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.

It is quite possibly the most ambitious, comprehensive and successful remake ever attempted for a game of this type. Far more than a mere graphical upgrade, MZM expands on its source material with refined control, gameplay ideas retrofitted from its sequels, new plot hooks for subsequent chapters of the saga, and some jaw-droppingly cool innovations which add new layers of complexity to the series.

While I'd still point to the touch-enabled iPad edition as the definitive version of the game (thus far), Plants vs. Zombies makes a very impressive transition to Xbox Live Arcade.

The PS2 version has the most ideal control scheme, offering the best palette of buttons and shoulder buttons to perform ballhandling tricks with. On the flipside, the PS2 version also suffers from the most irritating load times.

In HD, true synaesthesia has been achieved. Rez HD is one of the best games ever made, it costs around $10, and you don't even need to leave the house to get it. In over a decade of critiquing games I've never felt the need to say these words in a review until now: Just buy it.

If you like RPGs in general, though, you'll find one of the better, most challenging quests of your life -- one well worth picking up. But you may want to clear off any games in your backlog beforehand.

Fable 2 is filled with more great ideas than the last 10 years of "Final Fantasy" combined.

The multiplayer aspects aren't that engaging for me -- there's just not enough to do to balance out the frustration of not being able to defend myself in a fight. However, I love how deep the team has managed to make the single-player portion of the game (again).

L4D2 delivers multiple improvements over its predecessor, and I get to keep all my fingers and toes.

Simply put, every time the Director brings down a swath of Infected, who then pound me into hamburger, and every time my team and I manage to survive against incredible odds until the end, and we hoot and holler about besting the Director, I do the same thing: I jump into another lobby and wait for a match to start. I love this damn game.

L4D2 delivers multiple improvements over its predecessor, and I get to keep all my fingers and toes.

For a company whose fans frequently call them a "god" of the genre, Cave is quickly lording over the iPhone's shooter selection.

A linear, abbreviated experience that, while ambitious and gorgeous to behold, is not Bioware's finest hour.

It's the most enjoyable experience to be found in arcade racing this year, and it provides that feel through fantastic courses that allow for deep strategic moves, especially when your team works together.

By all counts, Mass Effect for the PC is essentially the "definitive" version of the game; it runs much smoother on decent machines and just generally plays better...even if it still suffers from some of the original's fundamental flaws (along with a few new ones).

It's tragic that not all of us have the time or temperament to play through Dark Souls, but one truth remains clear: if you're ready for it, it's ready for you.

If what you're looking for is a rip-snortin', metal-bending slamfest where dunkers prosper and long-ranger shooters make weak defenses pay, then this is your game. Nothing else is this specific, arcade basketball arena comes close.

GTA IV's final expansion sends itself off in style in some of the most ridiculous ways possible; I think that's why I like it so much.

Simultaneously a beautifully holistic encapsulation of the entire history of Zelda and a worthy new chapter to the series in its own right, Minish Cap is quite simply one of the most engrossing portable games ever made -- and it ranks pretty high among Zelda titles, too.

Cave Story feels like the most amazing console game from the year 1990; that it's only now coming to console 20 years later shouldn't be held against it.

Few games of this nature began their life so smoothly, as even the massive influx of players on launch date and beyond did little to disrupt the enjoyment of the game.

Nearly everything about the new MVP, from basic gameplay to the advanced Dynasty mode, oozes quality.

World in Conflict packs a dizzying learning curve. Even with a dozen or so games under my sexy cummerbund, I felt like my choices were far too random. Multiplayer is especially exacting, requiring impeccable teamwork and constant communication to keep matches from capsizing into total pandemonium.

People who haven't played the current-gen version should get the 360 version if: They are breathing.

I know this all sounds negative, but I also know FIFA could be much more than it already is -- and as a soccer fan, I want the series to take the same leap I saw Madden take. Still, FIFA's always a recommendable experience.

It's rare that I play a game that doesn't just let me play the way I like, but actually showers me with prizes for doing so, and I love it.

Unquestionably the best portable Castlevania to date; in fact, it's the best entry in the series since the much-vaunted "Symphony."

This is vastly different from the countless first- and third-person shooters and all the "me too" open-world games sitting on store shelves. All the things I've only read about in Dashiell Hammett novels, or seen in film classics like Double Indemnity, have all come to interactive life in L.A. Noire.