Tony Hawk himself really likes the game and loves getting online with his PS2. You could end up playing against the "man" himself if you're the lucky type.

Magnificent. Until now, GoldenEye was arguably the best reason for gamers over the age of 16 to own a Nintendo 64. No longer.

While Metroid Prime engages on no level other than gameplay, that gameplay is so perfectly tuned and refined, so continuously evolving and clever that you'll keep playing and playing, even when you're frustrated, even when you're honestly just a little bored with the back-tracking, and even though you don't care about the character or story.

Rockstar Games has done the unthinkable, turning murderous greed into an honest to God art form with Grand Theft Auto 3.

Halo has the best control of any console shooter I've ever played.

With tasty graphics and gameplay that is sheer madness, Half-life 2 is sweeter than a chocolate-and-honey lollipop coated with sugar, and it provides twice the rush.

A pure classic if I've ever seen one. It is infectious fun with superb depth. This is a must buy that will keep you interested for months on end.

It has freaky monsters that pull out new surprises just when you think you're used to them. It has interesting boss battles. It has vile villains you really want to smack down. It has desperate battles where you're trapped in flimsy shacks while psychotic villagers break through doors and windows.

I'd come off as a huge hypocrite if I didn't put Tekken 3 at the top of the list. "Tekken 2" was a 10, and Tekken 3 is a better game in most respects.

I have never had a more immersive and engaging entertainment experience than I had with the first half of Half-Life...[but] the game peaks too soon.

The style of the graphics however, does not appeal to me, technologically impressive though they are. It's the same way I don't like jazz music, but I know there is good and bad jazz, and that it requires talented musicians to perform it, but the genre of music just doesn't do it for me.

If you can get past its slightly intimidating barrier to entry (getting your license to race in this game is trickier than the real thing), you'll play Gran Turismo for months and months and never see all of its glory. This is a classic.

At times, it's hard to tell where sincerity ends and irony begins--select Snake's cigarettes in the inventory list and you're provided with the helpful information that cigarettes are highly addictive and bad for your health. Not like, for example, guns or anything.

For the first time in a single player game, I truly felt I was playing my way through a pen and paper fantasy campaign.

Calling this game huge is an understatement...All told, San Andreas is about four times the size of any previous GTA game.

And of course, the true beauty of Vice City is total, absolute, glorious freedom...I guess what I am trying to say is this game is REALLY FRICKIN' GOOD.

It's games like Gran Turismo 3 that make me proud to be doing this for a living!

even though I had more fun playing through Ocarina of Time, overall, Majora's Mask is just as impressive technically and possibly even more rewarding to play because of Link's newfound abilities with each of the masks he acquires.

Twilight Princess is a great game because it's full of so many activities, and just about every one of them not only finds a cool way to use the Wii control, they're just plain fun. This is a game full of creativity in its creature design, puzzle design, combat, and story.

Even with the dark-screen frustrations and camera hurdles, Tony Hawk 2 is, without a doubt, the best interpretation of skateboarding ever created for a portable game system.

Above all else, this game is spooky, stylish and most importantly, fun from beginning to end.

The defensive AI has been cleaned up and perfected. I do mean perfected.

The camera is so good in Gears of War that I never once thought about it while playing. I can't recall a single instance where it did not frame the action right, or hide anything I should have seen.

Gripping. You will not be able to make your way through this unrelenting adventure without feeling your stomach flip and churn into knots.

Playing Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory is like tearing open your presents Christmas morning and discovering to your shock that you got everything you asked for. No pairs of socks.

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This is one of the best games I've ever played involving cars, asphalt and disregard for public safety. It is a must have for any gamer's collection, anybody who ever had fun smashing hot wheels cars into each other, or anyone who likes destruction.

While Diablo is easy to get into, it doesn't hold too much charm after you have put many hours into it. The action is not complex and can become very repetitive.

On top of the fun factor, GoW is also a delightful treat for the senses with its artistic rendition of ancient Greece.

Simply a brilliant fighting game, and it seems that the best thing that ever happened to PlayStation 2 gamers

It has quickly grown to become the standard by which almost all other games are measured.

Was there ever any doubt that this game would rock?

Unless you’re expecting a true snowboarding game, it is hard to be disappointed with SSX.

The number of different ways you can play GTA III is astonishing.

It is hideously complicated---and woe to the foolhardy player who does not pay attention to the game’s tutorials and attack-formation options---but somehow it works, and provides not only a stark, beautiful treat for the eyes but a staggering change to the genre of the real-time strategy game.

Despite a few surprising shortcomings, most notably the save system, Splinter Cell delivers with the impact of a postcard from Hell.

If you play this game over and over like I did, then you will find something new and challenging each and every time you plug it in.

What it does have is a great story, fun puzzles, and epic battles. Any RPG fan would be absolutely nuts to pass on Paper Mario.

Nobody has developed a perfect basketball sim. Visual Concepts however has come the closest with NBA 2K2. By far this is the best hoops title on the market today.

The improved puck control alone makes this game a gourmet meal for diehard hockey fans.

The brilliance of this game, however, doesn't stop with the audio effects, or the crisp, fast moving, beautiful graphics, with you and up to five other boarders on the screen at the same time, moving at a blistering fast frame rate. The controls in SSX Tricky are perfect.

Featuring some of the most elaborate and astonishing art work and animation the videogame industry has ever seen, POP definitively raises the bar on visual presentation. I have never seen more detailed and engaging art on the PlayStation 2.

Despite its essential linearity, Eternal Darkness leaves the player feeling like he/she has lived through a vast and sweeping tale, and is a milestone GameCube title any way you look at it.

One of those games that is so good, even the credits rock.

A dangerously detailed and addictive experience for the power-mad behavioural researcher in all of us.

The finest, most polished, most complex and satisfying action-adventure videogame I've ever played...It blew me away because I was still swept up by its fairy tale-light, Disney-esque, bogusness, in spite of all my resistance.

A deep, quite cartoony and consummately Japanese turn-based wargame with depth, character and replayability to burn.

A frightening game to the point that I found myself having to take breaks from playing just to ease the tension in my shoulders.

Super Mario Bros. Advance 2's awesome looking graphics are highly detailed and stay true to the game's source material, right down to the last pixel. Yes, down to the last pixel.

I have played SSBM every day since I got it and I cannot get enough of this game.

The three-dimensional stability of the environment in Mario Sunshine is astonishing. At no time do the seams show.

The audio is extremely well done because it is a major component of gameplay, not just presentation. I don't think I've ever spent as much time listening to a game as I did with this one.

It may be a little too daunting for anyone other than hardcore gamers and/or boarders, otherwise, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater might very well be the perfect video game.

Trivial shortcomings aside, Age of Empires II: Age of Kings is a good-looking and feature-full 2D RTS that manages to provide hours and hours of solo or multiplayer gaming enjoyment. The kicker? With its extremely lean system requirements, you don’t need the latest and greatest computer in order to get in on the fun.

It features a game system rich enough to challenge and enthrall any experienced gamer, and Fantasy sublime enough to draw in the most hardened doubter of videogames.

Every weapon that was in "Unreal" has been given a total facelift for Unreal Tournament. Everything has been totally redrawn and textured - the overall look of the weapons is quite impressive.

A sublime, turn-based, empire-building, strategy game. At the same time, I can't help but feel like I have played it before.

Without question the most unique and satisfying home racing videogame I've ever had the pleasure of experiencing. This is, as you're no doubt aware, no minuscule feat. To declare that a racer is as good or better than WipeOut XL, Sega Rally, The Need For Speed or Ridge Racer Revolution is usually a fool's practice. However, WR 64 and its incredible water worlds are in a class by itself.

There is tons of RPG combat, which is a little too slow for some people and slowed even further by all of the spectacular but lengthy spell animations.

If MOH has a noteable flaw, it’s that the sniper-scope---which you’ll often rely on heavily---has the odd drawback/realism glitch of not allowing you to see farther in actual, raw distance than you would normally...it merely brings targets into clearer, closer focus.

This game would be super fly at a party You won’t be whizzing through it unless you’re super smartie.

There’s poo humor galore, but there’s also sly satire, clever parody and deep belly-laughs aplenty. To say nothing of the challenging gameplay, engaging storyline and whacked-out characters.

A fantastic shooter. The levels seem to be just right in length, have lots of enemies to gun down or evade, and the scripted events make the missions seem logical and important.

Even if Madden NFL 2001 weren’t the only game in town, it would still be one of the best football games ever.

Everything that fans of AD&D have always wanted in a computer game. The only thing that will prevent it from being perfect for everyone is the very fact that it follows the AD&D rules so faithfully.

Casual gamers will no doubt be driven off by its lack of special items and overall difficulty, but for those who can appreciate this type of game, it is a rich and beautiful experience that leaves one craving another sequel.

Quite simply, this is a must-have flight simulator for war buffs or flight sim nuts alike, and will surely remain as a resident on your hard drive for a long, long time.

Graphically, FreeSpace 2 is absolutely stunning.

Despite a few imperfections, a work of art. And like the best that Psygnosis has brought us, it is a title that every PlayStation owner should acquire and cherish.

In the spirit of the whole new-beginnings thing, let me lift the poster-slogan from the old '70s horror movie "Phantasm:" IF THIS ONE DOESN'T SCARE YOU, YOU'RE ALREADY DEAD!

While Shadow of the Colossus may not have the best ever PS2 graphics, what it does have is pretty pleasing.

A much bigger oversight is the removal of the PlayStation’s split-screen multiplay in favor of a LAN-based multiplayer mode.

One of the most beautiful, thought-provoking games I've ever played.

It will seduce you, beguile you and turn you into an unproductive but satisfied mess. Those that can break away from its grasp and lead a life away from the computer screen are to be saluted.

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The on-screen skaters control well, but not quite as tightly as the PS2 version of the game. There is a bit more play in this version, with the end result being a control scheme that is slightly looser than one might expect.

By the time you finish the game, you’ll have ingested almost a full novel’s worth of text. Button-mashing "Diablo" junkies may balk at this, but Planescape: Torment really isn’t for them in the first place.

It may be the best PC game of a good many years. I can picture other gamesmakers checking out the game, and then just surrendering...I am floored by this game.

If there is one fault with Soul Reaver it has to be some of the platform jumping required in the game. Not since the long ago days of my Atari 2600, have I been frustrated enough with a game to fling my controller across the room as I did while playing Soul Reaver.

The patented pacing, mechanics and rewards of the adventure go down like a perfectly aged fine wine.

Call of Duty can be summed up in one word. Intense. Yes, lots of shooters have provided many, many hours of intense situations before but none, including crowded games like "Battlefield 1942," have ever made me feel the insignificance and fear a soldier must feel while watching the slaughter of hundreds of his countrymen.

The graphics are phenomenal, some of the best so far for the handheld system. The controls in the game are simple enough for anyone to jump right into, and the variety of gameplay will keep most players coming back for more.

I enjoyed Crash's new abilities (extended jumps, spins and that extremely useful bazooka). I just wish the platform jumping elements in Crash 3 were as original and exciting of the motorcycle, jet-ski and biplane sequences.

Wow! What an excellent game! What's surprising about Mario Golf is just how sophisticated the simulation is. Fans of the real life sport will not be disappointed by Nintendo's cartoon interpretation of it, nor will fans of the Mario games be turned off by the complexity and "just one more time" challenge found on this cartridge.

To say that Rayman 2 impressed me would be a tremendous understatement. About the only blemish the game has is its lack of any multiplayer contests.

Although short (about 10 hours of play, not including mistakes) it seemed just right and there’s probably nothing more that could have been added that would make it any better.

The Tom Clancy games virtually invented the realistic shooter, and Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter moves that genre forward. If you're a fanatic for modern military action or you just like some brains behind your gunfire, you must pick up GRAW.

Employs the most effective and rewarding controls ever developed for a platform-action game... An instant classic.

What especially impresses me is that although the presentation is smooth and competent, it is understated and lets the brilliant gameplay speak for itself.

I strangely feel a very strong maternal instinct towards my monkey (don't tell my children). I find myself telling him out loud what a good boy he is while rubbing his belly or explaining why I have to spank him.

An incredibly complete sport simulation that captures, not only the heart of the sport, but also pays close attention to all of the little details that tennis fans love about the game.

The brilliantly motion captured player movement, smarter players and broadcast style presentation are nothing short of awesome and really make for a complete hockey experience.

Although the game is much like Tony Hawk 2, overall this makes the better total package, and the addition of the multiplayer alone makes it worth getting.

In my opinion, this is the best game available for the Nintendo DS and one of the best strategy games of its generation. A must have for any DS owner and if you don't have a DS, this is a viable reason to get one.

Offers up the kind of gaming experience that you will never forget.

One nice touch is that "finishing" a mission is not necessarily the same as finishing it--any scruffy nerfherder can earn the game's bronze medals, but it takes a serious attention to detail (and the ability to succeed without overzealous use of the targeting computer) to earn Gold medals.

The massive number of features and solid gameplay more than make up for any of my minor gripes.

Just as "Half-life" and "Unreal" revolutionized the action genre, Deus Ex takes us to the next step and ushers in the Age of the Interactive.