the place where we honor the most memorable, and the most forgettable, games of 1996. And what a year it was. The industry buried gamers under an avalanche of new titles, the most ever released in a single calendar year. As usual, truly innovative games were few and far between, but this lack of originality was effectively countered by a slew of blockbuster sequels, the continued improvement of 3-D technology, and a bona fide explosion in the multiplayer gaming arena. It was a great year for gaming, and it was one that has set the stage for even greater things to come.

To determine the winners of our Best and Worst awards, we sent ballots out to all of our contributing writers (for details, see the list below). The votes were then tallied, and the winners lauded, debated, and argued over. We required that a solid majority of votes go to a game for it to be declared the winner in any given category, but surprisingly enough, only one award, Best Strategy Game, demanded a run-off. Games that posed a serious threat to the victor are also included in a "Contenders" section for each award.

Now, on to our picks for the Best and Worst of 1996.