Everyone else has these stupid year-end lists and awards, so I thought I'd make one just for fun. "Shouldas" are things that didn't happen in games in 2006, but should have done. This list is non-scientific and completely from my own little brain. Feel free to boo, hiss, and add your own "Shouldas" in the comments.

Portable-Shoulda-Been-Console

Mega Man Powered-Up (PSP)

Mega Man Powered-Up is just a remake of Mega Man with an extra twist: a level editor. On a console it could cover all of the Mega Man ground from 1 thru 8, and the levels and sounds available. This would be perfect for an application like Xbox Live! Arcade as well as multiplayer. Not gonna happen, though.

Runner Up: Ultimate Ghouls 'N' Ghosts (PSP)

The small-screen game is so pretty, that a console counterpart would feel like being in an arcade. A good arcade. You know, the kind without ticket-redemption games and Chuck-E-Cheese?

Console-Shoulda-Been-Portable

Bomberman: Act Zero (Xbox360)

This game is just terrible! The reason it won the award was the scope of the game is single-level gaming that could easily be on PSP or NDS. Even then, I don't think anyone would buy it, but at least they'd waste less money.

Runner Up: Virtual Console (Wii)

The old games are suitable for DS. Why not sell the consoles seperately as DS game chips, and download the games via wireless? I mean, they're old games. C'mon!

Single-Player-Shoulda-Been-Multi-Player

Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Xbox360, PC)

This is awesome! It's just like a MMO without the other players. This would cut down on gold-farming, right? Wrong, because people are loaning out their gamertags to pay for gamerscore inflation! Just because I have a 6000 gamerscore does not mean I care. Okay, I care. I only have one stupid achievement on Oblivion, anyway! At least there are no flying penises--yet.

Runner Up: Viva Pinata (Xbox360)

There's no multiplayer except sending presents via "mail." There should be a persistant multiplayer environment where you can meet, compete, and trade. Pinatas could interact. You could have county fairs and such.

Multi-Player-Shoulda-Been-Single-Player

The Outfit Demo (Xbox360)

When this game came out, it looked pretty good. However, lack of a single-player demo made the game almost inaccessible. By the time a single-player version came out, the word had spread that perhaps the game wasn't good. I can't comment on gameplay, because I never bought it, but this mistake truly made me not buy the game. I'm still amazed that game demos, even if very different from the final version, come out and play like compete and utter shit. *COUGH* Sonic the Hedgehog *COUGH*

Runner Up: City of Villains (PC)

This sequel to City of Heroes was never intended to be single player. I'm just wishing, here, but I think well-designed missions might make this game great. Not everyone likes MMO subscription fees. (EDIT: this was a 2005 game, but still!)

Shoulda-Been-Cancelled

Bomberman: Act Zero (Xbox360)

This is the only dual-winner in this list--a dubious honor at best. Someone, anyone, should have raised their hand and said, "excuse me, but the emperor has no clothes." Hey, I've got an idea, let's put a Cylon Centurion-like robot on the front. Where does he keep all the bombs, anyway?

Runner Up: Totem Ball (Xbox360 Live Arcade)

This could have been fun, but only if the controls responded better. My arms are tired. At least you get your money's worth. It's free.

Gran Turismo Pocket (PSP)

Almost two years later, and no form of Gran Turismo has hit the portable scene. Ridge Racer, on the other hand, has tons of tracks and the best soundtrack of any of the other games. It can be done. Repeat after me, it can be done. We're not expecting any GT on PSP ever.

Runner Up: Portal (PC, Xbox360)

This one, at least, will be published. It looks like a ton of mind-twisting fun, and the trailer made it look almost complete! I hope they have a level creator with this one and multiplayer. Imagine having to use two portal guns to solve the multiplayer levels.

Shoulda-Been-Easier

Totem Ball (Xbox360 Live Arcade)

It's hard to control, your arms get tired, the ball suddenly runs off on its own. And, the level design seems to be built around a control pad. This is one of those games where you think, "It can't be as bad as all that." It is.

Runner Up: Ultimate Ghouls 'N' Ghosts (PSP)

I know, I know. Don't be a pussy. It's supposed to be hard! Talk about being true to your arcade roots!

Shoulda-Been-Harder

Brain Age (Nintendo DS)

The Sudoku game is plenty hard enough, but the rest of the game isn't. In my own experience the game doesn't understand "Broo" but does understand "Blue." It was way too easy to get a Brain Age of 20. I sense the game may be rounding down. A lot.

Runner Up: Cloning Clyde (Xbox360 Live Arcade)

The game wasn't super-simple, but the level designs seem a little uniform. There weren't enough levels where you needed to use all of your Clydes, but at least I wasn't cursing at it.

Shoulda-Used-Conventional-Controller

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Wii)

I slash horizontally. Link sometimes slashes horizontally. I slash vertically. Link rarely mimics my moves. If I slash repeatedly, he does a sword combo that does not equal the motions. In other words, the game isn't using your motions to control Link's unnecessarily right-handed slashes. It should have been a button press. All this adds up to a game that had the Wii controls added as an afterthought. It would have been much nicer to just keep the old controls in there as well. And honestly, it doesn't matter if on-screen Link is the same-handed as you, especially if you have to wiggle the nunchuck to do a circular swipe.

Odama (Gamecube)

My first qualifier is that I haven't played this game. Somehow I don't think playing pinball while shouting orders to onscreen forces makes a whole lot of sense. It's a great way to get another microphone for your 'Cube, though.

Shoulda-Used-Unconventional-Controller

Loco Roco (PSP)

How cool would this game be if you tilted it to tilt the onscreen worlds? Yoshi Topsy Turvey and Wario Ware Twisted did it. It'd take a little while to get used to it, though.

Puzzle Challenge Crosswords and More (PS2, PSP)

I love the idea of taking crosswords and word searches on the road. The PS2 and PSP are not great at putting letters in the boxes, though. The only system suited for this is Nintendo DS, because you could write the numbers on the touch-screen. Touching is good. But it's not available on the DS, so I'll buy a puzzle magazine instead.

Shoulda-Been-Free

Urban Champion (Wii NES Virtual Console)

I'd love to have had Super Mario Brothers for free, but let's face it, that puppy will continue to sell well. Urban Champion is one of the weakest Virtual Console titles out there, and if there was ever a candidate for a free "Christmas Present," that was it. The only other game that I think should be free is maybe Balloon Fight.

Texas Hold 'em (Xbox360 Live Arcade)

This game doesn't have a lot of frills. It was free for something like 72 hours. It was supposed to be the first ad-ware sponsored by an online casino. I believe Microsoft had to drop the ads due to legislation that passed making it illegal for banks to deal with foreign/offshore casinos. What the law didn't realize, is that if you transfer your credit to foreign/offshore site, you can still play. Brilliant. There are full-fledged Texas Hold'em games for the Xbox360. This is just-for-fun and would make good PR if it remained free.

Shoulda-Been-Sold

Gran Tourismo HD (PS3)

Hold your horses! I know the micropayments would've been sleazy. How about they supply the GTHD for free, and then periodically introduce content "packs?" What if you paid $5 for 3 more courses and 10 more cars? They could still do this, but I believe they're focusing solely on GT5. I hope they release one or two more demo tracks and cars "as featured in the upcoming game GT5: HD."

Lumines Live! (Xbox360 Live Arcade))

Yes, yes! I know it was sold! But it wasn't complete when it sold. That's bad. This is the most powerful example of releasing software before it is ready. Lumines Live! Should be a flat $20, all content and media included. Then and only then should you consider releasing content packs. The only upside of Lumines Live! is that the initial download is probably enough for anyone. The demo is pretty extensive, too, so if you play that, you'll know if you want to pay for any of it.