With very little surprise to me personally, Half-Life two is coming to kick some serious butt all over the world. Their first stop, the Edge Award. Yes, the BBC reports that Half-Life 2 just about owned the gaming competition with their outstanding FPS.

The ground-breaking sequel won awards for best game, best visual design and a prize for innovation.

Margaret Robertson, games editor of Edge magazine, said the awards followed a year of exceptional achievement.

Other winners included Nintendo (best publisher), Grand Theft Auto creators Rockstar North (best developer), and Xbox title Halo 2 (best online).

‘Constantly surprised’

Ms Robertson said: “We’ve been constantly surprised by the quality of games and the level of innovation in 2004.

“Most notable has been Half-Life 2, which we awarded our first 10 rating for more than three years.

“It’s hard to remember a time where the strongest sales have coincided so closely with the quality of the strongest games.”