Final Fantasy XII is Edge' s game of the year

Final Fantasy XII, the latest instalment in Square Enix' s legendary RPG series, has been named the winner of the prestigious ‘Best Game’ category in the 2006 Edge Awards.

" Final Fantasy XII has astonished everyone' s who' s played it, with its beauty, its technical excellence and - most surprisingly for such an old game series - its innovative approach," said Edge editor Margaret Robertson. " All in all it' s been a year of surprises, with Nintendo' s bold new strategy netting them hardware, software and innovation awards."

Having reviewed the US version of the game in November, Edge awarded the game 9/10 and described it as ‘beautiful, engrossing and impeccably polished… a work of progressive genius. Final Fantasy XII is released in the UK on PS2 in early 2007.

Elsewhere, Nintendo picked up three Edge Awards. The recently launched Wii console picked up ‘Best Innovation’, while the remodelled DS Lite collected ‘Best Hardware' . Having mixed traditional games like New Super Mario Brothers with daring new titles like Brain Training, Nintendo rounded off its haul by being named ‘Best Developer’.

The 2006 Edge Awards in full:

Best Game: Final Fantasy XII (PS2)
Best Innovation: Nintendo Wii
Best Visual Design: Okami (PS2)
Best Audio Design: Dragon Quest VIII: The Journey Of The Cursed Kin (PS2)
Best Developer: Nintendo
Best Publisher: Take Two
Best Online Experience: Test Drive Unlimited (Xbox 360)
Best Hardware: Nintendo DS