We could have left it at that, but, because we're vain narcissists who value our own opinions above all else, we wanted to have our own say on what we would have chosen, before we slam the door shut once and for all on 2006. Scroll down for our magic ten, peeps.
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10 Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter
Xbox 360, PC
Launched alongside the Xbox 360 in PAL regions earlier this year, GRAW represents the pinnacle of Ubisoft's Ghost Recon series to date. Its single player campaign may have been lean by some standards - it came in at around the ten-hour mark - yet the quality of the experience was indisputable, with top-notch visuals and audio upheld by riveting, sweaty-palmed gameplay. A wonderful multiplayer mode completed the package, with imaginative maps, a vast degree of customisability and a flawless online experience all contributing to the finest pre-Gears of War multiplayer game on the Xbox 360.
It can be an acquired taste, admittedly; with its hulking HUD and initially overwhelming list of button commands, it's not the kind of game that will make friends easily. For those who persevere however, there's a suspenseful and brainy tactical shooter waiting to be enjoyed. [Full review]
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9 Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas
Xbox 360, PC
Ubisoft, it's fair to say, is rather good at this tactical shooter lark. We could reasonably have placed Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter in our top ten and given Rainbow Six: Vegas an honourable mention, yet in our hearts we couldn't omit Ubi's other outstanding game of the year.
Vegas is good, then. Very good, infact, and certainly one of the most compelling reasons we know to invest in an Xbox 360. It's a game that effortlessly ticks all the right boxes, with an inspired setting, buckets of captivating atmosphere, (almost) peerless online play, and almost certainly the best freebie we saw given away with any game this year. We can't think of a better title to occupy ninth spot. [Full review]
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8 The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
Xbox 360, PC
If any game signposted the way for next-gen gaming as emphatically as Oblivion did in 2006, we must have missed it. This Bethesda-developed epic is just that: one sprawling, massively open-ended, colossal adventure. It boasts a sterling storyline, impressive customisability, play-at-your-own-pace gameplay, apparently limitless side-quests, an organic levelling system that must be amongst the most intelligent we've ever encountered, and is rightly heralded in many quarters as something of a landmark in its own right.
Even the few irksome parts in the game (the cumbersome combat, a stuttering frame-rate and some looong load times) can't subtract from a game of such vision and scale. Roll on the sequel, say we. [Full review]
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7 Wii Sports
Wii
With its Fisher Price avatars and stripped-down modes, there's a delicious irony in the fact that, a decade from now, Wii Sports could be referenced as one of the most important games ever made. Indeed, if Nintendo needed to get any game absolutely right in 2006, it wasn't Zelda, but Wii Sports. Packaged with every Wii console sold, it needed to convert doubters from the get-go, to demonstrate that Nintendo's concrete faith in its own innovation was deserved, and to capture the eye of those who would previously have found a DualShock overwhelming.
Going by what we've heard, in both the PALGN forums and elsewhere, it seems to have succeeded in this respect. And although it may not eat up the hours in the same way that a good Zelda marathon can, the likes of Wii Bowling and Wii Tennis hold a strong allure, not to mention considerable depth. We won't dwell on the Boxing. [Full review]
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6 Viva Piñata
Xbox 360
"Nothing can dampen the spirits of Piñata Island!" proclaimed Phil in his review of the game that saw Rare return to form in 2006. Yes, he'd probably been drinking again, but the boy Larsen had a point, and indeed nothing could dampen our enthusiasm for Viva Piñata, an infectious and joyous package that melded the best bits of Animal Crossing, Harvest Moon and The Sims to fantastic effect.
Not only was it just what Microsoft needed (a top-quality kids brand for its new console, and finally something worthwhile to show for that enormous wad of lucre it handed over for Rare), but it was also heart-warming to see that the company behind GoldenEye and Banjo-Kazooie still has what it takes. Absorbing, beautiful and totally rewarding. Bravo, Rare. [Full review]
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5 Guitar Hero II
PlayStation 2
Forget Buzz! and SingStar: when it comes to peripheral games, Harmonix's plastic axe-wielding extravaganza truly rules all. Its appeal is fundamentally simple - after all, who doesn't want to imagine themselves as a virtuoso guitarist, rocking out on a stage lit like a pinball table in front of thousands of adoring fans? OK, in reality you were rocking out in front of the cat, but the illusion was well and truly cast for anyone who spent time with either of the Guitar Hero games. A colleague of mine called it the "ultimate man game", but that's not quite right - the appeal of the peripheral, a two-thirds sized Gibson guitar complete with whammy bar, spans both genders and many generations.
Both Guitar Hero titles were massively sociable and clever games, though the more fleshed-out modes in the second game (the co-op, especially) clearly won us over. With that said, neither game would look out of place in this list, and the Xbox 360 version of GH II, due this year, is high on our list for 2007. [Full review]
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4 New Super Mario Bros.
Nintendo DS
It could be seen as slightly unfair that only one handheld title made this group of ten, but the quality of portable gaming's sole representative can't be easily dismissed. Even if it didn't quite hit the dizzying heights of Mario's greatest ever 2D adventures, New Super Mario Bros. was still jam-packed with ingenius moments.
It was a game that struck a perfect balance between maintaining what made the original Mario platformers great, while adding ideas of its own which never remotely felt like souring one of gaming's most magical recipes. Quite possibly the best 2D platformer of the Noughties, this is pretty damn essential. [Full review]
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3 Gears of War
Xbox 360
More curmudgeonly gamers and the anti-Microsoft brigade may well try and construct an argument that Gears of War isn't deserving of the many accolades that have swept towards the game since its release at the tail-end of 2006. They may point to it as a case of beauty over brains, and sniffily dismiss it as just another game about space marine jocks with cornrows. But any serious gamer would be wrong to dismiss Gears on such grounds. For a start, Epic's shooter has plenty of its own ideas, from the sure-to-be-imitated reload feature to the context-sensitive, multi-purpose A-button.
And besides, who says looks are over-rated? Having spent the last two months in Gears' bewildering and stunning world, certainly not us. The breathlessly good visuals are matched by smashing sound effects and arguably the finest voice-acting of all the games released in 2006. An opulent single player campaign and a superlative online mode are the final pieces to a glittering showcase, and the most killer of apps for Microsoft's next-gen box. Lack of originality? In this case, we couldn't give a stuff. [Full review]
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2 Shadow of the Colossus
PlayStation 2
Not many games polarised opinion as much as Shadow of the Colossus in 2006, with many arguing that the spiritual sequel to Ico was too often undone by technical failings. What everybody did agree on however was that the game contained a premise that was almost unmatched in terms of ambition and imagination. Essentially a chain of boss-fights featuring some of the biggest freakin' enemies ever seen in a game, the title triumphs as both a puzzle game and an adventure.
Indeed, actually identifying what was required to dispatch one of Shadow's vast beasts and then clambering up its mammoth frame to administer the final blow was one of the most memorable thrills in gaming over the last year. The Colossi themselves were the stars of the show, mind: strangely docile and non-threatening in some cases (killing some of them felt almost wrong), yet always breathtaking to behold. [Full review]
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1 The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Wii, GameCube
What a swansong for the GameCube, and what a debut for the Wii. After more than three years in development, Twilight Princess emerged, in our eyes, as the finest piece of software money could buy during 2006, as a game that truly had everything: size, quality, great design. At forty to fifty hours long, there was always the possibility that it would drag in places, so it's a testament to the skill and experience of Nintendo's team of developers that no such dips occurred.
Is it the greatest Zelda ever? It's not an outrageous suggestion by any means, though the fact that this was more a gentle step forward from the N64 Zelda titles (rather than the brilliant leap made by Ocarina of Time into 3D) weighs against that claim. Taken in isolation however, it's adventure gaming of an extremely high standard, and a game that everybody should check out sooner rather than later. [Full review]
Nintendo should pat themselves on the back. Beating Gears of War was no easy feat.
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