Ubisoft has already garnered itself a Runner Up position in our Developer section for its own Splinter Cell, King Kong, Silent Hunter and Prince of Persia titles.

Add to those the selection of strong titles developed by others that it picked up and published, and you have a catalogue which is diverse, surprising, high in quality and occasionally even daring.

Far Cry Instincts rocks, we adore Lumines, and Lucifer's Call - a Japanese RPG which looked like having no backing for a UK release - is great.

Myst V was a disappointment at retail when its middle-aged audience was terrified by its move into 3D, but its quality is not to be disputed, while the company provided a new spin on wargaming with Sniper Elite and two solid Brothers in Arms games.

We all make mistakes, and the less said about Crazy Frog Racer and 187 Ride or Die, the better. But overall it's been a stunning year for a company which is still essentially a "little guy".

Nintendo has also had a strong year publishing its own titles, a strong series of games which earned it Runner Up in our Developer Award.

Excellent games published by Nintendo in the UK included Pokemon Emerald, Tales of Symphonia, Fire Emblem and Advance Wars DS. And of course, it released Capcom's Resident Evil 4, one of the most amazing gaming experiences we've ever had.

There were a few disappointments, which is not really on, as Nintendo is supposed to be synonymous with quality. StarFox Assault, Geist and Battalion Wars turned out to be nowhere near as good as we had hoped, and prevented Nintendo from winning this category.

But let's forget that. Onwards and upwards, we say.

Microsoft has had a lot to juggle in 2005, and it certainly hasn't got everything right.

But when it does get it right, it does so with aplomb, releasing a cross-section of the year's best software in just a handful of titles, on Xbox, Xbox360 and PC.

If you're into driving games, then nothing could touch the double-whammy of Project Gotham Racing 3 and Forza Motorsport.
Dead or Alive Ultimate proved to be not only a superb fighting title but incredible value for money, Age of Empires III was everything it should have been and the best PC strategy of the year...and we reckon that eastern-favoured RPG Jade Empire is the most underrated game of 2005.

Strong if unspectacular releases like Zoo Tycoon 2 certainly didn't harm the company's range either.

We're really going to have to see some better stuff than Perfect Dark Zero this year if Xbox360 is going to rule the world though. Gears of War should be a good start.