Best of E3 2006 Awards

The publishers showcase their very best for E3, and now it's time for us to highlight which games represent the most exciting concepts and are likely to evolve into the standouts this holiday season (and beyond). Of course, this doesn't guarantee the final game's quality, but this is what we're most anticipating after getting a glimpse at the video game industry's entire triple-A catalog.

• Best Shooter
• Best Role-Playing Game
• Best Online Multiplayer Game
• Best Racing Game
• Best Massively Multiplayer Game
• Best Strategy Game
• Best Action/Adventure Game
• Best Original Game
• Special Mentions

Best Shooter

Run 'n' gun, pop 'n' stop... must... kill. These are the best of the fast-paced action games.

Best Shooter: Crysis (EA)

Winner: Crysis

Few games at this year's E3 could match Crysis's visual quality, but fewer still could touch its innovative take on traditional first-person shooter gameplay. Seeing the open-ended stealth-action concepts Crytek pioneered in Far Cry taken to their logical extremes proved impressive. In fact, on careful reflection, Crysis was the most impressive single-player shooter we saw all week -- and boy, it had a lot of competition.

But what impressed us the most was the game's level of environmental detail. Not only can you cut a swathe through jungle vegetation with your weapons, you can even watch as the bellowing of the game's spider boss causes smoke to billow. Crysis features visual effects that have never before been possible in video games, and it shows.

Although Crysis will run on Windows XP, to see the game in its full DirectX 10 glory you're going to have to upgrade to Microsoft's upcoming Windows Vista operating system. >>>More info

Runner-ups

Gears of War: The real next generation has arrived. This gorgeous, visceral splatterfest is Microsoft's big hitter for the holidays, and it looks like it's going to deliver. >>>More info

Rainbow Six: Vegas: Who could wish for a more lively setting? Brilliantly modeled on the real Vegas strip, and adding in faster paced tactical combat, Rainbow Six looks to be back on track. >>>More info

Army of Two: EA is really onto something good with this unique shooter's cooperative gameplay. >>>More info

Stranglehold: John Woo and Chow Yun Fat in the same game? It can't possibly be bad -- with fluid, wall running, table sliding, slow-time action, this may be everything The Matrix games should have been. >>>More info