In the last weeks of December 2002, you had the opportunity to vote for the best RPGs released in 2002. Nobody knows better what these are then you the player and as such The RPGDot 2002 Awards will look good on any game receiving one.
We thank all those who entered their votes and helped us in making it possible to select the best games.

Most Anticipated Single Player RPG
Is there an RPG which you definitely want to play in 2003? Is there one game that you believe can do it for you..... the game that will keep you up night and day? Our voters think so ... do you think the same?

The winner: Gothic 2
It was a tough decision for us to exclude Gothic 2 from the votes for the best RPG 2002. Most of the staff here at RPGDot has already played it (it was released in Germany late in November), and our general consensus was that it would have had what it takes to win the title, even against stiff competition like Morrowind or NWN. But since it wasn’t available worldwide, a fair rating wouldn’t have been possible.

No wonder, however, it won the category of most anticipated CRPG for 2003. Gothic, the first game from the series, was a sleeper hit in the US, handicapped only by bad distribution and lack of support by general gaming sites. Gothic 2 is more of an improvement than Badur’s Gate 2 was over Baldur’s Gate. The interactivity and the quality of the NPC’s is simply amazing. When it is released in the US in March 2003, be prepared for a smash hit. And it’s a hot contender for best RPG 2003, for sure.

(Rendelius)

Runner Up: Deus Ex 2 - Invisible War
Deus Ex 2 - not only my eyes fill with a strange gloom when the name of the game is mentioned. Deus Ex was a hell of a game, and the screenshots and what is known about the second installment suggest that this will be one, too. Anticipation is very high for Deus Ex 2, and it is a rather safe bet that we won't be disappointed by Warren Spector and his team. Let's just hope that this baby is born on time - you know: too much waiting can drive you insane...

(Rendelius)

Second Runner Up: Lionheart
What if a long long time ago in the time of the crusades some events took place and some events didn't. What if there would have been magic in the time of King Richard Lionheart. What if......
Black Isle Studios and Reflexive made up a world where all these what if's actually happened. A world with magic. Our world but different from how we know it. By using the S.P.E.C.I.A.L. system and tweaking it here and there they might bring us a next Isometric 2D game which could suck us right into it and make it this years surprise hit.

(Myrthos)

The Numbers
To make it complete we now give you the top 10 as voted by our visitors:

And 10,1% of those who participated were unable to select one of the games.

We, the RPGDot team also voted to create our own top 5:

The three games we all agree upon are Gothic, Lionheart and Knights of the Old Republic. Oddly enough the team selected two games in the top 5 that aren't even listed in the visitors top 10.

Note that percentages are rounded to the nearest number.