Just over two weeks ago, the 2008 E3 Media & Business Summit closed its doors. But while reaction to the 4,000-person event has been decidedly mixed, attendees could agree that many fine games were on display--either behind closed doors or on the scaled-down show floor.

Today, the cream of the games press honored the top of the crop by doling out the 10th annual Game Critics Awards: Best of E3 2008 honors. This year, the Best of Show prize went to Fallout 3, Bethesda Softworks’ upcoming update of the classic postapocalyptic role-playing game series. Due out this fall, Fallout 3 also won Best RPG at the event, beating such opponents Lionhead’s Fable 2 and BioWare’s Dragon Age: Origins.

Also scoring two awards was the cuddly PlayStation 3 platformer, LittleBigPlanet, which was the most nominated title. The level-editor-centric game won Best Console Game, winning out over Fallout 3, Gears of War 2, Resistance 2, and Resident Evil 5. Developed by British shop Media Molecule (Rag Doll Kung Fu), the title--due out in October--also won the Best Social/Casual Game distinction.

LittleBigPlanet and Fallout 3 were the only multiple award winners, with EA Maxis’ Spore winning best PC Game of E3 over THQ’s Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II and three other EA titles: Dragon Age: Origins, Left 4 Dead, and Warhammer Online. Other winners included Resistance: Retribution (Best Handheld Game) and Gears of War 2 (Best Action Game). A full list of nominees and winners is below.

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)
- 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 PC Game
- Dragon Age: Origins (BioWare/EA for PC)
- Left 4 Dead (Valve/EAP for PC)
- Spore (Maxis/EA for PC)
- Warhammer 40,000: 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)
- Soulcalibur IV (Namco-Bandai Games for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
- Street Fighter IV (Capcom for PS3, Xbox 360)
- 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 Plaforms)
- 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 40,000: 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)

By Tor Thorsen