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.

A fun experience. However, don't come into it expecting a pure platformer – there are multiple RPG elements here that can interrupt the flow a bit. The whole 3D flipping aspect, for example – it is a neat idea, but I feel it could have been better implemented.

The game is simple, addictive, and fun, and the way the track moves and shakes to the beat of the music will keep your attention much better than most casual games.

Dead Rising is not for everyone, as it does include tons of violence and gore, but the sheer number of possibilities in this game make it a wonderful addition to almost any Xbox 360 owner's library.

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.

Boom Blox is a fun game. It's probably one of the better Wii games out there right now for gaming parties with your casual-gaming friends.

In the end, Madden 08 is probably the most realistic feeling football experience ever, for better or for worse.

Virtua Fighter 5's greatest strength is the depth of its incredible fighting. Unfortunately, the lack of online features and not-that-impressive graphics make this one only really worth it if you've already got a PS3 and love fighting games.

Any fan of stealth games needs to pick this one up and try to look past the technical issues to the excellent gameplay and sense of style beneath.

UFC Undisputed 3 is an all-around major improvement over previous games in the series.

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.

While Red Faction: Guerrilla offers a revolutionary new feature that lets you disassemble a building piece by piece in an action setting, it only relies and leans on it just enough to make it an important part of the game and not a crutch or a gimmick.

But if you do make the plunge, you will know where that money went, as MK on Vita is a damn good example of how future ports to Sony's handheld should go: dial back the eye candy if you need to, but do not compromise your gameplay or remove features just because it's hard to make them work on a mobile system.

It likely won’t unseat Symphony of the Night as fans’ all-time fave, but its inventive gameplay, outstanding visual presentation, and haunting music—always a high point in the franchise—easily make Ecclesia as good as the series’ DS debut Dawn of Sorrow.

While this one doesn't quite reach some of the stylistic and gameplay-oriented heights of Sands of Time a few years back, this re-imagined Prince of Persia delivers great thrills and plenty of accessibility inside a very pretty package.

Don't be stingy with those MS points; Rearmed is more than worth the tiny hole it'll burn in your bank account.

The new gameplay modes, massive new levels, customizability, and online play all work together to really make this year's game something special on the PC.

As it turns out, main character Cole's abilities are much cooler to wield than your typical electricity-spewing hero's, but it's some of the other goodies packed into this title that give it a real jolt.

For everyone, it's a great deal—for $20 you not only get hours of great entertainment, you get your own little piece of video gaming history.

If you're sick of WoW but don't mind a game that doesn't fully reinvent the grinding wheel, this is most definitely worth a shot. If you're a KOTOR fan who doesn't care for MMOs but wants to see a continuation of the story, you'll find quite a bit of it here with plenty of references to the original game's plot and characters - but be aware that it's not nearly as easy to play this game solo-only as you might like.

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

But this one is a blast to play, and so I give it a hearty recommendation despite having been skeptical all along about the quality of another Treyarch WW2 game.

The various game modes, customizability of Bomberman and the ability to play both online or offline with friends makes for a package that, at the price, can't be beat.

With a hugely expanded perk system, new traits you can use to give your character both an advantage and a disadvantage, warring factions to join or make enemies out of, plenty of new features to dig into, and better dialogue, Fallout: New Vegas is better than Fallout 3 in many ways.

Despite some minor problems, The Movies breaks new ground in the sim genre by putting business elements together with people-sim elements to create a wholly unique experience.

It still needs some work, but I'm very impressed with the end result. If you've got a powerful PC and a desire to bring some real tactics and organization to your team-based FPS fighting, then this game is a must-try. And with no material cost to get started, all you have to lose is the time it takes to download, patch, and give it a shot.

The themed levels are fun, the new game modes add a lot to an already complete franchise and the multiplayer mode is one of the best I've ever seen in a puzzle game.

UFC 2010 is an absolute knockout of a game and despite a few minor disappointments, I can wholeheartedly recommend it to pretty much anyone that's even remotely interested.