Game Critics Hail Uncharted, Scribblenauts, Modern Warfare 2 at E3

In the wake of the best and biggest E3 in three years, the Game Critics Awards organization unveiled its E3 Awards today, hailing Naughty Dog’s Uncharted 2: Among Thieves with three nods, the best overall, best console, and best action-adventure game of show. Newcomer developer 5th Cell ‘s imaginative Scribblenauts won two awards, for best original and best handheld game.

Following a slew of online site awards (IGN, GameSpot, GamePro, 1Up, GameSpy, Joystiq, GameTrailers, Yahoo, G4, and my own GameInsano awards), which corralled and focused gamers’ attention on the front-runners, The Game Critics put the exclamation point on the show. Electronic Arts walked away with four awards out of 21 nominees, for Star Wars: The Old Republic (Best PC Game), Mass Effect 2 (Best Role-Playing Game), Fight Night Round 4 (Best Sports Game), and Left 4 Dead 2 (Best Online Multiplayer).

Sony Computer Entertainment America garnered the second-highest number of wins with three–all going to Uncharted 2: Among Thieves.  Naughty Dogs’ game was the most awarded game overall and nabbed all of Sony’s awards out of 13 nominations.  Apparently, the mere 545,000 units the game sold-through since its 2007 release in the U.S. don’t mean a thing to game critics, who acclaimed Uncharted 2 for its epic scale, impressive graphics, and new multiplayer components.

Activision garnered 10 nominations and took home awards for Modern Warfare 2 and DJ Hero, with Infinity Ward’s Modern Warfare 2 winning Best Action Game and DJ Hero winning for Best Social/Casual/Puzzle Game.

Unfortunately, the Game Critics organization doesn’t have a DLC category, which it should. That award should go to Chair Entertainment’s Shadow Complex, an exclusive Xbox 360 action-adventure game due this summer.

See the full list of winners below:

Best of Show
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
(Naughty Dog/Sony Computer Entertainment America for PlayStation 3)

Best Original Game
Scribblenauts
(5TH Cell/Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment for Nintendo DS)

Best Console Game
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
(Naughty Dog/Sony Computer Entertainment America for PlayStation 3)

Best PC Game
Star Wars: The Old Republic
(BioWare Austin/LucasArts)

Best Handheld Game
Scribblenauts
(5TH Cell/Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment for Nintendo DS)

Best Hardware/Peripheral
“Project Natal”
(Microsoft for Xbox 360)

Best Action Game
Modern Warfare 2
(Infinity Ward/Activision for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC)

Best Action/Adventure Game
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
(Naughty Dog/Sony Computer Entertainment America for PlayStation 3)

Best Role Playing Game
Mass Effect 2
(BioWare/Electronic Arts for Xbox 360, PC)

Best Racing Game
Split/Second
(Black Rock/Disney Interactive Studios for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC)

Best Sports Game
Fight Night Round 4
(EA Canada/EA Sports for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)

Best Fighting Game
Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars
(Eighting/Capcom for Nintendo Wii)

Best Strategy Game
Supreme Commander 2
(Gas Powered Games/Square-Enix for Xbox 360, PC)

Best Social/Casual/Puzzle
DJ Hero
(Freestyle/Red Octane/Activision for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii)

Best Online Multiplayer
Left 4 Dead 2
(Valve/EAP for Xbox 360, PC)

Fight Night Round 4 Impressions

Muhammad Ali connects with a left jab. Note the additonal musculature and definition.

At Electronic Arts’ EA3 last week, EA Montreal demoed what can only be described as an extremely intoxicating, heart-pounding new version of Fight Night: Round 4.

Like any good developer, they listened to fan, critics, and reviewers, and determined how to approach FN: Round 4.  And while it almost sounds like a cliché at this point, when developers re-tool their physics engines, the games usually do look and play better.

Following EA Chicago’s 2006 next gen debut of Fight Night Round 3 on Xbox 360, FN: Round 4 takes what was largely an eight-point body model, and has created what is essentially an infinite number of boxing options. Where boxers could connect in a few parts of the head and body before, this physics engine enables, for instance, a powerful punch by young Mike Tyson to push through the block of a defender, enabling Tyson’s power, strength, and targeting to determine the punch’s damage. (A lot, btw.)

The engine also takes into account all sorts of other factors. Glance a blow off the opponent’s head and it won’t count for as much as square, direct punch, or a punch to the temple, of a punch to the eye. In other words, the angle, power, and directness of the hit are all taken into account in tallying the punch’s damage.

Roy Jones, Jr. leans out of harm's way.

Associate Producer Michael Mahar was on-hand to fight with me in a match that suited the times, featuring Manny Pacquiao versus Ricky Hatton. This was exactly my kind of fight. I like light-weight boxers who are able throw many punches, are able to weave and react quickly, and who peck away with their irritating, constant jabs. While chatting, he said his team had gotten rid of the parrying ability for various reasons. The main one, however, was because parrying just didn’t cut it during major fights. It’s a non-factor and something that didn’t make sense in this new model.

Just like FN: Round 3, FN: Round 4 is full of great visuals and sound effects. Graphically, boxers show accumulative facial damage, with darkening under the eyes, a growing palette of purple and red colors coloring the face, and registering with swelling lips, cheeks, and eyes. When you stun or come close to knocking out  an opponent, the camera zooms in a touch, the crowd grows in volume, and while vulnerable the opponent looks fazed. If the same happens to you, you’ll get dizzy and lose control for a second: you’ll see your boxer stumble or let down his gloves or just look blankly into the air. If you do get knocked out, getting up before the ref calls it quits works differently than before. You’ll follow a quick set of rhythm-based arrow patterns with the analog sticks. Do it right and you’ll stagger up. Miss the beat, and you’ll be out.

The controls have remained relatively the same. Players use the dual analogs for nearly everything. Aim the left analog for the left hand, right for the right hand. Hooks, jabs, uppercuts, roundhouses–all are handled the same. Press the right shoulder button (R2) for a haymaker, and R1 for defending high or low, and L1 for leaning out of harm’s way.

"Frazier connects with a devastating right hook! Oh my!" Sound familiar?

The audio portion was just as “crunchy” as previous builds. A direct uppercut or a hook to the face will result in what sounds like celery or a carrot crunching. It’s over the top, but the visceral effect works. Additionally, EA has done a great job with the crowd which reacts to momentum changes and sense upcoming knock-outs.

Before his descent into weirdness, Tyson was a ferocious, unbeatable brute. EA tries to capture those days in FN: Round 4.

There are dozens more little details to reveal, like players’ ability to simultaneously handle their boxer in the corner in between rounds, speeding up the game from the cool-looking yet tedious manner in which your cut man would handle his boxer. One more thing, Mahar says FN: Round 4 has more boxers than any previous Fight Night iterations, sporting a roster with more than 50 boxers all told, not to mention the deep create-a-character functionality that’s improved from FN: Round 3.

Fight Night Round 4 is due on Xbox 360 and PS3 this summer (probably June).  I’ll have more before or during E3 2009.