'Guild Wars 2' and 'Pineapple Smash Crew' win Expo awards

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Guild Wars 2 was awarded Editor's Game of the Show at the 2011 Eurogamer Expo, while Pineapple Smash Crew won top honors at the Expo's Indie Games Arcade.

Eurogamer's Tom Bramwell picked out the "incredible depth" and "intelligent new approach" of MMO Guild Wars 2 as worthy of extra merit.

Like its predecessor, Guild Wars 2 waives the monthly subscription fees of World of Warcraft, EVE Online and Star Wars: The Old Republic in favor of a one-time cover charge - the cost of the game - and free access thereafter.

Also nominated were Batman: Arkham City, Battlefield 3, Counter Strike: Global Offensive, Dark Souls, Modern Warfare 3, Skyrim, Super Mario 3D Land and Uncharted 3.

All were playable on the show floor, and all save for Counter Strike and Guild Wars 2 are due out by the end of the year.

Terry Cavanagh's At a Distance featured as a nominee for the Indie Games Arcade award as well as overall Game of the Show, a move which left Cavanagh "absolutely speechless."

It's the latest from the creator of hit platform game VVVVVV, was previously on display at the NYU Game Center's No Quarter exhibition, and features among the finalists for October's prestigious IndieCade 2011.

The PC game specialists of Rock Paper Shotgun acted as judges for the Indie Games Arcade, and described the ingenious two-player abstraction of At a Distance as a "special feat of cleverness."

Also praised were Smuggle Truck (on iTunes as Snuggle Truck), polished X-Com homage Xenonauts, and the free online battler Stellar Impact from French team Tindalos Interactive.

However, it was the hectic and inventive Pineapple Smash Crew that went on to clinch RPS's annual accolade, with a colorful mix of themes mined from beloved classics such as Alien Breed, Alien Syndrome and Cannon Fodder.

More on Eurogamer: eurogamer.net/articles/2011-09-26-eg-expo-editors-game-of-the-show-guild-wars-2-article
More on Rock Paper Shotgun: rockpapershotgun.com/2011/09/25/hooray-for-the-indie-arcade-winner
Guild Wars 2: guildwars2.com
Pineapple Smash Crew: richmakegame.com/?page_id=399