BAFTA crowns Super Mario Galaxy Best Game

Winners announced at games award ceremony in London

10 March 2009 23:25 GMT / By Stuart Miles

Super Mario Galaxy has beaten tough competition to become the shock winner of the BAFTA video game awards' Best Game award at a star-studded awards dinner in London.

The 3D platform title for the Nintendo Wii beat Call of Duty 4, GTA IV, Fable 2 and Rock Band to be crowned the best game of the year. Call of Duty 4 from Activision had to settle for the People's Choice award.

The People's Choice award added to Activision's haul for the evening with Call of Duty 4 also picking up two further awards for best Action and Adventure title as well as Story and Character.

However, unlike previous years where outcomes were predictable no one game dominated the proceedings, with titles such as Mass Effect, GTA IV, Rock Band and Fallout 3 failing to pick up the coveted award.

From a publisher perspective, EA has had the most successful night picking up four awards from the 15 available.

One of the biggest upsets of the night was Little Big Planet failing to win Best Casual Game, although developers Media Molecule did pick up Best Artistic Achievement.

Space horror Dead Space picked up Best Use of Audio and Original Score.

Nolan Bushnell was awarded an Academy Fellowship for designing gaming classic Pong.

The winners in full:

ACTION AND ADVENTURE
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (PC, PS3, Xbox 360)

ARTISTIC ACHIEVEMENT
LittleBigPlanet (PS3)

CASUAL
Boom Blox (Wii)

GAMEPLAY
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (PC, PS3, Xbox 360)

HANDHELD
Professor Layton and the Curious Village (DS)

MULTIPLAYER
Left 4 Dead (PC, Xbox 360)

ORIGINAL SCORE
Dead Space (PC, PS3, Xbox 360)

SPORTS
Race Driver: GRID (PC, PS3, Xbox 360)

STORY AND CHARACTER
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (PC, PS3, Xbox 360)

STRATEGY
Sid Meier’s Civilization Revolution (DS, PS3, Xbox 360)

TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT
Spore (Mac/PC)

USE OF AUDIO
Dead Space (PC, PS3, Xbox 360)

THE BAFTA FELLOWSHIP
To Nolan Bushnell, creator of Pong and founder of Atari

BAFTA ONES TO WATCH AWARD
Boro-Toro

BEST GAME
Super Mario Galaxy (Wii)