, PS3, Xbox 360, Wii)
- Wipeout 2048 (Studio Liverpool/SCEE for PS Vita)
Best Fighting Game
- Skullgirls (Reverge Labs/Autumn Games for PS3, Xbox 360)
- Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike Online Edition (Iron Galaxy Studios/Capcom for PS3, Xbox 360)
- WINNER: Street Fighter X Tekken (Capcom/Capcom for PS3, Xbox 360, PS Vita)
- Soul Calibur V (Namco/Namco Bandai for PS3, Xbox 360)
- Tekken Tag Tournament 2 (Namco Bandai Games for Arcade)
- WWE 12 (Yuke's/THQ for PS3, Xbox 360, Wii)
Best Sports Game
- WINNER: FIFA Soccer 12 (EA Canada/EA Sports for PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
- Madden NFL 12 (EA Tiburon/EA Sports for PS3, Xbox 360)
- NBA 2K12 (Visual Concepts/2K Sports for PS3, Xbox 360)
- SSX (EA Canada/EA Sports for PS3, Xbox 360)
- UFC Undisputed 3 (Yuke's/THQ for PS3, Xbox 360)
Best Strategy Game
- Age of Empires Online (Gas Powered Games/Microsoft Studios for PC)
- End of Nations (Petroglyph/Trion Worlds for PC)
- WINNER: From Dust (Ubisoft Montpellier/Ubisoft for PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
- Skulls of the Shogun (Haunted Temple Studios for PC, Xbox 360)
- Trenched (Double Fine/Microsoft Studios for Xbox 360)
Best Social/Casual Game
- Dance Central 2 (Harmonix/Microsoft Studios for Xbox 360)
- Disneyland Adventures (Frontier Developments/Microsoft Studios for Xbox 360)
- Rocksmith (Ubisoft San Francisco/Ubisoft for PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
- Rhythm Heaven (TNX/Nintendo for Wii)
- WINNER: Sound Shapes (Queasy Games/SCEA for PS Vita)
Best Motion Simulation Game
- Dance Central 2 (Harmonix/Microsoft Studios for Xbox 360)
- Fruit Ninja Kinect (Halfbrick/Microsoft Studios for Xbox 360)
- Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster (Double Fine Productions/WB Games for Xbox 360)
- The Gunstringer (Twisted Pixel Games/Microsoft Studios for Xbox 360)
- WINNER: The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (Nintendo EAD/Nintendo for Wii)
Best Online Multiplayer Game
- WINNER: Battlefield 3 (DICE/EA for PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (Infinity Ward/Sledgehammer/ATVI for PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
- Gears of War 3 (Epic Games/Microsoft Studios for Xbox 360)
- Star Wars: The Old Republic (BioWare Austin/EA for PC)
- Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception (Naughty Dog/SCEA for PlayStation 3)
Best Downloadable Game
- WINNER: Bastion (Supergiant Games/WB Games for PC, Xbox 360)
- From Dust (Ubisoft Montpellier/Ubisoft for PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
- Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet (Fuelcell Games/Microsoft Studios for Xbox 360)
- Journey (Thatgamecompany/SCEA for PlayStation 3)
- Papo & Yo (Minority/SCEA for PlayStation 3)
Awarding without actually playing? Its a shame how the video game industry has become.
2011 & 2012 has got best games to play, mass effect 3, bioshock, hitman absolution,........... oh boy, i'm about to waste 2 years of my life :)
Before you get the wrong impression, I want to play Skyrim a hell of a lot, and I love all Todd Howard's work, just as I do all of Ken Levine's.
@mer1in79 I believe that's why Bioshock Infinite won best PC game, and Skyrim won best Console game. As to the award for game of show, that has nothing whatsoever to do with the system on which it was shown, because basing your judgement of a game on that essentially boils down to basing all your opinions about art on pure aesthetic quality rather than whether it adds anything more to your life. Bioshock Infinite looks to be a refined work of art that will remain timeless like the first Bioshock which didn't get the appreciation it deserved (and it got a lot at the time), while Skyrim looks to be a great game of its time, that will eventually be superseded by the next great game.
I will buy all the best - play them - and enjoy them all. They all look terrific
I was shocked to see Bioshock Infinite win so many awards but watching the 15 minute gameplay trailer it does look amazing cipo89 makes a point though i take it Battlefield 3,Bioshock Infinite were running on a high end p.c while Skyrim was on a 360 and it still looked beautiful.
@DamacosG It's because it's a sequel to a PS3 exclusive game but Skyrim is a sequel to a game that was multiconsole so it has a larger fanbase going into the equation. Not saying one is better than the other because I honestly don't know but if Dark Souls is a really good game I'm sure it will gain popularity on the Xbox. And personally I was pushing for TOR :P
o.o arkham city got snubbed here...
how did dark souls loose to skiyrim?.....
@clpo89 Yeah I agree, Skyrim does look awesome and a lot of the preliminary stuff has been gushing about it. I guess there's just a lot of stiff competition this year; if several of these titles were released last year they'd have swept.
Icehearted said something that rings true and reduces value of these awards by 100%. You read an excerpt from the book and say it is Best Book of the Year? I doubt it.
wtf, WHy Wii U???? why???? Vita is way cooler, and gamespot knows it
Skyrim would have received best of show to me.
Getting GoW3 BF3 MW3 ME3 Halo4 Probably Halo An. Arkham City Forza 4 Skyrim Maybe: Vita(with uncharted)
@Richardthe3rd Skyrim by far deserves it. It had one of the best E3 Stage Shows, and it's a Massive game with every speck of detail thought through carefully and included. That and also it's stage show was shown on an Xbox (I bet it will look even better on PC) and it looked Gorgeous. So yeah Skyrim definetly deserved it
This was just the beginning, my insiders tell me that we be seeing Valve at Gamescon and many other titles, if we're lucky also some Diablo 3. Simply because the games wasn't ready for E3 2011.
@spacerac wat
Pretty sure they lavished Duke Nukem Forever with some kind of best of show award about a decade ago too. These E3 awards are a flipping joke, and any organization that deals in awarding unfinished work only proves they have no journalistic integrity and are merely shills in disguise. You don't see movie trailers getting this kind of nonsensical attention. You don't see someone look at a food menu with pictures of what's available and declare that the best thing in the restaurant before actually eating the completely prepared meal. This is just shameful.
@penguins227 its a BC2 avatar and no i'm not a fanboy =P......i enjoy the occasional game of cod 4 or Mw2 but activision has totally killed an amazing franchise kinda like they did guitar hero
[This message was deleted at the request of the original poster]
So many games to look forward to
Well I guess this list doesn't match up well with the GS winners...o yea, they picked that Hitman that no one knows anything about to win in like 4 or 5 categories. Funny, I don't even see that game nominated for anything here. Don't get me wrong, I hope it turns out to be a great game but doesn't make sense that GS gave it so many awards and neglected so many other games.
Woo! Good job BioShock. I can't wait for this game!!
That said, I still can't wait for Uncharted 3. That series is one of the best things to come from this generation of games. Simply incredible gameplay. Can't wait for that one either!
Nice showing by Bioshock and in particular Ken Levine. He was the mastermind behind the first game, and he is the main reason (I think) the second wasn't nearly as good. I liked it, but never finished it. I tend to think Levine's guidance would have made Bioshock 2 as good as the first. Can't wait for Bioshock Infinite!
@dstv - haha! Yeah I know! I saw all those thumbs down and thought "hmm I wonder what happens if I say something?" Maybe it's because you have a BF3 avatar, so people think you are a stubborn ignorant fanboy. Which I doubt. :P
They should make a new category for "Best Graphics" and just give it BF3
@alpha_predator not the comment i was referring to ...but yeah i just misunderstood the meaning of "best original game"
@Ford_Cruller, 'Downloadable Game' sounds a lot more like a console category to me. Steam? Direct2Drive? Impulse? GOG? What game isn't downloadable!?
Best Motion Simulation Game... was.... The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword .... WHAT ELSE DID YOU THINK WOULD WIN IN THAT CATEGORY?!?!??!
Uncharted 3 won ... nothing.
Wish i could make the miracle of money multiplication. Uncharted, battlefield, rage, bioshock, PSVita, Golden Abyss, Sound Shapes, OMG!. I foresee bankruptcy.
@dstv no you got a gazillion thumbs down for saying that Bioshock infinite isn't an original game. It's from the same franchise, but can still be original. LOTR: War in the north is from the LOTR franchise, but it is still original
How can MW3 be nominated for best online multiplayer when all they showed was single player?
With all these games my wallet's gonna feel a lot lighter...
@penguins227 exactly except when i say it i get like a gazzilion thumbs down
@dstv Hey I'm looking forward to Bioshock Infinite as much as you but the game does not come out this holiday season and I beleave it comes out in 2012 in February.
Just a question... why did they nominate Modern Warfare 3 for best online multiplayer when no footage has even been shown?
@johnjarvela Hey that new Zelda game is the most anticapated game that is coming for the wii and in that catagory it was the new Zelda and 4 Kinect game's which included Dance Central 2 and I did not see any sony move game's on the list so the Kinect can not be all that bad.
BF3, skyrim, arkham asylum and bioshock ...this holiday season is looking better and better
I'm glad to Bioshock Infinite won big at E3 and I hope it does not disappoint I'm looking forward to it and Forza 4, Battlefield 3, RAGE and Batman: Arkhum City.
@brothersinarmsb Don't worry man the awards from E3 are just game that are now most anticapated for when they come out and you also have to remember that all of these critics got to see more than what we got to see of all the game and hard ware and some of thes titles might end up being a disapointment you can count on it. For example at last year's E3 show Epic Mickey won a few awards and it did not get good review's and I think most of them were a little poor, so you can count on it man.
@johnjarvela lol, are you really going to compare Zelda to Sesame Street, fruit ninja and dance central ?You make me laugh. You should be a comedian
I'm surprised Vita took best hardware from the Wii U but I suppose we really just saw the bare bones of the system. Come next time when the games and hardware are really leveraged, the Wii U will probably walk away the winner. Congrats to Sony anyway. The Vita is a neat looking system.
so getting Skyward Sword, I find it funny though, that a Motion Simulation title for Nintendo Wii beat out a bunch of Kinect games in the same category :P does the Kinect really suck that bad?
How could you even give out awards for games that haven't been out yet? Because of best show? Give me a break...I'll laugh one of this games turn out to be a disappointment with low critic scores.
Woa, now i'm very surprised about this game! I wasn't so excited... but now, i'm sure that i will buy it.
I am more than excited for Bioshock :D
knew it
Is it just me, or does Best Motion Simulation Game sound like a consolation category? These games should be judged on their own merits.
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Related Game
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Follow for the latest news, videos, & tips from experts & insiders
- Publisher(s): Bethesda Softworks
- Developer(s): Bethesda Game Studios
- Genre: Role-Playing
- Release: Nov 11, 2011 (US)
- ESRB: M
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