This was the year that the Electronic Entertainment Expo "went big" again in the fabulous Los Angeles Convention Center. Like E3s in the days of yore, this year's E3 had bright lights, loud music, and tons of exciting new games. But because there were so many games to see, we're here to give you the bottom line. What were the most impressive games of the show? Which stage demos from GameSpot's archived E3 stage show should you be watching? Browse our awards to find out.

Before we begin, here is some background: Our awards are given to the most impressive game in each category at this year's E3. Not necessarily the best-looking games graphically, not necessarily the most fun to play, and not necessarily the games that seem like they'll eventually be good games when they're finished. Just the games that made the best showing at the event. Also, in order to qualify for our awards, each game had to have been playable in some form--either in hands-on form on the show floor or in hands-off form in a demonstration. If a game was shown only as a trailer or if only footage was shown, it does not qualify for our awards. Finally, we picked a maximum of five finalists for each category, except for our Game of the Show award, which has a maximum of 10. We kept our finalist lists as tight as possible and recognized only those games that were impressive enough to deserve mention--it's considered an honor just to be nominated.

And now, with that out of the way, here are GameSpot's E3 2009 awards.

Best Downloadable Game

Trine

Trine
E3 2009 Editors' Choice Winner for Best Downloadable Game

It was only a few years ago that downloadable-only games were considered a novelty, with short, arcadelike games dominating most of the catalog. Even so, Trine stood above the rest with its fully realized cooperative gameplay interlaced with some of the most beautiful visuals we've seen, downloadable or not.

Beautiful...

Trine is best described as a modern take on the classic puzzle-platformer Lost Vikings. You and up to two friends can take control of a wizard, thief, and knight as you explore the game's beautifully crafted levels, working together to solve puzzles and defeat enemies. Because each character has unique powers, the efforts of all three players will be necessary to tackle the challenging--and puzzling--environments.

Apart from the beautiful graphics, what made the game stand out was just how spot-on everything was--whether it was the controls, the interactions between the three characters, or the puzzle-solving mechanics, it's clear the developers spent a lot of time refining the gameplay. As a result, Trine has the honor of being the show's Best Downloadable Game.

Finalists: Best Downloadable Game

E3 2009 Editors' Choice Finalists for Best Downloadable Game

180 Comments