Capcom's Production Studio 4 has brought us two fascinating games this year: one an overwhelming success; the other, significantly more controversial and a definite disappointment in sales. The former, Resident Evil 4, redefined the survival horror genre by emphasizing action and atmosphere while fixing the camera and control scheme in one fell swoop. The latter, Killer 7, done in conjunction with Grasshopper, put more emphasis on story rather than gameplay. Killer 7 created such a dichotomy among those who've played it, that it's either something you love or something you hate. Either route, it's a game worthy of note for the simple reason that it shows a unique way to present games rather than following a particular mold. Creating the best game of the year with Resident Evil 4(which also happens to be among the best ever) is enough to garner significant consideration for this award, but developing such a risky effort as Killer 7 is particularly respectable.

Runner Up: Intelligent Systems