At the 2009 Spike Video Game Awards, Chinatown Wars won which award?

At the 2009 Spike Video Game Awards, Chinatown Wars won Best Handheld Game.

The award recognized Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars as the year’s standout handheld release. The game was originally launched for Nintendo DS in March 2009, where its stylized visuals, touch-screen features, and redesigned gameplay made it a distinctive Grand Theft Auto experience.

Chinatown Wars was developed by Rockstar Leeds in collaboration with Rockstar North. It follows Huang Lee, a young member of the Lee family, who arrives in Liberty City after his father’s death and becomes caught in a criminal struggle involving the city’s Triads and rival factions.

The award category can be confusing because Chinatown Wars was also nominated for other honors during the broader 2009 awards season. At the Spike ceremony, however, it won Best Handheld Game, ahead of nominees including Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story, Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box, and Scribblenauts. Later releases brought the game to PSP, iOS, and other platforms.