BC Magazine 2006 Game of the Year - Page 4

Runner Up: Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle Earth II (360)

Best Sports Game
Winner: Wii Sports (Wii)
Synopses: Mark Buckingham

In a world where games get deeper and less accessible to the countless casual and/or non-gamers out there, Nintendo made things simpler. We've reached a point where more pixels or better physics or sharper images aren't improving games as much as they did a generation or two ago.

These are what tech demos are largely made to highlight. However, while the lineup in Wii Sports could largely be considered tech demos, it's not for more colors or polygons, the types of presentations you watch once or twice and don't care about anymore.

No, Wii Sports serves as a warm-up to what Nintendo hopes will become the new standard control scheme in console gaming, and without the Wii Remote, these games would be nothing. With it, however, they combine, Voltron-style, to become the most engaging and accessible sports game package of the year. I've never wanted to replay a mere "demo" so much in my life.

Runner Up: Fight Night Round 3 (360)

Best Original Game
Winner: Dead Rising (360)
Synopses: Jason "Njiska" Westhaver

Zombies, man. They freak me out. They freak a lot of people out. But stick 50,000 in a mall with every imaginable instrument of destruction and you're left with a blood orgy of pure hedonistic ecstasy.

Shunning conventions they themselves created with the iconic Resident Evil series, Capcom worked hard to create a wholly original IP that captured the minds of zombie fanatics and sickos every where and was in no way "DEVELOPED, APPROVED OR LICENSED BY THE OWNERS OR CREATORS OF GEORGE A. ROMERO'S DAWN OF THE DEAD".

The sheer number of zombies on screen at any given time is a feat in and of itself, but the rich, albeit cheesy story, strong character development and focus on true survival (both against the zombies and the clock) makes Dead Rising our clear choice for Best Original Game of 2006.

Runner Up: Okami (PS2)

Best Retro Re-Release or Collection
Winner: Sega Genesis Collection (PS2)
Synopses: Matt Paprocki

This is how all retro compilations should be done. It makes the Capcom efforts look feeble by comparison. It's not only the immense selection of games like Shinobi III, Vectorman, super-hard-to-find Golden Axe III, and Comix Zone all running in progressive scan for HDTV users; It's also arcade games like Altered Beast, a plethora of interviews, tons of art, and plenty of unlockables to keep you coming back.

Article Author: Ken Edwards

Ken Edwards is the Gaming Editor at Blogcritics, and calls Breaking Windows home. Ken works part time for Student Publications at BGSU as the Webmaster and System Administrator. He is also a freelance web developer.

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