Lawrence.com

Ten critics from across the country voted much like coaches do for the ESPN college basketball poll. The results were tabulated and without further ado, here are your 2003 Gamer's Voice Award winners:

Best Sports: Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2004 -- EA Sports -- PS2, Xbox, Gamecube

Other nominees:
ESPN NFL
Madden NFL 2004
Top Spin

It simply came down to Top Spin and Tiger. They were in a deadlock. The tie-break went to Tiger for the unmatched depth.

Best Action/Adventure: Viewtiful Joe -- Capcom -- Gamecube

Other nominees:
Prince of Persia
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
Crimson Skies
Panzer Dragoon Orta

This decision was closer than you think. Surprisingly, Panzer Dragoon and Zelda were the two strongest competitors outside of the winning Viewtiful.

Best Extreme: SSX 3 -- EA Big -- PS2, Xbox, Gamecube

Other nominees:
Tony Hawk's Underground
Amped 2
Deathrow

This was easy. Deathrow came somewhat near, but the power of the 20-minute mountain was not denied.

Best RPG: Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic -- LucasArts --Xbox

Other nominees:
Deus Ex: Invisible War
Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga
Final Fantasy X2
Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles

Superstar Saga barely got edged out since many critics were wooed by a surprisingly good Star Wars game. I fear that when the dust settles, many of the panel may regret this decision.

Best Racing: Project Gotham Racing 2 -- Microsoft - Xbox

Other nominees:
F-Zero GX
Mario Kart: Double Dash
Need for Speed: Underground

Again, a close race. F-Zero came in strong, but in the end Project Gotham 2 was way too impressive.

Best Fighting: Soul Calibur 2 -- Namco -- PS2, Xbox, Gamecube

Other nominees:
Virtua Fighter: Evolution
WWE Smackdown: Bring the Pain

No comment. Well, wait...I don't understand what Evolution's $19.99 price tag has to do with creating a better game...and the panel agreed.

Best First-Person Shooter: Rainbow Six 3 -- Ubisoft -- Xbox

Other nominees:
Deus Ex: Invisible War
XIII

There was nothing terribly impressive. So what's next? The most solid FPS this year.

Best Presentation: Beyond Good & Evil -- Ubisoft -- PS2, Xbox, Gamecube

Other nominees:
Prince of Persia
ESPN College Hoops
Max Payne 2

Pure cinematic elegance on a console. No contest.

Best Replay Value: Soul Calibur 2 -- Namco -- PS2, Xbox, Gamecube

Other nominees:
Metal Arms: Glitch in the System
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2004
Rainbow Six 3
Project Gotham Racing 2
Deus Ex: Invisible War

I can counter your counter's counter parry...infinity!

Best Online: Rainbow Six 3 - Ubisoft - Xbox

Other nominees:
Project Gotham Racing 2
Counter-Strike
SOCOM II

Gotham was a nice contender, but R6-3 has so much else to do.

Best Repertoire: Ubisoft

Other nominees:
Nintendo
Electronic Arts
Microsoft

A great year for the company with many solid titles in Persia, Beyond, XIII, Rainbow and others.

Best Originality: Wario Ware Inc. -- Nintendo -- Game Boy Advance

Other nominees:
Deus Ex: Invisible War
Viewtiful Joe
Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga

The other nominees had original elements. Wario Ware's entire concept was original and wacky...and addicting.

Best Graphics: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker -- Nintendo -- Gamecube

Other nominees:
Project Gotham Racing 2
Prince of Persia
Viewtiful Joe
Beyond Good & Evil

The highly-controversial cel-shading move paid off in a well-realised beautiful toon-world.

Best Soundtrack: Project Gotham Racing 2 -- Microsoft -- Xbox

Other nominees:
Beyond Good & Evil
SSX 3
Tony Hawk's Underground

Russian indie rock on the radio when racing in Moscow? Kudos for the extra mile.

Best Audio: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker -- Nintendo -- Gamecube

Other nominees:
Project Gotham Racing 2
ESPN College Hoops
Soul Calibur 2

The editing was tight, bright and enveloping while being totally transparent.

The Gamer's Voice Award: Mario Kart: Double Dash -- Nintendo -- Gamecube

Runners-up:
Final Fantasy X2
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
Project Gotham Racing 2

Is this the proverbial middle finger to our review? Regardless...you picked it!!!

Best Game of 2003: Viewtiful Joe -- Capcom -- Gamecube

Other nominees:
Project Gotham Racing 2
Soul Calibur 2
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
Prince of Persia

"Viewtiful Joe marks the return of the side-scroller in a major way. It avoids the common pitfalls of the few modern side-scrollers not only with the wide variety of action options, but also in the strategic ways you use your abilities to solve minor puzzles."

That along with hours of endless amazement makes this the surefire game to get of 2003.