I guess we would sound like we were playing favorites if we told you that we knew all along that Black Rock Studios would win the best racing game of E3 2009 this year with their just announced racing title, Split/Second.

The racing field was crowded this year at E3 with a lot of publishers working on variety of new racing titles, and these are some heavy weights that are known for their ability to develop racing games. With titles like Forza 3, Blur, Need for Speed: Shift, and MX vs. ATV: Reflex just to name a few, on tap for release this year, the racing field is going to be crowded.

The majority of these racing titles will ship before the end of the year, so when it was announced that Split/Second would not arrive till early next year, some were already writing the title off, which was a big mistake for the developer responsible for the award-winning title, Pure, that was released last year.

The Game Critics Award for best racing game of E3 2009 might have come as a surprise to some who believed that Forza 3 had this all but won with their splashy showing at both the Microsoft press conference at the start of E3 and the long lines to try it in the Microsoft booth. Those who took the time to play the Split/Second demo at the Disney booth were impressed, as the game offers many new things with a realistic look and feel that is set against a reality concept that is making for something very different.

Black Rock Studios is the first studio to win the Best Racing Game in the Game Critics Awards for E3 two years in a row. (The studio won last year with Pure.)  While we will have to wait till early next year to get our hands on Split/Second, it does seem to be already ahead of the pack. When released Split/Second will arrive for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC platforms. According to the developer, Split/Second is already available for pre-order at select retailers.