The Envelope Please

We know it was a difficult decision, or actually a lot of difficult decisions, but you have finally chosen which games you think were the best of 2005. So here are your winners!

Best Adventure Game Haunting Ground Haunting Ground taught us that sometimes you just can't fight monsters directly. Playing a young girl, you have no hope against some of the denizens of the castle you find yourself locked into. But you can run, and you can hide. The tension-filled game is full of close calls and made us think about adventure games in a really different way. See our Review.

Best Family Title Wallace And Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit Oh no, a were-rabbit is eating up all the pumpkins and squash, and only our two favorite clay heroes can save the day. Based on the hit movie, the game has you running around British backyards scooping up rabbits and other "pests" in your custom vacuum-cleaner like gun. It's good clean fun for all ages, and nobody gets hurt - too much. See our Review.

Best Online Game Star Wars: Battlefront 2 Battlefront 2 puts you again on the frontlines in the struggle between The Empire and The Rebellion of the Star Wars universe. This time the graphics are so real you will think you are watching a scene from one of the later movies. The storyline follows storm troopers this time, so it's additionally interesting to see things from the point of view of the traditional bad guys. And of course, the game rocks online with thousands of people participating in massive battles at all hours. See our Review.

Best Peripheral Guitar Hero Pretty much everyone at one point or another wants to be rock star. So a game that lets you become one, performing guitar solos to some of the greatest rock ballads of all time is a no brainer. Combine that with a high quality guitar that plugs into your PS2, and you have one heck of a great way to become a jukebox hero! See our Review.

Best Puzzle Game Myst V: End of Ages As the final game in the Myst series, anticipation for Myst V: End of Ages was incredibly high. Thankfully the ingenious puzzles and stunning worlds contributed to make yet another successful title in that series. Myst has come to be known as "the puzzle" series, and the only real puzzling thing left to ask is why Cyan is not making any more. See our Review.

Best RPG Dungeon Siege II Dungeon Siege II is one of those RPGs that really peg the scale in terms of action. With a good looking world to explore and four characters to control at a time, Dungeon Siege II continues the addictive hack and slash action of its predecessor with plenty of blood to be spilled and treasure to be hoarded. It axes the competition this year. See our Review.

Best Shooter Call of Duty 2 World War II continues to be a hot genre, and Call of Duty continues to be the preferred title in this series. Seeing gritty combat from the eyes of an individual soldier is what this series is all about, and Call of Duty 2 heaps on the action and does not stop. Not only is the gameplay smooth, but the storylines presented in the game and the pure cinematic nature of it makes it worthy of a feature film. Now is the time for all good people to come to the aid of their country, with Call of Duty 2. See our Review.

Best Simulation GTR GTR's unofficial slogan is "Get Real" and when you play this racing game, you will know why. Even the engine sounds of the different cars are realistic, so if you know what they sound like you will know which competitor is coming on your left side without having to glance in the mirror. The AI is also top of the line, with smart racers that could easily beat those found in any other race game. GTR is racing with everything but the gasoline fumes. See our Review.

Best Sports Game Madden NFL 06 We thought there might be an upset this year with the hard push by Blitz, but Madden proved the true competitor again this year, smacking down other football simulations and all other sports games as well. For decades Madden has dominated the field, and there is no sign that it will change anytime soon as the series continues to improve in graphics and realism.

Best Strategy Title Age of Empires III Toppling early favorite Civilization IV out of first place, Age of Empires III shows that it too belongs to a series to be reckoned with. AoE III takes us to colonial America, where the various nations vying for control of the new world are less than friendly to one another. Incredible graphics and physics as well as the addition of an RPG-like home city combine to net this innovative RTS the first place strategy crown. See our Review.

Best Environment Myst V: End of Ages With a second win, Myst V is gearing up to sweep the awards this year. The somewhat haunting but always beautiful worlds of Myst V are a marvel to behold, to the point that some players simply enjoy navigating the worlds for a long time without noticing all the puzzles. The sound fits perfectly to complete the image, making suspension of disbelief quite easy while playing. See our Review.

Best Soundtrack Myst V: End of Ages The music of Myst V is just as amazing and beautiful as the soundtrack and really works to immerse players in the fantastic worlds they are exploring. The soundtrack is even on sale separately, and would be a good addition to any eclectic music collection. See our Review.

Best GameCube Game Resident Evil 4 The GameCube actually had some original titles this year to make this one a race, but Resident Evil 4 squashed other titles like Killer 7 in heavy voting. Resident Evil has always been beloved by Cube players and even spawned two feature films based on the game. And the good news is that the game is now out for the PS2, so its good times all around. See our Review.

Best PC Game Myst V: End of Ages Okay, we are officially renaming the Game of the Year awards the Myst V Awards. This win proves that PC players love Myst, and have made each game in the series a bestseller. Never once were they let down by a Myst title, and this final one is no exception. See our Review.

Best PlayStation 2 Game Resident Evil 4 Remember when we said that Resident Evil 4 was out for the PS2? Well, this proves it. PlayStation gamers rarely have much to envy from Cube owners, but the Resident Evil series was one thing. The move to bring the amazing zombie hunting action/adventure title to the PS2 was brilliant, and grateful gamers responded with their votes. See our Review.

Best PSP Game GTA Liberty City Stories The PSP lineup got off to a bit of a slow start, but the addition of titles like GTA: Liberty City Stories are just the shot in the arm the portable player needs. The graphics and sound of Liberty City Stories is incredible, and the gameplay is smooth and fun.

Best Xbox 360 Game Perfect Dark Zero Shooters beat racers in the 360 lineup this time, with Perfect Dark Zero just barely besting Project Gotham Racing 3 to take the top prize. Perfect Dark Zero shows off exactly what the 360 can do, with realistic graphics and sound that pummels the player right from the start and does not quit until the final round exits the chamber.

Best Xbox Game Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil There is only one thing better than getting to play the shooter Doom 3. And that is MORE DOOM! Resurrection of Evil not only added a ton of multiplayer maps and options, but a new single player game that was as good as the original, with dark and spooky levels full of things that go bump in the night (and on your head.) See our Review.

Overall Game of the Year Myst V: End of Ages There is nothing wrong with going out on a high note, and that is just what the Myst series did with End of Ages. And although there will be no more games set in the Myst worlds, we have five wonderful titles to look back on and smile, ending with this most recent masterpiece. See our Review.

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