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The Wii sports lineup isn't strong, and Wii Sports is outdated.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.