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E3 is big, it's busy and it's exciting. Out of all of the gaming
conventions in North America in a given year, E3 is the one we know we
can rely on to see some fantastic developments, both ongoing and the
all-together new. So much talent and effort is put into this show and
the games found within that it is only fitting that these companies be
recognized for their accomplishments.
While many other sites offer awards on the myriad of different genres
and platforms seen at E3, we here at Ten Ton Hammer know that you, our
audience, has a specific passion for all things MMO and RPG. As such,
Ten Ton Hammer's E3 Awards are tailored specifically to your interests.
There was much to see at E3 this year so it's not surprising we have
eight awards. Some games we expected to see a lot of and were
disappointed, while others we hadn't had many, if any, expectations and
our collective socks were blown off. Have a look with us and see for
yourself which of those games impressed us to that degree in this
year's awards.
Either flip through the awards through the navigation below or select a
specific award from the dropdown menu above. We've got lots to go
through, so sit back and relax to enjoy Ten Ton Hammer's Best of E3
2011 Awards.
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One of the most anticipated features of E3 is something that most
players don't actually get to experience first hand. Unless you've been
to E3, it's impossible to describe the level of imagination and
creativity that goes into the booths of the games we see.
src="http://images.tentonhammer.com/TTH/events/Best-of-E3-2011-booth.png">The
truly tragic story is that most of these booths will only be seen for a
few short days during the show, and then they'll be dismantled and
stored away, never to be seen in their full glory again.
This year was no different than any other. We were surrounded by a
magical forest of choroplast and vacuform. There were cities of stone
walls and metal dungeons of sci-fi splendor.
The winner of this year's Best Booth Award goes to a game we've all
become familiar with over the past few months. It's that game everyone
is talking about that seemed to have come out from nowhere. That's
right, we're talking about
style="font-style: italic;">World of Tanks.
![]()
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src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/99795/preview">
style="color: rgb(255, 204, 51);">
style="font-weight: bold;">
style="color: rgb(255, 204, 51);">World of Tanks
(Wargaming.net)
Nominees:
RAGE, TERA, World of Tanks
Tanks as Best Booth was an obvious one.
Wargaming showed up in a real, functioning tank with the men and women
who operate them. And let's face it. Choroplast and vacuform stand no
chance against a real live tank.
More style="font-style: italic;">World of Tanks
E3 coverage from Ten Ton Hammer:
-
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/world-of-tanks/E3/2011/victor-kislyi">
style="font-style: italic;">World of Warplanes, World of
Tanks Details Emerge from E3 2011 -
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/wot/e3/2011/e3-screenshots">
style="font-style: italic;">World of Tanks
Rolls Out the Armor at E3 with New Screenshots
src="http://images.tentonhammer.com/TTH/events/Best-of-E3-2011-banner.jpg">
Bells and whistles, graphics and sound, none of these have as great an
impact on a game as its raw gameplay.
src="http://images.tentonhammer.com/TTH/events/Best-of-E3-2011-gameplay.png">When
we play our games, we want them to be fun. Without that, gaming is just
pointless. So deciding who to give the Best Gameplay Award to was going
to be a challenge.
We wanted to give this award to a game that had us coming back for
more. We see many games at these events but truth be told, there are
very few of them that have us itching to just get back into the chair
again at the next event and sit down to play.
For the winner of this year's award, that was exactly the case. All of
us at Ten Ton Hammer who have played the game before have experienced
that after-show withdrawal first-hand. It's one of the only games where
we fight amongst ourselves to cover the game for the next show because
we know it means we'll get another chance to play it.
This year's Best Gameplay award goes to...
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src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/99797/preview">
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style="font-weight: bold;">
style="color: rgb(255, 204, 51);">TERA
(Bluehole Studio & En Masse Entertainment)
Nominees:
Jagged Alliance Online, PAYDAY: The Heist, TERA, Torchlight II
raw, unfiltered fun. A beautiful marriage of action combat and true
MMORPG magic, to play TERA is to bask in gaming evolution. Combat is
responsive and natural without dummying it down to a point where player
skill does not matter. We all enjoy playing the game so much, we're
already starting to fight over who gets to play it again next time.
More style="font-style: italic;">TERA E3
Coverage from Ten Ton Hammer:
-
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/tera/e3/2011/melee-hands-on">Hands-On
with TERA's
Memorable Melee Classes -
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/tera/previews/political-system">
style="font-style: italic;">TERA Plays a Game
of Thrones at E3 2011 -
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/tera/e3/2011/e3-political-screenshots">New
TERA
Screenshots Get Political -
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/tera/e3/2011/videos/e3-trailer">En
Masse Entertainment Reveals New TERA
Trailer
src="http://images.tentonhammer.com/TTH/events/Best-of-E3-2011-banner.jpg">
When reviewing this award, we had difficulty in deciding a name.
src="http://images.tentonhammer.com/TTH/events/Best-of-E3-2011-respawn.png">We
wanted to award a game that we have seen before but has evolved so much
further than its original state that it's worthy of a reward.
We didn't want to name the Award "Most Improved" as that implies the
game wasn't much good to begin with, and in the case of this year's
nominees that wasn't necessarily the case.
So we decided upon "Best Respawn" to represent an existing game that
has made such leaps and strides since its original launch that it is
almost a new game all together. Once narrowed down like that, our picks
for the category became much easier. This year's winner is something
we're all very excited about and very happy to see come back to life in
a new iteration that not only addresses the concerns from launch but
vastly improves the gameplay and sheer fun of the game.
Without further ado, the Ten Ton Hammer Best Respawn of E3 2011
Award goes to...
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style="font-weight: bold;">
style="color: rgb(255, 204, 51);">APB: Reloaded
(GamersFirst, Reloaded Productions)
Nominees: APB
Reloaded, End of Nations
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down the servers for APB many of us were severly disappointed. We
understood the reasons why the game wasn't succeeding: poor
matchmaking, a huge chasm between poorly geared and well geared player
performance, some annoying bugs, inaccessibility, and so on. But that
didn't mean we didn't love the idea of the game. There was some
potential there, but sadly it wasn't realized in time.
So when free-to-play guru GamersFirst acquired the rights to the game
and poured heart and soul into polishing it up to address style="font-style: italic;">all the gamers'
concerns, we were overjoyed. Even moreso, when we saw the new version
of the game in action, we become nothing short of thrilled. APB:
Reloaded is not only a brilliant fix to the old game, it's got so much
heart and soul in it now that it's a completely new experience... and
one we'll be playing quite a bit of.
More style="font-style: italic;">APB: Reloaded
E3 coverage from Ten Ton Hammer:
-
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/apb/e3/2011/bigger-and-better-than-ever">
style="font-style: italic;">APB Reloaded at E3
2011 - Bigger and Better than Ever -
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/events/e3/2011/apb-development-roadmap">GamersFirst
Launches New APB:
Reloaded Development Roadmap
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RPGs are so closely knit with MMORPGs that it would be silly for us not
to check them out at E3.
src="http://images.tentonhammer.com/TTH/events/Best-of-E3-2011-rpg.png">A
good RPG has a great story, a wonderful world, and is so rich and in
depth that one can immerse themselves for days or weeks or even months
into the game before coming up for air and moving to something new.
This year was a real tough decision for us to make. We saw several
formidable RPGs, all of which would be deserving of this award. But we
had to make a decision on only one. And that decision wasn't going to
be easy.
We had three nominees this year and each of those three received the
exact same amount of votes. So we digested these games a little
further, and discussed the games for hours on end. We still weren't
getting any closer to a resolution. So at that point we had to pull in
an additional party to consider the nominees and cast another vote.
This time we did come up with a winner.
And the winner of Ten Ton Hammer's Best RPG of E3 2011 goes to....
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style="font-weight: bold;">
style="color: rgb(255, 204, 51);">The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
(Bethesda)
Nominees:
Mass Effect 3, Star Wars: The Old Republic, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
takes to make a fantastic RPG. A deep and meaningful story, a fantastic
gigantic world, fluid combat, and a level of detail that will leave you
wondering if you're playing a video game or actually style="font-style: italic;">inside an alternate
universe. We couldn't force our eyes away while watching the
presentation and were left stunned at the end. We can't wait for launch
and delve deep into the world of Skyrim.
More style="font-style: italic;">Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
E3
coverage from Ten Ton Hammer:
src="http://images.tentonhammer.com/TTH/events/Best-of-E3-2011-banner.jpg">
There were a few new reveals at E3 2011 so we had to determine which
could be called "the biggest."
src="http://images.tentonhammer.com/TTH/events/Best-of-E3-2011-reveal.png">The
game that we came up with we had found most intriguing. We weren't able
to get too much information about the game, but we were able to see a
bit of it in action.
When the game launches it will mean a new era of MMO Gaming. It has all
the elements it takes to make a splash in an industry that is becoming
increasingly populated.
For that reason alone we were quite content awarding this game the
Biggest reveal award. If this game can make as big of an impact as we
think it can, we're going to be in for some fireworks in the near
future.
The Ten Ton Hammer E3 2011 Award for the Biggest Reveal goes to...
![]()
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src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/99807/preview">
style="color: rgb(255, 204, 51);">
style="font-weight: bold;">
style="color: rgb(255, 204, 51);">Defiance
(Trion Worlds, Syfy)
Nominees:
Defiance, World of Warplanes
style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(204, 153, 51);">
shooter MMOG that teams Trion Worlds ( href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/rift"> style="font-style: italic;">Rift)
with Syfy in a game that will share the same world
and story as an ongoing television series aired on the Syfy channel.
The game will be available on PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 and while there's
still no resolution yet between Sony and Microsoft on
cross-compatibility Trion Worlds hopes to have the game world shared by
the three platforms if it is going to be possible come launch.
As far as shooters go, Defiance looks to bring in all the fun
of a third person shooter while tossing in a nice dose of RPG to make
the game a fun and immersive experience for players. Coupled with the
guest appearances from the TV series' stars and players names making
their way into aired episodes, this could be one heck of an
evolutionary leap in entertainment.
More style="font-style: italic;">Defiance E3
coverage from Ten Ton Hammer:
src="http://images.tentonhammer.com/TTH/events/Best-of-E3-2011-banner.jpg">
We all love surprises, and E3 tends to be the King of Surprises.
src="http://images.tentonhammer.com/TTH/events/Best-of-E3-2011-surprise.png">Sometimes
games slip under our radar, sometimes we know of games coming up but
have yet to see them. Whatever the case may be, we're often pleasantly
surprised at E3 and this year we got tickled with a wonderful surprise.
Surprises can come in the form of a new announcement, but usually they
show up as games that we have heard about, but have seen very little
of. We try to go with few expectations, but that can sometimes be
easier said than done.
This year we had no expectations from the winner. We didn't know what
to expect, so we didnt' expect what we saw. It made for a
smack-across-the-head surprise (in a good way!)
The Ten Ton Hammer Biggest Surprise of E3 2011 Award goes to...
![]()
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src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/99808/preview">
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style="font-weight: bold;">
style="color: rgb(255, 204, 51);">Neverwinter
(Cryptic)
Nominees: Neverwinter,
PAYDAY: The Heist, Rusty Hearts
promising and fulfillling RPG with enough content to keep players and
D&D fans interested for some time. However, the real surprise
for us comes in form of The Foundry toolset which allows players to
generate their own adventures to share with friends.
Player generated content is an important part of any D&D
universe and Neverwinter empowers the players with tools that are easy
enough for first-time builders but powerful enough to create incredibly
detailed and expansive adventures.
The sky's the limit and we expect there will be some pretty amazing
content created by the game's fans.
More style="font-style: italic;">Neverwinter
E3 coverage from Ten Ton Hammer:
-
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/neverwinter/e3/2011/closer-look-at-foundry-toolset">
style="font-style: italic;">Neverwinter at E3
2011 - A Closer Look at The Foundry Toolset
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We like to believe we're in touch with our readers. After all, we're
all not just gamers here, we're MMO gamers.
src="http://images.tentonhammer.com/TTH/events/Best-of-E3-2011-choice.png">One
title in particular keeps coming up over and over again. On the forums,
in the news, on blogs, on facebook, in conversation, in email. We all
know which game we can't wait to see.
Lucky for us, we have gotten a few chances to see this hotly
anticipated mega-title. And every time we see it, it just looks better
and better.
We know you love it, as do we, so it should be no surprise...
This year's Ten Ton Hammer E3 2011 Gamer's Choice Award goes to....
![]()
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src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/86639/preview">
style="color: rgb(255, 204, 51);">
style="font-weight: bold;">
style="color: rgb(255, 204, 51);">STAR WARS: THE OLD REPUBLIC
(BioWare)
was simply impossible to see unless you had an appointment. The more
public lines for 15 minutes of hands-on with the game yielded a mass of
people where the ones at the very end were doomed to disappointment
with the closing of the show floors doors well before the players got a
chance to check it out.
It's big and beautiful, and well deserving of the Gamer's Choice award
this year.
More style="font-style: italic;">Star Wars: The Old Republic
E3 coverage from Ten Ton Hammer:
-
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/swtor/e3/2011/hands-on">Hands-On
SWTOR Impressions from E3 2011 -
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/swtor/news/intro-cinematic">BioWare
Unleases Star Wars: The
Old Republic Intro Cinematic -
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/swtor/news/g4tv-blaine-christine-interview">SWTOR
Producer Talks Vehicles, Target Audience and a Pimp-Like Jawa -
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/swtor/e3/2011/swtor-e3-recap">BioWare
Recaps on Star Wars: The
Old Republic's E3 2011 Content -
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/swtor/e3/2011/developer-walkthrough-tatooine">New
SWTOR Developer Walkthrough Previews Combat, Story and Tatooine -
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/swtor/e3/2011/belsavis-raid-video">BioWare
Shows Off High Level Content for Star
Wars: The Old Republic
src="http://images.tentonhammer.com/TTH/events/Best-of-E3-2011-banner.jpg">
Picking this year's Best of Show Award was a surprisingly easy task.
src="http://images.tentonhammer.com/TTH/events/Best-of-E3-2011-show.png">Sure,
there were tons of great games, many of which were deserving of their
own awards. Heck, many of them got
their own rewards.
But at the end of the day, we simply asked ourselves: Out of all the
awesome games we got to see and play this year, if we could only take
one home with us to play right now, which would it be?
Would it be one of the single player RPGs? They were great, but we like
our MMOGs. Would it be something we haven't yet had a chance to play?
Of course not. Games may look good, but they have to feel good too, so
we'll wait on those titles. Which game did we just enjoy playing the
most this year?
The answer to that question, we all agreed, and thus the Ten Ton Hammer
Best of Show Award of E3 2011 goes to...
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src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/99797/preview">
style="color: rgb(255, 204, 51);">
style="font-weight: bold;">
style="color: rgb(255, 204, 51);">TERA
(Bluehole Studio & En Masse Entertainment)
gamescom, PAX and again this year, every time we play TERA all we want
to do is play more.
Sure, the graphics are great, the world is begging to be explored, the
story in captivating, but it all comes down to the simple truth that
TERA is fun. The action based combat and the sheer joy of successful
co-op group play makes this game an easy winner.
We'll be looking for you at later events this year, TERA. Please keep
our seats warm for us. We'll be back soon!
More style="font-style: italic;">TERA E3
Coverage from Ten Ton Hammer:
-
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/tera/e3/2011/melee-hands-on">Hands-On
with TERA's
Memorable Melee Classes -
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/tera/previews/political-system">
style="font-style: italic;">TERA Plays a Game
of Thrones at E3 2011 -
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/tera/e3/2011/e3-political-screenshots">New
TERA
Screenshots Get Political -
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/tera/e3/2011/videos/e3-trailer">En
Masse Entertainment Reveals New TERA
Trailer
