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 Role-Playing Game

NOMINEES:

The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion (Xbox 360, PC, PS3)

Developer: Bethesda
Publisher: 2K Games

Coming at a time when the Xbox 360 was hurting for quality games, Oblivion showed off Microsoft's then-new platform to superb effect. Not only was it a real stunner in the looks department (and still is, nearly a year later), the sheer scale of the world and its contents are awe-inspiring.

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Final Fantasy XII (PS2)

Developer: Square Co. Ltd.
Publisher: Square Enix USA

What better way for the Final Fantasy show to take its leave of the PlayStation 2? Final Fantasy XII proved one of this series' best, and that's no mean feat. Boldly doing away with many of the conventions of the games, it came up with an all-new battle system that was both innovative and challenging. Even the star managed to avoid the traps so many other Japanese RPGs fall into; he wasn't irritating, monosyllabic, or even poorly translated.

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Kingdom Hearts II (PS2)

Developer: Square Enix Co., Ltd.
Publisher: Square Enix USA

Back in 2005, we made the mistake of overlooking Kingdom Hearts II in our "most anticipated games of 2006" feature. After the flood of hate mail we subsequently received, we're not about to do that again. Who have thought that the mixture of Disney characters and Square stars would work this well? Kingdom Hearts II's blend of character, storyline and recreation of classic fantasies proved irresistible, and all too predictably flew off the shelves as the series' many devoted fans snapped it up.

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Marvel - Ultimate Alliance (ALL)

Developer: Raven Software
Publisher: Activision

Available on every platform under the sun, Ultimate Alliance is a comic book fan's dream come true. An action-RPG with 20 Marvel favorites to control makes it a hit recipe. Activision produced one of the year's best licensed games and delighted a plethora of men-in-tights aficionados in the process.

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Neverwinter Nights II (PC)

Developer: Obsidian Entertainment
Publisher: Atari

The first game for years to capture a little of the magic of the old-time Infinity Engine RPGs, Neverwinter Nights II was responsible for nearly as many late nights as Oblivion. A mostly faithful computer conversion of the revised Dungeons and Dragons 3rd Edition ruleset, with a spectacular plot and a shiny graphics engine, it earned extra points from the judges for including abrasive red-bearded dwarfs.

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Titan Quest (PC)

Developer: Iron Lore Entertainment
Publisher: THQ

Titan Quest brought the hour-swallowing gameplay of Blizzard classic Diablo II bang up to date, wearing out countless mice in the process. Set in a gorgeous trio of worlds, it melded a compelling, super-flexible character development system with addictive, slot-machine style loot gathering and handmade design -- what could be better? Playing it in multiplayer, that's what. If you missed it, you missed out.

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Xenosaga Episode III

Developer: Cavia
Publisher: Link

No, it might not have produced quite such a bewildering number of games as Final Fantasy, but the Xenosaga series still stands out as one of the most creative - and most patchy - Japanese RPGs of this generation. Episode III wraps up the tale in compelling style, fixing many of the second installment's problems and making itself one of the year's best-told stories in the process.