Most Wanted Games of 2006

8: Shadows of the Colossus

Who makes it: Sony

When is it out: 24th February

Why is it good: Shadows of the Colossus has caused a massive stir amongst gamers and critics alike. Released a few months ago in the US, it follows in the footsteps of its older brother Ico. A puzzle game with a mystical twist, you play a young man, with a horse, on a quest to slay a variety of giants to save your lost loved one. The developers have squeezed every last morsel of performance from the Playstation 2 to give us superb graphical worlds in which to roam around, work out puzzles and kill giants.

Games like this, so different but also so brilliantly put together, don’t come along that often. It’s a risk to try and do something different in a market that sometimes seems to be crying out for more of the same: race around a track, shoot a zombie, create an army. In many respects the market is being saturated with titles that all look, feel and for all extents and purposes are the same as one another. Hopefully, Shadows of the Colossus will show why that risk to do something different is worth it and the game will be played by all.

What could go wrong? The release of the next-gen PS3 may see Ico’s little brother go undeservedly unnoticed. Despite being a superior game, we may see the first quarter of 2006 as a time to save our pennies so that in the summer we can afford one of the new machines. It would be an awful shame for such a great game to be the victim of its own release date and so we can only hope that it gets the attention it appears to deserve.

7: Supreme Commander

Who makes it: Gas Powered Games

When is it out: Some time 2006

Why is it good: In the words of Chris Taylor (the man behind Dungeon Siege and the legendary Total Annihilation), "Supreme Commander will deliver an exciting, accessible gaming experience on a huge scope and scale that will allow players to wield unprecedented control over the entire theatre of war." Sounds good, but the game has been overlooked by many due to lack of news and information being released. From our undercover investigations, we can tell you that this game is all about size - huge units on huge maps. Fundamentally, if you liked Total Annihilation then expect something bigger and better in 2006.

Supreme Commander will not be the traditional rock-paper-scissors RTS that many developers adopt. This is pure simulation and so when you start getting the huge, mechanized spider like weapons don’t expect much to stand in their way. Add to this the perfect game for multiplayer action, rumoured co-operative single player and downloadable units that will be updated regularly and you have what I predict to be the biggest RTS of the year.

What could go wrong? Why are they being so quiet? To be honest, nobody knows, and that is slightly worrying. Those who have managed to play early code have reported good things - but with those reports based on very early code, we can only wait in anticipation of something great.