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Halo 2 leads Game Critics Awards' Best of E3 nominees

Bungie's sci-fi shooter garners four nominations, while Splinter Cell 3, God of War, Half-Life 2, and Jade Empire tally three nods each.

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This evening, the nominees for Game Critics Awards: Best of E3 2004 were announced. Bungie and Microsoft's hotly anticipated sci-fi shooter Halo 2 received the most nominations, including Best of Show, Best Console Game, Best Action Game, and Best Online Multiplayer Game. Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell 3, God of War, Half-Life 2, and Jade Empire were not far behind, though, coming in with three nominations each. Nintendo and Electronic Arts tied for the honor of most-nominated publisher, with 11 nods apiece.

Each year, the Game Critics Awards are voted on by a group of 35 game journalists from major publications. Among the outlets represented are Time, Newsweek, Rolling Stone, CNN/Money, USA Today, Entertainment Weekly, Business 2.0, and The Los Angeles Times.

The winners of the Game Critics Awards will be revealed on June 8. The complete list of nominees is below.

Best of Show
- Half-Life 2 (Valve/Vivendi Universal Games - PC)
- Halo 2 (Bungie/Microsoft - Xbox)
- Nintendo DS (Mobile Gaming System - Nintendo Co. Ltd)
- Sony PSP (Mobile Gaming System
- Sony Computer Entertainment)
- Splinter Cell 3 (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft - PC)

Best Original Game
- Destroy All Humans! (Pandemic/THQ - PlayStation 2, Xbox)
- Donkey Kong Jungle Beat (Nintendo - GameCube)
- God of War (SCEA Santa Monica/SCEA - PlayStation 2)
- Jade Empire (Bioware/Microsoft - Xbox)
- Odama (Vivarium/Nintendo - GameCube)

Best PC Game
- Half-Life 2 (Valve/Vivendi Universal Games - PC)
- The Lord of the Rings, The Battle for Middle-earth (EALA/Electronic Arts - PC)
- Rome: Total War (Creative Assembly/Activision - PC)
- Sims 2 (Maxis/Electronic Arts - PC)
- Splinter Cell 3 (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft - PC)

Best Console Game
- God of War (SCEA Santa Monica/SCEA - PlayStation 2)
- Halo 2 (Bungie/Microsoft - Xbox)
- Jade Empire (Bioware/Microsoft - Xbox)
- Metroid Prime 2: Echoes (Retro Studios/Nintendo - GameCube)
- Resident Evil 4 (Capcom - GameCube)

Best Peripheral/Hardware
- Alienware Video Array Technology (Alienware - PC)
- Donkey Konga Bongo Drums (Nintendo - GameCube)
- Nintendo DS (Mobile Gaming System - Nintendo Co. Ltd)
- Phantom Gaming Service (Infinium Labs, Inc.)
- Sony PSP (Mobile Gaming System - Sony Computer Entertainment)

Best Action Game
- Doom 3 (Vicarious Visions/id/Activision - Xbox)
- F.E.A.R. (Monolith Productions/Vivendi Universal Games - PC)
- Half-Life 2 (Valve/Vivendi Universal Games - PC)
- Halo 2 (Bungie/Microsoft - Xbox)
- Metroid Prime 2: Echoes (Retro Studios/Nintendo - GameCube)

Best Action/Adventure Game
- God of War (SCEA Santa Monica/SCEA - PlayStation 2)
- Prince of Persia 2 (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft - All Systems)
- Resident Evil 4 (Capcom - GameCube)
- Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal (Insomniac Games/SCEA - PlayStation 2)
- Splinter Cell 3 (Ubisoft Montreal/UbiSoft - PC)

Best Fighting Game
- Def Jam: Fight for NY (EA Canada/EA - All Console Systems)
- Guilty Gear Isuka (Arc System Works/Sammy Studios - PlayStation 2)
- Mortal Kombat: Deception (Midway Games - PlayStation 2/Xbox)
- Rumble Roses (KCET/Konami - PlayStation 2)
- Street Fighter Anniversary Collection (Capcom - PlayStation 2/Xbox)

Best Role-Playing Game
- Fable (Big Blue Box/Microsoft - Xbox)
- Final Fantasy XII (Square Enix - PlayStation 2)
- Jade Empire (Bioware/Microsoft - Xbox)
- Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords (Obsidian/LucasArts - PC/Xbox)
- Vampire: The Masquerade
- Bloodlines (Troika Games/Activision - PC)

Best Racing Game
- Burnout 3 (Criterion Games/Electronic Arts - PlayStation 2/Xbox)
- Enthusia Professional Racing (Konami - PlayStation 2)
- Forza Motorsport (Microsoft - Xbox)
- Gran Turismo 4 (Polyphony Digital/Sony Computer Entertainment - PlayStation 2)
- Street Racing Syndicate (Eutechnyx/Namco - All Console Systems)

Best Simulation Game
- Full Spectrum Warrior (Pandemic/THQ - PC/Xbox)
- Pacific Fighters (1C/Ubisoft - PC)
- Sims 2 (Maxis/Electronic Arts - PC)
- The Movies (Lionhead Studios/Activision - All Platforms)
- The Urbz: Sims in the City (Maxis/Electronic Arts - All Console Systems)

Best Sports Game
- ESPN NFL 2005 (Visual Concepts/ESPN Videogames - PS2/Xbox)
- FIFA Soccer 2005 (EA Sports/Electronic Arts - All Platforms)
- Madden NFL 2005 (EA Sports/Electronic Arts - All Platforms)
- Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2005 (EA Sports/Electronic Arts - All Platforms)
- Tony Hawk's Underground 2 (Neversoft/Activision - All Platforms)

Best Strategy Game
- The Lord of the Rings, The Battle for Middle-earth (EALA/Electronic Arts - PC)
- Pikmin 2 (Nintendo - GameCube)
- Rome: Total War (Creative Assembly/Activision - PC)
- Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War (Relic/THQ - PC)

Best Puzzle/Trivia/Parlor Game
- Donkey Konga (Nintendo - GameCube)
- Donkey Kong Jungle Beat (Nintendo - GameCube)
- EyeToy: AntiGrav (Harmonix Music Systems/SCEA - PlayStation 2)
- Karaoke Revolution Volume 2 (Harmonix Music Systems/Konami - PlayStation 2)
- WarioWare, Inc. DS (Nintendo - Nintendo DS)

Best Online Multiplayer Game
- Battlefield 2 (Digital Illusions/EA Games - PC)
- EverQuest II (Sony Online Entertainment - PC)
- Halo 2 (Bungie/Microsoft - Xbox)
- Star Wars Battlefront (Pandemic Studios/LucasArts - PC, PS2, Xbox)
- World of Warcraft (Blizzard/Vivendi Universal Games - PC)

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