Two weeks ago, we all took a great big leap into the future, uh, present. 2002 is now upon us, and to celebrate the gaming goodness of 2001, we asked you guys to vote for the best games of the year.
Since we didn't want to influence you unduly (we know how much you rely on our *ahem* expert opinions), we decided to keep our own nominations a secret. Well, the voting is now over, and we're ready to unveil our picks as well as yours.
Over the next week we'll be unveiling the top picks for 2001 in a variety of categories. Not surprisingly, there's a lot of crossover among them, but sometimes we didn't always see eye-to-eye. The great thing is that we're giving awards based on your picks as well, so your picks will get the recognition they deserve.
Below you'll find the cream of the crop in gaming, and if you haven't had a chance to check out any of the games mentioned below, you owe it to yourself to pick them up and give them a play. Be sure to use the links at the bottom of the page to check out the next set awards.
 |  |
Editors' Choice: AquaNox
Developer: Massive Development
Publisher: Fishtank Interactive
Why it rocked: As one of the games used to demo the power of the GeForce3, we knew this one was going to be solid. When we actually got to see it in motion, we were stunned. Textures were amazing, ship models were amazing, weapons effects were amazing.... Everything about looking at this game just had you thinking that you really were underwater in a submarine. While we thought this game had some issues in the gameplay department, not one of us could find flaws with the way it looked. Games like this just get us all giddy as to what the future holds for graphic achievement.
Runner-Up: Max Payne
| | |
Readers' Choice: Max Payne
Developer: Remedy
Publisher: Gathering of Developers/3D Realms
Why it rocked: I've heard very little to no complaint about any of the visuals coming from this Swedish born action shooter. It had everything from the solid modeling to the weapons effects. Seeing individually modeled bullets and shells flying around with reckless abandon was really amazing. But where this game really came across strong in the looks department were the textures and the lighting. They combined to create an amazing atmosphere that helped suck you into the shoes of that woe begotten renegade cop Max Payne.
Runner-Up: Return to Castle Wolfenstein