All the Golden Joystick Awards winners
Who walked away from this year's ceremony with a coveted stick of goldness?
BBC 1Xtra Soundtrack of the year
 Winner: Grand Theft Auto IV
 First runner-up: Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
 Second runner-up: Super Mario Galaxy
We say: Ambient, disco, punk, electro, rock, hip-hop, dub, Russian... GTA pretty much covers every - ahem - bass, so what's not to like. Good tunes are every bit as essential as a homicidal mind when running over innocent civilians, and Rockstar - as ever - delivered some sublime music to murder by.
Xbox Game of the Year
 Winner: Grand Theft Auto IV
 First runner-up: Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
 Second runner-up: Halo 3
We say: We're still impressed by Niko's leetle treep to Liberty City, months after its release. Incredible characters, exciting missions and even the ability to throw drivers through car windshields... it's every kind of game. And of course we've already said how much we love Cod4, but we'll say it again: We love CoD4. Lots and lots. By the way, we wholly agree that both are better than Halo 3. Yeah, deal with it.
 
Edge Most Wanted Award
 Winner: Fallout 3
 First runner-up: Resident Evil 5
 Second runner-up: Far Cry 2
We say: No, not a game about having a barny with your best mate for the third time this week. Good thing, really, as that would be rubbish. No, this is Oblivion creator Bethesda's new game and it's looking utterly superb. Mind you, Resi 5 probably would have won it if Capcom hadn't announced it was getting Gears of War-style conrols and shown that the enemies all use Resi 4 animations halfway through the vote. D'oh!
Online Game of the Year
 Winner: Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
 First runner-up: Lord of the Rings Online
 Second runner-up: World of Warcraft
Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more
We say: That votes don't lie. COD 4 is so good, it's quite literally a World of Warcraft beater. Who'd have thunk it?
UK Developer of the Year
 Winner: Rockstar North
 First runner-up: Codemasters
 Second runner-up: Lionhead
We say: Not only did they make Grand Theft Auto IV, but they were even nice enough to cover up the nastiest bits of Manhunt 2 after all that BBFC ugliness. Can't be easy to neuter your own game - kudos to you, R* North.
E4 Grand Master Flash award
 Winner: Stickman Madness
 First runner-up: Strawhat Samurai
 Second runner-up: Ants
We say: We haven't played any of them. Sorry. But we're sure they're brilliant. And hope that Status Quo's psychedelic 'Pictures of Matchstick Men' features in the winning game somewhere.
 
 Above: We don't think they actually won that award. They're just holding it
The 'One To Watch' Award
 Winner: Call of Duty: World at War
 First runner-up: Fable 2
 Second runner-up: Gears of War 2
We say: The gargantuan brilliance of Call of Duty 4 has exponentially ramped up expectations of the next CoD, even though it's being put together by a different developer. Can Treyarch better Infinity Ward's masterpiece? That's a very mighty ask. What we've seen and played so far looks promising enough, but, as every out of ideas critic likes to safely sign off with, only time will tell.
Publisher of the Year
 Winner: Activision Blizzard
 First runner-up: Nintendo
 Second runner-up: Rockstar
We say: With such powerhouse franchises as Call of Duty, Guitar Hero and Tony Hawk's filling the pages of Activision's portfolio over the last 12 months, it's no surprise that they bring home the Publisher of the Year bacon. Just nobody mention Soldier of Fortune Payback.
Virgin Media's Ultimate Game of the Year
 Winner: Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
 First runner-up: Grand Theft Auto IV
 Second runner-up: Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
We say: CoD4 had to win. Whereas GTAIV deserves to be right up there, it's CoD that we're still playing on a nightly basis thanks to its magnificent online multiplayer. It's still selling well too and should get a load more fans this Christmas - especially after this prestigious accolade.
 
 Above: Some people holding the Ultimate Game of the Year award. And probably laughing at how they crushed the competition


