Respawn’s Titanfall scores big as the critics’ favorite at E3

Titanfall scored the most awards from the influential Game Critics Awards, an aggregation of 30 publications that sent judges to the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) last month.

The new sci-fi mech shooter from Respawn Entertainment and Electronic Arts won six awards, including Best of Show. That makes it the first time in the history of the awards that one game has won so many accolades. Of the winners, 11 of the 14 games are on PC, which was the top platform. The Xbox One and 360 had 10 winners on the Xbox 360, and the PlayStation 4 had four winners, with three on the PlayStation 3. Nintendo’s Wii U and the PlayStation Vita handheld had one apiece.

Respawn was started by Jason West and Vince Zampella, the duo that helped make Call of Duty into the top first-person shooter game. They left Activision’s Infinity Ward amid a big controversy, as Activision sued them for allegedly starting their efforts to create a new studio while they were still working for Activision. EA funded Respawn’s effort and got drawn into the lawsuit, which was settled before trial. Ever since, the Respawn team quietly worked on a first-person shooter game where infantry soldiers square off against giant mechs. It’s an exclusive for Microsoft’s platforms.

As GamesBeat served as one of the participating media, I’ve also included my vote as a judge in each category. In areas that are blank, I did not vote. Here’s the awards.

Best of Show
Titanfall
(Respawn/EA for Xbox One, 360, PC)

[My vote: Titanfall]

Best Original Game
Titanfall
(Respawn/EA for Xbox One, 360, PC)
[My vote: Watch Dogs]

Best Console Game
Titanfall
(Respawn/EA for Xbox One, 360, PC)
[My vote: Watch Dogs]

Best Handheld/Mobile Game
Tearaway
(Media Molecule/SCEA for Vita)
[My vote: Plants vs. Zombies 2]

Best PC Game
Titanfall
(Respawn/EA for Xbox One, 360, PC)
[My vote: Battlefield 4]

Best Hardware/Peripheral
Oculus Rift
(Oculus VR)
[My vote: Oculus Rift]

Best Action Game
Titanfall
(Respawn/EA for PC, Xbox One, 360, PC)
[My vote: Titanfall]

Best Action/Adventure Game
Watch Dogs
(Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft for Xbox One, PS4, Wii U, 360, PS3, PC)
[My vote: Watch Dogs]

Best Role Playing Game
The Elder Scrolls Online
(Zenimax Online/Bethesda Softworks for PS4, Xbox One, PC)
[My vote: The Elder Scrolls Online]

Best Racing Game
Need for Speed: Rivals
(Ghost Games/EA for PS4, Xbox One, 360, PS3, PC)
[My vote: Forza Motorsport 5]

Best Sports Game
NHL 14
(EA Canada/EA Sports for Xbox 360, PS3)

Best Strategy Game
Total War: Rome II
(Creative Assembly/Sega for PC)
[My vote: Total War: Rome II]

Best Social/Casual Game
Fantasia: Music Evolved
(Harmonix/Disney Interactive for Xbox One, 360)
[My vote: Fantasia: Music Evolved]

Best Online Multiplayer
Titanfall
(Respawn/EA for Xbox One, 360, PC)
[My vote: Titanfall]

Best Downloadable Game
Transistor
(Supergiant Games for PS4, PC)
[My vote: Rain]