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.

The sheer immensity of this collection continues to astound me, and while price should by no means be the ultimate deciding factor in a review, with the Metal Gear Solid HD Collection, it's impossible to ignore. Simply put, this single disc will keep you highly entertained for several staycations to come.

In so many ways, on many levels, Renegade Ops is one of the most refreshingly enthusiastic action games of the year.

In so many ways, on many levels, Renegade Ops is one of the most refreshingly enthusiastic action games of the year.

I can answer the more immediate question -- whether HD Remix holds up in online play -- with a resounding "Hell, yes." Backbone wisely co-opted fan-favorite peer-to-peer platform GGPO.net, which you can essentially think of as the netcode equivalent of the Google algorithm. This crazy Internet voodoo works well, and it makes for the most lag-free versus play this side of a brick-and-mortar arcade.

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.

For younger Twilight Princess fans, this is your true coming-of-age adventure...and for older gamers free of nostalgia's shackles, Okami provides a far more refreshing, creatively stimulating journey.

A remarkable achievement. EA could have easily rested on its laurels, but instead decided to be ballsy and went about overhauling some fundamental gameplay mechanics in a game that was already garnering universal praised.

The new Colonies Edition lured me back for a third circuit with beautiful graphics that echoed the original game and a wealth of exclusive new features.

A remarkable achievement. EA could have easily rested on its laurels, but instead decided to be ballsy and went about overhauling some fundamental gameplay mechanics in a game that was already garnering universal praised.

I haven't played a better game all year.

Thanks to a potent combination of ingenious tactical A.I., flawless squad controls, and terrifying audio/visuals, these games are a perfect balance of realism and playability, without resorting to heavy-handed scripting and the predictable linearity in level designs found in its contemporaries. In fact, Blood is so good, it actually manages to put its predecessor to shame.

It's an amazingly thoughtful upgrading of the finest motorcycling game series on the market, and with the addition of the Extreme mode, Climax and THQ have taken their stock standard GP sim and taken it into a realm of its own.

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.

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.

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.

Burnout Legends is certainly the best racing game on PSP, and let's face it, it's up against plenty of competition. Its structure is perfect for a handheld experience, as none of the challenges it presents last more than a few minutes.

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.

This is the best extreme sports game ever made, which makes four times I've said that in one Tony Hawk review or another. I really mean it this time, though.

I haven't played a better game all year.

It succeeds based on the merits of its infinitely replayable, highly finessed fighting engine. While "noobs" might be content to knit the same canned combos over and over, veterans will relish the ability to improvise, discover, and master new moves, combos, and strategies, day after day after day.

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.

Part of what makes this game so fantastic is that it has the same joyful resonance as those mid-'90s NHL classics. The good times are back.

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.

When you compare Winning Eleven to "FIFA 07's" PS2 effort, it wins by a large margin -- particularly as it's the best-playing sports game on the system.

The reason I know Dragon Quest VIII is 90 hours long is because that was my time when I finished it. It's that good.

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.

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