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

With impressive visuals, fantastic online and social functionality, and heart-pounding chases and races at excessive speeds, this is 2010's arcade racer to beat.

DOOM 3 smashes through all the hype and delivers a grand slam of action, story, atmosphere, and pure terror.

For those who love Halo and mostly play online, all I can say is that you should pick up Halo 4 as soon as possible, because it's got everything that makes this series' online play so entertaining. For the rest, I wouldn't worry about rushing out to pick it up on release day, but do check it out when it's convenient.

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

Jeanne D'Arc is one of the best games to be released on Sony's portable system to date.

Even with its problems, Bad Company 2 on the PC is the real deal, and it's definitely worth the money for anyone that has been a fan of Battlefield games in the past.

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.

Missteps or not, Heavy Rain’s legitimacy to the medium is a commentary against the often too-myopic approaches to game design—a quality that should be both recognized and lauded.

Thankfully, a year ago the Secret of Monkey Island Special Edition reassured us that our fortune-hunting flashbacks were in good hands and now Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge Special Edition sends any fears we might have had left straight to Davey Jones' locker.

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.

DiRT 3 is not a perfect game and a couple of patches will likely fix my biggest issues with the PC port, but none of the problems will really matter too much for rally fans that have been disappointed in the last few years' worth of rally game releases.

Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror is the game that the PSP has been waiting for - one actually made for a portable that is also fun in long stretches. This game will definitely help to sell systems.

For ten bucks, it offers an excuse to revisit one of the year's absolute best games and kill zombies.

Max Payne 3 contains a lot of wonderful, pretty moments and there is often a good chunk of substance there, but a few relatively small mistakes and technical issues have dragged it down a bit

NSMBW gets a lot right, nailing the classic vibe while also evolving the series in some interesting ways, but a few flaws keep it from achieving the the sort of classic status enjoyed by Super Mario World and Super Mario Galaxy.

It has an addictive quality to it that I’ve yet to really find on the DS and it manages to show off just what the system was built for.

If you've had issues in the past with the balance in Battlefield 3's larger, more open maps, I don't expect that anything added in Armored Kill will solve anything for you. But if you were happy with it and still play BF3 to this day, then just suck it up and get Premium, because DICE is delivering some great action with these addons, and the new unlocks, vehicles, and weapons included in each of their DLC packs means these are a lot more than just map packs, like you might be getting used to with military-themed FPS games now. Armored Kill doesn't try to vastly expand the scope of Battlefield 3, but it does add more of the exact kind of action that other shooters out there are incapable of giving us.

If you're craving the kind of expertly crafted platforming only Nintendo seems to able to produce, as well as one of the year's best Wii offerings, you'll find DKCR as appealing as a ripe banana.

Rockstar has really pulled out all the stops here to make Bully an entertaining game that truly showcases the power of the PS2.

Black Ops does well, mostly due to the sheer amount of exciting and fun multiplayer content, but I've got some serious concerns over where Call of Duty is headed.

Like previous offerings in the revered franchise, it brings plenty of new bells and whistles, but is still a mostly recognizable Zelda game at its core.

Overall, I was very very pleased with Afternoon of Darkness. Welcome back to the front of the Strategy RPG pack, Disgaea. We missed you.

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

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

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.

Despite some complaints with the multiplayer mode and Windows Live quibbles, Gears of War is still a damn fine PC port of an excellent action game.

Not many gamers will actually get the advertised 400+ hours of life out of it, but the solo, co-op, and competitive multiplayer options should keep R2 spinning in your PS3 well past the holiday season, and probably until Killzone 2 arrives.