With all the excitement over Game of the Year awards at GameSpot and elsewhere, it’s unlikely that many will take a moment to notice my own meager comments here, yet I can’t help but express my love for many of the games that landed on my plate this year. 2005 was a great year for those that believe in games as art—and even better for those that just want to have fun. With that said, I’d like to present you with the most important Game of the Year awards yet to hit the internet: the Cubbies. 

Shooter of the Year 

Project: Snowblind 

As you can tell by the first winner, this isn’t your run-of-the-mill awards banquet. Yes, I played lots of Battlefield 2, and I let F.E.A.R. scare the willies out of me. Yet it was this game I returned to over and over again on the Xbox, thanks to its dreamy visuals, successful everything-but-the-kitchen-sink mentality, and a wealth of small details most players apparently overlooked. I have a weakness for contrasting elements, which is one reason I enjoyed Otogi 2 so much last year. The extreme violence and technical gadgetry is offset by an off-kilter soundtrack, a myriad of cultural references in its dialogue, and plentiful but not over-the-top light bloom that makes the action otherworldly. The fact that I am a pc gamer, yet enjoyed this game on console more than the pc speaks volumes about this excellent and underrated gem.  

Runner Up: Perfect Dark Zero 

And yet another console shooter makes my list. Will wonders never sneeze? No, PD0 was not without its faults, but its single-player game was compelling, thanks to some excellent level design. I never imagined that a shooter in which you cannot jump would be one of my favorite games of the year, but there you have it. The endlessly exciting multiplayer that runs circles around Halo 2 is just icing on the cake.  

Time Sink of the Year 

Guild Wars 

The .sig I used most of this year in my GS profile said “Why Choose?” The attractive women featured in it were from Guild Wars and World of Warcraft, and while I had some queries as to whether that meant I encouraged three-ways, I actually meant to imply that we should avoid putting these games head to head and enjoy them both. And boy oh boy, is Guild Wars a lot of fun, and thanks to the endless skills that can only be equipped eight at a time, it never plays the same way twice. I am not here to join the endless whining that it is not an MMO (and I was tempted to ban the insistent jerks who incessantly trolled anyone saying that it was), nor can I deny its limitations. But for those that just want slick RPG combat and awesome PvP, it doesn’t get better.  

Runner Up: Battlefield 2 

Considering it wasn’t one of my top shooters, I still spent a lot of time with BF2, thanks to its leveling system and some really awesome moments. My biggest problem with it was only that it was a bunch of phenomenal moments, some of the best in all of gaming—with less-than-spectacular moments filling in the gaps. I also secretly wished it featured vehicular controls more similar to Joint Operations, but maybe that’s because the rest of the game is so easy to pick up and play, in spite of the potential complexity of its teamwork. Still, I went back over and over, and there’s something to be said for the games that keep you coming back for more—even if it’s more punishment.

 Worst Game I Wanted to Love 

Age of Empires III 

I still don’t understand the solid scores this game received from most critics: AOE3 had some great things going for it that were completely squandered by an irritating developer that didn’t notice that it’s been four years since their last game. Terrible interface, terrible implementation of camera control, no formations, complete lack of standard RTS commands like patrol and guard—pretty graphics just don’t make up for this, guys. Yes, the story was grand, and some of the mechanics worked the way they do in other strategy games, but what of these things? There are a multitude of RTS’s in bargain bins that are more worth playing than this heap. Just because it works, and just because it has a cool but limited card system, doesn’t mean it deserves praise. The whole “amass a bigger army by better control of my resources and then blowing everything up without a smidgen of actual strategy” thing is passé. Note to Ensemble Studios: get with the millennium.  

Runner Up: The Matrix Online

It’s crap. Enough said. 

Best Argument for Games as Art 

Shadow of the Colossus 

The controls keep this wonderful experience from being a great platformer, but as an eloquent allegory about the power of love, and with a nod to the Biblical story of David and Goliath, Colossus succeeds at being one of the most powerful encounters this year. Even the gargantuan colossi diminish under the stranglehold of devotion, and yet the mysterious love that drives you towards the evocative conclusion just gives more weight to these hulking monoliths.  

Best Argument for Games as Fun 

God of War 

What a goddamn trip this thing is; how violent and depraved, appealing to the basest of human passion. Kratos personifies the twisted chunks of our brains, the ones we keep hidden lest we become serial killers or tax attorneys. By ramping up the difficulty and tossing an incredible number of awesome abilities at the player, God of War was a solid rush of vile and satisfying decadence that, for the first time in years, made the appearance of bare breasts perfectly appropriate.  

Runner Up: Lumines 

Word to the wise: never accuse puzzle games of being simple. Yes, all you have to do is match up blocks of colors to be whisked away by the timeline. But you do it as your temples pulse and your mind races, only to be subdued by the pulsing visuals and sonic delights that do more than accompany the play: they direct it, steering you towards combos you may have missed, daring you to take chances for the hope of a greater payoff. It’s food for the left brain: thoughtful, persistent, orderly, and utterly masterful.  

Game of the Year: Runner Up 

Psychonauts 

How I adore this game, how wonderful and vibrant it is. Few games make you feel more alive than this, few can make you float on air the way Raz’s journey through the psyche does. Absurd, laugh-out-loud wit is uncommon in our precious mode of entertainment, and somehow Psychonauts delivers in spades with colorful characters, astounding level design, and cool game mechanics. Here is the world you will want to revisit as the years dwindle by. As the decades pass and you look fondly back at the virtual worlds you got to inhabit, very few of them will stand out: The Longest Journey, Grim Fandango, Half-Life 2, Syberia—these are the games that draw you into their world and remain part of your being, for better or for worse. And now we can add Psychonauts, and for that, I say Thank God. 

Game of the Year: Winner 

Black & White 2 

I’m convinced that the critics that lambasted this brilliant tour de force are trying to make up their perceived overrating of Black and White a few years ago. Has there ever been a song, or a painting, or a book, or a film, or something else that you know is life-changing, something incredibly important and beautiful to you, and no one else understands? This is that game, exceptional in scope and magnificent in its execution. B&W2 reminds me of the delights that only a pc gamer can understand; the enormity of creature battles, the tribal dances of your worshipers, the swarms of ants covering the ground, the slow, sweet push-and-pull of land domination—these things and hundreds of others place Molyneux’s all-time masterwork at the top of 2005’s overflowing heap. Not a day goes by during which I don't shake my head in wonderment that others don’t see the beauty of Black & White 2, yet while my company may be few, my solitude is worth the confidence I have in knowing that it was the best game released in 2005. Thank you, Lionhead, for reminding me why I love games so much in the first place, and thank you for never once failing to delight me during the dozens and dozens of hours I spent—and will continue to spend—with this awesome work of art.

There are plenty of other games I enjoyed this year, and deserve a mention, even if they didn’t win a Cubbie. Let’s call these the Minicubbies. 

Best Game Featuring Characters with Attitude: Oddworld Stranger’s Wrath 

Worst Game Featuring a Main Character with Attitude: Prince of Persia: Revelations 

Best Game Not Winning a Cubby that Deserved One: Resident Evil 4 

Best Game Featuring a Chaise Lounge: We Love Katamari 

Best Argument That PC Games are Buggy Messes: X3: Reunion 

Best Argument That Budget Games Are Crap: Crime Life: Gang Wars 

The Game I Embarrassingly and Secretly Adored: The Chronicles of Narnia 

Most Awesome Visit from Old Friends: Animal Crossing: Wild World 

Best Particle Effects Ever: F.E.A.R. 

Best Use of Giant Apes and Dinosaurs: King Kong 

Best game I am Sure is Awesome and I Can’t Wait to Play but Haven’t for Some Reason: Indigo Prophecy