Grand Theft Cleans Up at Awards Show

Rockstar's controversial title proves a hit in the publicly-chosen Golden Joysticks.

With all the hoopla surrounding the Grand Theft Auto series' perhaps-excessive violence, it's easy to forget that it is also one of the most popular and well-received franchises around. No surprise then that the latest instalment, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas pulled in the lion's share of the honours at the recent Golden Joystick awards.

The awards, which were voted for by over 200,000 members of the public, were doled out on Friday at a lavish ceremony hosted by top Brit comedian Jimmy Carr.

Rockstar picked up five awards for Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, including the top prize of Ultimate Game of 2005 and PlayStation 2 Game of the Year.

The game's excellent showing is doubly so considering the competition, which included some of the best games of the few years, including Halo 2, Resident Evil 4 and <>Half-Life 2.

The full line-up of Golden Joystick winners is below:

• PlayStation 2 Game of the Year - Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
• GameCube GOTY - Resident Evil 4
• Xbox GOTY - Halo 2
• PC GOTY - Half-Life 2
• The Carphone Warehouse Handheld GOTY - Super Mario 64 DS
• Best Film-Based Game of 2005 - Resident Evil 4
• BBC Radio One - Colin and Edith's Best Game Soundtrack of 2005 - Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
• The Sun Online - Online GOTY - World of Warcraft
• Publisher of the Year - Nintendo
• The In Stock Magazine Retailer of the Year - Play.com
• The Game One Gaming Innovation of the Year - PSP
• MCV's One to Watch for Christmas - Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
• The Sun's One to Watch for 2006 - Resident Evil 5
• Hero of 2005 - CJ from Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
• Villain of 2005 - Officer Tenpenny from Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
• The Girl's Choice for 2005 - The Sims 2
• Editor's GOTY - Resident Evil 4
• Unsung Hero of the Year - Fahrenheit
• Nuts Magazine's Ultimate Game of 2005 - Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo Games