Causal gamers can log in for an hour or two occasionally, complete a few missions, and have a feeling of accomplishment, while hardcore gamers can mow through levels through ‘street cleaning’, missions and task forces.

The first time I hit the nitrous on the incline of a culvert and launched an El Camino over a short one-story building to win a race, I thought this was a great racing game. But, three hours later when I jumped a motorcycle over a six-lane expressway after popping a wheelie up the extended arm of a utility truck, I knew this game was pure gold.

While there's plenty of new features to separate this game from the other trick games on the market, they're implemented poorly. In the end, it's different, but not much better than any of the other "Pro X" games out there.

In every sense imaginable, Splinter Cell: Double Agent was meant to exploit the platform on which it was designed, and it excels to an extraordinary degree.

Besides the multiple endings that can be reached, defeating the game on a number of different difficulties will yield extras, some of them being playable ones (such as the Adventures of Heihachi) to alternate costumes (yes, Samanosuke’s killer panda suit is back).

A refreshing breath of fresh air in a series that had begun to feel very redundant.

There truly is something for every fan of the genre within the many hours of game play. Fans of the more spoon-fed console RPGs may be a bit turned off by the openness and non-linearity of the story, but you are doing yourself a disservice if you fail to pick this game up at least to try it out.

Most definitely a game that carries the "easy to play, difficult to master" label, but is well worth mastering in the long run.

Where the game begins to lose some of its luster is in the areas of sound and story, and a camera that suffers from a lack of intuition. The music is not so much repetitive as it is boring.

Fable delivers an experience that isn't what some die-hard RPG fans might deem authentic. Instead, I believe that Fable provides a game for the rest of us that has the entire flavor of an RPG, but in a much more streamlined and accessible package.

The game features spectacular presentation, including some of the most memorable music to come along in an RPG in ages.

It is challenging, with enough depth of both gameplay and story to please existing fans, while multiple difficulty settings will keep the title accessible to most everyone.

With all of the additions Viewtiful Joe 2 introduces, the game is still very similar to the first game, right down to a final showdown prefixed with having to fight all of the previously defeated bosses. Not that I mind terribly, as this is a functional formula that proves it still can deliver in spades.

Fantastic – absolutely the best graphic adventure title of the year – and is a game others should aspire to in many ways.

Square Enix finally gave Final Fantasy II the treatment it deserved in Final Fantasy IV Advance, and whether you've worn out two of the old carts from overuse or have never even played a 2D Final Fantasy, you should pick this one up to see what made the Final Fantasy series such a powerhouse of the role-playing genre.

The developers at NCL have done a lot with the original game to give players a considerable amount of new content to keep the experience of playing a title that originated back in 1996 still feeling fresh and fun.

If you plan on seeing everything the game has to offer, which includes six separate endings, as well as Overtime and Infinite modes, you've got a lot of zombie killing ahead of you. It’s been a long time coming but Dead Rising has been worth the wait.

On the other side of the presentation scale, the music is absolutely brilliant. The Star Wars films have set a high bar for any derivative material, but, thankfully, this game lives up to the challenge.

The solo campaign is somewhat lengthy, though nowhere near that of Prime or Echoes, but thankfully it is overshadowed by an online component that is truly the meat of the experience anyway.

It can be absolutely brutal at times, but it is also true to the series' fundamentals, and that alone should ensure acceptance from fans of the series.

In short, this is the current crème of the crop when it comes to 2D shooters. Following the path of "Radiant Silvergun," Ikaruga will long be thought of as a great example of what a 'shmup' can be.

This is not going to leave players breathless or have critics singing praises of innovation, but Thief: Deadly Shadows does the franchise proud by delivering a solid, worthwhile, and memorable game experience.

This is without a doubt the best game based on a book/movie that I have EVER played. You can really tell that EA went to great pains to ensure its authenticity, and they truly went beyond the call of duty this time.

Combining the storyline of the original, with the smoother, more entertaining gameplay of MGS2, Twin Snakes should be an early contender for best game of the year on the GameCube, and gamers new and old should enjoy it thoroughly.

EA has finally managed to make a boxing game about skill and strategy rather than the random flailings of our opposable digits. And it's fun too. Unfortunately the game feels wildly incomplete in its overall presentation with a very short list of features, poor music selection, boring levels and no Xbox online component.

Drop-in multiplayer, replay in spades, and optional objectives give players a reason to continue playing and get their money's worth out of this title. If you like fun, this is a great addition your gaming library, regardless of age or skill level.

The missions are plentiful, and thankfully they never become repetitive.

There is a tremendous community established that is very helpful for the most part, and nothing quite surpasses the feeling of adventuring with friends throughout a world as vast as the one Square-Enix has put together here.