Best Artistic Design:
Prince of Persia

Developer: Ubisoft Montreal
Publisher: Ubisoft
Release Date: November 2008
Shown at E3 on: PS3
Also Coming to: PC, X360

We already gushed a little about the new Prince of Persia's "illustrated" effect, but it bears repeating: this game is gorgeous. It's not just the fancy visuals. Yes, throwing a sketch art-like filter atop cel-shaded edges results in a game that looks particularly purdy, but it's everything else that Ubisoft Montreal has done, from animation to sense of scale to the freedom of level design that makes it all so cohesively impressive.

Painting a world that has literally had the color and life sucked out of it by evil and then allowing the Prince and Elika, his magical tag-along friend, to breathe that life back in results in an absolutely breathtaking transformation. Color pours back into the world, grass and butterflies punch out of the ground and the sky is purged of it overcast, gloomy look, replaced with a bright, azure canvas. If you haven't seen the Prince of Persia presentation yet, stop reading these awards, click the title up there and watch it. Don't worry; we'll be here when you get back...

Runner(s)-Up:
Best Multiplayer Experience:
Resistance 2

Developer: Insomniac Games
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Release Date: November 2008
Shown at E3 on: PS3
Also Coming to: N/A

There's a reason why the best launch PS3 game is still being played online almost two years after it was originally released: Resistance is a fantastic multiplayer experience, and one that's been almost continually improved and expanded by Insomniac while it listens to its community in the MyResistance.net forums and elsewhere on the Web. As good as Resistance is, though, that silky 40-player experience is about to be completely blown out with not one but two different online-enabled modes.

The first, a story-driven 8-player co-op thread that runs in parallel (and, at times, crosses paths with) the main single-player storyline, promises to add even more depth to the tale of Nathan Hale and the encroaching Chimeran menace that's finally making groundfall here in the States. The second, the game's online multiplayer component, ups the total number of players to 60, creates squads with objectives to keep the massive maps manageable, and introduces an even more pervasive experience and leveling system to the already heady mix. In short, Resistance 2 is going to be the online game to beat this year on the PS3.

Runner(s)-Up:
Special Achievement for Technological Excellence:
LittleBigPlanet

Developer: Media Molecule
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Release Date: October 2008
Shown at E3 on: PS3
Also Coming to: N/A

If it seems like we've been short-changing LittleBigPlanet (it has gotten more than a few honorable mentions too), it's only because we've seen so much of the game over the past few weeks, and not a whole lot of its core elements have changed since the original introduction at GDC last year. There is one area that we've been dying to see, though, and it's the one that absolutely blew our socks off when it was finally detailed at E3 this year: the online factor.

We've known for a while now about the collaborative construction and multiplayer functionality, both of which can be done with up to four people online or off. It was in how the game will handle the distribution of these levels that really wowed us. Levels can be uploaded, and then tagged like a photo or video sharing site. The game will automatically track the kinds of levels you like and rate highly, then populate one of the planets in the main game interface with levels tailored to how you like to play. The sheer amount of... stuff the game is attempting is far more than we can fit here. Now try and tell us LittleBigPlanet isn't completely changing how user-generated content is going to be done on consoles.

Runner(s)-Up:
Special Achievement for Innovation:
Flower

Developer: thatgamecompany
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Release Date: TBA 2008
Shown at E3 on: PS3
Also Coming to: N/A

We know what you're thinking: "Isn't Flower that game where you just fly around and pick up flower petals? What's so innovative about that?" While that description might hold true in the most basic sense, it's the total sensory package that makes Flower so amazing. It's the combination of SixAxis-based control (hey, quit rolling your eyes, we can see that; remember how well flOw controlled?) the sensation of flying through a meticulously rendered field, moving along at your own pace to slowly restore life to a flower's inner dream world delivers the same kind of Zen-like state that flOw did, but in a completely different way.

Flower is more of a "game" than flOw was -- at least according to thatgamecompany founder Jenova Chen -- but even as simple as the game was in the few levels that we saw, the emotions evoked while swooping through these different flowers' worlds are infinitely more complex. This is due in large part to the use of different kinds of instruments and a slightly less interactive soundscape than what was seen in flOw. The whole experience is the very definition of something one needs to play to fully appreciate, but take our word for it: Flower is a one-of-a-kind creation.

Runner(s)-Up:
  • Fat Princess (PS3 - Sony Computer Entertainment)
  • LittleBigPlanet (PS3 - Sony Computer Entertainment)
  • PixelJunk Eden (PS3 - Sony Computer Entertainment)