Half-Life Sweeps the BAFTA Game Awards

Valve's shooter picks up six nods to dominate the show.

With the Oscars out of the way, the path was cleared for the real award ceremony of the year - the 2nd Annual BAFTA Game Awards. At a ceremony held at the Café Royal in London, host Jonathan Ross and the rest of the academy acknowledged the games that pushed the medium forward during the last year.

Not surprisingly, Valve's Half-Life 2 stormed the proceedings - taking six awards overall, including that for Best Game. EA's car-obliterating racing game Burnout 3: Takedown fared well too, bringing in three gongs.

Elsewhere, the awards went out to an eclectic batch of titles, reflecting the excellent range of games that were released during 2004.

There was also a special honour for Sam Houser and Leslie Benzies of Rockstar. The Grand Theft Auto series designers were awarded a BAFTA Special Prize for their contribution to the videogame industry.

The winners in each category were as follows:

• Overall: Half-Life 2
• PlayStation 2: Burnout 3: Takedown
• Xbox: Halo 2
• GameCube: Prince Of Persia: Warrior Within
• PC: Half-Life 2
• Handheld: Colin McRae Rally 2005
• Mobile: Bluetooth Biplanes
• Action/Adventure: Half-Life 2
• Racing: Burnout 3: Takedown
• Sports: Pro Evolution Soccer 4
• Children's: Donkey Konga
• Online & Multiplayer: Half-Life 2
• Art Direction: Half-Life 2
• Animation: Half-Life 2
• Technical Direction: Burnout 3: Takedown
• Originality: Singstar/Singstar Party
• Audio: Call Of Duty: Finest Hour
• Original Music: Hitman: Contracts

Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo Games