In the end, Fable is a really good game. It doesn't live up to the promise of "Project Ego," but, really, who cares?

The PSP is finally getting some solid original content and this one is among its finest. I highly recommend you give this one a spin.

A different sort of game, one where story dominates the action, but in this case to a fault.

Batman: Arkham City is one of the best games ever created, no matter the platform. It’s engaging from beginning to end, the production values are first rate, and on Wii U there’s an extra level of depth to the experience. You can't go wrong with an outright purchase.

It's so good that on a gorgeous, sunny 80-degree afternoon I found myself hitting the virtual links instead of the real thing – and I love real golf.

While it's inexcusable that there's still no Xbox Live support, and the GTA story mode isn't the revolutionary addition it could have been, THUG's overall great features and customary amazing skating action assure that this is again not only a great skateboarding game, but a great game period.

Even though Indigo Prophecy is grim, it’s also engrossing.

Chariots of the Dogs is impressive in its story’s complexity while still retaining a good amount of the trademark Sam & Max humor (although because of the intricacy of tying so many plots neatly together, Chariots of the Dogs isn’t quite as rib-tickling funny as most previous episodes).

For the diving board and fire hose audience, Marvel vs. Capcom 3 drains down to two modes: Arcade and "Story." Plenty of fun there with a live human opponent!

The only really damning thing I have to say has little to do with Norrath and more to do with the license. The world of Everquest is so boring and so derivative that I never got the feeling I was in some amazing fantasy world while playing.

The game is fun, action-packed and polished to a fine sheen. Additionally, the cool multi-player element and the sheer number of missions give the game plenty of replay value.

Super Paper Mario does a nice job of bringing the Paper Mario series to the Wii.

Professor Layton and the Curious Village looks a lot like old time adventure games – like The Adventures of Willy Beamish – with great hand drawn backgrounds and the occasional stretch of animation, complete with sound.

From Episode 1 to Episode 3, only three characters I started with are still part of Lee's struggling cadre of survivors. New characters are added to fill the character void but how those voids were created... It's not a "fun" experience in the usual sense, but it certainly is gripping to the point where there's only one thing left to say. Mama?

May not be as groundbreaking as the original Super Mario 64 but as a launch title and a full-featured game you absolutely get your money’s worth.

Though Dead Rising pulls its inspiration from the George Romero classic Dawn of the Dead, the expected hokiness of the plot and dialogue is surprisingly absent (same for any obvious social commentary).

While in many ways this is a good thing, the weaker storyline detracts from its overall enjoyability.

Metroid has been taken into first-person shooter territory and has done so with a rock-solid multiplayer experience.

As an apology for Mario Kart Wii, Mario Kart 7 gets high marks indeed, and it definitely has the depth and longevity to remain in constant rotation on my 3DS.

The plot is full of fantasy cliches, so you can expect your fair share of dragons and lost princesses and Black Knights.

The clashing of weapons, the whooshing and swooshing of spells, the grunts and roars of monsters, wind passing through a valley, the sound of crashing waves on the shore, they all bring the game to life.

Maybe Bloodmoon could have been down as a free, or low cost, download, but the added value of the werewolf alone make the twenty dollar cost seem like a bargain.

Competition has brought out the best in the Madden franchise with Madden NFL 08, an all-around excellent football game that more than atones for its somewhat uneven Xbox 360 showing in Madden NFL 07.

In the end, Rogue Legacy is great. It's gobbled up a large amount of my time with untold more hours likely to be consumed in the days and weeks to come.

Simply put, this is one of the best titles of the year, and marks not only a proper return of the Castlevania series for consoles, but a starting point that future games would do well to follow.

Pokémon Diamond or Pearl will satisfy any fan of the previous games: it’s accessible, it’s fun, it features online play and trading, and the battles are more involved than ever, and you’ll get hours of enjoyment out of it – as long as you play against people your own age.

If you love shoot'em ups, or even just love great games, go out and buy Ikaruga now.

Strangely, the game that I've played lately that Thief: Deadly Shadows reminds me of most is the cell-phone version of "Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow."

The steep level curve remains the biggest hurdle for Borderlands players, as being even three levels below an enemy will result in mismatched battles that usually won’t end in your favor. For players still under 30 and have yet to complete the main mission, it would be best to hold off on the DLC.

Despite a learning curve, gameplay is very smooth, with a first-class presentation, from the fighter introductions, to the actual UFC announcers and referees, to the good audio features of the crowd and impact of punches and kicks onto each fighter.

Maxis still did a great job of mapping all the PC commands to the GameCube controller.

You're not going to find a better beat 'em up, action game leading up to Christmas than The Warriors. The language is a little salty, but it has so much going for it – especially the fact it doesn't descend into repetitiveness and has an interesting story to tell – that it would be shame if you missed it.

Sandbox destruction at its finest, Red Faction: Guerrilla will surely satisfy action gamers because many of the constrictions we’ve all become used to – that waist-high wall that stops you dead – are blown up.

Final Fantasy IV is not just a re-release of something that has been done a thousand times before, it is worthy of being called a remake as they added a lot of new stuff to the game as well as did a serious touch-up of many of the games aspects.

A spectacular game.

Picking up both and playing straight through all the campaigns is what I would prescribe for RTS gamers unimpressed by the current offerings from other studios.

From the pure amount of massive content available, I'm sure that most gamers will not run out of things to do with Underground 2.

inFamous is a type of game that doesn’t come around often enough and is easily one of this year’s strongest titles.

It was enjoyable being given this much freedom to change the rules in an FPS, but the repetitive action quickly pulls the game from a fun activity into a chore.

A few points keep it from achieving perfection, but you won’t be disappointed in the end.

If you enjoy sports-gaming league micromanagement like only EA can provide, along with amazingly solid soccer offline or online via Xbox Live, you'll get your kicks with FIFA 07.

Big kudos and thumbs-up to Camelot for an excellent save system. Even if you're in the middle of a match you can pick-up later and start playing from there (in any mode).

World at War proves to be another solid addition to the Call of Duty franchise.

This game is magic. Occasionally offensive and funny magic, but magic nonetheless.

This game got released too early. Had it been released around the holidays, and with the collection of bugs and broken quests eliminated, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it as a great gift for gamers. As it is, I can only say that it's beautiful but tragically flawed.

What we have here is a game that follows the norm in basic premise as to what we’ve come to expect from console strategy RPGs, but twists it just enough to play a little different and still be very fun.

It is once the main game is over that the real fun of The Movies begins.

Although Command & Conquer: Generals has many points that has made the franchise so popular over the years, it has been “vanillafied” – it’s been molded to play and appear like every other real-time strategy (RTS) game out there.

The adventure is decently long (15-20 hours) and has a unique feel and tone when set beside the earlier official offerings and the mod community stuff.

Refines the original – layers some extra flash but at its core, remains very much the same as the original.

It’s one of the most unique strategy/sim titles to appear on a console in recent memory, and fans of those genres should definitely consider giving it a look, however old they are.

The addition of an onscreen map also makes exploration helpful, and you have to wonder why they didn't implement this mode in the main game.

The shooter fundamentals are all there. The visuals are great but the progression just doesn't seem to deliver any payoff for players outside of the hardcore. It's not quite as much of a shameless cash grab as something out of Zynga, but it definitely sours the experience.

You cannot go wrong by picking up a copy of this game.

High Heat, like Michelle [from "American Pie 2"], isn't the most glamorous choice, but once you get over the visual technicality what remains is a sports gaming masterpiece.

Comparing the game to "Jak & Daxter," the control is noticeably less intuitive.

An original and innovative game, but, more importantly, it is great fun. I’m not sure there is any game this year that I’ve had more fun with.

Puzzle fans should be all over this – besides the classic Tetris there are enough variations to keep the challenge consistent.

The designers have created exceptionally rewarding three dimensional puzzles.

All the other components are in place and Battlefield 3 is a good game, but the x-factor of the players is holding it back right now.

As far as the gameplay is concerned, this may be one of the deepest fighting games I've ever played.

Shogun’s strong AI, emphasis on tactics, and stunning visuals make it a very, very good RTS game.

It’s not high on story or heavy stealth elements, but Return to Castle Wolfenstein: Tides of War delivers in liberal and visceral amounts of action. And you get what you pay for.

This game has it all: a solid story, good graphics, sound, level designs, and the ability to choose different paths to complete your mission.

The core gameplay is still here, just as good as ever, and it still has that absurdly addicting quality that makes it impossible to leave it alone. The end result is unquestionably one of the best games you'll find on the Xbox.

It has its shortcomings, like the enemy "swarming" and a camera that sometimes gets blocked by buildings, but there's too much to like about Ultimate Destruction – the feeling of being the Hulk, a great comic book storyline, lots of stuff to do, a deep combo system – to dwell too much on the downsides.

Though I’m sure Activision would never go for it, I propose that Guitar Hero undergo a name change. Rather than “Guitar Hero: Metallica” it should be labelled “Guitar Hero for Metallica Fans!” because that’s a more apt description of what you get with each of these showcase titles.

Simply put, Guacamelee! is a fun game with a great colour palette, excellent combat and plenty of laughs.

Suda 51 has been praised for his madcap style, but criticized for his gameplay mechanics. It's unfortunate that No More Heroes 2 does little to fix his flaw as a game developer, but it also showcases his eye for insane detail and offbeat humor.

It's almost a guarantee your ride will wind up being a reflection of your personality.

Most Wanted is definitely aimed towards those players who normally don't play racing games. The game doesn't feature the exhaustive customization options of game's like Gran Turismo; instead Criterion successfully delivers a beautiful looking and fantastic adrenaline packed racing experience.

For hard-core auto racing gamers, especially those that love Formula 1, Codemasters once again has a fuel-charged and totally immersive, realistic racing simulation in F1 2012 that has everything a F1 fanatic could want.

For hard-core auto racing gamers, especially those that are fans of Formula 1, Codemasters revs up an immersive, realistic racing simulation in F1 2011 with all the official drivers and tracks of the F1 circuit and a nice selection of gaming modes, including a engrossingly robust career mode.

The presentation and some spoken dialogue really do a lot to hold everything else together. Any puzzle/adventure games can be distilled into a collection of puzzles but the lines holding The Diabolical Box together make for a great challenge and an entertaining experience.

DP is addictive. Sitting down to play through a few turns can easily suck hours from your life as a "few turns" becomes 50 turns.

It took nearly a decade, as well as the death-knell of the company that spawned it, but at last Mortal Kombat can competently stand toe-to-toe with the other fighting greats due to its gameplay, rather than its gore.

Black Arrow features enough improvements to keep you playing for a long time, albeit mostly online.

It is marvelous fun to use God-like power to morph the terrain, release tornadoes on the town, or simply try to make your city the best it can be.

Clearly aimed at locomotive enthusiasts and hardcore simmers. If you fall into those two categories, you’ll not be disappointed.

My overall experience with Mario Advance was a good one even though it lacks originality. It’s a blast from the past – the control even feels the same – and it brought back some fond gaming memories.

Everything is extremely bright and colorful, and no matter what’s going on there are never instances of slowdown – except when there is supposed to be slowdown.

So, unless you're gifted, I'd probably give DJ Hero a pass. If there were more guitar modes to create a "party" vibe I'd probably have something different to say.

The perfect kind of portable title -- while it's based off a console game, the unique visual style alone makes it worthwhile to own both.

It's just about everything a fan could want even if it's more popcorn than a "serious" RPG.

The most important aspect of playing this game is the technique – just driving in the correct lines is dreadfully difficult not to mention maintaining a straight line is dicey at best.

Looking good doesn’t hurt the game, but it’s RA’s accessibility that makes it a game that every fan of platform gaming should have. There’s a sense of fun about RA.

It has high caliber production values, mission variety, easy control, and plenty of Bond moments that offset the linear levels and less-than-stellar camera.

All in all, Saints Row: The Third is a ridiculously fun game, giving you a good 30 hours of main story activity for a run through.

Tron 2.0 reinvigorates the material and delivers an excellent gaming experience. The story is okay, definitely not classic material, but the ending of the game is so anticlimactic that I had to downgrade the score from 9.0 down to a still very respectable 8.9.

It’s not often that well made games based on movies come along; this is one of them.

In the end, despite the lengthy learning curve and a few aesthetic hiccups, Skate 2 is just about the finest and most feature-filled skating game you'll find that fans will eagerly eat up, as well as a slew of patient newcomers looking to stick it to the man with their gnarly and righteous skater skills.

I suggest a purchase for anyone who has a PSP and likes Action RPGs. You do not even have to be a hardcore X-Men fan to enjoy this one.

Darksiders II is an extremely deep and well balanced game. While Darksiders II may not appeal to everyone, its certainly going to please those looking for a deep and enjoyable action adventure title.

Gearbox has churned out another hit with Borderlands, an original IP with original style, flare, graphics, and gameplay in a land of sequels, spin-offs and clones.

A great looking and sounding game that has a few flaws in execution but is a pretty fun way to waste a few hours.

Joins a crowded arena of decent real time strategy games. It doesn't stick out much from the crowd, except for its license.

Everyone gets a chance to play and interact and have fun. Really, that’s what Nintendo excels at, getting everyone involved and allowing childish enthusiasm to file down the sharp corners of the vexation of adulthood and life experience. New Super Mario Bros. U does that very thing.

It may not be a WoW-killer, but it certainly gives the Blizzard juggernaut serious competition.