As fun as the Electronic Entertainment Expo can be, it’s not until you return from the show that the quality of the games really starts to sink in. Like the stories exchanged after band camp, the tales we have to tell after E3 will live in infamy. And within the confines of our own office, thank you very much.
Well, most of the stories, anyway. We’ve exchanged a few tales with you already, from our hands-on Halo 2 multiplayer report to our impressions of Nintendo’s new DS handheld system. We even related some information about our time with Prince of Persia 2 and Splinter Cell 3. But now it’s time for our grandest tale of all: DailyGame’s Best of E3 2004 Awards.
We’ve spent an extra week carefully reviewing the games from E3, and with the extra week of debriefing, it’s become crystal clear which titles continue to stand out as the best of show. So, without further ado, the envelope please….
Best of Show: Halo 2
To be perfectly honest, we half-expected Halo 2 to disappoint. Not that we thought the game would stink, but when a title has so much riding on its shoulders, not to mention so many expectations for greatness, we figured it was just destined to let people down. Oh how very, very wrong we were. Halo 2 took every single pre-E3 expectation, from graphics to gameplay, and smacked it upside the head like Biff hitting McFly. We were sure there was no way the screenshots were in-game. We were sure the multiplayer action couldn’t improve upon the original. We were sure, in essence, that Bungie was drinking its own Kool-Aid. Now all we’re sure about is that we can’t wait until Halo 2 comes out on November 9. For more of our thoughts, check out our hands-on Halo 2 preview. There’s a reason this game won Best of Show.
- Runners Up
- Jade Empire
- MechAssault 2
Best Role-Playing Game: Jade Empire
Well, it’s pretty much official now: BioWare is comprised of gaming gods. How else can you explain the ability to create another role-playing game that not only improves upon last year’s outstanding Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, but trounces the gameplay and graphics in every conceivable way? Jade Empire has the depth of a traditional BioWare RPG, the real-time combat of a traditional action game, the mini-game bonuses of the most entertaining titles and the graphics of a truly next-generation property. With all those elements, Jade Empire has the best potential we’ve seen yet to bring RPGing to the mass of casual gamers. Yet at the same time, it’s also got the right mix of elements to appease established fans of console RPGs. If Microsoft continues to let BioWare weave its own unique tale set in ancient China, Jade Empire could very well prove to be one of the best RPGs ever made.
- Runners Up
- Final Fantasy XII
- Fable
Best Real-Time Strategy: The Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle-Earth
Incredible. Gorgeous. Innovative. Approachable. EA’s The Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle-Earth is all of these things wrapped up into a tidy, licensed package that would sell millions even without a solid game inside it. But solid this RTS is, with a re-imagined user interface and artificial intelligence that immerses gamers in both the story and the resource management. What a novel concept. There’s little that Battle for Middle-Earth leaves out of its gameplay toolkit, and if any company is going to make this underappreciated genre even more appealing to PC gamers, EA is the one to do it. Get all your partying done before September; that’s when this game comes out and your social life goes straight down the tubes.
- Runners Up
- Axis & Allies
- The Settlers: Heritage of Kings
Best Racing Game: Gran Turismo 4
Please don’t feign surprise. You knew Gran Turismo 4 was going to take this category by storm. Sure, the runners up for this award had great gameplay in their own right, but neither can touch GT4 in terms of its variety of cars and tracks or its gameplay depth. With hundreds of fully customizable automobiles, GT4 has enough under its hood to keep gamers busy for months, and that’s before even considering the variety of tracks and gameplay modes. Then, just to make sure you avoid getting natural sunlight anytime this century, Polyphony has added a new Photo Mode to set up the perfect shot for the perfect ride. It’s enough to make a grown man giddy. Tee hee.
- Runners Up
- Burnout 3
- Forza Motorsport
Best First-Person Shooter: Halo 2
Fast action, fantastic graphics, fabulous online multiplayer options and the promise of a gripping single-player campaign…where do we sign up? There’s little to say about Halo 2 that we haven’t already said. This game will own. We seldom heap praise like this, but somehow Halo 2 managed to exceed our already-lofty expectations. The game was up against some very steep competition this year, and even paring it down to one winner and two runners up was a daunting task. But pare it we did, and win the award Halo 2 did, and pull an all-nighter we shall on November 9.
- Runners Up
- Killzone
- Half-Life 2
Best Shooter: MechAssault 2
We’ll be the first to admit that the first MechAssault got old after a few weeks. So going into E3, we had somewhat-low expectations for the sequel. We’d heard about the new features, which sounded great, but would the game deliver on the promises? Did it ever! MechAssault 2 looks fantastic, and it plays even better. Introducing strategic elements to what was previously “just” a shooter was an ingenious move on FASA’s part, and it gives MechAssault 2 infinitely deeper gameplay than its predecessor. In fact, the franchise has made such drastic improvements that, were it not for the numeral “2,” we would’ve presumed the game was an entirely original property. We were completely unprepared for the greatness that this game had to offer, and after just 30 minutes it skyrocketed toward the top of our “most anticipated” list.
- Runners Up
- Unreal Championship 2
- Metroid Prime: Echoes
Best Action Game: God of War
The PS2 this year tried to make the case that in spite of its “old age,” the platform can still churn out awesome games, and God of War is one key exhibit in Sony’s briefcase. The action in God of War is phenomenal, with fast-paced, combo-driven gameplay that will keep even the most seasoned action-game veteran on his or her toes. The seamless environments are a nice touch as well, because they keep the focus on the mythology-driven action rather than pesky loading screens. Add in some over-the-top kills and magic spells, and you’ve got yourself a formula for success. God of War came from out of nowhere at E3, but as it moves toward its spring 2005 release date, it’s definitely not going to hide in the shadows. This one will be front and center, and deservedly so.
- Runners Up
- Iron Phoenix
- Viewtiful Joe 2
Best Sports Game: Madden NFL 2005
Say what you will about the cool stat-tracking enhancements for its competitors, but when it comes to substantive gameplay updates, Madden NFL 2005 takes the drumstick. For starters, supporting Xbox Live this fall makes Madden immediately jump to the top of all online sports games. It’s that simple. There’s no online sports game that will touch Madden. Then, EA added the defensive “hit stick” feature, which allows gamers full tackle control and will make you think twice before gunning for an opponent. Not done yet, Madden 2005’s next enhancement comes to its franchise mode, which is exponentially deeper now that you can completely track the week’s happenings in the NFL. And to top it all off, gamers can even create their own fan and watch him (or her) live it up in the stands. All this, coupled with the traditional graphic updates, makes Madden NFL 2005 the sports game to beat this year. And in our opinion, that just isn’t going to happen.
- Runners Up
- ESPN NFL 2005
- Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2005
Best Platformer: Prince of Persia 2
It was hard to deny the Prince’s greatness last year in Sands of Time, but Ubisoft is pulling out all the stops for the sequel to make sure the Prince affirms his place in platforming’s pantheon. Armed with a plethora of new moves, the Prince looks fantastic, and his new arsenal of time-altering powers introduces some great new gameplay opportunities. The cinematic presentation in Prince of Persia 2 is also upped a notch, with environments that are constantly on the move, camera angles that provide great views without getting in the way, and a graphical polish that’s already on par with Sands of Time, even at this early state. If it was hard to deny the greatness of Sands of Time, then consider it darn near futile to try stopping the sequel from leading the list of platformers in the foreseeable future.
- Runners Up
- Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal
- Conker: Live and Reloaded
Best Xbox Game: Halo 2
Notice how the games in this category mimic the Best of Show awards. Xbox by far had the strongest game lineup at E3 this year, and that lineup was led, as expected, by Halo 2. If the Xbox launched as little more than a Halo adapter for your TV, then consider Halo 2 the system’s HDTV decoder, a crystal clear picture of what videogames are meant to be.
- Runners Up
- Jade Empire
- MechAssault 2
Best PS2 Game: Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal
If you’ve not played a game in the Ratchet & Clank series, you’re missing out on one of the most enjoyable series for PS2. Always creative, Insomniac Games is set to beef-up the single-player game in Up Your Arsenal with new weapons and gadgets, not to mention some crazy new vehicles. Yet what really stood out in our minds, particularly from a franchise-evolution standpoint, is the addition of online multiplayer. If Ratchet & Clank defined the action-platformer genre, then the multiplayer options in Up Your Arsenal will draw even more emphasis to the “action.” There’s nothing that feels quite like being one of eight players running around blasting enemies and turning them into sheep while trying to capture their base. Up Your Arsenal really has it all, both in single-player and multiplayer options. It’s going to be one wild ride.
- Runners Up
- Killzone
- Gran Turismo 4
Best GameCube Game: Viewtiful Joe 2
E3 2003 was the coming-out party for Capcom’s Viewtiful Joe, but E3 2004 showed that the game’s sequel is going to take stylistic action to entirely new levels. No game looks quite like Viewtiful Joe 2. No game plays quite like Viewtiful Joe 2. And no GameCube game stayed in our heads quite like Viewtiful Joe 2. This is one of those games that have to be played to be understood, a platformer/shooter/side-scroller/old-school title that does everything with so much flair that you’ll wonder how you’ve survived this long without it. Slow down time, use special powers, blast enemies with the style of Hollywood’s biggest star. If there’s one game destined to see serious rotation in our GameCube this year, it’s Viewtiful Joe 2.
- Runners Up
- Donkey Kong Jungle Beat
- Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
Best PC Game: The Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle-Earth
If you read our Best RTS summary, it should be pretty clear why this game is also our best PC game of E3 2004. Not only does it look and play wonderfully, but it introduces new elements to the real-time-strategy genre that promise to make it more appealing to general game consumers. Granted, the “Lord of the Rings” license helps, but EA hasn’t taken an everyday RTS and slapped Frodo’s face on the cover. This is a well-planned, well-implemented and well-done game, and it’s not even complete. The games against which Battle for Middle-Earth was competing are destined to be great, no question, but this one is destined to do great things for its entire genre while also being a great game in its own right.
- Runners Up
- The Sims 2
- Half-Life 2
Biggest Surprise: Nintendo’s Bongo Drum Peripheral
Yes, we know. Pounding on a drum to move your monkey sounds pornographic. Or absurd. Or a little bit of both. But after two minutes of playing Donkey Kong Jungle Beat and using the required bongo peripheral, you forget all about how silly you look and realize that, as much as you hate to admit it, you’re actually having fun. And the weirdest part: the people around you forget how silly you look too, because they want to bang the drums themselves. Here’s how it works: bang on the right drum to move Donkey Kong to the right and the left drum to move him to the left. Hit both drums simultaneously to make him jump, and clap above the central microphone to make Donkey Kong dodge during his fighting sequences. We were absolutely positive before E3 that Nintendo’s bongo would be a cheap and excruciatingly stupid peripheral. But even now, two weeks later, it remains one of our most purely enjoyable memories from the show. And believe us, that surprises us more than anything else from E3 this year.
- Runners Up
- Jade Empire
- Splinter Cell 3