Although some areas of the game were frustrating (beware the last boss), The Two Thrones features a classic interactive ending sequence and epilogue that nicely wraps up the whole trilogy and does the seemingly impossible -- that is, it makes you forgive and forget the lost years represented by The Warrior Within, and lets you to judge the trilogy on the whole.

Offers a plethora of options, online play, and no innovation to a game that doesn't really need innovation (except to my own twisted imagination).

It's a great game in the same way its predecessor -- "SSX 3" -- was a great game. It is not, however, a great game in the same way "SSX Tricky" was before that -- that is to say, it won't go on to be <I>one of the greats.</I>

The story progression, variety of missions and locations, appropriate alternate costumes and great controls make it easy to buy into this world.

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.

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.

A fun game to bash around with, and it's one of the best Sonic offshoots the series has seen so far. If you can get over the odd balance, you'll find that it's also one of the best pick-up-and-play fighters on the GBA, too.

Impressive because The Warriors was such a good and complete game the first time around, with a lengthy story, fun brawling mechanics, and a host of that classic Rockstar optional stuff that we don't have to do but are compelled to anyway -- and it all works incredibly well on the PSP. But at the same time, The Warriors was never really designed to the strengths of a portable system, so unless you haven't played it already, there's no real need to play it again while in transit.

OK, so Shivering Isles doesn't reinvent the fireball. But the impeccable design and construction of the original game breathes life into this expansion -- not, as you might assume, the other way around.

Space Rangers 2 is one of those rare games that you don't just finish and stick on a shelf. Even after "beating" the game several times you're left with the feeling of having just scratched the surface.

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.

The interesting thing about Gun, however, is that it mixes broad free-roaming aspects with some of the most tightly scripted missions we've seen in any game -- quite an achievement for an original game from a company known for skateboarding titles.

It's proof that developers don't have to shamelessly rip off Final Fantasy Tactics to craft a compelling, addictive strategy-RPG.

A welcome return to form for the series. Even the plot revolves around minor characters from "Suikoden II," and the loading screens show the game's characters as they would have been rendered in a 32-bit sprite style, as if Konami is apologizing for the turns taken after that era.

The vaunted cross-platform play works mostly as advertised (including Achievements associated with killing/resurrecting users from the alternate platform), but we still have to question whether it's worth the hassle and cost for PC users.

A humungous game built around 12,500 real-life players with more modes and teams and options than a stadium has face painters, FIFA 08 is a superior soccer experience despite its ho-hum facade.

The PSP's analog nub also works well here with just the right balance of sensitivity and full range of motion, from tiny course-correcting nudges to hand over fist power-sliding.

Working your way toward the end of each level, experimenting with mixtures of the different ammo types, is just too enjoyable to miss. The feeling of accomplishment when you manage to take every member of a gang alive is worth the pain of the more difficult boss showdowns and somewhat unfulfilling plot.

This is a very serious rally game, much more so than RalliSport Challenge -- tackling a turn incorrectly, or having the wrong tire and suspension setup for the track at hand, will destroy your stage times. As a result, both your driving skills and your car-configuration know-how will be tested at every stage of the game.

But it's that wholly rebuilt, almost-a-sim physics engine that propels ProStreet to such heights. Tossing these weighty sedans and exotics around, knowing you're connected to the road by just four distinct contact points, then late braking into a turn and riding the very limits of adhesion through it, is ungodly fun -- and darned challenging.

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.

If you're looking at the game for continuing the fun, campy Mortal Kombat legacy, you'll find a lot to like here. If you're looking for highly technical fighting matches or evolved modern game storytelling, you'll do better looking elsewhere.

Fans of the Napoleonic period will get a rise out of Cossacks II, as will strategy buffs seeking out something a little different from the usual tank rush tactics. It's a terrific simulation of the age of "gentlemanly" combat, during which Napoleon almost took over the world.

Rumor has it that developers Traveller's Tales have more Lego games in the works after this (including one based on Batman) -- here's hoping, as this formula simply works.

Gamers who have been burned by the obscene difficulty of the first two Zero titles might be expecting number 3 to be more torture, not realizing that this time, they're actually given a fair opportunity to win. Zero is sorry he hurt you.

The multiplayer side of things, however, is excellent. The online play is smooth (depending on the server) and, truthfully, there's nothing quite like sneaking in to steal a control point right from under other players' noses.

Thanks to some tough (but never unreasonably frustrating) battles, a healthy dose of fan service, and a quality localization, Revenant Wings is a thoroughly enjoyable hybrid. It's hardly the second coming of Final Fantasy XII...but somehow manages to turn that into a strength anyway.

City Life is the freshest take on the city-sim genre in memory, managing to be both as challengingly complex as its more gearheaded forebears and more accessible to casual or more philosophical players.