The new controls allow for precision aiming once you get some practice with the Wii Remote, to the point where you need to lock on only rarely. It lets you spend more time immersed in the worlds and the boss fights will really get you pumped up.

Beat-em-up fans would do well to try Double Dragon Advance, a well-made and greatly enhanced port of the arcade classic.

Once you get an hour into God of War: Chains of Olympus, it's sometimes easy to forget that you're playing it on a portable system - it feels so similar in so many ways to the home console originals that you might be fooled for a little while at a time. From that perspective, well, I'm not sure there's a better endorsement for a handheld game.

While there are very few PS3-only games that have come out this year, Uncharted can go right to the top of that small pile.

Ninja Theory and Sony have done an admirable job making a game in the style of God of War without turning it into a shameless clone, but the guys at WETA really brought Heavenly Sword to life.

With the new melee action gameplay and a brute-force approach with dozens of arenas, characters, mutators, and options, there should be enough here for any online gunslingers to just go crazy with.

Overall, Phantom Hourglass is a pretty good game. While the controls do prove to be an issue, it succeeds in other areas, and does so with flair.

Def Jam Fight for NY: The Takeover is a solid fighting game with a silly amount of moves, characters, and unlockables.

Overall, Open Warfare 2 is a far superior product to the original Open Warfare game on the DS.

The free world seems great but quickly gets annoying, but it's not long after that players will start to get why EA and Criterion did it this way.

Painkiller delivers satisfying gameplay, excellent visuals, and a visceral feel that veteran FPS players will feel right at home with.

It's a great experience jumping off of an exploding Titan and surviving, knowing it was your DemoPaks that blew up the reactor core.

From the perspective of a Metallica fan that already owns a full set of World Tour or Rock Band instruments and wants to play together with friends, the purchase of GH: Metallica is a no-brainer.

Despite my complaints about the sound and music, and my half-hearted desire for a less linear style of play, Metroid Fusion is a great game that should be checked out by anyone who owns a GBA.

Really, there's no way you can go wrong with this purchase, especially considering it is only 39.99 for a complete package. And at 2.50 a stage, the downloadable content really isn't all that badly priced, either.

Secret Files: Tunguska is a strong PC adventure game that's made a very successful transition to the Wii.

Far Cry's excellent graphics, decent multiplayer, and good single player combat make up the meat of this game.

The story's specific games and challenges are not always innovative, and some can get darn right repetitive and frustrating, especially if you can't quite beat the clock. But the ability to craft mind-blowing vehicles provides an endlessly addictive experience that'll keep this title in your 360 longer than it probably has a right to be there.

Overall, Days of Ruin is a fitting sequel to the popular Advance Wars franchise.

Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance 2 builds on its predecessor with new characters, challenging gameplay, plenty of new items, and the workshop system.

Condemned is a very solid game with great horror elements, great sounds and voice work, and plenty of in-your-face action.

In the end, Valkyrie Profile Lenneth is quite the unique RPG and well worth playing for anyone that calls themselves a fan of Japanese RPGs.

But Guitar Hero 5 is the best game in the franchise yet, and the only thing that'll keep me from playing it six months from now is that I've got so many tracks already bought in Rock Band 2. GH5 is not too little, but it may wind up being too late.

The relatively short playtime and lack of new music or any major Hollywood voice talent are all a letdown, but the gameplay is great and the imagination that went into the Madgod's world really makes this expansion pack shine.

Even though there are a few infuriating missions and some out-of-place voice acting, it feels fairly genuine and is a high quality, unique addition to your shooter collection.

Dark Crusade, in the end, makes a worthy addition to the Dawn of War franchise.

If you really need to play a demo first then by all means wait it out, but if you're still on the fence, I think most gamers will find Demigod to be a blast - especially when more multiplayer issues are ironed out over the next week or two.

Sure, the visuals are absolutely brilliant, but the surprisingly good single player game and huge number of of multiplayer options make this so much better than what many were expecting out of a 360 launch game.

Whether you've been slaying fiends for years or are just learning the power of Ninpo, it doesn't matter; Ninja Gaiden 2 is a game all action fans should spin in their 360s

This is still an excellent title, but to me it just doesn't hold up on the Wii quite like I expected it to.

This is absolutely the best Street Fighter seen in years, but just be ready for a beatdown and you'll be fine.

In the end, Mario Party 8 is a fun game that I'd recommend to most Wii owners. Given that, this review was written from the perspective of having multiple people playing the game. With that out of the way, I'll just say one last time – Pick this one up, you and your friends will have a great time with it.

With hundreds of great new items, some simple but effective new features, and a dozen hours or more of gameplay (which multiplies with the new difficulty levels), any fan of the game will likely find this to be a worthy addition.

Fight Night 2004 makes huge strides compared to EA's previous Knockout Kings games. While there is plenty of room for improvement, EA has done an excellent job making those who want a sim-style boxing title happy.

A silky smooth 60 frames-per-second performance benchmark.

In the end, the biggest draw for Saints Row 2 is the smooth online cooperative play that lets people experience the full story, cutscenes, free-roaming the whole city and all, while playing together.

Pick up Wii Fit expecting a party and you'll be disappointed, but buy it as you would any other piece of fitness equipment and you'll likely enjoy Nintendo’s innovative approach to getting in shape.

Get over the hardcore challenge, though, and you’ll discover one of the most satisfying racers on the market for car nuts and noobs alike.

Battlefield: Bad Company doesn't do everything, but what it does, it does right.

River City Ransom EX is a hilarious, complex beat-em-up with a ton of options and plenty of options for fun combat.

While I found that a lot of things that made Half-Life 2 notable – going it alone in many places, using vehicles, interacting with a host of characters – are missing in Episode One, I still really enjoyed the experience, and appreciated how Valve this time made it feel almost like a survival horror game.

Halo PC is a fairly functional port of an excellent game. The lack of co-op and the sluggish frame rate are the big disappointments, but the solo campaign is a must-play for any respectable FPS fan.

Dirt 2 is an exceptionally well made, accessible racing game. While some hardcore racing fans may not like some of the arcade-style aspects of it, most gamers will be won over by the brilliant graphics and addictive gameplay.

While Sins of a Solar Empire probably isn't a big deal to those who have already played the hell out of a large-scale, turn-based space strategy game, those of us who never got too far into those games will find the RTS action of Sins to offer something with a little more action and excitement.

Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime is a game that will make DS owners smile.

If you've enjoyed zombie games of the past and want to see a different take on what cooperative zombie horror games should be like, then I think you will enjoy Killing Floor too.

If you're a fan of fast-paced action complemented by gluttonous gore, do yourself a favor and allow Dark Sector to infect you.

With a great new campaign and smooth multiplayer modes, Company of Heroes is an easy choice for RTS fans to make.

If you're even remotely interested in games where people shoot things, punch things, walk, run, or drive around - is that just about everything yet? - then you owe it to yourself to check out Prototype.

Either way, if you enjoyed most GTA games but felt like Liberty City Stories was just missing a few too many features, then you'll really get into GTA Vice City Stories.

The end result is simply that Warhammer Online is a big deal for those who want to kill other players, but may be ho-hum for those who want the most compelling, charming, content-filled fantasy world out there.

On one hand, you have a game missing the most vital element of any sports game – the career mode. On the other hand, Rockstar has put together a game with great graphics and sound, excellent ball physics and incredible multiplayer options.

Peggle is probably the biggest surprise game of the year for me so far. Normally, I avoid PopCap stuff because it is so simple and makes me want more 15 minutes in. Peggle, however is different – while it is simple and seems to not offer much on the surface, there’s a whole other game buried deep within for the hardcore gamer.

While the gameplay is somewhat linear, the gadgets are fun to mess with and there are plenty of different moves to do to finish the missions.

For its budget price, it won't work if you're looking for great graphics or a lot of all-out action, but once you get into the game's wacky style of play I think you'll find it's wonderful and very satisfying.

Either way, Far Cry 2 should be pretty close to the top of any console FPS fan's list this holiday season.

Overall, I feel Rock Band is a great game that will please many a music fan. The available songs and the vast amount of promised downloadable songs in the future will ensure that you play this for a long time to come.

When you’ve gotten your fill of saving our world and all those fictional ones in this season’s blockbusters, find some time to wield the powers of ancient gods in this tiny title that packs big, addictive fun.

As far as console launch games go, I've seen better (Soul Calibur, Lumines, Halo, and a few Mario titles come to mind), but Resistance: Fall of Man is certainly up there with some of the best.

While just about every RPG out there has lots of dialog, The Witcher is unique in that the dialog becomes one of the more compelling reasons to play. Yes, the combat is good, and your character does gain new tactical options and cool abilities as he improves, although the lack of new gear will turn off those for fans of games like Diablo.

Ubisoft has delivered a great sleeper title with Beyond Good & Evil despite a couple of control and technical issues.

Star Wars: Battlefront may sound like a bad idea, but Pandemic and LucasArts have delivered a polished experience with some seriously fun action, the opportunity for real strategy during the battles, and a new take on the Star Wars gaming experience overall.

Modern Warfare 2 deserves to be one of the biggest games this year, but it's still up in the air whether the PC community will let go of their grudges and enjoy this version for the great game it is anyway.

With a reasonable $40 price tag and some solid visuals to go along, this one crosses genres nicely to appeal to both RTS fans and city management-types alike.

Wolfpack's idea of a MMORPG is unique and wonderful, and in some areas they delivered perfectly; in others, the delivery was a big letdown.

In the end, though, Nightfall is the best chapter so far in the Guild Wars package and I’d highly recommend it to anyone who skipped out on Factions or quit shortly after its release.

This is absolutely the best Street Fighter seen in years, but just be ready for a beatdown and you'll be fine.

Panzer Dragoon Orta is a fine action game in a classic style with some new bits of gameplay thrown in. If you are a fan of arcade-style shooters, stop reading now and go buy this game.

I still can highly recommend this game to any RPG fan, though – after getting used to it, the combat system will be fun (though frustrating at times) and the game will provide an overall rewarding experience.

Tron 2.0 is a great example of a well executed movie-based game that exploits our nostalgia in all the right ways.

While the overall package lacks originality, it's still a solid experience and almost surely will be fun if you enjoyed Call of Duty.

It can't be stressed enough how much fans of this franchise will adore this game.

The action is not always constant or perfect, but a big battle here is a unique experience that you just can't get in another FPS.

The game does a great job of showing off what the system is about and showcasing the system’s abilities.

While some of the new control methods weren’t implemented as well as they possibly could have been, they don’t detract too much from the overall experience.

A great return to the formula that helped the series to gain the popularity it has to this date. While the adventure isn’t long, it is definitely fun to play through a couple more times.

The high difficulty is a bit of a problem, the interface is a bit too console-like, and the multiplayer internet games could be set up a bit better, but it's still a fine game.

If you enjoy wicked style and simple, yet satisfying combat, mature content that’s more than a script full of unnecessary F-bombs, and more gore than you’ll see in all five Saw films combined, then Afro deserves a spot in your game library.

Unleashed offers the best Star Wars yarn that involves the original characters since the first trilogy.

The PC version of THPS4 is a by-the-book port with one major upgrade: the online mode.

The Elder Scrolls 3: Bloodmoon is a fine expansion for an already excellent game; it strives to push the Morrowind gameplay system to its limits, adds new good/evil options to quests, and supplies a fully-detailed new island to run around on.

Unique objectives keep things fresh.

The great boxing action, high level of tactics in developing your offense and defense, and excellent selection of real-world boxers all come through, and the new first-person camera almost makes up for the toned-down graphics (when compared to the 360 version).

In the end, though, 2K made the right move to give casual fans a baseball game they can easily pick up and play with their friends.

If you’re into old school games—and if you’re not, you’re probably not even reading this review—you will find yourself getting into the level design here, slowly making your way through each stage, besting all the little challenges you encounter until that proud moment you can make it all the way through to a boss encounter in one life, if you’ve been hit at all.

From the sheer number of maps to the entertaining gameplay modes and overall presentation, Unreal Tournament 3 is a winner.

Old school fans and new tomb raiders alike should find lots to love in Lara's latest (and best in years) adventure.

City of Heroes is a great MMORPG with solid, fun gameplay and a style all its own. It doesn't seem like high level players have much to look forward to, but time will tell if new and exciting stuff will open up for them.

While its many tweaks send the series in new directions, they're still drenched in the franchise's unmistakable style, and rarely pull you from the fun.

While Lara's adventure this time around is pretty short, the exploration elements, great visuals that the Xbox 360 can produce, and even the surprisingly interesting story all come together to make a pretty solid game anyway.

The mixture of both story-based and open-ended gameplay comes off with a decent effect, and while the interface could have used work in some areas, it is great in others. Throw all this in together with a fun multiplayer mode, and we have a very good - but not exactly classic - game.

Even if you aren’t a fan of Cartoon Network in particular, you should still get the same sense of enjoyment out of this game as any cartoon fanatic would.

While the racing is certainly fun and online play works great, I still have to question whether this is truly what we'd consider a next-generation game.

As I said at the beginning of this review, all of this is great as long as you actually enjoy the game's mix of arcade and sim racing. If that's not your kind of game, then Project Gotham Racing 4's many gameplay modes and unique features might just pull you in long enough to hook you.

The missions are a neat addition to the series but the game truly shines when you get into the single games - with the wide array of scenarios that you can choose from and small settings you can tweak, you'll be playing different games for a long time to come.

While Stranglehold doesn't revolutionize action games, or even any one part of action games, it's a solid game with an authentic cinematic style, great use of Chow Yun-Fat, excellent action, and destructible environments.

As is, it'll likely be adored by those who go out of their way to embrace it, but ignored by anyone intimidated by old school difficulty.

Jedi Academy is an evolution of Jedi Knight gameplay with more customizability, cool new sabers, and plenty of fun to be had.