E3 2012: It's Awards Time!

Least Promising Use of Kinect: Fable: The Journey

The Fable series has never been as revolutionary as it wanted to be, but at least it wanted to be revolutionary. The upcoming sequel departs from the series' third-person adventure style in favor of a new Kinect-only gameplay model that will have you waving your arms around furiously to cast spells. It's a brave attempt to make the Kinect work for an adventure game, but from what we saw, the limits of motion-gaming may have defeated this game's moderate ambitions. —Darren Franich

Least Promising Use of PS3 Move: The Book of Spells

J.K. Rowling attached her name to the latest endeavor to make us care about PlayStation's motion-gaming technology. Using a digitally enchanted ''book,'' you slowly learn how to cast spells with a fake wand. It will thrill your four-year-old and infuriate everyone else. —DF

Worst Dialogue: DmC: Devil May Cry

When a demon exclaims, ''I'm twelve-hundred years old,'' Dante replies, ''You don't look a day over twelve-thousand.'' The phrase ''F--- you'' is subsequently thrown around as if the characters were in a Scorsese movie, albeit one with a projectile-vomiting monster. —John Young

Most Impressive Movie Tie-in Game: Star Trek

Videogames based on feature films, as a rule, suck. But this action-adventure game pairing Kirk and Spock together in co-op play looks really solid. For one, the entire cast of J.J. Abrams' Trek reboot has signed up to lend their likenesses and voices to this interstitial story between the 2009 hit and next year's sequel, and screenwriters Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman have actively consulted on just about every facet of the game. For another: The Gorn are back! —Adam B. Vary

Best Trailer: Zombi-U

It's impossible to underrate the excitement in the room when Ubisoft played the trailer for its Wii U-exclusive undead survival game. In part, it was the mere fact of the project's existence — a gory M-rated zombie game is miles away from Nintendo's recent kid-friendly slate. But the fabulous trailer sealed the deal, with visions of an undead-infested London set to a freaky rendition of ''God Save the Queen.'' —DF

Biggest Disappointment: Zombi U

What we played of Zombi U didn't live up to the lofty expectations set by the game's trailer. Don't get us wrong: The game looks fine, and the curiosity factor of a Wii U zombie game will probably make it worth checking out. But put aside the GamePad's functionality, and it looks a lot like every other zombie-apocalypse game we've seen recently. —DF

Most Intriguing Prequel with the phrase ''of War'' in the title: God of War: Ascension

The prequel to the God of War trilogy isn't resting on the franchise's laurels. The single-player campaign features a refined control scheme — farewell, Quick Time Events! More important, the game's multiplayer was immediately addictive. Consider our skepticism (slightly) abated. —DF

Least Intriguing Prequel with the phrase ''Of War'' in the title: Gears of War: Judgment

Judgment is slated to hit stores less than 18 months after conclusion of the Gears of War trilogy. Even for an industry that relentlessly spawns spin-offs, that seems too soon...and what we saw of the game didn't immediately impress, although we're intrigued by design director Cliff Bleszinski's promise that Judgment will ratchet up the difficulty level. But the biggest misstep of this prequel is the decision to focus on the utterly annoying Damon Baird. (He's curiously popular among Gears fans, but then again, so was Joey Tribbiani before Joey.) —DF

Most Awkward Celebrity Guest at a Press Conference: Joe Montana

One of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history strolled onstage at the Microsoft press conference to engage in awkward banter and pretend to play the new Madden game. ''Wow, this is actually pretty sweet,'' he said. ''Wow, this is great.'' He did not sound convinced. —DF

Best Celebrity Guests at a Press Conference: Trey Parker and Matt Stone

Microsoft spent much of its press conference talking about the Xbox's new music service and the Xbox's new second-screen system and a whole lot of other things that have nothing to do with Xbox videogames. This curious bit of brand messaging was completely punctured when the creators of South Park walked onstage to hawk South Park: The Stick of Truth. Quoth Trey Parker: ''How many times have you been watching an episode of South Park and thought: I'd like to be able to watch this on my television, while hosting on my mobile device, which is being controlled by the tablet, all while sitting in the refrigerator?'' —DF

Most Impressive Use of Co-Op in a Classically Single-Player Zombie-Killing Game: Dead Space 3

Adding a co-op mode to Dead Space seems like a bad move, considering how much power the earlier games in the series drew from the claustrophobic sense of all-encompassing loneliness. But the sci-fi threequel's drop-in multiplayer system is incorporated well. And give Dead Space studio Visceral Games some credit: This was the one co-op campaign at this year's E3 that didn't feature lots of Uncharted-style banter. —DF

Least Impressive Use of Co-Op in a Classically Single-Player Zombie-Killing Game: Resident Evil 6

The Resident Evil franchise isn't just doubling down on Resident Evil 5's co-op mode. It's tripling down. The new game follows three separate duos in a globe-trotting battle against mutations. Each duo is less interesting than the last. And unfortunately, Capcom has added in lots of Uncharted-style banter, a potentially ruinous decision given the Resident Evil franchise's history of terrible dialogue. —DF

Best Part of the Otherwise Disappointing Nintendo Land: The minigame Luigi's Ghost Mansion: Haunting Hijinx

One player maneuvers a ghost on the Wii U Gamepad, while four others control ''ghost-hunters'' who cannot see the aforementioned ghost on the TV. It's a simple concept, but one that charmingly demonstrates the ''asymmetric gameplay'' Nintendo is touting with the Wii U. And as was the case throughout one's childhood, sneaking up on your friends can be rather enjoyable. —JY

Best Smash Brothers: Injustice: Gods Among Us

The kick from watching iconic DC comic book characters — Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, the Flash, Harley Quinn, and Solomon Grundy — thwack the crap out of each other is undeniable. Each character has a distinct super-duper punch that manages to be just over-the-top enough to evoke a happy laugh — the Flash races around the world to build up momentum for a massive pummeling; Superman's uppercut lifts you straight up into space. And the levels themselves have such rich depth to them that you risk ignoring your fight in favor of just taking in the scenery. —ABV

Worst Smash Brothers: PlayStation All Stars: Battle Royale

Sony's upcoming mascot mash-up earned some positive press when the company announced the addition of Uncharted's Nathan Drake and BioShock's Big Daddy to the fighter lineup. The game could have plenty of nostalgia value if they keep adding more marquee names like that. (How about Katamari Damacy's Prince? Or LittleBigPlanet's Sackboy? Or maybe even the Journey guy?) But the gameplay lacks the immediate button-mash appeal of Nintendo's mash-up franchise. Mark this as a ''wait-and-see.'' —DF

Developer of the Year: Ubisoft

The French videogame company killed it at E3 this year. Assassin's Creed III was the runaway sensation of the show and looks set to be one of this fall's biggest releases. Far Cry 3 and Splinter Cell: Blacklist both look to be injecting exciting new energy into their respective franchises. Ubisoft arguably did a better job of selling the Wii U than Nintendo, with the candy-colored Rayman Origins and the buzz-generating Zombi U. Best of all, Ubisoft walked away from E3 with a game that already looks like the biggest story of E3 2013: The mysterious, fascinating Watch Dogs. —DF

Company of the Year: Sony

While Microsoft spent considerable time showcasing the Xbox 360 as a multimedia hub and Nintendo failed to demonstrate the progress the Wii U had made since last year's E3, Sony simply let its games speak for themselves. And what (exclusive to Sony) games they are: Beyond, The Last of Us, God of War: Ascension, and Assassin's Creed III: Liberation, to name a few. —JY

Underachiever of E3: Nintendo

The only major company to debut a brand-new console, Nintendo came to this year's E3 riding a Bowser-sized wave of anticipation and buzz — a wave, it turns out, that crested well before it hit the shore. Nintendo's big press presentation Tuesday morning boasted of 23 new titles for the HD-enabled, second-screen-controller-sporting Wii U, but there was not a single killer app among them — not for Nintendo-philes hoping for a major new Mario or Zelda game, and not for hardcore gamers curious about whether the heretofore family-friendly company had finally carved out a space for them. (By contrast, the Wii launched in 2006 with the captivating The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.) To be fair, Nintendo did debut the we're-going-back-to-this-side-scroller-well-already? New Super Mario Bros. U. But the company spent far more time hyping its omnibus mini-game title Nintendo Land, which landed at E3 with a thud.

This is not to say the Wii U itself was a flop. Wii Fit U makes great use of the GamePad controller —the game's new ''luge'' activity fires up those core muscles but good — and the infectiously fun Project P-100 (a working title) was a true sleeper hit. But there was no escaping the enthusiasm gap between the Wii U's potential and the reality of what Nintendo had to offer at E3. —ABV

Most Welcome Trend: The rise of great independent digital games

The explosion of cheap, downloadable casual games on smart phones and tablets has spooked the videogame industry but good, forcing everyone to face the fact that the future of gaming is in digital downloads, not physical media.

A very happy byproduct of this identity crisis was the spotlight it brought at this year's E3 to indie videogames, available as digital downloads via the Xbox Arcade and the PlayStation Store. First among them was The Unfinished Swan, but if its simple-yet-stunning puzzle structure isn't for you, there was the grimly evocative zombie game Deadlight; or the lethal sidescroller Mark of the Ninja; or the beautiful Elysium adventure title Dust; or the audio-based platformer-cum-music-mixer Sound Shapes; and on and on and on. —ABV

Oddest Trends: Archery! Exploding helicopters! Powerful characters named Aiden!

When you spend four straight days absorbing all videogaming has to offer in the coming 12 to 18 months, you tend to notice some unusual areas of overlap. For example, several games use archery as a significant part of its battle mechanics, including Assassin's Creed III, Far Cry 3, Crysis 3, and Tomb Raider. (Call it Katniss fever!) Then there was the lovely fetish of exploding helicopters in games like Beyond: Two Souls, Call of Duty: Black Ops II, and Resident Evil 6. But what are we to make of the fact that the free-floating poltergeist in Beyond: Two Souls and the practically omniscient shady hacker in Watch Dogs are both named Aiden? Are game developers suddenly spending their downtime getting caught up on Sex and the City? —ABV

Most Secretly Ambitious Sequel: Halo 4

The Halo franchise turned ten years old a year ago. The upcoming sequel didn't come away from E3 with a huge amount of buzz, but 343 Studios is envisioning it as nothing less than the beginning of a new decade in Halo history. The multiplayer has been reconfigured with a new episodic storyline that will play out over an entire ''season,'' with five new missions released each week. The campaign promises to dive into Master Chief's personality much more than the original Halo trilogy. It's all an attempt to carry Halo fandom from one generation to the next, and it will be interesting to see how the game fares in a landscape overflowing with shooter franchises. —DF

Loudest Game: Call of Duty: Black Ops 2

The ridiculously successful military shooter franchise returns with a game filled with falling skyscrapers and attacking robots and dozens of people shooting at you all the time. It's everything you either love or hate about Call of Duty multiplied by a million. —DF

Most Disconcerting Audience Reaction: The cheers following each moment of violence in The Last of Us

Naughty Dog's eerie post-apocalyptic thriller concluded Sony's press conference in stunning fashion, but did the crowd really need to voice their enthusiasm after Joel slammed a guy's head against a desk, or when he shot another baddie right in the face from only a few inches away? —JY

Strangest gaming mash-up: NBA Baller Beats

(Xbox 360 Kinect + Rock Band - instruments) x basketball drills = NBA Baller Beats! —ABV