E3 was a great return to form this year.  Some great announcements were made and some cool games showcased.

The GamesCritics have just announced their nominations for game of the show.  Take a look here:  http://www.gamecriticsawards.com/

BRUTAL LEGEND and UNCHARTED 2: AMONG THIEVES lead with 4 nominations each.

Winners will be announced next Tuesday, June 23.

Best of Show

- Brütal Legend (Double Fine Productions/EAP for PS3, Xbox 360)
- Mass Effect 2 (BioWare/Electronic Arts for Xbox 360, PC)
- Modern Warfare 2 (Infinity Ward/Activision for PS3, Xbox 360, PC)
- Splinter Cell Conviction (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft for Xbox 360)
- Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (Naughty Dog/SCEA for PS3)

Best Original Game

- Alan Wake (Remedy/MGS for Xbox 360)
- Bayonetta (Platinum Games/Sega for PS3, Xbox 360)
- Brütal Legend (Double Fine Productions/EAP for PS3, Xbox 360)
- Heavy Rain (Quantic Dream/SCEE for PS3)
- Scribblenauts (5TH Cell/WBIE for Nintendo DS)

 

Best Console Game

- Brütal Legend (Double Fine Productions/EAP for PS3, Xbox 360)
- God of War 3 (Sony Santa Monica/SCEA for PS3)
- Mass Effect 2 (BioWare/Electronic Arts for Xbox 360)
- Modern Warfare 2 (Infinity Ward/Activision for PS3, Xbox 360)
- Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (Naughty Dog/SCEA for PS3)  

 

Best Handheld Game

- Gran Turismo (Polyphony Digital/SCEJ for PSP)
- LittleBigPlanet (SCE Studio Cambridge/Media Molecule/SCEE for PSP)
- Mario and Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story (Alphadream/Nintendo for Nintendo DS)
- Scribblenauts (5TH Cell/WBIE for Nintendo DS)
- The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks (Nintendo for Nintendo DS)

 

Best PC Game

- DC Universe Online (Sony Online Austin/SOE)
- Dragon Age: Origins (BioWare/EA)
- Left 4 Dead 2 (Valve/EAP)
- Star Wars: The Old Republic (BioWare Austin/LucasArts)
- Supreme Commander 2 (Gas Powered Games/Square Enix)

 

Best Hardware

- DJ Hero Controller (Freestyle Games/Red Octane/Activision)
- “Project Natal” (Microsoft)
- PSP Go (Sony Computer Entertainment)
- Tony Hawk Ride Skateboard (Robomodo/Activision)
- Wii MotionPlus (Nintendo)

 

Best Action Game

 

- BioShock 2 (2K Marin/2K Games for PS3, Xbox 360, PC)
- Halo 3 ODST (Bungie/MGS for Xbox 360)
- Left 4 Dead 2 (Valve/EAP for Xbox 360, PC)
- Modern Warfare 2 (Infinity Ward/Activision for PS3, Xbox 360, PC)
- Singularity (Raven/Activision for PS3, Xbox 360, PC)

 

Best Action/Adventure Game

- Bayonetta (Platinum Games/Sega for PS3, Xbox 360)
- Brütal Legend (Double Fine Productions/EAP for PS3, Xbox 360)
- God of War 3 (Sony Santa Monica/SCEA for PS3)
- Splinter Cell Conviction (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft for Xbox 360)
- Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (Naughty Dog/SCEA for PS3)

 

 

 Best Fighting Game

 

- Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes (Foundation 9/Capcom for PS3, Xbox 360)
- Soul Calibur: Broken Destiny (Project Soul/Namco-Bandai Games for PSP)
- Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All Stars (Eighting/Capcom for Wii)
- Tekken 6 (Namco Bandai for PS3, Xbox 360)
- The King of Fighters XII (SNK Playmore for PS3, Xbox 360)

 

Best Role Playing Game

 - Alpha Protocol (Obsidian/Sega for PS3, Xbox 360, PC)
- Dragon Age: Origins (BioWare/EA for PS3, Xbox 360, PC)
- Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story (Alphadream/Nintendo for Nintendo DS)
- Mass Effect 2 (BioWare/EA for Xbox 360, PC)
- Star Wars: The Old Republic (BioWare Austin/LucasArts for PC)

Best Racing Game

- Blur (Bizzare Creations/Activision for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC)
- Forza Motorsport 3 (Turn 10/MGS for Xbox 360)
- ModNation Racers (United Front/SCEA for PS3)
- Need for Speed Shift (Slightly Mad/EA Games for PS3, Xbox 360, PC)
- Split/Second (Black Rock/Disney Interactive for PS3, Xbox 360, PC)

 Best Sports Game

- Fight Night Round 4 (EA Canada/EA Sports for PS3, Xbox 360)
- Madden NFL 10 (EA Tiburon/EA Sports for PS3, Xbox 360, Wii)
- NHL 10 (EA Canada/EA Sports for PS3, Xbox 360)
- Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 (EA Tiburon/EA Sports for Wii)
- Tony Hawk Ride (Robomodo/Activision for PS3, Xbox 360, Wii)

Best Strategy Game

- League of Legends: Clash of Fates (Riot Games for PC)
- Order of War (Wargaming.net/Square Enix for PC)
- R.U.S.E. (Eugen Systems/Ubisoft for PS3, Xbox 360, PC)
- Supreme Commander 2 (Gas Powered Games/Square Enix for Xbox 360, PC)  

Best Social/Casual Game

 

- DJ Hero (Traveler’s Tales/Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
- Guitar Hero 5 (Neversoft/Red Octane/Activision for All Systems)
- Scribblenauts (5TH Cell/WBIE for Nintendo DS)
- The Beatles Rock Band (Harmonix/MTV Games/EAP for PS3, Xbox 360, Wii)
- Wii Sports Resort (Nintendo for Wii)

Best Online Multiplayer Game

- Halo 3 ODST

(Bungie/MGS for Xbox 360)
- Left 4 Dead 2 (Valve/EAP for Xbox 360, PC)
- MAG (Zipper Interactive/SCEA for PS3)
- Star Wars: The Old Republic (BioWare Austin/LucasArts for PC)
- Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (Naughty Dog/SCEA for PS3)

So…………….

 Who do you think deserve to be the winners?

EArl

 

© 2009 Electronic Arts Inc. All rights reserved. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners

Patrick Soderlund, Senior Vice President EA, who oversees all of Europe’s EA Games portfolio is very confident about the quality of Need for Speed Shift.  He gave a very assured interview to VideoGamer.Com.  Take a look here.  http://tinyurl.com/mhf5fo

Even better news was hearing that IGN.com awarded Need For Speed Shift their Best PS3 Racing Game Award at E3.  http://tinyurl.com/kohawr 

Best Racing Game Need for Speed Shift Release date: September 22, 2009 There was a lot of good competition on the racing front this year, but Need for Speed: Shift outpaced everything else thanks to its incredible dashboard view. Your vision blurs, kicks and reels with smacks from other cars and the environment, and the engine feedback even while you’re racing clean is top-notch. All other racers need to take note at how to handle a realistic driving perspective.

Runners-Up ·         Blur ·         DIRT 2 ·         ModNation Racers ·         MX vs. ATV Reflex

Certainly we are very proud of the feedback we received at E3.  The game feels polished, its a great adrenaline rush.  What really sets it apart is the awesome dashboard camera and advanced driver AI.  Great work by Slightly Mad Studios.

This is shaping up beautifully.

EArl

© 2009 Electronic Arts Inc. All rights reserved. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners

Thanks for all your great comments.  It’s awesome to have such positive feedback at the start of our InsideEA blog.  Great to have you as part of the community.

Now, I have been asked by several people what games I am most excited about from EA coming up.  There are many but the one I would love to bring to your attention today is Need for Speed: Shift.  I am a pure adrenaline junkie and love the feeling of speed and putting the pedal to the medal and taking corners flat out at speed.  NFS: Shift is shaping up beautifully and I cannot wait to race online, hopefully against members of this community.  I feel some laptime competitions coming to this community later this year.

In the meantime, while the game is polished and enhanced, take a look at this short teaser video.  This promises to be a great game.  Let us know your views.

EArl

© 2008 Electronic Arts Inc. All rights reserved. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.