Skyrim is definitely one of the best games of 2011, but if the DLC holds out, it might just be one of the best games of 2012 as well.

The sound effects are even more disturbing than previous games with crunching bone sounds that will leave most people cringing the first few times.

Batman: Arkham City is still one of those games that will have a strong presence on list for Game of the Year and it deserves that kind of attention but it didn't quite grab me the same way Arkham Asylum did.

The only unequivocal improvement that can be found comes through the game's morality system. What makes up for the shortcomings in the individual aspects of the gameplay is the rich plot and the interactions between your alter ego and the members of your new crew.

Yes, the actual game has never looked or played better and the game stands tall more than dozen years after its release.

The whole game manages a great balance between action and more traditional role-playing elements. It's very good. I like the action parts and the stats/upgrading parts weren't deep enough to lose me.

Despite the fact that Vice City is ported from the PS2, the new features make the PC version a must buy, even for those who own the PS2 version.

Another negative aspect that many seem to overlook is that Gears of War doesn't sway very far from traditional action/shooter standards; there's not a whole of innovation here.

I already can‘t wait to see what the series has in store next.

Equal parts fun and gripping game play (and possibly geopolitical commentary, depending on how you look at it), Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare stands as stunning example of a scripted first-person shooter done right that equals or exceeds the other big first-person shooters on the market today like BioShock, Halo 3, and Half-Life 2.

It’s a cool setting filled with all sorts of small touches that show due care and attention paid to the fiction Irritional created and the closing 20-minutes are powerful, even if the player does little except get an extended “explanation” but I'd dispute the notion that this is somehow the pinnacle of video games because there's enough that's simply average, like the actual layout of the levels (aside from sky-lines), that those making this claim are simply seeing something that isn't present in this dimension.

Navigating the environments with a controller isn't as intuitive as a mouse and keyboard setup, but with a bit of patience and some experimentation… well, Bungie has seen to it that Halo 3 will probably be the most played Xbox 360 game for at least the next year.

Prepare to be challenged like you've never been challenged before to complete an action-adventure game. If you make it through Ninja Gaiden Black, be proud, because it definitely is one of the hardest games to complete that you'll ever play.

Adding to the story is some of the best voice acting to ever come to a videogame. The entire cast did an absolutely top-notch performance.

A complete package.

If you can put up with the loading screens galore and a bad soundtrack, Burnout 3: Takedown is an arcade racer that should please hardcore and casual race fans.

If you imagine a game where you have the starring role in a "realistic" Roger Moore/Timothy Dalton-era James Bond flick, with more emphasis on shooting things that move and less on scoring with sultry women, then you have a pretty solid idea of what Modern Warfare 2 is all about.

For some reason I felt it was important to play this "final" chapter of the Metal Gear Solid series - mainly to see what all the fuss was about - and I have to admit that I did have fun with the game even without a background rooted in MGS lore.

A highly polished gore-fest that is easily the best game that I have played on the Playstation 2 this last year.

The one factor of the game that can be deemed perfect, revolutionizing, unique, fun, addictive, and challenging, has to be the gameplay system. Bioware has created a different type of RPG, for the non-RPG types.

Civilization IV has a ridiculous amount of strategic elements packed into it.

Though DOA3 may have it beat graphically, no game can touch VF4’s fighting engine. This is the deepest, most dynamic fighter ever created.

The type of game that appeals to the very basic of collective human subconscious. It isn't just a game, it fulfills a very basic need – the need to destroy – in the same way that we need food and water.

Otherwise, it’s the absolute pinnacle of the Smash Bros. series and a fun game to boot.

An evolutionary leap not just in RTS, but for video games in general.

The most impressive feature this time around isn't Pandora Tomorrow's lighting and shading effects or it's near perfect gameplay. It's the playability over Xbox Live

The Hawk series soars to its highest echelon in its Xbox incarnation by besting the other earlier releases on the PS2 and GameCube, especially in the graphics department and giving meaning to the old saying "saving the best for last."

The action is fast, and furious, it looks damn good, and the adventure is a whole lot of fun thanks to how it embraces Greek mythology. Top notch.