It’s been an amazing year for the world of video games.
The next generation is upon us, and the new consoles have advanced the industry further than any wave of systems ever could.
In this ever-changing landscape of interactive entertainment, it’s easy to overlook a lot of great games as another title comes out every week, but I’ve tried to look back and pick the best video game games and hardware to come out in 2006.
Best new console
» Nintendo Wii
Between Sony and Nintendo, the award goes to the spunky new console, the Wii. It takes gaming to new places, drawing in all those gamers that could never keep up with titles that demand use of every button on a 13-button controller. The Wii’s Wiimote and Nunchuk controllers use motion-sensing to control all but a few aspects of most Wii titles. Also, Nintendo kept the system under $300, making it the cheapest new console on the market.
Best Shooter
» Gears of War
While “Resistance: Fall of Man” is a great new shooter, the lack of PS3 availability left it widely unplayed in ’06. “Gears of War” for the 360 was the obvious choice. The cover-based third-person shooter has taken the gaming world by storm, drawing comparisons to one of the most beloved games of the past decade: Halo.
Best Music Game
» Guitar Hero 2
You can’t avoid enjoying this game. If you see those trademark guitar controllers, the urge to play is so great it overcomes the knowledge that you will inevitably do poorly because the game is really, really hard.
Best Handheld Game
» Me and My Katamari
“Brain Age” and “Vice City Stories” get honorable mentions in this category, but “Katamari” steamrolls them. The easily overlooked PSP version of the PS2 Japanese cult classic makes for the perfect handheld diversion. You have a ball, you roll it, things stick to it. Check it out — you won’t be disappointed.
Best Role-playing Game
» The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
“Final Fantasy XII” and “Zelda: Twilight Princess” deserve credit, but of everything out this year, I’m going to have to go with “Oblivion.” Graphicly stunning, technically astounding and with an engaging plot, the latest installment of the “Elder Scrolls” series by Rockville-based Bethesda Softworks is the future of RPGs.
Game of the Year
» Dead Rising
It’s a shooter, it’s a survival horror, it’s an RPG, it’s a photography sim and it’s funny. This game covers all bases and does it right. A lot of people might write it off as “another zombie game.” Wrong. “Dead Rising” takes you into a 72-hour trek through a Midwestern mall where you shoot and smash your way past tens of thousands of mindless zombies, and a few of the living who happen to be a bit insane. Overall, it’s an amazing game.
