Gaming Globes 2002 : Nominations

And to make sure that we don't overlook any games, over the next week we'll be giving you the chance to nominate your favourite titles from the last year. Here's how it works -

The Process

Nominations are now open. Over the last week we have trawled through our game collections and reviews from the last year and have come up with an initial short list of games for each category. Now it's your turn! Simply use our comments system to give us feedback on our choices and offer your own nominations.

This process will close on Saturday March 2nd, at which point the EuroGamer staff will go through the list of games which have been suggested and then select a final list of five nominees for each category. Nominees will be announced on Monday March 4th, and readers will then have one week to vote on which they think deserve the gongs at the end of the day. Voting closes at midnight on Monday March 11th.

The final results of the Gaming Globe 2002 awards will be announced on Monday March 18th, with the full list of winners in each category posted here on EuroGamer along with acceptance speeches from the developers behind them.

Nominating Games

Before you nominate a game please read the following guidelines on which games are eligible for this year's awards -

You can find full explanations of what all the categories are over the next few pages. If you plan to nominate a game for a particular category, please read the description first, and please do not just nominate your favourite game for every category unless you honestly believe it deserved it. For example, Serious Sam is an obvious choice for Best Visual Effects but, let's face it, the storyline was hardly Gaming Globe material.

Best Game

As the name suggests, the Best Game award goes to the best overall game of the year on any platform. Last year's winner was Baldur's Gate II.

This year's initial shortlist is -

Final Fantasy IX

Gran Turismo 3 : A-Spec

Grand Theft Auto 3

Operation Flashpoint

Phantasy Star Online

Designer

The Designer award goes to the lead designer of the game with the best original concept, design and implementation. Last year's winner was Warren Spector for Deus Ex.

This year's initial shortlist is -

Tom Hall for Anachronox

GSC Gameworld for Cossacks : European Wars

Hideki Kamiya for Devil May Cry

Daniel Nilsson & Lorne Laliberte for Gilbert Goodmate and the Mushroom of Phungoria

Kasunori Mizuguchi for Gran Turismo 3 : A-Spec

DMA for Grand Theft Auto 3

TimeGate Studios for Kohan : Immortal Sovereigns

Eighting for KuruKuru Kururin

Petri Järvilehto for Max Payne

Bohemia for Operation Flashpoint

Croteam for Serious Sam : First Encounter

Reflexive for Zax : The Alien Hunter

Characters

The categories for Best Male Character and Best Female Character are fairly self-explanatory. Last year's winners included Minsc from Baldur's Gate II and April Ryan from The Longest Journey.

This year's initial Male Character shortlist is -

Dante - Devil May Cry

Gilbert Goodmate - Gilbert Goodmate and the Mushroom of Phungoria

Grumpos - Anachronox

Max Payne - Max Payne

"Serious" Sam Stone - Serious Sam : First Encounter

Sly Boots - Anachronox

Zidane Tribal - Final Fantasy IX

This year's initial Female Character shortlist is -

Fatima Doohan - Anachronox

Konoko - Oni

Trish - Devil May Cry

Princess Garnet - Final Fantasy IX

Princess Michelle - Gilbert Goodmate and the Mushroom of Phungoria

Art Direction

This is the award for a game's artwork and style, particularly focusing on the design of locations such as levels, arenas, tracks and backdrops. Last year's winner was Baldur's Gate II.

This year's initial shortlist is -

Devil May Cry

Operation Flashpoint

Paper Mario

Serious Sam : First Encounter

Silent Hill 2

Tropico

Zax : The Alien Hunter

Character Design

The character design award is for the best in-game character design and art (models, sprites, skins etc). Last year's winner was Sacrifice.

This year's initial shortlist is -

Black & White

Devil May Cry

Etherlords

Evil Islands : Curse Of The Lost Soul

Paper Mario

Serious Sam : First Encounter

Silent Hill 2

Startopia

Cinematography

The Cinematography category is for the best use of cinematics and scripted sequences, whether pre-rendered or game-engine, and covers the direction, dialogue, graphics and everything else which goes into making a cutscene. Last year's winner was Diablo II.

This year's initial shortlist is -

Anachronox

Black & White

Devil May Cry

Max Payne

Onimusha

Shenmue 2

Silent Hill 2

Startopia

Storyline

Another fairly obvious one, this award is for the quality of a game's plot and writing. Last year we had seperate categories for original and adapted storylines, and the winners were Baldur's Gate II and The Longest Journey. This year anything goes.

This year's initial shortlist is -

Anachronox

Final Fantasy IX

Gilbert Goodmate and the Mushroom of Phungoria

Gothic

Operation Flashpoint

Shenmue 2

Silent Hill 2

Visual Effects

As you would expect, the best Visual Effects award is for the game with the most eye-candy laden graphics and special effects. Last year's award went to Sacrifice.

This year's initial shortlist is -

Ballistics

Black & White

Devil May Cry

Gran Turismo 3 : A-Spec

Max Payne

Return To Castle Wolfenstein

Serious Sam : First Encounter

Severance

Silent Hill 2

Music

The award for the best soundtrack, songs and background music created specifically for a game. It does not cover games which use compilations of existing music. Last year's winner was Icewind Dale.

This year's initial shortlist is -

Anachronox

Devil May Cry

Final Fantasy IX

Grand Theft Auto 3

Gran Turismo 3 : A-Spec

Rock Manager

Silent Hill 2

Tropico

Sound

As the name suggests, this category is for the best sound effects and use of sound within a game. Last year's winner was Thief II.

This year's initial shortlist is -

Aliens vs Predator 2

Devil May Cry

Grand Theft Auto 3

Operation Flashpoint

Rock Manager

Serious Sam : First Encounter