All the Golden Joystick Awards winners

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

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