If you are a big fan of "The Sims" and are looking for a little vacation from that game, crack out the margarita mix and sun block before heading on over to the exceptionally good Tropico. May your reign be long and your Swiss bank account large!

With it’s own unique cast of characters, it has managed to provide a fun experience without innovating the FPS genre or even its own franchise.

If the GameCube is your only access to gaming bliss and you’re a hockey fan, then there really isn’t a better hockey game for you than NHL 2004. Just be prepared to groan when you have your friend trash talk you when they score a back handed one timer from the point.

While the package is certainly one of the best-looking fighting games ever, the overall gameplay is hit and miss (though it hits more often than it misses) but with human opponents it can be good fun.

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. The visceral appeal of driving really fast and performing all manner of impossible gyrations is strong enough to make Pure a gotta play title.

Crysis 2 is an excellent first person shooter and delivers a different experience than what other titles in the genre are currently offering. "Have it your way" is really the name of the game and whether you love frantic shooters or stealth based games, Crysis 2 has a little of everything.

Even with all the positives running for the game, I still felt a little bit underwhelmed by SCIV, it’s definitely still a solid entry to the series and finally being able to play online is worth the buy. If you are new to the series, I do not think you’ll be disappointed.

The music is one of those touches that really remind you that this is a Disney property. All of the musical scores for the worlds are either originals or very strikingly similar ones.

Bandai Namco did a great job with Soul Calibur IV creating an excellent fighting game for both casual players and technical masters.

Despite lacking some of the customizable features, sheer amount of cars and complexity of GT3: A-Spec, PGR is a well-balanced racer.

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.