id Software's Rage Leads Game Critics' E3 Noms

id Software's post-apocalyptic first-person shooter Rage led Game Critics Awards' E3 nominations with five nods, followed by Dance Central, Disney Epic Mickey and Portal 2, which had four each. Powered by id's Tech5 engine, Rage garnered nominations for best of show, best original game, best console game, best PC game and best action game. id originally unveiled Rage in 2007. The studio's parent, Fallout owner Bethesda Softworks, is publishing the game for an expected 2011 release. Best of show contenders include Rage, Junction Point Studios' Disney Epic Mickey, Nintendo's 3DS hardware, Harmonix's Dance Central and Valve's Portal 2. Hardware nominations included Kinect, Move, Nintendo 3DS, Rock Band 3 Pro Guitars and the Rock Band 3 keyboard. Electronic Arts led all other publishers with 15 nominations this year, followed by Microsoft (11), MTV Games (7), Bethesda (6), Sony Computer Entertainment (6) and Nintendo (5). By platform, Xbox 360 led with 46 nominations, followed by PlayStation 3 (39), PC (30), Wii (14), DS (5) and PSP (4). In 2009, the Game Critics Awards gave the E3 best of show award to Sony and Naughty Dog's Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, which went on to be a PS3 hit that earned additional awards after its commercial release. The Game Critics Awards are a joint effort among game critics from 31 North American media outlets that cover the video game industry. The Game Critics will announce E3 winners on July 6. The full list of nominees is below: Best of Show - Dance Central (Harmonix/MTV Games/Microsoft for Xbox 360) - Disney's Epic Mickey (Junction Point/Disney Interactive Studios for Wii) - Nintendo 3DS (Nintendo) - Portal 2 (Valve for PC / Mac, PS3 and Xbox 360) - Rage (id Software/Bethesda for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360) Best Original Game - Bulletstorm (People Can Fly/Epic Games/Electronic Arts for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360) - Child of Eden (Q Entertainment/Ubisoft for PS3, Xbox 360) - Dance Central (Harmonix/MTV Games/Microsoft for Xbox 360) - Disney's Epic Mickey (Junction Point/Disney Interactive Studios for Wii) - Rage (id Software/Bethesda for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360) Best Console Game - Disney's Epic Mickey (Junction Point/Disney Interactive Studios for Wii) - InFamous 2 (Sucker Punch/Sony Computer Entertainment for PS3) - Kirby's Epic Yarn (Good-Feel/Nintendo for Wii) - Portal 2 (Valve for PC / Mac, PS3, and Xbox 360) - Rage (id Software/Bethesda for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360) Best Handheld Game - Ghost Trick (Capcom for Nintendo DS) - God of War: Ghost of Sparta (Ready at Dawn/Sony Santa Monica for PSP) - Okamiden (Capcom for Nintendo DS) - SuperScribblenauts (5TH Cell/WBIE for Nintendo DS) - Valkyria Chronicles 2 (Sega for PSP) Best PC Game - Civilization V (Firaxis/2K Games) - Crysis 2 (CryTek/Electronic Arts) - Portal 2 (Valve) - Rage (id Software/Bethesda) - Star Wars: The Old Republic (BioWare Austin/LucasArts/EA) Best Hardware - Kinect (Microsoft for Xbox 360) - Move (Sony for PlayStation 3) - Nintendo 3DS (Nintendo) - Rock Band 3 Pro Guitars (Harmonix/MTV Games/Mad Catz) - Rock Band 3 Keyboard (Harmonix/MTV Games/Mad Catz) Best Action Game - Bulletstorm (People Can Fly/Epic Games/Electronic Arts for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360) - Call of Duty: Black Ops (TreyArch/Activision for PC, PS3, and Xbox 360) - Gears of War 3 (Epic Game/Microsoft Game Studios for Xbox 360) - Halo: Reach (Bungie/Microsoft Game Studios for Xbox 360) - Rage (id Software/Bethesda for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360) Best Action/Adventure Game - Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft for PC, PS3, and Xbox 360) - Dead Space 2 (Visceral Games/Electronic Arts for PC, PS3, and Xbox 360) - Disney's Epic Mickey (Junction Point/Disney Interactive Studios for Wii) - Portal 2 (Valve for PC / Mac, PS3, and Xbox 360) - The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (Nintendo EAD/Nintendo for Wii) Best Role Playing Game - Deus Ex: Human Revolution (Eidos Montreal/Square-Enix for PC, PS3, Xbox 360) - Fable III (Lionhead/Microsoft Game Studios for PC and Xbox 360) - Fallout: New Vegas (Obsidian/Bethesda for PC, PS3, and Xbox 360) - Star Wars: The Old Republic (BioWare Austin/LucasArts/EA for PC) - The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings (CD Projekt RED STUDIO/Atari for PC) Best Racing Game - Gran Turismo 5 (Polyphony Digital/Sony Computer Entertainment for PS3) - MotorStorm: Apolcalypse (Evolution Studios/Sony Computer Entertainment for PS3) - Need for Speed Hot Pursuit (Criterion Games/Electronic Arts for PC, PS3, and Xbox 360) - Test Drive Unlimited 2 (Eden Games/Atari for PC, PS3, and Xbox 360) Best Fighting Game - Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds (Capcom for PS3 and Xbox 360) - Mortal Kombat (NetherRealm/WBIE for PS3 and Xbox 360) - WWE All Stars (THQ San Diego/THQ for PS3 and Xbox 360) Best Sports Game - EA Sports MMA (EA Tiburon/EA Sports for PS3, Xbox 360) - Madden NFL 11 (EA Tiburon/EA Sports for PS3, Xbox 360) - NBA Jam (EA Canada/EA Sports for Wii) - NCAA Football 11 (EA Tiburon/EA Sports for PS3, Xbox 360) - NHL 11 (EA Canada/EA Sports for PS3, Xbox 360) Best Strategy Game - Civilization V (Firaxis/2K Games for PC) - Company of Heroes Online (Relic/THQ for PC) - End of Nations (Petroglyph/Trion Worlds for PC) - Shogun 2: Total War (The Creative Assembly/Sega for PC) Best Social/Casual Game - Dance Central (Harmonix/MTV Games/Microsoft for Xbox 360) - DJ Hero 2 (FreeStyle Games/Activision for PS3, Xbox 360, Wii) - Kinect Adventures (Good Science Studio/Microsoft Game Studios for Xbox 360) - Rock Band 3 (Harmonix/MTV Games/Electronic Arts for PS3, Xbox 360, Wii) Best Motion Simulation Game - Child of Eden (Q Entertainment/Ubisoft for PS3 and Xbox 360) - Dance Central (Harmonix/MTV Games/Microsoft for Xbox 360) - Socom 4 (Zipper/Sony Computer Entertainment for PS3) - The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (Nintendo EAD/Nintendo for Wii) - Your Shape: Fitness Evolved (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft for Xbox 360) Best Online Multiplayer Game - Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft for PC, PS3, and Xbox 360) - Gears of War 3 (Epic Games/Microsoft Game Studios for Xbox 360 ) - Halo Reach (Bungie/Microsoft Game Studios for Xbox 360) - Medal of Honor (EALA/DICE/EA for PC, PS3, Xbox 360) - Star Wars: The Old Republic (BioWare Austin/LucasArts/EA for PC)