eMagi.co.uk: Feeding your Anime, Manga, Videogame and Japanese Culture needs!

10.) Saints Row
I did not expect much from this game when I first put it into my Xbox 360, it lacked any sort of originality and looked exactly like a certain other game we’d already played in the past.

But if you looked past it’s short comings there was a very solid game to be had, it seemed content with been a by the numbers GTA clone and indiscreetly took many ideas from it, but if you’re going to take a formula, why not one of a very good game?

It’s easily the best free roam adventure outside Grand Theft Auto and in some areas betters it, which is praise enough.

9.) Loco Roco
One of the biggest criticisms of Sony’s first ever handheld console was it’s lack of originality. While the Nintendo DS was moving handheld gaming forward with it’s wonderful array of quirky and charming titles, PSP owners were treated to diluted versions of games we’d had already played.

Along comes Loco Roco, everything we had hoped for we received and it’s undoubtedly the best handheld game of the year. The visual style is irresistibly cute and the gameplay is suited to the handheld perfectly. It’s almost as if Nintendo decided to give Sony Loco Roco as a sign of pity.

It’s a game that will make you smile, if you don’t then you need to get yourself a personality quick.

8.) Guitar Hero II
The sequel to one of the best games on the Playstation 2, there were nothing new here, just the same brilliant game with a new and in my opinion better song list. So the only possible outcome would be an overall better game, and it certainly was.

The introduction of bass and rhythm guitar added a new dimension to gameplay, and the ability to practice every song at varying speeds meant that there is no excuse for anyone to complain about it been too hard.

This game makes you feel like God and it sails into my top 10 games of the year.

7.) Pro Evolution Soccer 6
It may have been two steps forward and one step back for the series, but that didn’t stop it from been the most accurate recreation of the sport to date.

It’s one of the few games I’ll still be playing until next year and it seems this series has a permanent reservation in my top 10. Unless something goes horribly wrong, expect its sequel to appear in this list next year.

6.) Psychonauts
One of the biggest surprises of the year. I must admit not playing this game until about 4 months after its release, and in a way that made the game so much better.

I went into Psychonauts without any expectations, I had heard it was supposed to be a good game but my love for the platform genre had seriously waned over the years so you can forgive me for been a tad wary.

It only took 2 hours of play to remind me why I love this genre so much; it was platform gaming at its purest with plenty of original ideas thrown into the mixture. It also happens to feature some of the best script seen in a game this year.

I will always remember Psychonauts for it’s truly inventive level design, the milkman level will never be beaten. Genius.

5.) The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
After what seemed an eternity since the first trailer of this game was unveiled to the masses at E3, it was almost surreal to finally have the game in my hands.

The problem with waiting so long for a game is that it creates hype, which can be a very dangerous thing. It destroyed Killzone and if did the same to Twilight Princess I would have to think about taking my life.

Thankfully, Twilight Princess delivered on every possible level. Sure it wasn’t the biggest step forward in the series and relied too much on past ideas to keep us entertained, but it did it so much better than the rest that I can quite easily proclaim this as the greatest Zelda title of all time.

4.) Okami
I had to think long and hard about where I placed Okami, and I’ve decided to place it above Zelda, which is probably not going to please a few people.

If there are people out there that can’t for whatever reason play Twilight Princess, then you should look to Okami to fill that void. And if you’re not one of the 100 million people that own a Playstation 2, then go and bloody buy one.

The first thing that will strike you with Okami is the visual style; it’s beautiful. In fact, beautiful doesn’t even do this game justice, no word in English dictionary does.

And it’s a shame the Clover have been wiped off the face of the earth because it means that there probably won’t be an Okami 2 which is one of the greatest tragedies in gaming. Okami is due out in Europe in just two weeks, go out and buy it and enjoy gaming of the highest caliber.

3.) Gears of War
I’m sure like myself, there were many out there disappointed that we wouldn’t be playing the eagerly anticipated Halo 3, we were however compromised with a new title; Gears of War. And after playing Gears of War you may be uttering words that would have been seen as treason a few months ago, “Halo who?” Yes, the game is that good.

It didn’t do anything radically different, but as Half Life 2 did, Gears took all the best bits from every shooter and did it so much better. The game to an extent is faultless and one of the few gripes I have with it is that it lacked soul.

But when you’re plunging a chainsaw bayonet into the chest of an enemy and seeing it’s bloody remains explode across the screen, you may find it hard to care.

2.) Shadow of the Colossus
Shadow of the Colossus had a lot to live up to. Been the spiritual successor to one of the most incredible games to grace this generation, anything less than spectacular would have been a failure.

Shadow of the Colossus surpasses ICO and it delivers the most heart wrenchingly beautiful game of 2006. The art design proves yet again that you don’t need massive amount of power to produce a graphical feast for the eyes.

If you want to learn more of this game, check out my full review.

And before I go Shadow of the Colossus also happens to have one of the best endings to a game I’ve ever played, it will leave you emotionally exhausted and distraught.

1.) The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
The more I thought about it, the easier it was to have Oblivion as my game of the year.

If ever a game was perfect then this was it. I have never played a game that offered me so much to do on such an epic scale, not even Grand Theft Auto. You could pause the game at any point and take a picture and you would have a scene worthy of any postcard.

Quest lines have more depth, better story lines and more imaginative gameplay mechanics than a lot of full games.

I’m going to keep this short and sweet as trying to explain what makes Oblivion so special would take another 3,000 words because when writing about Oblivion you are confronted with the same problem as when you are playing, where on earth do you start?

The scene you are treated to when you finally escape the dank, wretched sewers left me in awe and my first words were, “Yep… this is the next generation”. Without question my game of the year.

How one earth are Bethesda going to top this?

Related posts

1. Nintendo Wii UK launch games Not long to go before the UK release of...
2. Nintendo Wii outsells both PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in 2006 Japanese game manufacturer Nintendo will be pleased to hear...
3. Nintendo are delighted with Wii sales success Japanese game manufacturer Nintendo will be pleased this week...
4. TIME magazine awards Wii Sports as ‘Game Of The Year’ Many would consider the epic The Legend Of Zelda:...
5. Shadow of the Colossus After the cult classic ICO had arrived, it left...