Simply put, a "System Shock" is the underdog. A wonderful game that didn't sell as well as it should have or was a total surprise. A game that made an impact that even we jaded press types didn't see coming. Not necessarily the best game of the year but perhaps the most promising, just as System Shock itself was in its day. Examples: Half-Life, Starfleet Command and TIE Fighter. A game like Diablo II doesn't count, simply because we expected that one to be good -- get it?

Now, a "Trespasser," named after DreamWorks' ill-fated Trespasser: Jurassic Park of course, represents a game full of promise that failed to deliver on all counts -- or just surprisingly didn't live up to its hype or potential. Examples would include Football Pro '99, Blood 2, Ultima: Ascension, Nocturne and Star Wars: Rebellion .

This year I actually toyed with the idea of renaming these awards after developer (currently heading the Xbox team) Seamus Blackly. He sent me an email after last year's awards noting, amusedly, that he worked on both System Shock and Trespasser: Jurassic Park. So he was both flattered and insulted by the awards, or at least he didn't know which he should be. I say Seamus should be flattered. A single System Shock makes up for a horde of Trespassers, I say.

SHOOTER
System Shock: The Operative: No One Lives Forever came as a big surprise to a lot of people, mostly because developer Monolith was no longer known for making particularly good games (Shogo MAD and Blood 2). We never expected a stylish shooter packed with minor innovation, saddled with an awkward and overlong script but finally delivering stealth gameplay into the (almost) modern age. Dig it!

Trespasser: Daikatana was certainly hyped and anticipated, even if expectations were low. It's notable for actually failing to live up to even lowered expectations. I mean, how many games can succeed at doing that?

THIRD-PERSON/ACTION/ARCADE
System Shock: Giants: Citizen Kabuto was hotly anticipated, very late and seemed to be trying too hard to be different. This is usually a recipe for disaster. Who knew the end result would be so much fun? Sure, the multiplayer is fairly weak, and balance is nonexistent, but in single-player mode, the humor and story are frankly hilarious -- and it's a lot of fun playing as saucy Meccs, winning the Reaper Races and stomping about as big bad Kabuto. Bioware's MDK2 would have won this category, were it not so damn short.

Trespasser: Messiah had the same pedigree as Giants -- hotly anticipated, potentially innovative and delayed beyond reason. It even shipped with lots of bugs, just like Giants. The difference is that Messiah isn't a well-balanced game. The cherub is too weak, possession is too difficult, the game is too frustrating, and the humor is puerile. Patches couldn't save it.

STRATEGY
System Shock: Combat Mission: Beyond Overlord is the very definition of that odious term "paradigm shift". A small company set an entire genre on its ear by simply adding a 3D component to turn-based warfare. You make your turn, the opponent makes his, and then, with a touch of the "Go" button, all hell breaks loose for 60 seconds. It has apparently sold out several times, and you won't find it in stores. But you can order it from Battlefront today!

Trespasser: Squad Leader is the antithesis of Combat Mission. It's inelegant, ugly and uses offensively stupid voice acting -- but worst of all, Hasbro stupidly used the Avalon Hill moniker for the game when this abomination has nothing at all to do with that hallowed board game. Plenty of bad games get made; only a few dare to hoodwink their intended audience.

REALTIME STRATEGY
System Shock: No one knew what to think about Sacrifice when it first came out. It's beautiful, bizarre and complicated: Battlezone-style gameplay coupled with a story featuring a fractured version of Greek mythology. The real brilliance of the game lies in its wonderful self-effacing style. Reload a saved game after defeat and the hero remarks, "Wait, that's not what really happened." Load a saved game after a break and you're treated to "Where was I? Oh yes..." Oh yes, indeed.

Trespasser: Star Trek: New Worlds is awful, but expectations were low to begin with. A Trek game with tanks? Ah, right, okey-dokey. The real disappointment is Star Wars: Force Commander. We had a bad feeling about this, but we ignored it. What we got is a butchered and blasphemous soundtrack and a horrible 3D engine that led to an unattractive, clunky, vaguely Star Wars-ish game. Star Wars deserves better and, worst of all, this has been announced as the last "classic" Star Wars computer game.

SPORTS
System Shock: NHL 2001 is a revelation. Why? Sliders let you transform the game from an arcade hockey slamfest to a graceful and slower recreation of the sport itself. Put control in human hands and you've got a hockey game everyone can love.

Trespasser: MS Baseball 2001 is the third strike for the third out of the ninth inning. We don't want to aim a cursor at the target when batting. It's silly. Go away.

RACING
System Shock: We'd grown quite comfortable with the tried-and-true arcade-style Need for Speed gameplay. The emphasis was always on looks and speed; there never seemed to be a need for depth. And you know what? That was just fine for most fans. Kudos to EA for actually listening to critics and finally implementing a five-point driving model to the mix -- it was sorely needed.

Trespasser: Midtown Madness 2 was a chance for Microsoft to improve upon the fun but flawed gameplay of the original; instead it took a step backward. Sure, London and San Francisco are fun places to race, but we wanted better physics and damage modeling than before. A better graphics engine was also desperately needed. Lastly, please have all the voice actors who worked on the game shot or at least beaten severely. Maybe they can star in the next Carmageddon as pedestrians.

ROLE-PLAYING GAME/ADVENTURE
System Shock: Baldur's Gate II wasn't really a surprise. We knew it'd be good, but we were ill prepared for how good it would be, with literally hundreds of hours of gameplay, new classes, monsters, super-refined realtime strategy combat and the ability to access AD&D;'s wickedest spells. The game mastered the art of dangling the next thrilling quest in front of us to keep us playing, seemingly forever.

Trespasser: Ultima Ascension. I know, I know, it came out in 1999. But the patches came out in 2000, and we were led to believe the game was simply premature, not tragically flawed for all time. Oh, the taste this one left is bitter indeed, a horrible end to a game series that espoused virtue.

OVERALL
System Shock: The biggest shock to the system this year came from Croatia in the form of a tech demo with the ludicrous name Serious Sam. It's a fantastic engine and a reminder of when 3D shooters were all about fun and shooting. Try the new multiplayer demo for some really intense co-op or deathmatch action and mind the Werebulls while inside.

Trespasser: The death of Looking Glass Studios (System Shock, Terra Nova, Thief: The Dark Project, Thief 2) came as a serious blow and major disappointment to all. Games may never be the same. Speaking of that, if I must pick a "game of the year" I pick Thief II: The Metal Age. I still hear the words of Karras, the words of Karras... I mean, don't you?

- Andrew S Bub