From the hectic, mashy battles to the meticulous character customization, there's something here for every breed of player.

It's insanely gorgeous... Beautiful graphics, fantastically designed maps, and slight changes in gameplay.

Niggling inconsistencies and slightly bland between-race presentation aside, Colin McRae Rally 3 is a beautiful, realistic, and smooth translation of rally racing. The tracks are gorgeous, challenging, and addictive.

Katamari Damacy is interactive happiness. Charming, exuberant, and shameless, it’s a rare game in today’s world of self-aware, first-person shooters and freeform crime simulators.

Its launch was technically sound, its production values are top-notch, and its focus on narrative is refreshing.

The game makes no attempt to advance the gameplay or design of the series—it’s simply a smaller version of the original "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City."

It’s a pinch of innovation in a comforting stew of well-worn RTS conventions. And there’s a whole lot of blood. What more do you want?

We’re way overdue for this series to let us issue direct commands to individual squad members, or split up teams in more ways than this awkward 3-on-1 business.

A technological tour de force that will have you screaming "Dear lord!" more times than midnight mass. The performances are top notch, the action plays out with unrivaled fluidity, and the multiplayer is deep and rewarding. Silly distractions aside, Max Payne 3 is an action lover's wet dream that also happens to employ some of the slickest direction and transitional trickery this side of a David Fincher box set.

Public Quests are some of the most fun I've had in PvE, and, as I mentioned, crafting feels a lot more like an alternate activity than just something else to grind.

No amount of emo nonsense could ruin a game this good. Now drained of a substantial part of its charm, this outstanding strategy sim feels more like every other self-serious video game out there. That's a minor tragedy.

Masterstroke of fun, and does a good job moving the series in the right direction. It offers fresh new tracks for everyone to enjoy, and is far more accessible for everyone than ever before.

The levels are fun, the gameplay is solid, and the puzzles and bosses require more than a bit of brain matter to figure out, resulting in a nice sense of accomplishment every time you reach a new milestone in Raz's adventure.

Persona 4 Arena is as eccentric and Japanese as it gets. Anyone who has ever enjoyed a JPRG will love the game even if fighting games aren't their forte.

In some cases, notably in the variety of bosses and in the unlockable bonuses, the first title is better than the sequel.

It’s half a step behind EA’s "March Madness," but with a $20 price tag ESPN College Hoops 2K5 costs less than a hot dog at the Final Four.

Portrait of Ruin delivers a solid, exciting trip back into the walls of Dracula’s Castle without too many new systems to learn first. However, for the casual fan, Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin delivers little more than its handheld predecessors. A fun experience, certainly, but the same experience they’ve had before.

Visually this generation has progressed well past the point where Project Gotham Racing 4 would evoke the kind of bug-eyed glee that its predecessor did.

Though there's room for improvement in its dynasty mode, controls, and overall presentation, NHL 2004 is a huge step in the right direction for a franchise that was recently skating on thin ice.

Strengthening the improvements to gameplay is the addition of sliders to help customize the action, from the computer's shot block ability to foul frequency, game speed, and more.

The new commentating team, Backtrack replays, soundtrack, and improved graphics really packs that extra punch of realism making this game a must buy.

This is a full-on game that delivers a rich, beautiful, detailed gaming experience on a small, portable screen, which all makes sense when you consider some of the key development staff are former Naughty Dog employees.

The game is the pretty much the same as last year, but with a more updated roster. If you purchased last year’s title, this game is not worth forking over another 60 bucks for the same experience.

With a decent solo campaign, The Liandri Conflict would be near unstoppable. As it is, Epic's latest is one of the best things to happen to online console blasting in years.

The versatile character-creation system will, at the very least, allow you to end up with something reasonably close to what you had in mind. The problem is that your looks pretty much have no bearing on how your character will play.

One word of warning--if you’re only interesting in running around and shooting bad guys stay far, far away from this game. It’s impossible to run through this game like Rambo. You will die.

Perhaps unfulfilled potential and a hard-to-learn layout detract from the product's charm. Details be damned.

Checkpoints are far too infrequent, compelling the player break immersion and save their progress every hundred steps. And the game's level relies too frequently on cliches.