Drunk Pandas

So now that 2006 has come to an end, I figure it’s time to pick my game of the year. This year was a tough pick. There’s 4 games all close to that number 1 spot. You’ve got Zelda for Wii, Guitar Hero 2 for PS2, and Final Fantasy XII for PS2 that all came close, but just didn’t cut it. So my winner for the 2006 Game of the Year is Gears of War for the Xbox 360. This game lived up to the hype machine that was created around it. The graphics, gameplay, and story are all amazing. Kudos to Cliffy B and the team at Epic for creating such a great game! Hopefully the trilogy rumors prove to be true.

Hopefully next year PS3 will have some better showings and even come close to the top of the list, as well as PSP and DS (which both had some damn good titles this year).

Jmel

I would have to say that my most enjoyable gaming this year has come with Gears of War. The commercial that came out built up the hype, then I got to go to the event in Chapel Hill, and play the game. I knew at that moment, it was going to be a hot seller. It’s the only game I’ve ever gone back to play a 2nd time or more (I’m on my 3rd time now). The game is not without its flaws, (still voice problems when joining an in session game online) but for the most part it is everything that a next gen game for the 360 should be. The cooperative play, the basic yet fun tactics. It’s just a fun game all around. My runner-ups would be Oblivion which easily defined the bar for the first half of the year, and also oddly, Test Drive Unlimited, which really gives people a peek at what racing games can evolve to in the coming years.

StevenSteel

Although I am limited in the amount of systems I have played, I think Oblivion is by far the game of the year. Even after beating the game and finishing all the achievements, I continue to play the game, download content and extra missions, and hack away at the numerous skill parts for each character. For me in 2006, Oblivion occupied most of my time and kept me glued to the graphics and game play features. Not to take anything away from GOW, because it does have amazing graphics and online features, I just don’t think it has the depth and overall features of Oblivion. I can only hope Elder Scrolls V will be even more in depth and make each time playing the game with a different character just as exciting as the first. I would say my view is skewed though, since I am not a huge fan of online play, I prefer to just sit down and play a game at my own leisure. Purchasing a PS3 is in my near future and hopefully will be able to add more titles to my arsenal.

Taz8080

This year had quite a full lineup for almost every system, the top 4 that stick out in my head overall are Marvel Ultimate Alliance, Gears of War, Rainbow Six Vegas and Dead Rising. I played these all on e the 360 and saw the difference and elevation of game play to the next generation console. I have logged quite a few hours in each and enjoyed them all but I will break down my choice as follow: Rainbow Six Vegas and Marvel ultimate Alliance are great titles that provide good old fashioned online gaming and coop with your buddies. Both titles build off of their predecessors extremely well but in essence are rehashes of older iterations, to me the GOTY has to be original. That leaves Dead Rising and Gears of War, both awesome games that were innovative and tough, while providing a fresh new gaming experience and really puling you into their story. For me this is a tough choice and I would love to go against Gears to be different, but it just provided the full package, I think if Dead Rising would have given me online options I would pick it hands down. My GOTY pick would have to be Gears it lived up to it’s hyped up billing, sorry Dead Rising, but if ripping a man in half with a chainsaw is wrong… I just don’t want to be right.