Takes everything its predecessor did and maintains that urgent sense of wonder and discovery, creating a world that copies its past self, yet keeps the freshness that made it so exciting when the first game debuted two years ago.

None of these little flaws take away from Liberty City's breathtaking vistas, incredibly varied scenery, and lived-in look (the PS3 version has the slightest visual edge, plus motion-control support -- but then it's missing Achievements and the eventual downloadable episodes exclusive to the 360 game). The city just feels alive.

Galaxy proves that Mario matters just as much today as he did 25 years ago, and that makes him one of a kind in this medium. But don't play Galaxy simply because Mario is the timeless godfather of gaming. No, play Galaxy because it's fantastic.

Frankly, it seems like much of the game's technological potential is being squandered on a 3D game whose actual road to progress is every bit as two-dimensional as an 8-bit platformer.

Taken as a whole, as an experience that's richly and utterly complete, and one that engages the player in a constant dialogue, BioShock is virtually unassailable. And that makes you feel good.

Uncharted 2 is simply a vast improvement over its predecessor, and it's a damn great PS3 game. Let's leave the "are games art?" question for another time; what Uncharted 2 proves is that games are, at the very least, craft. Just as Raiders is Spielberg at the top of his game, Uncharted 2 is Naughty Dog at the top of theirs, and further proof that they are masters of their craft. [Grade = A+]

The best looking GameCube game ever released and features a story better than 99% of those on the market. Most importantly, though, it does all the little things that allow the game to focus on letting the player enjoy the ride.

The Orange Box is the greatest quantity of quality gaming ever.

A stunning compilation.

Controlling Batman as he completely terrorizes his victims, whether via the invisible predator gameplay or the brutal combat, is an experience rivaled by few others. From its memorable Bourne Identity-esque opening to its shocking ending, Batman: Arkham City secures its place as my favorite superhero game since Freedom Force.

When Mass Effect 3 rolls around to bring this tale to its finale, I'd really like to see BioWare strike some sort of happy medium between the clumsily executed RPG mechanics of the first game and the stripped-down shooter feel of this sequel. But even with its simplified mechanics, ME2's story makes for a compelling odyssey.

Whatever the hardware, Zelda is a brilliant adventure: a stunning achievement, and reason enough to dust off that abandoned GameCube.

I've dabbled in Elder Scrolls games before, but they always seemed to be the wrong combination of intimidatingly huge and mechanically clunky (not to mention kind of ugly). Skyrim is the chapter that's finally pulled me in, and suddenly I find myself smitten with the series. Not just the games, but the lore, and the insane level of thought that's been invested in the world of Tamriel.

The thing that makes RE4 so much fun is that the developers took a cue from modern zombie films, eschewing the clichéd shuffling zombie in favor of savvier, more intelligent opponents.

The truth is, I've never been so emotionally involved in an escort mission before. Games don't normally warrant the kind of discussions I've had about BioShock. This is something special.

The best enhancement for high-end gamers, though, is progressive-scan support. If you've got an HDTV-compatible set, make sure your Xbox has 480p widescreen mode on -- in this mode, the Xbox ports are without the doubt the prettiest GTA experience you'll get on a console.

Enormous, diverse, engrossing, daring, liberating, sophisticated and -- most of all -- ambitious. Yet at the same time it can be restrictive, banal, childish, unpolished and -- most of all -- frustrating.

Yes, it's the most charming game that I've ever played, and it's one of the most enjoyable. But the real beauty of LBP is even less tangible: creative empowerment at its finest and an unparalleled motivator to want to create.

This is simply a beautiful game, and it's provided more than a few moments where I completely forgot where the hell I was supposed to be going while riding over golden hills at sunset or through the desert in the middle of a nighttime lightning storm. It doesn't quite convey the loneliness of the real empty spaces, but does compress the essence of all the varieties of land and weather native to those parts into a few hundred miles ride.

Unlike October's blockbuster "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas," Halo's masses of content have been tossed in a strainer and all serve to make the main game better, rather than simply providing more for the player to do.

Truly fantastic. It's not a reinvention of the genre like Ocarina was -- but it's much better, because it takes all its predecessors' raw ideas, perfects them, and creates an experience that's at once new and familiar. It's rare to find a launch game that truly justifies the purchase of a new console, but this is precisely that.

This is simply a beautiful game, and it's provided more than a few moments where I completely forgot where the hell I was supposed to be going while riding over golden hills at sunset or through the desert in the middle of a nighttime lightning storm. It doesn't quite convey the loneliness of the real empty spaces, but does compress the essence of all the varieties of land and weather native to those parts into a few hundred miles ride.

While it's unclear if we'll ever see GLaDOS or Chell again, this much is certain: Portal 2 is one of the best games of this generation.

While it's unclear if we'll ever see GLaDOS or Chell again, this much is certain: Portal 2 is one of the best games of this generation.

It's the atmosphere that transforms World of Goo from a great concept to a fantastic game, with production values well above what you'd expect from a tiny indie developer. The crisp, hand-drawn visuals burst with care and creativity, recalling the wonderfully distinct approach of another recent downloadable favorite, Castle Crashers. And the music -- who would've expected such intense anthems from a physics-based puzzler?

Mixing real-world locations with bombastic set-pieces MW2 continues the guided, thrill-ride experiences of its predecessor, and adds even more depth to its multiplayer offerings. It might not have fixed all the problems from the first game, but there's just so much quality content packed into this game that it will almost certainly be one of the most-played games in your library for a long time to come.

With proven mechanics, brilliant visuals and sound, a satisfying campaign, and robust multiplayer, COD4 is one of the best FPS packages of the year -- no small feat, considering the competition.

Controlling Batman as he completely terrorizes his victims, whether via the invisible predator gameplay or the brutal combat, is an experience rivaled by few others. From its memorable Bourne Identity-esque opening to its shocking ending, Batman: Arkham City secures its place as my favorite superhero game since Freedom Force.

As a portable gaming enthusiast, I love being able to play a game of this quality on the go. I just wish as much attention had been paid to the nuts-and-bolts of the game as was lavished on appearances.

BioShock remains one of the most impressive and (if you never had the chance to play spiritual predecessor "System Shock 2") fresh first-person shooters around.

Mass Effect 2 is a fantastic game regardless of platform, and anyone who doesn't own an Xbox 360 should definitely experience it on PS3. Nevertheless, the 360 version is still the way to go. The continuity of customization offered by the dozens of decision links between the first two games were easily the most satisfying thing about ME2, and that's largely lost on PS3.

Each stage is memorable...They all combine for an unforgettable adventure through 36 hectic, desperate hours of a group of soldiers' lives...A visual and visceral masterpiece.

Oblivion is easily the finest open-ended RPG to date. It lacks the out-of-the-box crippling technical issues of every other Elder Scrolls game, looks great, and delivers on every promise Bethesda made during its development.

With proven mechanics, brilliant visuals and sound, a satisfying campaign, and robust multiplayer, COD4 is one of the best FPS packages of the year -- no small feat, considering the competition.

It's hard to imagine a feature of this game that someone won't love... Sure, no one aspect of the game is life-changing on its own, but perhaps the package as a whole is. After all, Halo 3 has enough content to keep you stuck to your controller for weeks, if not months or even years.

If it were simply the original Ninja Gaiden with just some mission modes tacked on, it would still be worth full price. But chiming in at around $30 with new missions, new difficulty settings, new cinemas and new costumes to unlock -- on top of the already-awesome, original game -- it's practically a steal. Uncompromising and unabridged, Ninja Gaiden Black shows you how reissues could and should be done.

Much like that infamous Japanese MMORPG, Oblivion promises total freedom of character generation but fails to deliver that perfectly.

Capcom and DIMPS have done an amazing job with Street Fighter 4. It's obvious from front to back that the people working on this game knew the legacy they were contending with, and found the guts to finish this project with conviction. This is no mere copycat; this is a proud new addition. It's a bold, confident fighter that celebrates its heritage while bringing fresh, new ideas to the table, arriving in a remarkably complete package that -- if this were the last Street Fighter to ever be created -- earns its rightful place in the series' canon.

The potential and flexibility offered by the game's eReader support alone makes the previous Mario Advance titles look like rip-offs in comparison. Unless you're allergic to replay value and quality game design, you need this game.

Ubisoft's obvious dedication and purity of vision shines through in every single minute that you're playing. It never seems to get old, it's rarely frustrating, and delivers its payload of stealth, action, strategy and exploration right on target. If there's a more complete gaming experience on Xbox, I've yet to see it.

The Takedown system is what makes the already pretty good Burnout series amazing... Burnout 3 delivers the purest hit of <I>awesome</I> so far this year.

Actually being able to see what's in front of you without having to stop and enter the first-person viewpoint is a godsend.

Mixing real-world locations with bombastic set-pieces MW2 continues the guided, thrill-ride experiences of its predecessor, and adds even more depth to its multiplayer offerings. It might not have fixed all the problems from the first game, but there's just so much quality content packed into this game that it will almost certainly be one of the most-played games in your library for a long time to come.

The MGS4 conundrum is this: The further you play into the game, the less you actually play. Surrendering so much control to make way for movie sequences is galling, especially when the dialogue makes such a big deal about freedom and free will...Despite this gradual decay, though, MGS4 is absolutely a great game. The second half may lack sorely in comparison to the innovative, immersive brilliance of the first, but only because those early portions reach such inspiring heights.

One of the few games out there that is equally fun for 10 seconds or for 10 hours.

From the mellow sounds of Leonard Nimoy's narration to the polished world view that allows you to smoothly scroll from satellite view to up-close and personal, this is the consummate update of a classic.

The Takedown system is what makes the already pretty good Burnout series amazing... Burnout 3 delivers the purest hit of <I>awesome</I> so far this year.

Brawl is a good game, with solid controls, a lot of options, and not-much-better-than-the-last-one-graphics. For the uninterested gamer, it's a curious diversion. For the Nintendo fanatic, Super Smash Bros. Brawl is like manna from heaven.

Company of Heroes seizes the bloated WWII genre by its tail and wags until years of excess bunkum sloughs off -- what's left is lean, mean, and a triumph for company-level tactics. The more you dig in, the more it gives back, and the less you care that it's another bout of Allied vs. Axis action.

The camera and movement control are still the best in any stealth game, the scenes you come across are just as exciting, and the overall experience is superb.

Chinatown Wars is what I expected -- it takes an understandable few steps back from GTA4, but also takes a couple forward (a touch screen can do that). It's a well-honed "core" GTA on the handheld, not merely a one-to-one clone of its console parents.

Where previous iterations amounted to ports and bizarre 3D interpretations, Pac-Man CE managed to merge classic, addictive gameplay with a high-definition, modern touch.

It's a brilliant collage of smooth, polished gameplay, solid netcode, unadulterated diversity, and a frenetic pacing few games can rival.

Excellent but intellectually limited as a puzzle-platformer, Braid is made truly divine with emotional depth and a bittersweet humanity -- a monumentally relevant game that speaks highly of its creators and their potential audience's tolerance for new ideas. To say nothing of an absolutely brilliant, emotionally devastating "ending" that proves that time isn't really that malleable after all.

There are a few brilliant core improvements, such as the beautifully implemented grappling system that lets you swing around with your blades. But for the most part, the game's best features are context-specific things rather than features that change or improve the title as a whole...A stellar example of what can be done when a developer focuses on telling a story and lets that drive the game.

I doubt it will completely repopularize the genre as we once knew it, since the world has moved on in the past decade or so. But StarCraft 2 does have mainstream gamers talking about build orders and micromanagement, which is honestly something I never thought I would hear again. Just in that, I consider StarCraft 2 a minor miracle.

Capcom and DIMPS have done an amazing job with Street Fighter 4. It's obvious from front to back that the people working on this game knew the legacy they were contending with, and found the guts to finish this project with conviction. This is no mere copycat; this is a proud new addition. It's a bold, confident fighter that celebrates its heritage while bringing fresh, new ideas to the table, arriving in a remarkably complete package that -- if this were the last Street Fighter to ever be created -- earns its rightful place in the series' canon.

Meanwhile, Minecraft, with all its flaws and quirks, has already joined Super Mario Brothers, Wolfenstein 3D, and Tetris in the pantheon of games that prototyped an entire genre.

The entire production is treated with reverence and class, and this goes to show that you definitely do not always need the latest and greatest hardware for great gaming experiences. What you need is a dedicated development team, a distinct sense of style independent of processing power, and polished execution and interpretations of proven ideas.

The fundamental game is just so epic, the world so vast, the options so varied, that you'll find more quality gameplay shoehorned into this disc than just about any other game I can think of. But the version sitting on store shelves right now is inferior to its brethren on other platforms. So I can really only recommend it if you don't own a 360 or a PC capable of running the game well.

Faults be damned, though; this is the kind of hugely ambitious game that doesn't come around very often, and when it does, you'd be a fool not to play it and enjoy the hell out of it and look forward to the day (next-next-gen?) when the fidelity of open-world RPGs takes another big step closer to the uncanny valley's far side.

As great as the campaign is, the game will see its longest legs from multiplayer. And from the multitude of competitive match types to the addictive and strategic co-op Horde mode, what felt like a hugely entertaining afterthought in the original Gears now easily stands shoulder-to-shoulder with the campaign.

While the developers made a conscious effort to shake things up with new ideas and implementations, the game falls into a weird middle ground filled with genuine surprises, inessential carry-overs, and copy/paste quest structures. That said, I still believe this to be one of the more admirable chapters of the series, even if at times it feels the developers were unsure of which sacred cows to keep and which to sacrifice.

The game's tutorial is excellent, and it slowly introduces you to some otherwise difficult concepts, but unless you have a lot of chords under your fingers beforehand, it takes actual practice to play on Pro Guitar.

It's not perfect because of the poor enemy drones and because the game doesn't last as long as we wish it would--but that's in some ways a good thing, because we like what we do get to play, and want to see more.

The simple fact is Knights of the Old Republic doesn't do anything revolutionarily different or better in any single category than games like "Planescape," "Baldur's "and "Freedom Force." In fact, in some areas it's a lot worse. Nevertheless, this is as solid a Star Wars experience as we're going to get (since no one has the balls to make "Tie Fighter 2").

The experience is still amazing... and that the gameplay is still really, really broken in many areas. Each new port brings with it a handful of new features, yet none of them are anything more than mere tweaks.

Like "Warcraft III" before it, World of Warcraft is less about cataclysmic evolution and more about refinement.

The experience is still amazing... and that the gameplay is still really, really broken in many areas. Each new port brings with it a handful of new features, yet none of them are anything more than mere tweaks.

Never, and I mean never, have I played a game with such a beautiful, perfectly executed difficulty curve. It's because of the difficulty curve that there was never a moment in this game, from start to finish over eight hours, that I was not having fun.

Infinity Ward has mastered a formula of its own making for both single- and multiplayer combat; Call of Duty 4 is louder, better looking, and more chaotic than ever. But it's certainly a formula, one that becomes more transparent with each version.

God of War 3 is the most balanced. It's not quite as focused as GOW1, nor is it as lengthy and moment-packed as GOW2, but it's the most consistent and varied of the three, and when it's at its best the first two can't touch it.

Downloadable content gives the 360 version a potential ace in the hole, but the first wave released comes as a mixed blessing.

"Ico" with good combat and witty dialogue...I haven't played a better game all year.

In some ways, it helps to think of Toy Story 3 or The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King when explaining Uncharted 3. Similar to this third game, both films are satisfying final acts that deliver entertaining and unique stories with respect to their previous installments.

Actually feeling like a rock star -- for most people under 40, the next best thing to a superhero or a T-Rex -- is transcendently entertaining. "Guitar Hero" is still the way to go for lone wolves, but if you have the space, the manpower, and the means, Rock Band unquestionably, unequivocally rocks.

This is by far the most realistic console racer ever made, and it's hands-down the best racing game on Xbox.

Fortunately, SSF4's new characters feel strong, detailed, and more importantly, convincingly robust.

I loved, loved TF2's cosmetic makeover. "Cartoon come to life" isn't compliment enough. Some cartoons are better animated, more distinctively stylized than others -- and, by analogy, this is among the best.

The relaxed pace of the co-op gameplay lends itself better to a console controller, but beyond that the PC version holds up admirably to the Xbox one. It's the prettiest of the bunch.

From beginning to end, this is the most complex Final Fantasy game yet, and it's just as evident in its plot as in its mechanics.

As it stands now, ESPN looks better, but it doesn't feel better. It's pleather not leather, nutri-sweet not sugar, and that's not going to get them far in the long run.

Almost a perfect strategy game. It has strategic scope and splendor nearly matching that of "Civilization" and a tactical game unlike anything else on the market.

Forza 3 upholds the franchise's tradition of excellence, but also plays it a little too safe; it irons out the previous game's clunky interface and sports a minor visual upgrade, but the gameplay feels strikingly similar to its predecessor.

That's Batman's general theme: so many of the mechanics turn Batman: Arkham Asylum into a bona fide "Batman Simulator," that the feeling of being Batman compensates for its flaws.

I haven't played a better game all year.

For better or worse, Arnor is an add-on that completes its parent game rather than simply expanding its scope.

But while a ton of awesome bands are represented (Nirvana, Guns N' Roses, Anthrax, All That Remains, Kansas, and so on) Guitar Hero II is still missing a few megaton metal bands -- mainly Metallica, Iron Maiden, and AC/DC. But no one will ever be happy, so instead of crying, crank the volume and bang your head until your brain busts.

Actually feeling like a rock star -- for most people under 40, the next best thing to a superhero or a T-Rex -- is transcendently entertaining. Guitar Hero is still the way to go for lone wolves, but if you have the space, the manpower, and the means, Rock Band unquestionably, unequivocally rocks.

For fans, the reason to pick up Chrono Trigger is simply because it's available, intact, and enhanced. For newcomers, it's because the game has easily withstood the test of time.

The real attraction here is the game's "Sticky Fingers"-like bulge of music. With 84 tunes on the disc (all are original recordings) and 20 free downloads form the online store, Rock Band 2 is simply the cheapest way to beef up your library.

Playing through these games again made me thoroughly jealous of anyone who has yet to experience either title. The Ico and Shadow of the Colossus collection is a disc that deserves to be played, replayed, and displayed with pride.

The multiplayer game in Echoes isn't anywhere near half the fun. It's a noble attempt to translate the single-player control scheme to a head-to-head game, but that attempt fails in a mess of cheap deaths and constant struggles to wrench the view in the right direction.

FFVIA is a mostly great port of a mostly great game, and that makes it entirely worth having. If this has to be the end of the GBA's lifespan, we can't think of a better way to go.

It's not the best-looking of the football titles out there, but it's the most fun to play and compete with.

SSF4's new characters feel strong, detailed, and more importantly, convincingly robust.

The real attraction here is the game's Sticky Fingers-like bulge of music.

LBP2 has the tools to be fantastic; time will tell us whether it lives up to its potential.