Crackdown Is A Winner

Crackdown, the X box 360 game that’s garnered high praise and big sales, has won the innovationprize and Develop Awards.   It was one of three winners – Motorstorm, for the PS3, took away the best new franchise prize, while Sony had the Grand Prix award for overall excellence.   Crackdown was designed by David Jones, who works forReal Time Worlds. He also helped in the creation of the classic Grand Theft Auto and Lemmings.   Among other awards, Eden Games won for Test Drive Unlimited, which was given for best use of online, whilst Viva Piñata from Rare was given the prize for visual arts. The Development Legend crown went to Ian Hetherington, former manager of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe and co-founder of game firm Psygnosis.   Develop magazine canvassed 100 game industryexperts to choose the award recipients.   “The fact that no one company dominated the awards this year shows what a diverse range of talent this industry boasts,” said MichaelFrench, editor of Develop Magazine. “It’s been a brilliant year for games, with new hardware allowing developers to really stretch their imagination with new ways to play – so competition forthese prestigious awards has been fiercer than ever.”