Rock Band, developed by Harmonix

The Game Critics Association, of which the Level Up staff is a member, has just announced its 2007 Game Critics Awards nominations for the best games shown at the recent E3 Media & Business Summit in Los Angeles. Leader of the pack? That would be the would-be Guitar Hero slayer known as Rock Band--developed by Harmonix and published by MTV and Electronic Arts--with five nominations. Lighters up, people.

Just behind Rock Band, with four nominations each, are Infinity Ward/Activision's military shooter Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, and Irrational Games/2K Games' action-RPG BioShock. The three games were nominated for Best of Show, along with Bethesda Softworks' Fallout 3 (three nominations) and BioWare/Microsoft Game Studios' Mass Effect (three nominations.) Our personal favorite, Media Molecule/Sony Computer Entertainment's LittleBigPlanet, received three nominations, including one for Best Original Game. The winners will be announced next week, but in the meantime, you can get a fuller breakdown of the awards by the numbers here; read on for the full list of nominees.

***

Best of Show

• Bioshock (Irrational Games/2K Games for PC, Xbox 360)
• Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Infinity Ward/Activision for PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
• Fallout 3 (Bethesda Softworks for PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
• Mass Effect (Bioware/Microsoft Game Studios for Xbox 360)
• Rock Band (Harmonix/MTV Games/EAP for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)

Best Original Game

• Bioshock (Irrational Games/2K Games for PC, Xbox 360)
• de Blob (Blue Tongue/THQ for Wii)
• Little Big Planet (Media Molecule/SCEE for PS3)
• Rock Band (Harmonix/MTV Games/EAP for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
• Wii Fit (Nintendo for Wii)

Best PC Game

• Call of Duty 4 (Infinity Ward/Activision)
• Crysis (Crytek/Electronic Arts)
• Enemy Territory: Quake Wars (Splash Damage/id/Activision)
• Fallout 3 (Bethesda Softworks)
• World in Conflict (Massive Entertainment/Sierra)

Best Console Game

• Bioshock (Irrational Games/2K Games for Xbox 360)
• Call of Duty 4 (Infinity Ward/Activision for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
• Mass Effect (BioWare/Microsoft Games Studio for Xbox 360)
• Rock Band (Harmonix/MTV Games/EAP for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
• Super Mario Galaxy (Nintendo for Wii)

Best Handheld Game

• Contra 4 (WayForward/Konami for Nintendo DS)
• Dead Head Fred (Vicious Cycle/D3 for PSP)
• God of War: Chains of Olympus (Ready at Dawn/SCEA for PSP)
• Silent Hill: Origins (Climax/Konami for PSP)
• The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (Nintendo for Nintendo DS)

Best Hardware

• PSP-2000 (Sony Computer Entertainment)
• Rock Band Instruments (Harmonix/MTV Games/EAP for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
• Wii Balance Board (Nintendo for Wii)
• Wii Zapper (Nintendo for Wii)

Best Action Game

• Call of Duty 4 (Infinity Ward/Activision for PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
• Crysis (Crytek/EA for PC)
• Halo 3 (Bungie/Microsoft Game Studios for Xbox 360)
• Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (Retro Studios/Nintendo for Wii)
• Unreal Tournament 3 (Epic Games/Midway for PC, PlayStation 3)

Best Action/Adventure Game

• Assassin’s Creed (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft for PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
• Bioshock (Irrational Games/2K Games for PC, Xbox 360)
• Heavenly Sword (Ninja Theory/SCEE for PlayStation 3)
• Super Mario Galaxy (Nintendo for Wii)
• Uncharted: Drake's Fortune (Naughty Dog/SCEA for PlayStation 3)

Best Fighting Game

• Naruto: Rise of a Ninja (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft for Xbox 360)
• Virtua Fighter 5 (Sega for Xbox 360)
• WWE SmackDown! vs. RAW 2008 (Yuke’s/THQ for Nintendo Wii)

Best Role Playing Game

• Eternal Sonata (Namco Bandai Games for Xbox 360)
• Fable 2 (Lionhead/Microsoft Game Studios for Xbox 360)
• Fallout 3 (Bethesda Softworks for PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
• Hellgate: London (Flagship Studios/EAP for PC)
• Mass Effect (BioWare/Microsoft Games Studio for Xbox 360)

Best Racing Game

• Burnout Paradise (Criterion Games/EA for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
• Need for Speed ProStreet (EA Black Box/EA for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
• Project Gotham Racing 4 (Bizarre Creations/Microsoft Game Studios for Xbox 360)
• Stuntman: Ignition (Paradigm/THQ for PS2, PS3, Xbox 360)

Best Sports Game

• Madden NFL 08 (Tiburon/EA for All Systems)
• Skate (EA Black Box/EA for PS3, Xbox 360)
• Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08 (Tiburon/EA Sports for PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
• Tony Hawk's Proving Ground (Neversoft/Activision for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)

Best Strategy Game

• Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution (Firaxis/2K Games for PS3, Xbox 360, Wii)
• Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts (Relic/THQ for PC)
• Halo Wars (Ensemble Studios/Microsoft Game Studios for PC, Xbox 360)
• Universe at War: Earth Assault (Petroglyph/Sega for PC, Xbox 360)
• World in Conflict (Massive Entertainment/Sierra for PC)

Best Social/Casual/Puzzle Game

• Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (Neversoft/Red Octane/ATVI for PS2, PS3, 360, Wii)
• Little Big Planet (Media Molecule/SCEE for PS3)
• Rock Band (Harmonix/MTV Games/EAP for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
• Wii Fit (Nintendo for Wii)
• Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure (Capcom for Wii)

Best Online Multiplayer Game

• Burnout Paradise (Criterion Games/EA for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
• Enemy Territory: Quake Wars (Splash Damage/Nerve/id/ATVI for PC, PS3, 360)
• Halo 3 (Bungie/Microsoft Games Studio for Xbox 360)
• Little Big Planet (Media Molecule/SCEE for PlayStation 3)
• Unreal Tournament 3 (Epic Games/Midway for PC, PlayStation 3)