'Uncharted 2' nabs more awards

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - "Uncharted 2: Among Thieves" stole the show at the Game Developers Choice Awards.

The high-octane PlayStation 3 action-adventure game developed by Naughty Dog won five trophies at the Game Developers Conference ceremony Thursday, including game of the year. "Uncharted 2," which casts players in the role of globe-trotting treasure hunter Nathan Drake, was also honored Thursday evening for best writing, audio, technology and visual art.

"It"s one thing to have an idea," said art director Robh Ruppel, "but you really need a great crew to make a game."

"Uncharted 2" foiled fellow game of the year nominees Rocksteady Studios' "Batman: Arkham Asylum," Ubisoft Montreal's "Assassin's Creed II," From Software's "Demon's Souls" and BioWare's "Dragon Age: Origins." The unstoppable PlayStation 3 exclusive previously nabbed three prizes at December's Spike TV Video Game Awards, including game of the year.

Selected by a jury of game creators, the Game Developers Choice Awards honor the best games of the past year. The 10th annual ceremony was hosted by "Deus Ex" and "Epic Mickey" lead designer Warren Spector. The show was capped off with the debut teaser trailer for "Deus Ex: Human Revolution," the third installment in the futuristic role-playing game franchise.

Other winners at the Moscone Convention Center ceremony included 5th Cell's word-happy puzzler "Scribblenauts" for best handheld game and innovation, Rocksteady Studios' stealthy "Batman: Arkham Asylum" for best game design, Runic Games' fantasy outing "Torchlight" for best debut game and thatgamecompany's free-flowing "Flower" for best downloadable game.

"Think about what you can do to affect the people around the world, not just for entertainment or distraction but something that's deeper and more meaningful," ''Flower" designer Jenova Chen told the crowd of game makers during his speech.

John Carmack, the id Software co-founder and lead programmer of such games as "Doom" and Quake," was awarded the lifetime achievement award. Gabe Newell, Valve Corp. co-founder, won the pioneer award and used his speech to tease the upcoming sequel to "Portal." Jerry Holkins, Mike Krahulik and Robert Khoo of Penny Arcade received the ambassador award.

Earlier in the evening, several trophies were handed out at the 12th annual Independent Games Festival Awards. Pocketwatch Games' "Monaco" won the top honor, taking home the $20,000 Seumas McNally grand prize for best independent game as well as the award for excellence on design. Other indie winners included Cactus' "Tuning" and PlayDead's "Limbo."

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On the Net:

http://www.gamechoiceawards.com

http://www.igf.com