RPGFan Feature - E3 2009 Awards

Individual Awards	Genre Awards
John McCarroll Patrick Gann Sam Hansen Mike Salbato	Console RPG of Show Handheld RPG of Show PC RPG of Show MMORPG of Show Overall RPG of Show

Mass Effect 2 is going to be one of the best-selling games of 2010, of this we have no question. Mass Effect 2, based on what we were shown at this year's E3, will also be a front-runner for Game of the Year in 2010, even with its release window so early in the year. Developer BioWare knows exactly what they are doing when crafting the story and gameplay for a title, and Mass Effect 2 is no different. Bigger weapons, badder enemies, cooler allies, an expanded dialogue system, better graphics, cool new soundtrack... what else could an RPG fan want?

Runners-up: White Knight Chronicles, Demon's Souls

RED Entertainment is a name that many RPG fans will recognize, mostly for their work on the other side of the Pacific Ocean. The minds behind the Tengai Makyou and Sakura Taisen titles, they also released the steampunk RPG Nostalgia no Kaze - along with Matrix Software - in Japan late last year. Ignition, the company that brought Blue Dragon Plus and Lux-Pain to a US market, had the first showing of the game at E3 and it looks fantastic. Featuring both melee and ship-to-ship battles, the game also has its own versions of real-life locations like Cairo, New York, and London. We're excited to see Nostalgia when it finally hits North American shores this September.

Runner-up: Glory of Heracles

With more and more RPGs being platform-agnostic these days, it's tough to find a game that is actually native and exclusive to the PC for this award. Last year, it went to Alpha Protocol, a multiplatform title. This year? Runic Games kicked out a title that beats out all of those other titles that dally in the console world by providing us with Torchlight. Torchlight is a fun-to-play hack-and-slash on the surface, and an incredibly deep creation tool underneath it all. Plus, it'll run on just about any computer released in the past few years. We're convinced that some people are going to make the best indie games around as mods of Torchlight. Keep watch for the single-player version this fall and the MMORPG version next year.

Runner-up: Mass Effect 2

There were a couple of ways that this one could go - Atari had an event for Champions Online at a nearby venue and Trion World's Heroes of Telara is looking incredibly promising in its early stages. Jumpgate Evolution was the most complete, most unique MMORPG at the show, as well as quite possibly the prettiest game overall. Imagine an expansive universe with real-time combat, PvP zones, and an economy as complex as those in games like EVE Online? Sign me up.

Runners-up: Champions Online, Heroes of Telara

Obsidian Entertainment has been known as a developer that follows in the footsteps of others, known for their work on Neverwinter Nights 2, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2, and their upcoming Fallout: New Vegas. What we at RPGFan want to know is why they're not always making their own new franchises like Alpha Protocol, one of the most impressive games overall at the show and our favorite RPG. Alpha Protocol's unique (for an RPG) setting, character customization, spectacular graphics, and fantastic dialogue system won us over, and we can't wait to take Alpha Protocol down when it hits later this year.

Runners-up: White Knight Chronicles, Mass Effect 2