Yahoo! Games: Best of 2006 Awards

We scrutinize all of last year's releases and hand out the Best of 2006 honors.

By YVG Staff

Best Parlor Game

NOMINEES:

Brain Age (DS)

Developer: N/A
Publisher: Nintendo

If you like the mindless mindfulness of crossword puzzles, you'll probably appreciate the way Brain Age flexes your mental muscles by running you through a daily regimen of math drills, brain teasers, and word games. By tracking your performance, you can see the effect of your brain actually getting younger! Okay, maybe not, but that's the idea. Regardless, Brain Age reinforced the Nintendo DS' reputation as a platform with unique titles you can't get anywhere else.

Get more on this game

Elite Beat Agents (DS)

Developer: N/A
Publisher: Nintendo

Fresh from Japan comes this North American version of a Japanese rhythm game. Following the cues onscreen, you tap and drag the stylus in time with the beat of various songs, mostly pop, but with a little rock, alternative, and metal thrown in for good measure. The funky storylines that go with each song are half the fun (almost literally half, as they play out on the top screen while you're tapping and dragging madly on the lower). It's a difficult, crazy, entirely satisfying, and completely different game for your DS.

Get more on this game

Guitar Hero 2 (PS2)

Developer: RedOctane
Publisher: Activision

What makes Guitar Hero 2 one of the best games of 2006 isn't the new stuff. It's that you're once again a rock god in your own mind (and that's where it counts, right?), only this time with a whole new set of songs. You might not like some of the songs, and you're sure to have an opinion on what songs should have been in there. But that doesn't matter. You'll like some of them, you'll learn to like others, and you'll come around to playing them all. And the concept is still as powerful as it was the first time you tried it.

Get more on this game

LocoRoco (PSP)

Developer: Sony Japan
Publisher: Sony

You can't really complain anymore that the PSP doesn't have a good platformer. What LocoRoco might lack in terms of gameplay -- after all, it really is a simple little game -- it makes up with its considerable charm. These irresistible little musical blobs bounce, roll, and ooze through soft colorful 2D worlds, yelping and cooing and singing as they go, with nothing but gravity and your world-tilting powers to help them along.

Get more on this game

Tetris (DS)

Developer: Nintendo
Publisher: Nintendo

Alexei Pajitnov may not be a household word, but that's just because it's easier to pronounce, "Tetris." This enduring puzzle game from a Russian game maker has probably insinuated itself into some corner of your brain at one time or another. And if you've ever wanted to revisit it, this is the way to do it. There's a whole lotta Tetris on this little chip, which even introduces some new ways to piece together these oh-so-familiar shapes.

Get more on this game

Trauma Center: Second Opinion

Developer: Athena Co.
Publisher: Atlus

Doctor! From the Nintendo DS to the Nintendo Wii comes this surgical procedural, still clogged with thankfully skippable soap opera cutscenes. The translation to Nintendo's newest hardware works wonders for Trauma Center, and not just in terms of the bigger brighter visuals. If you thought the touchscreen on the DS was a great way to poke around at someone's guts, you ain't seen nothing yet.

Get more on this game

Viva Pinata (Xbox 360)

Developer: Rare
Publisher: Microsoft

What looked like a kid's games turns out to be one of the biggest surprises of the year. This adorable little sandbox lets you build gardens that populate themselves with pinata-themed creatures. It's easy enough for kids, but there's enough of a hook here for everyone else. Whether you like Sims-style games, city-builders, or just cheerful creatures romping around colorful landscapes, Viva Pinata has plenty of treats locked inside itself.