Gaming Globes 2000 nominees

Quake 3 Arena review

Tim Sweeney interview

Designer

The award for Best Designer goes to the lead designer of a game for the overall game design, concept, and implementation. Bruce Shelley, Age of Empires II One of the best real time strategy games of 1999, Age of Empires II was also one of the best sequels of 1999, adding to the already excellent Age of Empires format and moving the setting of the game into a new age. Toby Ragaini, Asheron's Call Asheron's Call gets its second nomination... Although it is "just another" massively multiplayer RPG, Asheron's Call pushes the genre into new territory with its on-going story, fledgling political system, and the impressive scale of the game world and variety of its inhabitants. Franck Sauer, Yann Robert, and Yves Grolet, Outcast Outcast showed what a third person action-adventure game could be, with an impressive science-fiction plot, a vast and imaginative alien world filled with interesting characters, a wide range of tasks to achieve, and remarkably freeform gameplay. Chris Avellone, Planescape Torment The best traditional role-playing game of 1999, Planescape Torment was the first computer RPG set in the bizarre worlds of the Planescape and turned the usual Dungeons and Dragons formula on its head with imaginative settings, characters and gameplay. Cliff Bleszinski, Unreal Tournament Unreal Tournament was something of an underdog when it was first announced, and many expected the game to be buried by id's Quake 3 Arena. Unreal Tournament proved to be a pleasant surprise though, with a wealth of new gameplay options and fast paced action.

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Age of Empires II review

Asheron's Call review (first look)

The Dereth Diary

Male Lead Character

The award for the best male character in a leading role within a game. Marcellus Faust, Faust One of the best traditional adventure games of 1999, Faust was (rather loosely) based on the legend of the man who sold his soul to the devil. Marcellus Faust is the character you played as you tried to unravel the dark secrets of the amusement park, Dreamland. Squall, Final Fantasy VIII Squall Leonhart is the lead character from the latest in the long-running series of "Final Fantasy" games to come out of Japan, a young mercenary cadet thrown into war. Indiana Jones, Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine Indiana Jones needs no introduction. He has starred in a series of hit movies, as well as classic adventure games and a spin-off TV series. His sarcastic quips are almost as famous as his trademark hat and whip. Cutter Slade, Outcast A sarcastic retired special forces op, Cutter Slade is the character you play in Outcast, guiding him through a strange alien world which believes that he is the messiah, come to rescue them from oppression. The Nameless One, Planescape Torment He might not have a name, but he certainly has character. The heavily scarred lead from Planescape Torment wakes up on a disection table with no memory of his past, and what he discovers isn't exactly pretty...

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Indiana Jones review

Female Lead Character

The award for the best female character in a leading role within a game. April Ryan, The Longest Journey April Ryan is a skeptical 18 year old art student who finds herself being drawn into another world, known as Arcadia, which she sees in her dreams. Claire Redfield, Resident Evil 2 Claire is a reporter who becomes part of the story as she takes on a horde of undead creatures created by a horrible virus in this sequel to the hit console game, also available on PC. Lara Croft, Tomb Raider : The Last Revelation Love her or hate her, you can't ignore her. Lara's profile is almost as big as her .. um .. guns, starring in a series of hit games across several platforms, as well as TV commercials, and even a movie soon. D'Arci Stern, Urban Chaos D'Arci Stern is the tough rookie cop who finds herself fighting to save Union City as the millenium approaches and the police struggle to cope with the growing crime wave. Eleyna, Wheel of Time Starring in the game based on the best-selling fantasy series by Robert Jordan, Eleyna is an Aes Sedai, part of an order of female magic users seeking to safeguard the world from the threat of the Dark One and his minions.

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Urban Chaos review

Male Supporting Character

The award for the best male character in a supporting role within a game. Horny, Dungeon Keeper II One of the best loved characters from the original Dungeon Keeper, the demon Horny returned in the sequel to guide and aid you as you fought to keep those pesky heroes from stealing all your treasure. Mephistopheles, Faust A demon of an entirely different kind, the suave sophisticated Mephistopheles (or Mephisto to his friends) was your companion and rival as you decided the fate of the souls that had been sold to him in exchange for promises of fame, fortune and love. David Bowie, Omikron : The Nomad Soul David Bowie, the thin white duke himself, put in several appearances in Nomad Soul, including playing a virtual concert, as well as writing much of the soundtrack for the game. Anthony Xue, Outcast Xue was one of the scientists whose experiment threatened to destroy the planet in Outcast, and who travelled to the parallel world of Adelpha with your character, Cutter Slade. After disappearing at the beginning of the game he eventually reappears in an unexpected role... Morte, Planescape Torment The sarcastic, foul-mouthed and less-than-helpful talking skull from Planescape Torment is your first companion as you awake in the mortuary. His constant snide remarks might annoy the other members of your party, but he is certainly one of the most interesting and imaginative characters seen in a computer game recently.

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Nomad Soul review

Female Supporting Character

The award for the best female character in a supporting role within a game. Mistress, Dungeon Keeper 2 Like Horny, Mistress is another favourite from the original Dungeon Keeper who returns in the sequel, a leather-clad whip-wielding woman who keeps your torture chambers busy... Rinoa Heartily, Final Fantasy VIII The romantic interest from the latest of the Final Fantasy games, Rinoa is a beautiful and free-spirited young woman who becomes involved with your character Squall as their world is torn apart by war. Svetlana Lupescu, Nocturne Certain to win the "Most Unpronouncable Name" award if nothing else, Svetlana is a monster hunter, and herself a half-Vampire who now works as a member of the "Spookhouse" secret agency. Marion Wolfe, Outcast Marion is stubborn and strong-willed, the daughter of a Senator, a former journalist, and now Director of Exobiology at the University of Chicago, which is how she ends up in Adelpha with your character Cutter Slade as they try to rescue the world from being swallowed by a black hole... Annah, Planescape Torment One of your companions in Planescape Torment, Annah is a scantily clad tiefling with a twitching tail and a sharp tongue. She can end up as your love interest in the game if you play it that way, but is a strong spirited and streetwise woman...

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Nocturne review

Art Direction

The award for the best in-game art, particularly looking at the "set" design (eg levels, arenas, locations, tracks etc) and the overall artistic styling of the game. Age of Empires II Set during the Dark Ages and early medieval period, Age of Empires II features huge and highly detailed buildings and vast and varied terrain to fight over. Outcast Thanks to its voxel engine, Outcast has some of the biggest and most detailed open areas seen in a third person game to date, from baking deserts to snow covered mountains. Planescape Torment The city of Sigil which is the setting for much of the game is beautifully detailed and imaginatively designed. The game also features a frontier desert town, a magical maze, and the pits of hell itself. Quake 3 Arena Quake 3 has some of the most detailed and beautiful looking levels ever seen in a first person shooter, as well as taking full advantage of the new engine's curved surfaces for a more organic feel. Unreal Tournament Unreal Tournament might lack curved surfaces, but it more than makes up for that with incredibly imaginative settings, from the tumbling asteroid of Facing Worlds to the beaches of Normandy and a pirate galley.

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Age of Empires II review

Quake 3 Arena review

Cinematography

The award for the best use of cinematics, whether pre-rendered or game-engine, within a game. Faust The developer's claims that the cinematics in Faust were as good as the animation seen in A Bug's Life might have been a little exaggerated, but the pre-rendered cutscenes featured excellent dialogue, detailed models, and fluid animation. Final Fantasy VIII If Final Fantasy VIII's cinematics looked good on a Playstation, they look twice as good on a PC. Simply jaw-dropping. Nocturne Nocturne's jaw-dropping graphics engine allowed its cutscenes to take place using in-game scripting, which were at times indistinguishable from the rest of the game. Outcast The opening rendered cinematic is truly excellent, but the rest of the game features game-engine cutscenes .. which are even better! Dialogue, scripting, animation and sets are all top notch. Planescape Torment As imaginative and beautiful as the rest of the game, the only problem with the rendered cinematics in Planescape Torment was that they were too short!

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Nocturne review

Character Design

The award for the best in-game character design and art (eg character models, skins, or sprites). Nocturne One of this game's biggest selling points seemed to be the flapping cloak of your character, The Stranger. The rest of the character models and animations were of the same high quality... Outcast Detailed, bizarre and smoothly animated, the characters and creatures who inhabit Adelpha helped bring the world to life, and the various human characters were just as interesting. Planescape Torment Zombies, floating skulls, an immortal warrior, a burning mage, a fallen angel, a girl with a tail, and a hagged crone were amongst the strange characters who appeared in Planescape Torment, and all were exactly drawn and animated. Quake 3 Arena Another game with a wide variety of characters, Quake 3 Arena's cast included an eyeball with legs, a cyborg, a hoverskating punk, and an obese woman. The game also featured some of the most detailed models yet seen in a computer game, with excellent skins and good animations. Unreal Tournament Unreal Tournament might not have had as many player models as Quake 3 Arena, but it made up for it with a wide range of highly detailed skins for each of the models.

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Nocturne review

Quake 3 Arena review

Visual Effects

The award for the best graphics engine and use of special effects in a game. Freespace 2 The original Freespace was the best looking space combat game ever released, and Freespace 2 took graphics to the next level. Space has never looked so good. Nocturne It might have needed a ridiculously powerful computer to run it, but if you had the processing and graphics power to run Nocturne you were in for a visual treat... Outcast The only nominee this year to use voxels for its graphics, Outcast featured some of the most impressive terrain ever seen in a 3D game, with huge vistas, rolling hills, spikey alien mountains, and dense forests. Quake 3 Arena Powered by possibly the most advanced 3D graphics engine currently available, Quake 3 Arena features detailed and curvaceous levels, over the top weapons effects, and huge fountains of blood and "gibs". Unreal Tournament Currently the most licensed 3D engine in the world, Unreal Tournament is overladen with eye candy, spectacular weapons effects, wide open spaces and highly detailed textures.

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Tim Sweeney interview

Original Score

The award for the best original soundtrack created for a game. Nobuo Uematsu, Final Fantasy VIII [Coming Soon] Paul Ruskay and Roger Savoie, Homeworld Homeworld featured an atmospheric soundtrack that suited the mood of the game perfectly, as well as including contributions from prog-rock band YES. David Bowie, Omikron : The Nomad Soul Nomad Soul featured several excellent new tracks from David Bowie, which later appeared on his latest album, "Hours". He even appeared in the game in digital form for a "virtual concert" with guitarist Reeves Gabrels. Lennie Moore, Outcast Performed by the Moscow Symphony Orchestra, the soundtrack of Outcast was some of the most lush orchestral game music I've ever heard, and now has a permanent place in my music collection alongside movie soundtracks. Mark Morgan, Planescape Torment Planescape Torment's soundtrack may have been woefully short, but what music there was in the game was excellent and again fitted the dark mood of the game perfectly.

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Homeworld review

Nomad Soul review

Sound

The award for the best sound effects and use of sound within a game. David Levison, Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine The latest Indiana Jones computer game is filled with atmospheric ambient sounds, comments and advice from Indy himself, and of course the crack of his trademark whip, and short excerpts from the Indiana Jones movie soundtracks. Kyle Richards, Nocturne "Bubbling brooks, rustling leaves, the clinking of metal bullet cases hitting the floor, everything adds to the pseudo-realism". So said our review of the game... Franck Sauer, Outcast With excellent voice acting, ambient sounds, native music, and the shouts of Adelpha's inhabitants as you opened fire, Outcast sounded as good as it looked. Tim Haywood, Shadow Man Overall Shadow Man may have been something of a disappointment, but the sound effects and short snatches of music provided by Tim Haywood were excellent. Epic and Digital Extreme, Unreal Tournament Unreal Tournament's sound effects were as gloriously over-the-top as its visual effects, with chunky weapons, deep rumbling explosions, and of course the arcade-style award sounds - "head shot", "double kill", "multi kill", "rampage"...

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Adapted Storyline

The award for the best storyline and plot developed for a game based on an existing property (eg a movie, book, comic, or TV series). Stephen Carriere, Beryl Chanteux and Hubert Chardot, Faust Hal Barwood, Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine Chris Avellone, Planescape Torment Guy Miller and Simon Phipps, Shadow Man Glen Dahlgren, Wheel of Time

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Indiana Jones review