Bioshock is one of the most celebrated games of the year

The underwater adventure, widely praised for its storyline and production values, also won the prize for best Xbox 360 title and best score.

It beat high-profile titles such as Halo 3, Mass Effect and The Orange Box to win the top prize.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare won the awards for best shooter and best military game.

Call of Duty 4 won two prizes

Actor Samuel L. Jackson hosted the awards, which were broadcast on cable channel Spike TV.

Nintendo title Super Mario Galaxy, which has been feted with a series of near-perfect review scores, won for best action game and best Wii game, while science fiction epic Mass Effect won best RPG and PC title Crysis won for best graphics.

Blockbuster title Halo 3 picked up two awards, for best multiplayer and most addictive game. The Orange Box, a compendium of Half-Life 2 titles, 3D puzzler Portal and online game Team Fortress, was named PC game fo the year.

Other highlights included Colin McRae: DiRT picking up the best driving game prize, Ratchet and Clank winning the best PlayStation 3 prize, and Portal chosen as the breakthrough technology winner.