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"BioShock" electrifies game critics, wins top award

SAN FRANCISCO
Thu Jan 31, 2008 5:26pm EST

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - "BioShock", which captivated video game fans with its tale of an underwater utopia gone wrong, took the top honor from the Game Critics Awards on Thursday with judges praising it for innovating game play.

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Released last August for Microsoft Corp's Xbox 360 console, "BioShock" was a sleeper hit for Take-Two Interactive Software and critics gushed over its finely crafted story and disturbing moral choices.

"'BioShock' truly shocked, amazed and pushed all sorts of boundaries for gaming. And while we felt it was 2007's best title, we're betting its influence will extend well beyond 2007," Dan Hsu, editor-in-chief of EGM magazine, wrote of the group's decision.

It was the first time the Game Critics Awards have picked a game of the year. The group, consisting of several dozen game journalists, is best known for judging games shown at E3, the game industry's most influential trade show.

The runner-up was "The Orange Box" from privately held studio Valve, co-published by Electronic Arts Inc. The title is a collection of Valve's acclaimed "Half-Life 2" shooter plus two follow-up episodes, an online multiplayer shooting game called "Team Fortress 2" and a devilish puzzle game called "Portal".

"Every single one of these things is unbelievably frickin' brilliant," Time Magazine's Lev Grossman wrote.

Activision's "Call of Duty 4" came in third, with judges saying the game combined an "adrenaline-pumping" story for single players with the best multiplayer experience of the year.

Microsoft had two games in the top 10, its blockbuster alien shooter "Halo 3" and the epic sci-fi role-playing game "Mass Effect".

Sony Corp also had two games, "God of War II", perhaps the last major title for its aging PlayStation 2 console, and "Uncharted: Drake's Fortune", a cinematic action title that showcased the power of its PlayStation 3 machine.

Nintendo, whose Wii console was the runaway hardware hit of the year, was only recognized once, for "Super Mario Galaxy" and its "delightfully irrational graphic design".

Here is a full list of the Game Critics Awards top 10 titles of 2007:

1. BioShock.......Take-Two

2. The Orange Box.Valve and Electronic Arts

3. Call of Duty 4.Activision

4. Rock Band......MTV and EA

5. Super Mario Galaxy............Nintendo

6. Halo 3.........Microsoft

7. Mass Effect....Microsoft

8. God of War II..Sony

9. Assassin's Creed..............Ubisoft

10."Uncharted: Drake's Fortune...Sony

Reuters/Nielsen
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