Brain-Teasers Beat Gore At Video Game Awards

A puzzle game has beaten famous combat, football and racing titles to top spot at the world's biggest video games awards ceremony.

Portal 2, a first-person brain-teaser, was named the Ultimate Game of the Year at the Golden Joystick awards in London, despite competition from the likes of Call Of Duty: Black Ops, Fifa 11 and Gran Turismo 5.

More than two million votes from the public were cast during the awards, which are now in their 29th year.

Colin Blackwood, from Electronic Arts, which makes Portal 2, told Sky News the fact it was so unlike any of the other big-name titles was key to its success.

"It's very different to any game out there. It is always fun and makes you smile when you don't expect to smile. People want to try something different."

The handheld console, Nintendo DS, was also a winner, being named Innovation of the Year, while Sonic the Hedgehog, which recently celebrated its 20th birthday, won the equivalent of a lifetime achievement award.

Sonic brand director David Corless said the hedgehog had a timeless appeal.

He told Sky News: "It's quite rare for a cartoon for kids to endure for such a long time. Even in a video game.

"The fact that Sonic is still around and doing brilliantly is fantastic, and testament to the little blue blur, as we call him."

Angry Birds continued its rise to the top of the smartphone gaming market, winning the best mobile award for its Rio version.

The Angry Birds franchise is so popular that David Cameron and Dick Cheney, the former US Vice-President, have both admitted to being addicted.

The game has been downloaded 400 million times and has helped turn around the fortunes of Rovio, the Finnish company behind it.

They were on the verge of collapse in 2009, but were recently valued at nearly £759m.

Gaming journalist James Binns said the industry was going from strength to strength.

He said: "It has a more and more diverse audience than ever before. Games like the Sims and the Nintendo Wii have broadened the audience from young girls to pensioners to core gamers like me."

Other winners included Call Of Duty: Black Ops - the biggest seller of the last year - which took out the Best Shooter game category.

The most anticipated game award went to Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, which is released next month.