It's impossible to log into UNO and not find players in games. With the release of the Xbox Live Vision Camera, players not only have the chance to talk to people, but see them as well! UNO gives a chance to let the whole family play the Xbox 360, making it the Best Xbox Live Arcade Game for 2006.

Runner Up: Assault Heroes

Best PS Store Game
Winner: Blast Factor
Synopses: Ken Edwards

Starting Sony's download service out strong, in much the same way that Geometry Wars Retro Evolved did for the Xbox 360, Blast Factor is a challenging shooter with subtle SIXAXIS controls. Is it the next Geometry Wars as many had hoped? No. But that doesn't mean it isn't worth your time and money.

Runner Up: Lemmings

Best Virtual Console Game
Winner: Gunstar Heroes
Synopses: Andrew Ogier

Fourteen years hasn't aged this game one iota. Even by today's standards, Gunstar Heroes satiates the adrenal gland more than any game of it's genre.

It effectively takes everything that's exciting about Shoot 'Em Ups, removes the fluff, and throws it at the player in wave upon wave of immensely gratifying battles that make your hands sweat, while also adding strategy elements with its innovative weapon merging mechanics.

The beautiful 2-D graphics, awesome soundtrack, and fluid controls certainly help make Gunstar stand out, but what makes it stand out most for me is that the game is just as enjoyable and as much of a challenge in single player as it is with a friend.

Gunstar Heroes is a timeless classic, well worth 800 points, and is one of the greatest games on the Wii.

Runner Up: Super Castlevania IV

Best Innovation In a Game
Winner: Wii Remote
Synopses: Mark Buckingham

It's funny how an old or simplistic idea can feel so new and fresh when a different way of interacting with it is applied. Enter the Wii Remote. Where the other guys went the route of better graphics and more concurrent audio channels, Nintendo realized that improvements to the sights and sounds in a game will only get you so far.

At some point, you have to take a chance to break the mold and re-invent the wheel, hopefully for the better. They've stumbled in the past with the Virtual Boy, the R.O.B., and the (more or less required-to-play for the system's best games) RAM Expansion for the N64, proving that some ideas are better on paper than in execution.

However, with the runaway success of the DS in both Japan and the United States, it seemed the timing was right to revamping how people play games yet again. I couldn't agree more. Excite Truck, Wii Sports, Call of Duty 3, and all the other Wii games so far would all be run-of-the-mill if not for this new interface.