Fallout 3, the popular RPG from Bethesda, has been awarded the E3 Best in Show award by a panel of more than 30 press outlets.

The Games Critics Awards look into various gaming categories, with the only criteria being that the game must have been played at the E3 convention.

LittleBigPlanet for the PS3 received both the Best Console Game and the Best Social/Casual/Puzzle Game, while Spore came out on top in the Best PC Game category.

Best Action Game was awarded to Gears of War 2, and Rock Band scored another hit as it came in with the award of Best Hardware/Peripheral.

As for publishers, EA seemed to sweep the floor with five awards to its name, closely followed by Sony with three and just pipped by one - Bethesda gets two.

Xbox 360 games won 11 separate awards, followed by PS3 and PC with seven each. And interesting not note - despite dominating sales headlines, Nintendo was a no show in the awards. Critics put this down to both a bias towards mature games coupled with thw company's poor first-party showing at E3 this year.

The full list of winners is as follows:

* Best of Show: Fallout 3
* Best Original Game: Mirror's Edge
* Best Console Game: LittleBigPlanet
* Best PC Game: Spore
* Best Handheld Game: Resistance: Retribution
* Best Hardware/Peripheral: Rock Band 2
* Best Action Game: Gears of War 2
* Best Action/Adventure Game: Dead Space
* Best Role Playing Game: Fallout 3
* Best Racing Game: Pure
* Best Sports Game: Madden NFL 09
* Best Fighting Game: Street Fighter IV
* Best Strategy Game: Tom Clancy's EndWar
* Best Social/Casual/Puzzle: LittleBigPlanet
* Best Online Multiplayer: Left 4 Dead

>> News - Amazon gets exclusive Fallout 3 bundle
>> Via - GamePro