1st Place – Deus Ex

Deus Ex was my personal Half-Life for this year – yes, I dare make that comparison as at the very least it had a similar impact on the level of quality I now expect from a game before letting it anywhere near an Extreme Game Award. It broke new ground by letting you complete the game your way, had a fantastic story seeped in conspiracy theory and quite simply was one of those rare games that had me playing for so long into the small hours of the morning that I eventually heard my alarm go off upstairs. Kudos to Warren Spector, Witchboy and the rest of the Deus Ex team for thoroughly putting all those weak, cookie cutter shooters to shame.

2nd Place – Giants: Citizen Kabuto

Humour in an action game? Hell yeah, I wouldn't expect anything less from the team that worked on the original MDK. Not only was Giants side splittingly funny, the gameplay was wonderfully varied since each of the three races played completely differently. And did I mention that it was eyeball dryingly gorgeous? I honestly can't wait to play the ultimate multiplayer game of Giants with one Kabuto, three Sea Reapers and five Meccs. That would be too much fun by far.

3rd Place – Thief 2: The Metal Age

While there were prettier games made last year, not a single one came even close to offering the amount of sheer atmosphere that Thief 2 offered. Turn off the lights, crank up the speaker volume and you were utterly immersed in the world of sneaking, stealing and shadow haunting that Garret inhabited. It was exactly what the first Thief game should have been and more.

Best Console Game – Jet Set Radio

I'm very, very tempted to place Shenmu in this slot but I simply haven't got far enough to conclusively say that it's that good (although it certainly has me totally enthralled so far). The reason I haven't got far in Shenmu? I've been playing far too much Jet Set Radio (or Jet Grind Radio as it's called stateside)! The unique cell shaded 3D characters look fantastic and the levels are immaculately designed to let you pull off some amazing inline skate stunts to the sound of some brilliant beats. This is a true return to form for the company who's games I've loved since day one. Whoever said Sega is in the midst of a rough patch should stop looking at the stock market and turn their attention to this stunning title in an equally stunning line up from Sega (Phantasy Star Online, Samba De Amigo, Sonic Adventure 2, Shenmu… I could go on and on).

So, with two first place votes and one third place vote, the winner is....

Thief 2: The Dark Project!

A choice some of you weren't expecting? Well, you clearly didn't play the game, then!

After Thief: The Dark Project singlehandedly defined a new niche genre, Looking Glass ironed out all the kinks and released a sequel with even more atmosphere, better graphics, the same superb sound that hits you the moment you start playing and an almost total focus on sneaking with barely a session of Thief 1-style monster bashing in sight. If Thief 3 brings as many progressions and improvements to the table as Thief 2 did compared to Thief 1, we're in for another gaming treat from Ion Storm Austin (I almost wish Ion Storm Dallas didn't do such a terrible job on Daikatana so we didn't have to keep saying “Ion Storm Austin” to differentiate the two studios).

In recognition of this crowning achievement, we bestow the makers of Thief 2 with the official "Sharky Games Extreme Game of 2000 Award," but don't be surprised if it vanishes at the hands of the light-fingered Garret…