The ZippyGamer staff picks the best video games of 2006.

Kelsey – Okami

Before I get into my pick for 2006, I feel I must also mention DEFCON and Dead Rising. DEFCON is a real-time strategy game developed by the people who made Darwinia and Uplink. This RTS is influenced by the classic Cold War movie Wargames. In the game you pick a continent and your goal is to kill as many innocents as you can with the use of nuclear weapons. The games pacing is slow and the alliances are bound to be made and broken. It’s a simple game to learn and getting a hang of, while it will take a while to get used to the pace of the game since it’s a lot slower moving than most strategy games.

Dead Rising was a fun take on the Dawn of the Dead idea. The open-ended gameplay can feel too linear, but at the same time each playthrough will feel different. The development team took some gambles and gamers didn’t like some of them – the save system and levelling system are the main targets of criticism. However, I feel these make the game stand out. Each time you die and restart, you will play through differently, you will save different people and go through objectives differently (or just complete more of them), and visit different parts of the mall. Having only one save per profile was unpopular, but I feel this is a non-issue made by people who were hoping for a game they could fly through really quickly.

I played Okami for the first time last year. I never thought a Zelda-clone where you play a wolf would be so fun, but it is. The game, while looking like a Zelda-clone at a glance, is actually more than that. While you have the dungeons, overworld, and towns you would expect from Zelda, the emphasis does not lie in the dungeons. The dungeons are typically pretty short and a lot of the game is your interactions, as a god, with the population of Japan. Seemingly insignificant interactions with the various citizens prove to be important – this works well to highlight the fact you are controlling a divine being. Nothing is too insignificant for this god and that which seems unimportant or minor ends up being a major help.

Liam – Okami

This was the year of the new consoles, which meant a lot of launch games, back then we was all excited for them, and majority of them was average at best, in my humble opinion, I had a hard time picking games for these year, for that reason alone.

Okami is a game I was always interested in, being a huge fan of Japanese culture, the story, artwork and graphics got me hooked from the start. This game captivated me so much I even bought the 5 disc OST and official artwork book. The dungeons, although small was greatly designed, the story was well done, to be honest, there’s not much I can’t say that Kelsey hasn’t already gone over. Overall the best game of 2006 if not, one of the best ever made.

Honorable Mentions: Metroid Prime Hunters (DS), Red Steel (Wii), Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Justice For All (DS)

Jonathan – Big Bumpin’

2006 wasn’t an exciting year of gaming for me, but I did enjoy two specific releases.

One of the most fun games of the year is Gears of War. Although the game lacked an amazing story, it more than made up for it with action and gameplay. This was the first game that truly made me realize what next-gen graphics were all about and I loved playing through the co-op campaign with friends. Gears of War was the fastest selling game of 2006 and one of the most played games over Xbox Live.

My pick of the year comes from an unlikely source; Burger King. Yes, the same restaurant that is indirectly responsible for heart attacks is also the reason we have Big Bumpin’, a fun little game based on bumper cars.

For only $3.99 brand new, this game is an absolute steal and is more enjoyable than some $50 games I have played. Up to 4 players (including online play over Xbox Live) can hop in a bumper car and compete in various mini games, like a variation of tag or (my favorite) a 2-on-2 soccer type of game.

Riddle me this, gamers. Why can a cheapass Burger King game have online play, yet it took Nintendo how long to get online? Oh man! I love Nintendo as much as I love my kidneys but they sure missed the boat. Anyway…

The game was simple but it was fun, led to a lot of laughing and it had a decent amount of skill and physics to master. Sure, it’s not technically the “best” game of the year, but for only $3.99 this is one of the best values in gaming history, so it gets my 2006 award.

Joe – The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

2006 was the first year of our current generation of consoles. With the Wii, 360, and PS3 all released that year, many games were launched alongside those systems.  At that time, I only owned a Nintendo DS. I usually found myself playing a lot of Metroid Prime: Hunters online. While the single-player mode was pretty weak, the online mode alone is what made Hunters so great. But enough about Metroid; it’s not even my pick.

For 2006, I choose The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. I played the Gamecube version, so I can’t really go into the Wii’s features. For everyone that hated Wind Waker, Twilight Princess is for you. Nintendo clearly created the game to please their fans. It had the mature play style, Link was more grown up, Epona was back, and we finally got to fight Ganondorf sword-to-sword. Although Twilight Princess was a great game, many people still weren’t happy with it. Personally, I thought it was very decent. It had everything we have come to expect from a Zelda game. With giant bosses, puzzle solving, and a variety of weapons, Twilight Princess is a worthy addition to the Zelda franchise. ­­­­

There are a lot of Zelda fans who weren’t too impressed with Twilight Princess. Other than the mediocre story, I loved this game. What can I say? It’s Zelda…and it’s not on the CD-i.

Lewis – Elite Beat Agents

You have no idea how torn this decision is. The thing is, see, that 2006 was they year the Wii launched, and that was a HUGE part of my gaming life, I was so hyped, I kept going into the shop I had pre-ordered it begging for my Wii (it was delayed by a week.. which was painful to endure). But I can;t give a Wii game this title. Simply cannot. Nope, not even the marvellous Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess can steal this title. It’s not allowed. Because in 2006 the best rhythm game on ANY console (and also, consequently, the best game on DS) was released. Elite Beat GODDAMN Agents. Quite simply, a masterpiece in design and in execution. On my bio I said how i love it when style and substance mix to create something magical. This is it.

Some of you might be taken aback by my sudden passion, but here are 5 reasons why EBA is perhaps the best game of the whole goddamn decade.

1. It is PERFECT for the DS. Quick, easy to put away gameplay linked with great songs make it the game for the go, on a bus ride you can complete a level and leave the bus fully satisfied. Not only that, but it doubles as an interactive MP3 player.

2. It has some of the best music of the past century. OK, so it’s not exactly the creme de la creme, but songs are damn fun, and utterly suited to their role. The covers are written with a faster pace in mind, some even surpassing the original in enjoyability factor. The cover of Chicago’s “You’re the Inspiration”. Sheer bliss. Not to mention the explosive finale’s cover of “Jumping Jack Flash” being the highlight of the show. Other classics from Bowie and more modern hots like “Without a fight” make up a stella soundtrack, one I have on my MP3 at all times.

3. The story in each “episode” is subtle but powerful. Sure, most of them are nothing more than quick, funny ideas, but they’re executed through hilarious action-comic cutscenes and also react to how you play. And The Christmas Wish one is heartbreaking, throwing a curve-ball of sadness into a mixture of absurd comedy. It feels like a series if your favourite Saturday morning cartoon, climaxing with probably the most epic  finale to any game I have ever played.

4.The gameplay is so refreshingly different yet familiar. Games like Guitar Hero made you play the specific part of a song, Dance Dance makes you dance to the rhythm, Elite Beat Agents makes you play a hyper paced puzzle game in time to the music. A quick combination of hand-eye coordination and being able to feel the rhythm of the song in general is the ONLY way you will beat the later stages, and let me tell you, this becomes a killer of a game. The only game I have played where I needed to feel the music to win.

5. it is hard. It is so damn hard and that gives it the feeling of a challenge. Every completed challenge is a victory, a triumphant proof of your skill and as the game goes on it unlocks harder and harder modes, giving more incentive to play, as the difficulty goes up it might as well be a new level. The game has MASSIVE replay value, to the point where i am still playing it four years later! Truly a marvel for any game.

Agents. Are. GO!

Honorable Mentions: Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Warioware Smooth Moves