Friday, December 29, 2006

1. Oblivion (PC, Xbox 360, PS3). Easily the best role-playing game ever and possibly the best overall title, Oblivion is the only game to create a massive living world that looks gorgeous to boot. The non-player characters are so real; it's almost like a massively multiplayer game, only without all the idiots breaking character. In fact, my only complaint is that having all the responsibilities to the game's various factions comes a little too close to mirroring the stresses of real life.

2. Hitman: Blood Money (PC, PS2, Xbox, Xbox 360). Most shooters rate you by the body count you rack up, but the ideal assassin here can slip past electronic security efforts and an army of guards, eliminate the target and leave without anyone noticing. Part MacGyver and part murderer, antihero Agent 47 raises killing to an art form, but only in the hands of an intelligent player. And three words describe the ultimate assassination mission the game closes with: the White House.

3. Company of Heroes (PC). This gets my nod for best real-time strategy game this year. Excellent voice acting, beautiful graphics, a fully destructible environment, difficult missions, a great World War II setting and exciting gameplay make every level thrilling as you push Able Company from the beaches of Normandy to Berlin.

4. DarkStar One (PC). A big fan of nonlinear gameplay, I was overjoyed to find this simulation game, which opens the universe for exploration in a spaceship that you can upgrade in different ways, making it anything from a speedy fighter to a lumbering battle cruiser. DarkStar One lets you set your own career path as well, from a peaceful trading merchant to a bloodthirsty mercenary.

5. Star Wars: Empire at War (PC). Considering LucasArts has tried for years to make a real-time strategy game based in the "Star Wars" universe, this deserves special mention because the creators finally got it right. Forget Rebellion, Force Commander and Galactic Battlegrounds (all failures), and jump right to Empire at War. A great mix of beautiful fleet space combat and ground missions, the game will have you conquering planets and trying to rule or liberate the galaxy. The recently released Forces of Corruption expansion pack adds pirates as a playable army and further expands the game world.

-- John Breeden II