The respected Game Critics Association--of which the Level Up staff is a part--has just announced its nominations for the best games for the 2008 E3 Media & Business Summit which recently took place in Los Angeles. Last year's front-runner was Rock Band (from the three-headed hydra of Harmonix Music Systems, MTV Games and Electronic Arts) with a five nominations. This year? It's Media Molecule and Sony Computer Entertainment's roll-your-own Playstation 3 platformer, with a similar industry-leading total of five nominations. Our obsession with the game has been well-documented here on Level Up; after today's announcement, it would appear that our fellow scribes share our enthusiasm.
Just behind LittleBigPlanet with four nominations each were Gears of War 2 and Left 4 Dead, both console-exclusive to Xbox 360. They were in turn followed by four games that each received three nominations: Fallout 3, Mirror's Edge, Resistance 2 and Spore. The winners will be announced next week; you can see the entire list below. While the Level Up staff has yet to convene to determine which games will make its final ballot--theough we will confess to having a soft spot for Best Original Game nominee Flower--we encourage you to drop us a note in the comments section and let us know which games you think we should vote for, and why.
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Best of Show
- Fallout 3 (Bethesda Softworks for PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
- Gears of War 2 (Epic Games/Microsoft Game Studios for Xbox 360)
- LittleBigPlanet (Media Molecule/Sony Computer Entertainment for PlayStation 3)
- Mirror's Edge (DICE/Electronic Arts for PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
- Spore (Maxis/EA for PC)
Best Original Game
- Flower (ThatGameCompany/Sony Computer Entertainment for PlayStation 3)
- Left 4 Dead (Valve for PC, Xbox 360)
- Little Big Planet (Media Molecule/Sony Computer Entertainment for PlayStation 3)
- Mirror's Edge (DICE/Electronic Arts for PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
- Spore (Maxis/EA for PC)
Best PC Game
- Dragon Age: Origins (BioWare/EA for PC)
- Left 4 Dead (Valve/EAP for PC)
- Spore (Maxis/EA for PC)
- Warhammer 40000: Dawn of War II (Relic/THQ for PC)
- Warhammer Online (EA Mythic/EA for PC)
Best Console Game
- Fallout 3 (Bethesda Softworks for PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
- Gears of War 2 (Epic Games/Microsoft Game Studios for Xbox 360)
- LittleBigPlanet (Media Molecule/Sony Computer Entertainment for PlayStation 3)
- Resistance 2 (Insomniac Games/Sony Computer Entertainment for PlayStation 3)
- Resident Evil 5 (Capcom for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
Best Handheld Game
- Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia (Konami for Nintendo DS)
- Chrono Trigger DS (Square-Enix for Nintendo DS)
- Puzzle Quest: Galactrix (D3Publisher, Nintendo DS, PC, Xbox 360)
- Resistance: Retribution (Bend Studio/Sony Computer Entertainment for PSP)
- Rhythm Heaven (Nintendo for Nintendo DS)
Best Hardware
- Lips Microphone (Microsoft for Xbox 360)
- Rock Band 2 Ion "Drum Rocker" Set (ION Audio/MTV Games for Xbox 360)
- Wii MotionPlus (Nintendo for Wii)
Best Action Game
- Far Cry 2 (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft for PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
- Gears of War 2 (Epic Games/Microsoft Game Studios for Xbox 360)
- Left 4 Dead (Valve/EA for PC, Xbox 360)
- Mirror's Edge (DICE/Electronic Arts for PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
- Resistance 2 (Insomniac Games/Sony Computer Entertainment for PlayStation 3)
Best Action/Adventure Game
- Dead Space (EA Redwood Shores/EA for PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
- Prince of Persia (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
- Resident Evil 5 (Capcom for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
- Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (LucasArts for PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii, Xbox 360)
- Tomb Raider: Underworld (Crystal Dynamics/Eidos for PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
Best Role Playing Game
- Chrono Trigger DS (Square-Enix for Nintendo DS)
- Dragon Age: Origins (BioWare/EA for PC)
- Fable 2 (Lionhead/Microsoft Game Studios for Xbox 360)
- Fallout 3 (Bethesda Softworks for PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
- Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood (BioWare/Sega for Nintendo DS)
Best Racing Game
- Baja: Edge of Control (2XL Games/THQ for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
- Midnight Club: Los Angeles (Rockstar San Diego/Rockstar Games for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
- MotorStorm: Pacific Rift (Evolution Studios/Sony Computer Entertainment for PlayStation 3)
- Pure (Black Rock/Disney Interactive Studios for PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
Best Fighting Game
- Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe (Midway Chicago/Midway for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3)
- Soul Calibur IV (Namco-Bandai Games for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
- Street Fighter IV (Capcom for Arcade)
- Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix (Capcom for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
Best Sports Game
- Madden NFL 09 (Tiburon/EA for All Systems)
- NBA Live 09 (EA Canada/EA for All Systems)
- Shaun White Snowboarding (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft for All Systems)
- Skate It (EA Black Box/EA for Nintendo Wii)
- Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 09 (Tiburon/EA Sports for PC, PS3, Wii, Xbox 360)
Best Strategy Game
- Command and Conquer: Red Alert 3 (EALA/EA for PC, Xbox 360)
- Empire: Total War (Creative Assembly/Sega for PC)
- Halo Wars (Ensemble Studios/Microsoft Game Studios for Xbox 360)
- Tom Clancy's EndWar (Ubisoft Shanghai/Ubisoft for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
- Warhammer 40000: Dawn of War II (Relic/THQ for PC)
Best Social/Casual Game
- Guitar Hero World Tour (Neversoft/Red Octane/ATVI for All Systems)
- Lego Batman: The Videogame (Traveler's Tales/Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
- LittleBigPlanet (Media Molecule/Sony Computer Entertainment for PlayStation 3)
- Rock Band 2 (Harmonix/MTV Games/EAP for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
- Wii Sports Resort (Nintendo for Wii)
Best Online Multiplayer Game
- Gears of War 2 (Epic Games/Microsoft Game Studios for Xbox 360)
- Left 4 Dead (Valve/EAP for PC, Xbox 360)
- LittleBigPlanet (Media Molecule/Sony Computer Entertainment for PlayStation 3)
- Resistance 2 (Insomniac Games/Sony Computer Entertainment for PlayStation 3)
- Rock Band 2 (Harmonix/MTV Games/EAP for All Systems)
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