The biggest thing I felt was missing was the all-important fun factor.

For $29.99, Mortal Kombat Komplete Edition is great value for the high-calibre fighting game that Netherrealm Studios (and High Voltage Software) has put together. Highly rekommended!

The basics are covered early on; there are more than two dozen courses to play on and a continual stream of new challenges to tackle.

This is one tough game for newbies! Don't expect any sympathy from experienced MechWarriors, who take gleeful delight in annihilating those novices who come in their path.

NBA Live returns to the court with a solid outing this year

It’s easy to say that the graphics are great or that EA delivered another game with impeccable presentation style, but the pitching and batting engines really thrive here and the game is fun to play.

Codename Panzers does an effective job of stripping away the standard base building options and replacing them with a strategic core for battles that is thoroughly engaging.

It’s a short game, clocking in at 14 hours tops for most gamers the first time through, with at least a quarter of that time padded with “light seed” collection tasks that require you to re-explore levels after defeating bosses.

Although it doesn’t have the replay value of "The Sims," Ghost Master provides a ghoulishly great gamine experience while it lasts.

I wouldn’t consider scooping Island Thunder unless you are a Live subscriber, because as good as the game’s story and single-player missions can be, there’s simply not enough levels and gameplay here for going solo.

If you’re a fan of the wrestling genre, Def Jam Vendetta is just what the doctor ordered.

Find out what Fun is again.

Great control, fun, lots of stuff to do and solid tennis? Mario Power Tennis is a great game even for those that don't generally like tennis unless Anna Kournikova is playing.

Madden 25 has traveled a long road from its Sega Genesis beginnings to today's modern iteration. It's certainly not perfect, but once again gamers get a solid football title with all kinds of entertaining modes both offline and online.

While fans of the original might be disappointed by the amount of gameplay changes, it should appeal to mainstream gamers.

Tekken 6 might not be as rapid as something like the blink-and-you-die that Street Fighter has become, but it's fast enough to provide a challenge (especially for one without an arcade stick) and completely crush the causal button masher.

For players who missed out on the original Butcher Bay, now is the perfect opportunity to take part in the interstellar jailbreak and the following pirate raid making up its second half.

Some gamers may argue over whether Tiger Woods is better than "Hot Shots 3," but one thing is for certain: the gap in quality between the two games has certainly been narrowed to the point where they’re just about even.

Even with it’s somewhat weaker story (in comparison to the original), Syberia II still managed to send a chill up my spine as the story closed.

Those that hate obtuse puzzles will want to steer clear. The real attraction to GKIII is the information about Rennnes-le-Chateau and surrounding environs. It’s the next best thing to actually traveling to the south of France, and a lot cheaper.

A great, rollicking adventure with some integrated action and worth your time if you’re in the “Adventure Games are Dead and I Miss Them” camp.

There are some good ideas here, but they're overwhelmed by all of the visual effects that are being thrown at the player.

The cruel irony is that the game is going head-to-head with another iNiS developed title, Nintendo’s "Elite Beat Agents" – which not only has deeper game mechanics, but is plenty longer and a lot more fun too.

This makes practically every other strategy game on the market feels like child's play.

Metal Slug Anthology is already a tremendous deal for your money, and it's definitely worth checking out for anyone into chaotic old school mayhem. The Playstation 2 version is also the best one for your money, since it isn't hampered by the control or loading issues of the other ports.

While there’s only two or three hours, tops, of gameplay in Moai Better Blues, it turns out to be a less is more situation: it’s always fun, always funny, always teasing the brain for solutions to puzzles in a short, single-sitting burst.

You can play 18 holes with up to three more players or play in a huge tournament (up to 50 players) It's not a revolutionary online mode but it's a huge step forward from HSG3.

And it’s with good reason: Osmos is a great game (and is a great bargain, at only $10US) that will challenge the puzzle-solving skills of even the best gamers, as ambient gaming enters a new cosmos with Osmos.

Despite the flaws that it has, Eternal Sonata is still a visually stunning game with a charming story.

After playing the game for a few 3 hour sessions, the gameplay seemed quite repetitive, and there was little challenge either mentally, strategically, or in twitch reflex.

This is simply amazing writing with some of the best satirical political commentary without even mentioning specifics about either Democrats or Republicans along with longer and tougher gameplay.

MoK’s AI swings between moments of brilliance and shear stupidity like a pendulum. The difficulty and game length make this game one of the shortest adventure games in recent memory.

There is absolutely no reason why this product should be entertaining, much less insanely addictive - but, goodness is it ever.

And the Sims wouldn’t be the Sims without great music, given an appropriately magical theme in Makin’ Magic, and the now-famous Simlish language spoken amongst Sims populating your PC.

Either way, LEGO Lord of the Rings is worth a look.

Lots of fun, there’s really no reason not to get Wii Sports Resort because you get a lot of fun games to play and you get the Wii Motion Plus, which will no doubt come into use with a lot of future Wii games.

Swish it from way downtown or slam it home with a physics-defying, high-flying double or even triple dunk. Whatever way you score it, NBA Street Homecourt is the best streetball game around, bringing a whole new level of energy and exciting gameplay to the NBA Street franchise.

The game's soundtrack is honestly the best I've ever heard in any game that uses orchestrated music. The composition is sheer brilliance!

Score some points, hand over the ball and watch the opposition do the same: it gets quite monotonous and struggles to replicate the soaring, athletic ballet of its subject matter.

The fun and quality of the single player experience would be enough, but the co-op mode just screams "Activision loves you." With the long, deep career mode, the multiplayer contests, and the cool co-op mode, Wakeboarding Unleashed is a very good value.

Square-Enix has successfully implemented interconnectivity in a way that not only makes sense, but also works.

The way Tribunal is integrated into the main Morrowind game is smooth and fascinating.

Pure is an enjoyable racing game even when an attempt to squeeze in one more stunt results in a pin-wheeling ragdoll rider and dropping a couple of positions.

At the end of day, it's a new God of War game that hits most of the high notes we have experience before, with a few new mechanics.

For those who loved the originals, the $15 investment is well spent. For those who've never experienced the franchise before but love their fighting games, this nostalgic trip is well worth the money to see how one of the greats did it earlier.

Despite having to baby-sit your troops, and play with the same objective over and over, the game still had me coming back for more.

Training Pokémon and battling trainers (earning badges) and Pokémon alike is still bulletproof and as addicting as ever. The ever-increasing challenge over the course of so many hours, broken up by a bit of exploring and insipid story beats, is great.

What accounts for the less-than-perfect score is the extreme amount of tweaking it takes to get everything just the way you like it.

I'll readily admit that I think Brutal Legend's style outweighs the substance of the game, but dammit, why should apologize for liking it more than I probably should?

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

Trine is definitely worth spending some time with. It doesn’t bring anything new to the table, but what it does it does well.

Sleeping Dogs had been in development as the next installment of Activision's "True Crime" franchise but the publisher ceased funding and cancelled it. Square Enix turned up to salvage the project and Sleeping Dogs was the result. The fact it turned out as good as it did -- that it's executed so well, performs as well as it does, sets the bar for open world combat and driving -- made Sleeping Dogs, story stumbles aside, the most surprising game of 2012.

Armchair managers will undoubtedly love the marvelous simulation mode.

Relic Entertainment cleared the hurdle the original game set as far as I'm concerned. Tweaking, remoulding and teasing out the underlying systems of the original, and then layering things like cold weather, may not set the world on fire like the original Company of Heroes did but it's still a solid strategy game and with the right support and continued release of content I can see it living on for quite some time.

It's a fun game that is unlike anything else really on the Wii right now so go pick it up and give it a slash.

An above average bit of RPG goodness, with some added mechanics, and all of it's served up in a very eye-catching package.

Rivals isn't the most deep or balanced racing game around, but what it lacks in charm, it makes up for it by providing an intense and unforgettable experience.

Not intended for those with moderate experience with sidescrollers.

You need to work a little more to figure out the game, but once that little epiphany happens, you’re golden.

Just doesn't live up to its pedigree which, given the cheaper prices of the older games, are by far better values for those unacquainted with the series.

It may not be the best value for your bucks unless you have a regular opponent to play with, but fans of the theme need not hesitate.

However, despite the once-again difficult and confusing complexity of some of the puzzles and the dramedy-filled story, The Trial and Execution of Guybrush Threepwood successfully brings gamers to the threshold of the Tales of Monkey Island's final chapter.

Does all the basics well and with the extra features and historical aspects, it’s worth playtime for the hardcore baseball fan.

Around Every Corner is about 3 hours long and it definitely felt like the longest episode yet. And I can't wait until the next one. As terrible as things get, I can't wait to see how it all ends.

There’ some new golfers, courses and a few new features, but Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08 isn’t much different than its predecessor.

The lack of Arcade mode is disappointing, but Soul Calibur Destiny has plenty to offer for fans that want to take Soul Calibur with them on the go. I recommend any fan to pick this up.

It has an overwhelming amount of golf goodies including a stellar reproduction in video game form of some of the world's most famous courses. But Links 2004's green-jacket winning feature is the strong Live gameplay that makes this the champion of golf games on the Xbox.

Offering much more action-heavy gameplay and battling with weapons and magic than Skyrim, but lacking some of Skyrim's RPG complexity, Kingdoms of Amalur is still a long-lasting, adventurous game that will provide plenty of fantasy-infused dungeon-crawling fun.

It's not impossible to play if you aren't a perfect infantry tactician, while still placing a heavy emphasis on proper strategy on the battlefield.

Snoopy Flying Ace gives new meaning to a dogfight, that's certainly for sure. With a bargain price for a full-featured game, Snoopy Flying Ace is an ace's-high shooter with plenty of entertaining arcade-style plane combat, including challenging online play, for XBLA gamers.

RS is a great teaching tool, but your experience is going to depend on how committed you are to learning guitar. RS won't turn you into a shredding Jimmy Hendrix overnight, but if you commit to practicing each day you're going to see results. Even if you're an experienced guitar player, you're probably going to find something to like in RS.

The sword combat is simple to come to grips with, the addition of recruits, Robin’s base, and non-linear approach (after level 2) are good features that make it a deeper game than most comparable games even though the engine is showing its age, there’s no tutorial, and the difficultly level can be entirely frustrating.

The overall presentation immerses you totally. The detailed graphics, and the sound complement each other to create living breathing levels.

Though modes are limited and there's no two-player connectivity, the one player season experience defeats any console game to date.

It lacks the certain fun factor that elevates a game to "must own" status instead of sitting at "rent a few times." Some of this is owed to the basic design of the game.

The other knock against the single player campaign is that there's no option to save your progress. No option to save your progress. It bears repeating because this is 2013! What the hell?

One of the best survival/horror, emphasis on the “horror”, in recent memory. Trust me, you’ll be begging for Mommy halfway through the game.

The overall gameplay for the NBA Live uninitiated still clanks heavy off the backboard compared to its main competitor on the virtual hardwood.

Even more impressive than the game's graphics is Battlefield 2: modern Combat's amazing sound.

Geometry Wars Galaxies is good for long and short play sessions, but it’s the latter of these that make it perfect for times when you don’t really want an extended play session.

Chronicles of Mystara is definitely a compilation worth looking into for both fans and strangers of beat 'em ups. It's a very well done entry into the genre. Is it the best? No, of course not.

Looks great, tactics work, easy interface and camera, and the ability to easily customize your ‘Mech load-out all add up to a solid game.

A very fun wrestling game here loaded with style and bone crushing action. There are some annoying shortcomings to the game, but they certainly aren’t enough to irreparably hurt the game.

It lacks the sheer exhilaration of the SSX series, but scores high marks for a deep career mode and solid level design.

It's a fun little distraction for the price, and the game actually makes for a surprisingly satisfying "beat up some robots" experience with how it combines its control scheme on the mouse and keyboard. It's definitely a fun action game to look into.

Deep, fun at long stretches, accessible and you just might learn something about economics – Railroad Tycoon 3 is a recommended title.

Hardcore RPG fanatics might want to try this before a buy solely because the real-time battles may not be as appealing to them.

Those strategists who want to work on their battlefield commanding ability will enjoy this game more than people whose greatest thrill is decimating an enemy with an unstoppable force.

However, as a whole, it seems to be more a welcome mat for the upcoming Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops. Still, as long as you can put up with the awkward system, Metal Gear Acid 2 is a worth checking out.

Should satisfy those looking for otherworldly action in a fantasy "medieval" Japanese setting. The style isn’t for everyone, but the RPG elements and the nonstop combat make it worth playing.

A fantastic game. Save for the somewhat dated look of the game, there is just too much being offered by Empire Earth II for RTS gamers not to take notice.

Hitman: Aboslution is as close to being a gritty Roger Moore era James Bond reboot as you can get without infringing copyright. It has just the right amount of "whackadoodle" nonsense to qualify as a "Spy Who Loved Me" spin-off adventure.

It’s flat-out beautiful to watch but considering Kameo’s been in development for about four years by my estimation (and on three different platforms: GameCube, Xbox, and finally Xbox 360) I would have expected this, though it doesn’t excuse the slapdash story cuts.

NBA Jam is good for you. Find it, play it, love it.

Despite R-Type Final’s high level of difficulty’s ability to bring out the masochist in all of us, this title is a wonderful close to an amazing series.

A bloody good game...If its good single-player action doesn’t get you addicted, then the excellent multiplayer romp definitely will.

So, if you’re looking for “bang for your buck” this is it – near limitless vehicle creation, interesting levels, mini-games and multiplayer outside the main story, a light-hearted sensibility and mostly optional items to collect make this a good game and worthy of attention.

A very good real-time strategy game and the best that has featured the Star Wars franchise (regardless of what I said about Galactic Battlegrounds).