The 10 Best Games of 2006

Join us as we look back at the best games of what has turned out to be an exciting year.

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This year will probably be remembered as the year the Xbox 360 came into its own, the Wii launched, and the PlayStation 3 didn't, but there was more to gaming in 2006 that merely hardware.

Thanks to developers becoming more settled in the systems already out there and their willingness to throw convention out the window for the new ones, this year has brought us a clutch of exceptional games. No matter what hardware you find yourself with, there was something to enjoy this year.

Below are our picks for the best games across all systems in 2006.

10. Dr Kawashima's Brain Training (DS)

Nintendo turned gaming on its head with the DS, making games for people who never knew they liked games. This one is about as non-game as it gets. The disembodied, bespectacled head of Dr Ryuta Kawashima gently persuades you to play Sudoku, memorize word lists, pick out spinning numbers or any of a bunch of other activities designed to give your brain a heavy workout. Play every day and you'll see your abilities improve until your addled brain is once again as sprightly as that of a 20-year-old. Will it actually make you smarter? Our MENSA application says yes.

9. LocoRoco (PSP)

Some have called this adorable action-puzzler the happiest game ever made and it's not hard to see why. The concept is simple: guide your singing blobs through increasingly complicated worlds, saving creatures along the way. The controls match the simplicity of the concept, using just the triggers on the PSP. It's this humility and the sweet gobbledygook the creatures spout that will keep you playing until you've cleared every world. The levels can become monotonous later on, but Sony has made it so you can build your own or download new ones.

8. Guitar Hero II (PS2)

The first Guitar Hero proved that gamers do, in fact, want to rock, leaving developer Harmonix with the unenviable task of following up on its surprise success. To do this the team did the logical thing: it grew the band. Now in addition to rocking out to heavy tunes from Motley Crue to Megadeth by way of modern and classic hair-raisers on rhythm and lead guitars, you'll also be able to hit the low-end with the new bass tracks. The game is coming to Xbox 360 at some point, but for now you'll need to pull out your PS2 to see if you can handle the heavy.

7. Company of Heroes (PC)

If commanders in World War II had been able to hover endlessly over their battlefields, it probably would have looked something like Company Of Heroes. This is World War II at its most realistic, and for a change it takes the form of a real-time strategy game and not a first-person shooter. The emphasis is on strategy and resource building, as you follow the events of the war. You'll need to keep a constant eye on not only your base but also the frontlines, something made easier by the sometimes-unsettling realism of the presentation.

6. New Super Mario Bros (DS)

We had to wait a decade to play another 2D Mario platformer, but when it's as good as this, who cares? The portly Italian returns to his roots in a game that will thrill fans of his pre-Nintendo 64 outings and just about anybody looking for a fun, traditional experience. Touch-screen use is limited to activating power-ups in the main game, but there are a few minigames that go whole hog if you want to use your stylus. At its heart, this is exactly what it says on the box - the Mario-style game millions of people grew up on gussied up for a new generation.

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