Gears of War wins Joystick awards

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Third person shooter Gears of War has scooped the "Ultimate Game of the Year Award" at the Golden Joysticks. The title sold more than 3 million copies in 10 weeks and won three more awards including Xbox game of the year and the editors choice.

Other winners included the multiple Bafta award winning Wii Sports which took home the best family game award. The awards, now in their 25th year, are awarded in 18 categories and are voted for by UK gamers.

Nearly three quarters of a million gamers cast votes. Most of the games that took home prizes differ from those that won Bafta awards this year.

The only games to take home prizes at both ceremonies were Wii Sports and God of War II. Both sets of prizes also snubbed Sony's latest console, the PlayStation 3 (PS3).

No PS3 titles won at the Baftas, whilst the only game that can be played on the PS3 to win a Golden Joystick was Assassin's Creed. The multiplatform game took home the one to watch award.

Other notable winners at the London Ceremony included Guitar Hero II which took two awards for best soundtrack and girl's choice, and Nintendo which took home publisher of the year and the innovation award for its Wii console.

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess won best Nintendo game.

The Golden Joysticks also awarded prizes to massively multiplayer online games, a genre overlooked by the Bafta awards.

Wii Sports won six Baftas and one Golden Joystick

The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar won best PC game, whilst World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade won best online game.

Other gaming platforms were also rewarded such as Final Fantasy for best mobile game and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories for best handheld.

But the big winner was Epic Games Gears of War.

The title was an instant hit with gamers and focuses on a ragtag band of human warriors, known as Delta Squad, as they battle with the Locust Horde enemy. Players control Marcus Fenix, a prisoner who is freed to help defend mankind. Although it was originally released for the Xbox 360, the game has since been made available on the PC.

Codemasters won developer of the year, despite none of its games winning an award.

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