Monster-Hunting Game Evolve Beats Batman, Lord of the Rings to Win E3 Critics Game of Show

The votes are in for the 2014 E3 Game Critics Awards, and 2K Games' monster-hunting shooter Evolve has taken home the top prize. Based on voting from more than two dozen publications--including GameSpot, IGN, Kotaku, and USA Today--Evolve won Best of Show. An impressive feat for a brand new IP.

It beat upcoming games in established franchises like Alien: Isolation, Batman: Arkham Knight, Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, and Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Siege, as well as newcomer No Man's Sky, to claim the title. Evolve is in development at Turtle Rock Studios, the team that created the critically acclaimed Left 4 Dead series. In the game, four players fight together to take down a fifth player who plays the role of a supersized monster.

Not only did Evolve with Best of Show, but the game also nabbed three other award: Best Action Game, Best Console Game, and Best Online Multiplayer. The only other game to take home multiple awards was ambitious indie space game No Man's Sky, which was voted Best Original Game and Best Independent Game, and was also awarded a Special Commendation for Innovation. The Super Smash Bros. series won two awards (3DS version for Best Handheld Game and Wii U version for Best Fighting Game), though each title only nabbed one award individually.

Evolve was GameSpot's latest "Next Big Game." Be sure to check out this special page for exclusive coverage of the game. The full list of E3 Game Critics Awards winner is below. Winners are in bold.

To be eligible for consideration, games needed to be playable. The Division, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt did not meet this requirement.

Best of Show

• Alien: Isolation (Creative Assembly/Sega)
• Batman: Arkham Knight (Rocksteady/WBIE)
• Evolve (Turtle Rock/2K Games)
• Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor (Monolith/WBIE)
• No Man's Sky (Hello Games)
• Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Siege (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft)

Best Original Game

• Destiny (Bungie/Activision)
• Evolve (Turtle Rock/2K Games)
• No Man's Sky (Hello Games)
• Splatoon (Nintendo EAD/Nintendo)
• Sunset Overdrive (Insomniac/Microsoft Studios)

Best Console Game

• Alien: Isolation (Creative Assembly/Sega)
• Batman: Arkham Knight (Rocksteady/WBIE)
• Destiny (Bungie/Activision)
• Evolve (Turtle Rock/2K Games)
• Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor (Monolith/WBIE)

Best Handheld Game

• Murasaki Baby (Ovosonico/Sony Computer Entertainment)
• Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth (Atlus/Atlus)
• Super Smash Bros. for 3DS (Sora/Namco-Bandai/Nintendo)
• Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call (Square-Enix/Square-Enix)

Best PC Game

• Civilization: Beyond Earth (Firaxis/2K Games)
• Dragon Age: Inquisition (Bioware/EA)
• Evolve (Turtle Rock/2K Games)
• Far Cry 4 (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft)
• Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Siege (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft)

Best Hardware

• Alienware Alpha (Alienware)
• Oculus Rift (Oculus VR)
• PlayStation TV (Sony Computer Entertainment)
• Project Morpheus (Sony Computer Entertainment)

Best Action Game

• Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (Sledgehammer Games/Activision)
• Destiny (Bungie/Activision)
• Evolve (Turtle Rock/2K Games)- Far Cry 4 (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft)
• Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Siege (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft)

Best Action/Adventure Game

• Alien: Isolation (Creative Assembly/Sega)
• Assassin's Creed Unity (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft)
• Batman: Arkham Knight (Rocksteady/WBIE)
• Sunset Overdrive (Insomniac/Microsoft Studios)
• The Order: 1886 (Ready at Dawn/Sony Computer Entertainment)

Best RPG

• Bloodborne (From Software/Sony Computer Entertainment)
• Dragon Age: Inquisition (Bioware/EA)
• Fable Legends (Lionhead/Microsoft Studios)
• Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor (Monolith/WBIE)-
• Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth (Atlus/Atlus)

Best Fighting Game

• Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN- (Arc System Works/Aksys Games)
• Killer Instinct Season 2 (Iron Galaxy Studios/Microsoft Studios)
• Mortal Kombat X (NetherRealm Studios/WBIE)
• Persona 4 Arena Ultimax (Arc System Works/Atlus)
• Super Smash Bros Wii-U (Sora/Namco-Bandai/Nintendo)

Best Racing Game

• Driveclub (Evolution/Sony Computer Entertainment)
• Forza Horizon 2 (Playground Games/Microsoft Studios)
• The Crew (Ivory Tower/Reflections/Ubisoft)

Best Sports Game

• FIFA 15 (EA Canada/EA Sports)
• NHL 15 (EA Canada/EA Sports)
• Madden NFL 15 (Tiburon/EA Sports)

Best Strategy Game

• Civilization: Beyond Earth (Firaxis/2K Games)
• Grey Goo (Petroglyph/Grey Box)

Best Social/Casual

• Disney Infinity 2.0: Marvel Super Heroes (Avalanche/Disney Interactive)
• Fantasia: Music Evolved (Harmonix/Disney Interactive)
• LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham (TT Games/WBIE)
• Mario Maker (Nintendo EAD/Nintendo)
• Yoshi's Woolly World (Good-Feel/Nintendo)

Best Online Multiplayer

• Battlefield: Hardline (Visceral/EA)
• Destiny (Bungie/Activision)
• Evolve (Turtle Rock/2K Games)
• Splatoon (Nintendo EAD/Nintendo)
• Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Siege (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft)

Best Indie

• Axiom Verge (Tom Happ)- CounterSpy (Dynamighty)
• Below (Capy Games)
• No Man's Sky (Hello Games)
• Ori and the Blind Forest (Moon Game Studio)

Special Commendation for Innovation

• No Man's Sky