Eurogamer Readers' Top 50 Games of 2006

20. Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: Justice For All

(Capcom, DS) - Gamepage

Florian Joffrin: "Umm... Nick?" Phoenix & Maya are funnier than ever, the story and investigations are as interesting as ever. It's like reading a hilarious book, I love such games. No bonus chapter though :(

Alan Martin: More of the same: great stories, great humour and hugely addictive.

Riggers: HOLD IT! Phoenix Wright clearly needs no explanation as to why it's so fantastic. But, if you must - it hearkens back to a time when games weren't just empty displays of graphical prowess. They had charm. They had humour. Pretty much a point and click adventure, the occasional obscure leaps of logic required to progress didn't detract from the fact that this is one of the few games that genuinely made me laugh.

19. Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter

(Ubisoft, Xbox 360) -Xbox 360 Gamepage -Xbox -PS2 -PC

Claes-Michael Karlberg: Rainbow Six might be a better game, but GRAW had 4-player co-op on split-screen, and 4 is twice as fun as 2. Good single-player campaign too and great graphics.

Ashley Burton: A definite thinking-man's FPS, a good solid single player campaign and an AWESOME multiplayer game. I spent many hours online playing GRAW because it has everything - stealth, sniping and bloody great cannons - the best fun I've had in ages.

18. Battlefield 2142

(DICE, PC) - Gamepage

Tommy Svedlund: It took the teamwork formula of Battlefield 2 even further. A lot of reviewers complained that there were not enough difference between this and Battlefields last incarnation but as my playtime grew longer, so did my suspicions. Suspicions that they may have rushed through it and therefore not saw the excellent new teamplay-enhancing features that I experienced. Playing together with folks really is the deal and this was the greatest online game of 2006.

17. Guitar Hero 2

(Harmonix, PS2) - PS2 Gamepage -Xbox 360

Jim Johnson: Some people have lamented the move since its predecessor to have tracks aimed more at rock aficionados as than the general gamer, but the changes to the playing mechanism combined with the ability to play co-op make this the superior game to me. The one game everyone wants a go at and doesn't feel self-conscious doing so. Made my year :)

Mark: What's not to like with the greatest air guitar replacement ever? Manages to improve on a very sound game in a way very rarely achieved.

Hugh Roberts: The only game ever that has made my student flatmates demand it stays in the kitchen. There is something quite odd about waking up in the morning to get your regular dose of Coco Pops and seeing the quiet one we all thought was plotting to kill us rocking out with a small plastic guitar to Freebird at 8am. Plus co-op mode is just brilliant. So is Less Talk More Rokk. Quality song, that.

16. Final Fantasy XII

(Square-Enix, PS2) - Gamepage

Paul Magor: The new battle system is really intuitive. With the use of gambits it has made the battles more tactical and quite taxing in places. As with all Final Fantasy games, the amount of hours that you can plough into it makes it well worth the money (even on import). With the sheer amount of side quests and the Mob Hunts, you can easily get lost in the world for 200+ hours. The graphics are stunning as well. They really push the PS2 to the max and the level of polish to this game has to be admired. There isn't a bad thing I can say about this game!

Captain Shenanigans: It's as if the anime-blinkered fanboy wankfests of 7, 8 and 10 never happened!

Andrew Marshall: A successful reinvention of the series that breaks new ground but still feels like an FF game, epic in every sense of the word with a genuine feeling of exploring a massive world. So much content, so much polish, this is the defining RPG of the generation.

15. Dragon Quest: The Journey of the Cursed King

(Square-Enix, PS2) - Gamepage

Rob Wright: Put simply, it's the most beautiful world every captured in a videogame. The PS2 may not have the power of the next-gen consoles, but this proves that you don't need ultra machines to create something truly special.

Lewis Johnson: It was either this or Oblivion, and although Oblivion is technically the better and more ambitious game, Dragon Quest just has tons of charm and style. The memories of fighting Notso Matchos and One Knight Stands, and having my characters stunned by attacks such as 'the underpants dance' have stayed with me long after I beat the final boss.

Angelo Abela: It's the quintessential JRPG. Everything you love and hate about them in a package that is to die for. Cor blimey indeed!

14. Okami

(Clover Studio, PS2) - Gamepage

Ian Kiigan: Words can't do it justice - you just need to see it moving. A beautiful send-off for my PS2, and for Clover too.

Dave B: Majestic presentation incorporating classic 3D adventure gameplay with a brilliant twist.

Peter Barry: The most beautiful game i've ever had the fortune to play. Everything about it seems designed to draw you into its (slightly) cliché plot line. But the characters are well defined and the lack of voice acting is always a plus in my book, as it always seems to spoil your idea of how an NPC should say their lines.

Boyan Boyanov: Okami is the ultimate proof that videogames can be work of art. The oh-so-easy level of difficulty being the only thing I could nibble at, Okami is a rare gem just like its' source of inspiration - The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. Featuring beautiful art-style, immersive story and gameplay, adorable characters and funky Japanese traditional music, Okami comfortably occupies the top spot of my current-gen top 10 video-games list.

13. Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas

(Ubisoft, Multi) - PC Gamepage -Xbox 360 -PSP -PS3

Fintan Hynes: Exciting, fast, Beautiful. Better co-op and versus multiplayer than any other game on 360. Great maps. Brilliant character customisation and ranking system. Face-in-game technology. Will still be playing it in six months.

Austin Rathe: This wins for me not just for being good (which it is) but for being so surprisingly good. I expected a fairly good squad FPS, but what you get is an excellent FPS that really stands up to the best of them. There were better games during 2006, but none I enjoyed more.

Jason Wilson: Fun single play, excellent multi. A cover system that feels natural and just works better than any other similar system, Gears may have got released just before it but this is the shooter that deserves far more praise.

Christi MacPherson: In a year of mediocre first wave games for the 360, the winter period has been astonishing in it's impact on shooters in particular. Rainbow Six: Vegas epitomises that impact. Beautifully returning to its RS3 glory days, whilst embodying most of what was good about it's release period rivals; Gears of War and Call of Duty 3. Tellingly, the first game that I and many of my friends are playing every "gaming minute" we can scrabble together. The good old days are here again.

12. Guitar Hero

(Harmonix, PS2) - Gamepage

Patrick Schreuder: I love rock and roll! (Unfortunately I now also love Boston...)

Georg Gruber: I took my PS2 and a copy of Guitar Hero to three "non-gamer" friends' homes. Now they all own a PS2 slim. I think that says it all.

Atiqul Hussain: The novelty guitar controller was a genius idea which made Guitar Hero such a brilliant game. The gameplay was simple and easy to play, plus it contained classic songs which made me feel nostalgic. If there's one word to describe this game, it's FUN.

11. Viva Piñata

(Rare, Xbox 360) - Gamepage

Mat Robinson: It is so different and so much fun - a complete breath of fresh air. The missus loves it too so it gets a lot of play time. Also it is one of the only recent games I can play on the Xbox 360 with my 2-year-old daughter in the room :)

Nick: Something new happens every time I play.

Will Burchell: Addictive, complex, engaging beautiful, funny and a complete surprise. Who would have thought Rare could pull this out the bag?

FelderPony: Okay, apart from the rather unique graphical style of the papery Piñata, its also that its Rare going back to form with a game with depth, longevity and a unique style. While it lacks a more in-depth online capability, the game itself has managed to transfix both myself and my partner (to the point I have my own profile on the 360!) just so that I can have my own set of competing gardens! Plus, with seven Horstachios all going 'Neigh?' at things, what's not to love! ;)

Justin Cook: I helped make it. You have to admit we shook up the X360 fans a little bit :) (It's alright, we didn't count Rare's votes. Yes, plural. NOT FAST ENOUGH, JUSTIN.)