Once a year (or less) I like to mention what was the "best stuff" of the year. I don't see every movie or play every game, but I do a lot of both, and tend to stick to the best of the crop to begin with. So here is what was great in 2006 games for me.

I know World of Warcraft is still supposed to be fun, but it's not. It's now just a habit. To those of you still paying $15/month to play it, plus the $40 you'll need to shell out for the expansion, I say, let us move on. If you've been playing WoW since close to its launch, you have now spent almost $400 on this game. Has Blizzard really earned another $65 of your cash in January? Hmm.

I continue to be impressed with the XBox 360. I am no fan of Microsoft, but their newest console is a very well-engineered product. The seamless networking, online downloads, an built-in wireless VoiP are just nicely done, to say nothing of the graphics capabilities. Gears of War (not for kids) is a phenomenal game, and gets my vote for the best action game of the year. I admit I haven't yet played the new Rainbox Six beyond the demo, but I've played most of the previous titles, and know what to expect. Gears of War simply represents a new generation of first-person action.

The best RPG this year was either Neverwinter Nights or Oblivion, depending on your tastes. NWN is a great d20-ish game with a good storyline I have not yet finished, while Oblivion was definitely the best "my first role playing game" to have come along in a while. I think that in the long-run, Oblivion will have done more for the evolution of computer/console RPGs, and established some good expectations on the part of gamers.

Dreamfall: The Longest Journey was an overlooked adventure game from early in the year, sporting gorgeous scenery, maybe the best voice acting since Grim Fandango, and an original (!) sci-fi storyline. Also not for kids, this was the best adventure game of the year, and probably of the last several years. It was just too damn short.

The best racing game of the year was not Test Drive Unlimited, although this was the best driving game of the year. I differentiate because the races in Test Drive were not the highlight of the game — driving around Oahu was. I have no played the best racing of the year, which I think was GTR 2, but it's on my list. In other words, I sadly have no vote in this category.

Viva Piñata deserves a mention for being a unique strategy game, but Company of Heroes gets my vote for the best strategy game as well as my favorite overall game of 2006. This may be partly for lack of decent real-time strategy games in the last few years, but Company of Heroes does everything right. It's hard to explain how fun it is without jumping right in, because a good RTS requires a balance of challenge and polish, with the reward being a sense of accomplishment on the part of the player. The best way to describe how Company of Heroes does this is just to say that it really does feel like a huge game of army soldiers in your backyard, or the original "capture-the-flag". It's also one of the most challenging RTS's I've played, so it may not be for the newcomer.

I fully expect the best game of 2007 to be Mass Effect, by the way. In other words, if you're a gamer and don't have a 360 yet, you'll want one for Christmas.