A terrific action-RPG that serves as an example of what a sequel ought to be. It's better than the original, absorbing and well balanced with enough challenge and variety to keep you busy for the 20-plus hours you'll need to get through it.

At $20, this just may be the finest piece of "budgetware" ever produced, with every bit as much to offer strategywise as RTS games three times its cost. Like the greatest board games, its entry curve is small, its interface elementary, and its potential for strategic depth enormous.

It's a great feeling seeing something you shoot explode into tons of little chunks (which looks similar to when buildings explode in "Return of the King" -- another EA blockbuster title), and some of the racing scenes define the word "epic."

It is Shift's ability to bring the roar of the race to life, that manages to drown out much of its flaws.

Lackluster side-content notwithstanding, Saints Row: The Third is so crazy and over-the-top that you can't go wrong with this game -- provided that you're the sort that would appreciate the game's knowingly juvenile sense of humor.

If there's a lesson to be learned from Gran Turismo 5 (the game itself, not its epic journey to stores), it's not about braking zones, exhaust manifolds, and curve apexes -- it's about patience. Because Gran Turismo 5 contains a seemingly unending supply of driving experience to enjoy, if you just allow yourself the time to discover it.

As fanservice, The Warriors is a treat for anyone who loves the movie, and as a beat-em-up, it outclasses recent efforts from competitors. Yet as a complete package, it's somewhat inconsistent.

New San Van itself is a phenomenal accomplishment, a tightly designed playground that begs for physical interaction without overly looking the part.

It's one of those sequels where all of the evolution takes place underneath the façade -- a game you've got to pick up and feel all the subtle differences. And of course, if Blood is your first Brothers experience, well, it's hard to imagine going back to anything less authentic and strategic.

Like any good sequel, Lego Star Wars II improves on the original in almost every way. But most importantly, it's about the good episodes now. For that reason alone, Lego Star Wars II is one of the most enjoyable games of this fall.

Though the game would still be fantastic with its co-op dungeon puzzles alone, Guardian of Light contains a surprising amount of substance; each of its many levels offer a series of achievements that add interesting weapons and items to your inventory.

Call it a first-person Diablo, an evolution of Resistance 2's co-op mode, Monster Hunter for the west, or a party game for FPS gamers. Call it the best example of the transformative power of multiplayer. Whatever you designate it, Borderlands is a decent single-player FPS/RPG that simply becomes great -- when playing with others. Besides, sheer midget panic is something that has to be shared with friends.

If it was a book you'd call it "a real page-turner"; it can be nigh-impossible at points to put down. When all is said and done, as the credits roll across the screen, you'll remember the poignant moments as part of the story, not the actions you took that caused them to be played out.

Though once you get sucked in, it's hard not to search for the absolute fastest path out. After all, it's only 30 seconds, right?

This year's iteration in the more than a decade old series has brought me back into the "drinking the Madden Kool-Aid" fold, because it's improved the things that matter to me. That said, Madden NFL 11 still needs some improvement.

If you can look past the story, the game is a lot of fun, and it's definitely worth experiencing. Once you start to get good with telekinesis, you'll wonder why more games haven't exploited the power.

It's hard not to say something dull like "fans can't afford to miss it," but, you know, it's possibly the first time anyone's been able to say that about any Middle-earth game. Ever.

At its best, the 360 version is the standout, but if you add up all the features, pretty much any system owner can be proud of their version and how it holds up against the others, which seems to be what Ubisoft had in mind. And which also is very annoying for those who want the single best version across the board.

Branding aside, perhaps most frustrating is the omission of environmental interactivity -- napalm does nothing to bush and tanks are rendered useless by the thinnest slice of bamboo.

A huge, involving quest full of secrets, challenge and bonuses. The intensely difficult Second Quest remains one of the greatest unlockable extras in the history of the medium. And it's all captured beautifully on this GBA cart.

The GameCube version has taken it on the chin, presumably thanks to disc space limitations -- eight of 28 music tracks are gone, there's no choice of voices for the main character (compared to six options on other platforms), the framerate suffers from occasional hiccups in crowded stages, and there are spots of very poor texture detail.

Although it is a game for tactical, patient players, there are still enough big booms and explosions to keep things exciting.

Story aside, the campaign shines. The pacing's on par with Factions in terms of how quickly you gain levels (not that those matter much in Guild Wars anyway), and the game's 20 missions present lots of replay incentive thanks to a tiered reward system.

Disgaea 2 adds only one significant new feature to its gameplay: the ability of stacked characters to attack.

Even a middling game comes alive when you play with other people. But when a game is built as carefully as Quake Wars -- for play online and offline, for new players and veterans, for quick thrills and long learning curves, for hyper action and careful tactics -- this is as good as it gets.

The stellar soundtrack that accompanies this epic war of the gods is merely the ribbon on top of an all-around-wonderful role-playing package. Don't miss this one.

It's not easy to create a multiplayer game that's utterly accessible to first-timers and yet varied enough to have serious legs.

The core of the game is based on this frenetic, nonstop action that propels you from one area to the next, and it is this same sense of mayhem-driven progress that can allow a non-fan like myself to have such a good time.

Even if you're not a UFC fan this is still an incredibly fun fighting game.

A fantastic mix of visual style and creativity, Child of Eden builds on the core concepts of Rez, but also plays it safe by not adding too much to overcomplicate the original formula.

If you enjoyed your time with what was undoubtedly the best strategy game of 2005, but eventually moved on to other things, Warlords is enough to get you hooked all over again.

At its peak, Vanquish is a beautifully fast and intense fusion of East and West third-person gameplay -- it just isn't quite as good as the director or the studio's previous work.

At its peak, Vanquish is a beautifully fast and intense fusion of East and West third-person gameplay -- it just isn't quite as good as the director or the studio's previous work.

Tiger 09 is remarkably improved across the board.

The notion of hopping into an X-Wing, shooting down a flight of TIE fighters and then boarding an enemy Star Destroyer to disable its shields is one that has been deeply rooted in many a Gen X'ers mind. This is now possible, and while space combat is not as refined or complex as say X-Wing Alliance, it opens up the game beyond ground-based combat.

Darwinia isn't just a good game. More importantly, it's a place you've never been.

I've always been a hater of this series (far too arcadey for my tastes) but this time around, I'm completely sold. There are a few issues standing between it and true wrestling perfection (a better targeting system would be nice), but they're hardly anything to tarnish the experience.

The PSP version does have a bug that prevents your companions' special abilities from actually working, but that doesn't have much impact on the gameplay.

It's a great feeling seeing something you shoot explode into tons of little chunks (which looks similar to when buildings explode in "Return of the King" -- another EA blockbuster title), and some of the racing scenes define the word "epic."

At times, Jak 3 seems to be scraping the bottom of the idea barrel...While this final chapter is not the platforming clinic of the first, nor the trendsetter of the second, it is an extremely satisfying finish for the series.

Extreme's wonderfully remixed gameplay comes at you in fluid, seamless waves that offer a surprising amount of freedom and replay value.

If you can look past the story, the game is a lot of fun, and it's definitely worth experiencing. Once you start to get good with telekinesis, you'll wonder why more games haven't exploited the power.

A game unsure of what it wants to achieve. When it lets itself, it's a fantastic adrenaline rush through well-constructed set-pieces and gloriously fun-to-watch violence. But it too often drags itself down with overly structured situations and restrictive, strategy-heavy gameplay.

With hundreds of puzzles, even more available for download over wi-fi, and an editor to make and share your own, Picross 3D is just too clever for a DS puzzle game fan to pass up.

A consequence of this darker approach is that that game loses part of what made The Sands of Time unique. Instead of a charming and almost silly character like we saw previously, the Prince here is more one-dimensional.

Like a vine bursting with ripe fruit, TOAU may be in need of some balancing, in addition to some major feature tweaking (Besieged), but for all intents and purposes, it's like an injection of the lifeblood that once made this MMO so addictive in the first place.

New for some and familiar for others, 1943 will once again keep players up well into the night for just one more round. Before long, the greenhorns will be wily vets, experts on the ins and outs of all three maps, and eager for more.

EA did their homework and pulled together a solid basketball game this year. There isn't much to complain about in NBA Live 2005. And with the addition of the Slam Dunk Contest, the replay value is huge.

While it lacks that magical little something to make it a classic, it's a stupendous example of design competence. It looks great, sounds great, it's well written, witty, and fairly well paced.

What seems to be at the root of this problem is the game's story. The further in you get, the more plot holes open, until by the end of the game you have the nagging suspicion that none of this makes very much sense.

While 2K6 is an excellent game, it's not much different from 2K5, and EA's NHL series is rapidly gaining ground.

Just as the visuals are perfect for the PSP's display, the mechanics are perfect for the PSP's button configuration, and the game design is perfect for the PSP's portability (it's easy to pick up and play at any given moment).

Quite easily, the best baseball game on the system. Even with its minor flaws, it combines all the simlike statistical realism true ball hawks crave while throwing in additional modes of play to keep those with shorter attention spans enthralled.

The only compelling reason for Halo fans to buy this version is for multiplayer, which is so much better than playing split-screen on your television. Otherwise, it's the same old space opera.

If you already own "ESPN NBA 2K4" basketball game, 2K5 is probably not worth the dough -- prettier graphics aren't enough. The $20 price tag puts it in reach of most everyone else, though.

If it weren't held back by a few severely annoying technical issues, it might be the best Arcade title yet.

No More Heroes is practically two entirely different games mashed together. One is a funny, smart, stylish action game that never fails to entertain. The other is an open-world game that fails so completely in every regard that, despite all appearances, it's easier to question the developer's intent than it is to accept that it's what they were going for. Fortunately, you barely have to play that second game to enjoy the first one.

It's far more than just a really, really good-looking boxing game; it's a little glimpse into the future, and a remarkably good yardstick for ongoing reference.

What Silent Storm does better than most strategy titles, even those not of the type, is create dynamic, diverse situations that players must adapt to using an insane number of weapons, skills, and evolving strategies.

It's up there on the podium with "Ridge Racer Type 4" and "Daytona USA 2," contending for the title of very best ever.

ODST does suffer for the lack of genuinely new elements it adds to the Halo universe, and the campaign mode is a bit brief. Yet between the enormous scope of New Mombasa, the unique atmosphere, and the brilliance of Firefight mode, I can easily see myself pouring more time into ODST than any other Halo to date.

Despite completely divergent gameplay and a very different art style, Ghost Trick feels like a creative extension of Ace Attorney; as though the team at Capcom is able to expand on the ideas in their flagship franchise, without being tethered to either those conventions or characters.

Thrilling on the ground, downright heart-stopping in the air, and beautiful throughout, Pure's a blast from start to finish. A career mode would've gone further than the game's "World Tour" in fully eliminating repetitiveness, but Black Rock has otherwise built a real winner here.

It's a good-looking, sublimely clever game that sets out a host of expectations for future PixelJunk projects.

The Wii sports lineup isn't strong, and Wii Sports is outdated. MLB Power Pros will rally sportos to pick up the Nunchuk and take a hack on a system that's been easy to ignore.

This is like a Thanksgiving dinner of Tony Hawk. You're going to feel stuffed and ready for a nap afterwards, and some players may even refuse dessert. It proves that the formula still works, but it may also cause some observers to sigh with relief at the knowledge that Neversoft is working on an original game for next year.

Slightly flawed in some spots -- its Career mode, for example, is a pyramid of increasingly challenging events rather than a glimpse into a racer's life -- DiRT is nevertheless a big, beautiful game that goes places previous McRaes have not. It's quite simply one of the finest driving-centric titles to hit the still-new 360 world.

Although far from perfect in terms of pacing or narrative, it provides a huge free-roaming playground in which you can let loose and just have fun breaking stuff with scant regard for the overall point of the game.

Ultimately, Resident Evil 5 shouldn't be looked at as a failure in the series, merely too ambitious, inconsistent and uneven. Earlier entries in the series benefited from their simplicity and focus, and while it's laudable for RE5 to try and include so much variety, perhaps a little more of the same ol' same ol' would have resulted in a slightly better game.

MM9 is an unapologetic nod to one of gaming's greatest eras. It might've been made especially for nostalgia-crazed dorks like me, but it's something that any challenge-seeking gamer can dig.

Thanks to the thoughtfully designed courses, tight control, and -- thank goodness -- a battery backup and autosave feature, Racing Gears Advance is a pleasure to play from start to finish line.

If the appeal of its gameplay has worn thin, as it likely has for most fighting fans in 2004, then all the gorgeous graphics and new costumes and online play won't overcome that fact.

But most importantly, it's about the good episodes now. For that reason alone, Lego Star Wars II is one of the most enjoyable games of this fall.

This year's iteration in the more than a decade old series has brought me back into the "drinking the Madden Kool-Aid" fold, because it's improved the things that matter to me. That said, Madden NFL 11 still needs some improvement.

NBA 2K10 is an excellent basketball game that's full of nagging technical problems. It's a shame that some players probably won't be able to look past the inconsistent frame rate, online issues, and A.I. quirks, because NBA 2K10 does many things very, very well.

It's still a good game -- lovely, and a little tired. But these days, even a favorite old dog like UT needs to learn more than a few new tricks.

The most enjoyable aspect of this game is actually playing basketball. As such, the in-game animations are jaw-droppingly entertaining!

It is Shift's ability to bring the roar of the race to life, that manages to drown out much of its flaws.

It's fast, good looking, boasts a great car list, and gives you plenty of game for the money. You get about 15 hours of gameplay from the main career mode, plus there are 68 additional challenges that will take you a fair few hours to get through, as well as online play.

Despite the high challenge level, Bangai-O is most definitely a "pick-up-and-play" experience, but it's best not to try and clear large parts of the game in one sitting -- and you won't, unless you know you're awesome. But even if you're not, you'll come back to it often.

Because multiplayer puts all the focus back on just racing, online could be Shift's strongest suit.

Yes, it targets a small audience, but it hits a bull's-eye.

Like Mass Effect 2, FFXIII seems to be an attempt to answer the question of how to create an RPG for the modern, console-owning masses. Square Enix's solution is certainly different than BioWare's, but it's arguably just as effective in its own way.

While that all might be good enough to satisfy the core audience, it won't save NCAA 10 from being seen, like its predecessors, as a second-string Madden.

FPS snobs often talk smack about the TimeSplitters franchise for lacking sophistication and for being a bit silly, but the key to its success has always been that it puts fun ahead of any pretension. If that's what you value most, you could do far worse.

A cognitively rewarding, expertly designed puzzle experience that truly plays like nothing else.

Guardian Heroes isn't a long ride, but it's one worth taking. If you owned a Sega Saturn, this will bring back memories. If you're a newcomer, now you'll know what we saw in the system back in 1996.

Call it a first-person Diablo, an evolution of Resistance 2's co-op mode, Monster Hunter for the west, or a party game for FPS gamers. Call it the best example of the transformative power of multiplayer. Whatever you designate it, Borderlands is a decent single-player FPS/RPG that simply becomes great -- when playing with others.

It's up there on the podium with "Ridge Racer Type 4" and "Daytona USA 2," contending for the title of very best ever.

The visuals, bright and detailed and charming, faithfully represent the feudalistic atmosphere of Bleach. The gameplay is simple to learn, thanks to the helpful tutorial and challenge modes that depicts combo of every character. And, despite the easy learning curve, it contains enough substance for intelligent and adrenaline-fueled matches.

Not quite as good as The Sands of Time. Elements like the combat and bosses are inarguably better, but lack of evolution in the Prince and the action-oriented slant are not as good as the basic platforming mechanics that were the star of the show in last year's game.

Though the sometimes frustrating difficulty and occasional pacing misstep taint the experience slightly (it would be nice to have longer moments of respite between the busier levels), Everyday Shooter succeeds wildly as an engaging shooter for the art-house crowd, and a creative change of pace for the hardcore-shooter crowd.

If Crackdown were nothing more than a GTA-ish game with the fat trimmed away and some insane physical abilities, hell, that'd be something to be thrilled about. That it represents the best, if not the first, online multiplayer sandbox game on a console is just gravy.

It's everything its predecessor was, only with better presentation, incredible graphics, and a lot of the simple, necessary improvements that have become standard since the days of the original EQ. On the other hand, players who never cared for the first game will find that the core gameplay has changed very little.

Even if you're not a UFC fan this is still an incredibly fun fighting game.

The mud-caked Slop Bowls, bustling sidelines, and significantly varied player physiques mean that Madden 09's finally lived up to EA's next-gen target video from three years ago that -- for three years -- looked way better than the games themselves.

The game is fun for those looking for a quick diversion, and it's realistic enough to keep sim players happy.

This game is so well designed that time after time in my playthrough I thought, "Man, wouldn't it be great if this game had X?" and then, lo and behold, X appears, like the albatross to the Ancient Mariner, except in a totally good way that doesn't cause the mass suffering and death of my shipmates. Honestly, I can't think of any reason why anyone who loves video games won't enjoy JC2.