Best Graphics, Technical

The award for best technical graphics goes to the game that most impressed us with raw graphical power or impressive technical tricks. In 2005, the DirectX 9.0 graphical application programming interface that works directly with PC game graphics seemed to be winding down to lead into a theoretical DirectX 10.0 version with the upcoming Windows Vista from Microsoft. On consoles, 2005 marked the last legs of this console hardware generation (and in the case of Microsoft's Xbox and Xbox 360, the end of one generation and the beginning of another). Fortunately, this all meant a lot of experience on the part of game developers who had been working with this generation of tech for some years, which let them make some of the most impressive-looking games we've ever seen.

Battlefield 2
	Developer: Digital Illusions Platform: PC ESRB: Teen Check Prices Digital Illusions' new graphics engine is a wonder to behold, resulting in a multiplayer action game that looks every bit as smooth as it plays.
F.E.A.R.
	Developer: Monolith Productions Platform: PC ESRB: Mature Check Prices What Monolith's superb first-person shooter lacks in high polygon counts it more than makes up for with cutting-edge particle effects, lighting, and shadow models.
Guild Wars
	Developer: ArenaNet Platform: PC ESRB: Teen Check Prices The world in which ArenaNet's online role-playing game is set is almost dreamlike, and it looks great even on relatively modest PC systems.
Project Gotham Racing 3
	Developer: Bizarre Creations Platform: Xbox 360 ESRB: Everyone 10+ Check Prices With instantly recognizable cities and cars that look incredible both inside and out, Bizarre Creations' latest racer bodes well for the eye-candy-filled future of Microsoft's new console.
Resident Evil 4
	Developer: Capcom Platform: GameCube ESRB: Mature Check Prices Arguably one of the best-looking games ever made, Capcom's latest survival horror boasts meticulously detailed characters and environments and great special effects.

And the winner is... F.E.A.R.

Platform: PC
ESRB: Mature

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Aside from this unusual shooter's fantastic artificial intelligence and its distinctive, horror-themed premise, F.E.A.R. offers plenty of visual fireworks. The game features a "slow motion" ability that lets your character slow time, and in this mode, you can see exploding grenades warp the air around them while the bullets and sparks fly. In fact, even though the game has good character models and animation, F.E.A.R.'s particle effects for its explosions and gunfire add a special kind of intensity to the game that you'd normally expect to see in a Hollywood action movie. When bullets start flying, sparks erupt from gun barrels and clouds of dust and shards of glass get kicked up from the environments. Perhaps no other shooter has had such spectacular firefights, which is why F.E.A.R. takes this highly coveted award.

Next: Best Voice Acting