The game contains the sophistication of a sim-racer while still packing enough pick-up-and-play fun for anyone watching from the couch. I don’t imagine, however, that there are going to be a lot of people content to simply sit and watch Dirt 2 without getting their hands on ­it.

The nonstop action Chaos legion exhibits is unparalleled. [June 2003, p.101]

Questionable fielding holds it back from capturing the Golden Glove. "MVP" still holds that honor, but Major Leauge's innovative techniques make it this year's most exciting baseball game. [March 2005, p.118]

Smart mechanics, aggressive battles, and tight storytelling make this a strong new contender in the genre, even if the campaign's pacing sometimes misses the mark.

Even with some unpolished technical aspects, the way the story unfolds is innovative and engaging, and the number of ways around every problem is impressive. [Sept 2004, p.106]

Tightly balanced between resource gathering and fierce shooting exchanges, this dwarven mining expedition is a great time – especially with friends.

Quake Wars punishes newbies with a steep learning curve as much as it rewards veterans with deep and nuanced gameplay.

If you've got a hankering for some good multiplayer fun or a mindless testosterone tirade, Hitz is your hook-up. [Jan 2002, p.87]

The Wii version looks zero percent better to my eye than the original release of this game, but enthusiasts of the franchise may want to take this for a spin to try out the unique controls. [May 2007, p.88]

The Banner Saga 2 carries the banner onward for the series, and while it’s made a few steps forward in creating more interesting tactical decisions and has added some more options for customization, it seems to have taken a step back in terms of making your journey across the world memorable.

If Tourist Trophy uncovers the fourth dimension of racing, then the fifth dimension needs to be turning Polyphony's obvious passion for mechanical engineering into a passion that everyone can relate too. [May 2006, p.100]

Torchlight was originally made on a tiny budget in under a year, with all of around 25 people working at Runic at the height of development. For all that, it's a better dungeon crawler than most everything else that has been released post-Diablo II.

The graphics, while inferior overall compared to the Xbox version, benefit from added effects such as enhanced heat distribution, reflective surfaces, and focus blurring. [Apr 2003, p.82]

Despite these problems (and obscenely long load times, even on GI's high-end gaming PC), Pacific Assault is a great game. [Jan 2005, p.142]

Has a lot to unlock; it's visually appealing; and the music, voiceovers, and FMV all add to the atmosphere. I can dig it. [Oct 2002, p.91]

Graphically, it's a masterpiece. [Jan 2006, p.136]

In a genre where it can be hard to differentiate yourself, Project Cars makes its mark. It's not as strong as it could be in all areas, but Slightly Mad Studios' attention to detail and racing chops make the game a contender.

This is a no-brainer for anyone who still has a yellow Hulkamania shirt tucked away in their closet.

There are some things you never knew you wanted in a strategy game. The third-person view does wonders to get you invested in every decision, and it’s great to have a worthwhile story. The gorgeous presentation and versatile combat make Valkyria Chronicles one of the best surprises of the year.

I can’t think of a better way to bring this franchise to gaming consoles. The RPG format allows for a ton of funny items and sidequests, the objectives are unlike anything else in the genre, everything moves along at a solid pace, and the overall feel is distinctly South Park. It’s one of the most faithful adaptations of a license I’ve seen, and it ranks among the best comedic games ever released.

I know the developers could've created slightly more interesting backgrounds, and thrown in a few more music tracks. [July 2002, p.93]

Filled with amazing battles and worthy strategy, and anchored by strong gameplay. [Dec 2004, p.166]

It isn’t perfect, but I can’t think of another Wii U game that I’d recommend more than Lego City Undercover. It’s the most interesting and highly polished game in TT Games’ large repertoire, and it fills an important game gap. Now kids (and their parents) can tool around in a big town where people smile even as you almost run them over in an ice-cream truck.

A highly enjoyable and unique RPG.

This version veers even farther from its PC roots, with linear level progression and even (gasp!) RPG-style conversation that gives you options of what to say to people you meet. [Jan 2004, p.160]

Batman: Arkham Origins delivers more of what made Rocksteady's games great, but doesn't break new ground. Like a youthful Bruce Wayne, it isn’t as crafty, and it takes its dings during combat, but still puts on a hell of a show when it needs to. Once Joker steps into the spotlight, it becomes a hard game to put down.

In spite of SteamWorld Heist’s limited inventory system, I recommend making space on your 3DS for this charming title. Its unique 2D strategy never feels as deep as something like XCOM, but I never grew tired of ricocheting a pistol shot off a wall and into the red eyes of a villainous space thug.

It’s every bit as profane, violent, and over-the-top as the movie, and delivers not only the gunplay you’re expecting, but as much depth as almost any other game in the genre. Like the film that inspired it, it’s sometimes a bit clunky, but makes up for it in bravado and style.

Test Drive Unlimited 2 might be lacking in some areas, but this is one instance where the sheer quantity of features prevails since their structure is thoughtful enough to make this game more than just a lazy vacation.

2K24 sees Visual Concepts layer on quality new bricks to WWE 2K’s strong foundation while sanding away some rough edges. The series has settled into an exceptional, if very familiar, blueprint, and I would love to see a bigger shake-up in the future, but the result offers the best package since the franchise returned in 2022. If you’re a curious fan who’s held off on jumping back into the digital ring, 2K24 is as good an argument as any to shake off the ring rust. For diehard enthusiasts, this year’s entry won’t bowl you over in the broad sense, but its incremental updates and continued polish make it a worthy contender for another year.

A terrific way to spend a lazy afternoon. [August 2002, p.89]

Dragonborn delivers a great adventure that rarely apes content from the core game. The dungeon designs are inventive – especially the water temple – and flow nicely from quest to quest. Solstheim is a fun island to explore, offering a wealth of side content and locales to uncover. The dragon-riding and battle against Miraak in the final act are rough, but the story stays strong and is tied to one of of Skyrim's most enjoyable quest lines.

All the fart jokes and Chinpokomon references in the world wouldn’t mean anything if the gameplay weren’t up to snuff, but The Stick of Truth manages to impress as a game on top of being frequently hilarious.

College Football 26 didn’t throw out the playbook from its first year back, but it didn’t need to. Instead, iterative improvements and quality-of-life adjustments build upon an already strong foundation. Like my Dynasty team, EA Sports’ newest series is quickly amassing prestige as one of the best sports franchises today, and College Football 26 only helps its case.

This HD remaster of Resident Evil 0 is an easy recommendation for anyone who enjoyed the original GameCube release and has enough patience to navigate the sometimes tedious inventory management.

It delivers new experiences with its gameplay, offers rewarding bonus content (playable minor league teams, and collectable baseball cards), and improves upon its already robust online play with an array of sorting options that will allow players to find the appropriate match-ups. The only area that needs work is Franchise mode.

Soulcalibur V is the next-gen Soulcalibur that I've been wanting as a fan for years. At the same time, it's nothing if not more Soulcalibur. Now if Namco Bandai would release a DLC pack with the full Soul Calibur II roster, I could finally retire that disc.

This newer game is by far the more impressive choice, with fully fleshed out features, excellent animation, solid soccer gameplay, and an exciting presentation, replete with another batch of great music from around the world. [Jun 2006, p.112]

And Roger left me feeling a whirlwind of emotions, from distressed to sympathetic to hopeful, using little more than a mouse cursor. The best compliment I can give is that it reminds me so much of 2018’s Florence, a game I adore, in how it uses clever interactions to communicate relatable feelings and situations. While I wouldn’t wish the plight of its protagonist on my worst enemy, I would happily recommend this experience as another strong example of video games' strength as a storytelling medium.

While Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl don’t move the needle in terms of what Pokémon games will look and play like moving forward, they mostly hit the mark in being faithful to the originals. I’ve really enjoyed my time re-exploring Sinnoh, despite my qualms with the lack of critical path difficulty. They’re a welcome throwback to a simpler time when I felt completing a Pokédex was a somewhat realistic task to undertake. Veteran trainers will find plenty here to scratch a nostalgic itch, and new trainers who missed out the first time around have a solid adventure to embark on.

If you hate Lego games, this isn’t going to change your mind. For everyone else, this is a delightful return to form which hopefully serves as a reference for TT Games’ future projects.

What's here is nothing short of amazing, but I can't help but wonder what could have been. [Feb 2008, p.94]

Soulcalibur V is the next-gen Soulcalibur that I've been wanting as a fan for years. At the same time, it's nothing if not more Soulcalibur. Now if Namco Bandai would release a DLC pack with the full Soul Calibur II roster, I could finally retire that disc.

While Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl don’t move the needle in terms of what Pokémon games will look and play like moving forward, they mostly hit the mark in being faithful to the originals. I’ve really enjoyed my time re-exploring Sinnoh, despite my qualms with the lack of critical path difficulty. They’re a welcome throwback to a simpler time when I felt completing a Pokédex was a somewhat realistic task to undertake. Veteran trainers will find plenty here to scratch a nostalgic itch, and new trainers who missed out the first time around have a solid adventure to embark on.

Mastering the mechanics of this engine involves a lot of time and effort in the training room. This game hits a lot of the notes that catch the attention of casual and hardcore fighting game fans, even if it won't necessarily bring them together.

Solid through and through and the new animations are nice, but the changes for this year aren't the kind which make you alter the way you play the game. For a long-running series, this is what's needed to keep it fresh. [July 2003, p.111]

This game hits a lot of the notes that catch the attention of casual and hardcore fighting game fans, even if it won't necessarily bring them together.

UT 3 still offers fast and furious action like few others, and 360 sci-fi shooter fans finally have a reason to take a break from "Halo 3."

The potent combination of Sonic and Shadow Generations makes a strong case for being the best package of 3D Sonic content we’ve ever seen.

With plans for post-launch content already announced, Invincible VS is likely to only improve as its lifespan progresses, which could certainly address some of the current shortcomings. However, with an already solid foundation built upon approachability and personality, Invincible VS is easy to recommend to both seasoned fighting games fans and Invincible enthusiasts.

With the sad Story mode, you're left having slightly more meat than the original, but that isn't enough to make this an out and out must-have. [Dec 2002, p.128]

Youngblood excels as an entertaining shooter with the right kind of RPG elements and choices. However, when compared to the stellar and shocking storytelling of previous Wolfensteins, this entry comes up short. It has a few interesting breadcrumbs about what happened in the aftermath of Wolfenstein II, including the fates of a couple characters, but this outing is mainly focused on the exploits of its dynamic duo. As far as protagonists go, Jess and Soph are likeable goofballs – a detour from their sad-sack papa – but they don’t have any real character development

Lil Gator Game is as short as it is sweet, with the main story lasting just under five hours, but that's all it needs to be. I loved exploring each nook and cranny of the world during that time for new friends, loot, and memories. By the time the story wrapped up, the game had delivered a poignant and touching message about balancing the important parts of our lives. Lil Gator Game isn't the best Zelda-like I've played, but it's probably the one that will stick with me for the longest.

Extras aside, Hitz plays amazingly well, with lots of fancy tricks and smack-talk-worthy checks. [Dec 2001, p.94]

Great platformers are a rare breed these days, so I hope PSP owners take a chance on this pint-sized powerhouse.

Playing Lost Planet 2 for the story is like going to a movie to watch the credits. If you go into this game, go into it with the intent of joining up with your friends to slay moon-sized monsters, and enjoy one of gaming’s top co-op experiences.

For the second year running, "NHL" best encapsulates the play and and authenticity of the sport. [Sept 2004, p.103]

Crysis 3’s evolutionary enhancements don’t move the needle for the series very far, but the core nanosuit-based gameplay is still thrilling. If you have a rig that can run the PC version of Crysis 3, I strongly recommend you go this route. The high-resolution textures, realistic lighting, and detailed facial animations gives you a taste of the graphical fidelity we expect to be standard in next-generation consoles.

Sky expands on the successful gameplay ideas of the developer’s previous games, but with a greater sense of progression, replayability, and a far more involved social component. Conceptually, this new project is a deeply felt meditation on empathy and the connections between people, couched in the same unpretentious and thoughtful presentation we’ve come to expect from the studio. Sky is a refreshingly moving and robust game on the iOS platform, and one best shared with others – especially folks who might not normally pick up a video game.

A legitimately good game that beats the pants off of plenty of products on the market this holiday season. There’s little to complain about outside of the lack of innovation. However, it pains me deeply to see this franchise, which has done so much to push the first-person shooter genre forward, moving down the dark path of mediocrity that Medal of Honor has been walking for the last several years.

Episode 3 gets the series back on track and make any fears I had stemming from Episode 2 feel like a distant memory.

With a huge roster of free playable characters , a satisfying gameplay loop, and the fast matchmaking, Marvel Rivals executes a simple concept with skill and finesse.

Though it’s still saddled with the plot baggage of its predecessors, Crysis 3 is at least the most cohesive story in the series.

This impressive graphical fidelity takes a serious hit in the transition to multiplayer. Though Crysis 3 has some of the better-designed maps in the series, the muddied textures are a far cry from the jaw-dropping visuals of the single-player campaign, especially on consoles.

Hands-down the best GBA puzzle gmae thus far, and I guarantee you'll get as hooked as I did. Just remember to blink. [May 2002, p.89]

Far deeper and more enjoyable than Konami's "DDR" series, and nearly every other rhythm game. [Nov. 2003, p.150]

Despite its bleak inspirations – privatized education – Two Point Campus never feels callous. It’s more ideological than anything else, depicting a world where businesses and people flourish together. Profit and expansion are undoubtedly crucial to the experience, but you can only achieve those goals by cultivating a top-tier environment for students. This isn’t to say Two Point Campus shies away from low-hanging fruit; its signature British humor is at its best when poking fun at students and faculty. But ultimately, Two Point Campus is a deeply-engaging management sim that doesn’t force you to punch down, and it’s more enjoyable for it.

Quantum Break isn’t a perfect game; it’s a bold experiment in how two -mediums can tell a larger story, and at times it pays off. It would be foolish for every game to attempt to emulate this form of storytelling, but Quantum Break as a gaming oddity deserves attention. I wish the events of the show were more significant to the main story, but Quantum Break more than makes up for that with some of the best storytelling and gameplay Remedy has ever produced.

Like last year, if you absolutely have to have motion controls, I suggest you go with the Move. Putting in particular is harder with the Move, but it's also more accurate in general over Xbox 360's Kinect. The Kinect motion controls are dumbed down to the point where the game does a lot of the work for you.

Even though Tiger 14 has a similar setup as Tiger 13, I had more fun with the newer game because its constituent parts mesh better. For a golfer, getting everything in synch is important.

War for Cybertron isn't a perfect game, but it fulfills my youthful fantasies in a way that has me believing the developers had a window into my boyhood imagination.

This is a great PES with which to kick off the new systems – it retains its heart while staking out vital new directions. It's not the largest of milestones and it has its stumbles, but it already puts the franchise on more firm footing than last generation.

When Twisted Metal embraces the series traditions, it delivers the best action ever seen in the franchise. When it departs from convention, however, it becomes a hit or miss affair.

What Hellgate does, it does well – few games have core gameplay this strong. However, it doesn’t venture far outside of the scope of filling an XP bar or finding that next upgrade. The story isn’t much more than a thin excuse to kill demons, and the truly memorable encounters are few and far between. If you like faster-paced combat than you’ll find in the rest of the MMO genre, though, this could be a great fit.

Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Trilogy succeeds with everything it sets out to do, bringing three great games to modern consoles in their most approachable forms to date. I was fully immersed in its classic courtroom battles in the 80 or so hours it took me to get through all three titles. Even though not every trial is a winner, the majority are, and with a new suite of quality-of-life improvements, it's never been easier or more enjoyable to experience Apollo Justice's journey.

Heat Signature’s strength lies in its ability to make you think fast when you have all the time in the world.

The different online options and new penalty taking system are welcome, but aren't enough to let this title stand on its own two feet. [May 2010, p.98]

If you're looking for a stiff challenge and a captivating atmosphere to lose yourself in, look no further.

NBA 2K6 remains unbeatable. The competition doesn't even come close to touching this release. [Nov 2005, p.143]

The game never gets too heavy though; the simple-but-fun beat-em-up combat and ridiculous boss scenarios rise above any minor remaining issues with No More Heroes 2...Finally, Suda51 delivers a game that almost anyone can appreciate.

A serious tour de force for deathmatch. [Dec 2002, p.141]

An absurd tone with surprising pockets of earnest pathos, fun characters, and bombastic action are all present and accounted for here.

Outside of those few complaints, which have little to do with the core gameplay of Rhythm Heaven, this is an addictive, original, and often hilarious game. Some players may get frustrated by the unforgiving gameplay, and others won't get its bizarre characters and concepts. For those who don't mind a quirky challenge, Rhythm Heaven Fever is worth a shot.

It doesn't offer much in terms of gameplay deviation, but the wildly amusing levels will keep you in a state of awe. [Oct 2005, p.133]

Thomas Was Alone is an abstract experience, but it’s a rewarding one that encourages continued exploration. Simple shapes and environments make it seem limited at first, but it crafts new puzzle solutions in its geometric world with each new level. Developer Mike Bithell clearly has a strong passion and understanding for what makes the medium of video games interesting and worth exploring.

Has just about everything you're looking for in an action/adventure game. [Oct 2002, p.84]

The features are there, and I’m glad that the on-the-field play is making strides forward and that it captures the excitement of a college football program that isn’t dominant, but which is more than capable of thrilling its fans.

Prototype 2 has officially redeemed this franchise. The mechanics feel the way you wished they would have in the first installment, and it's a rush to abuse your incredible powers any way you see fit. If you've stayed away from the first game because of the lackluster word of mouth, don't hesitate to jump right into the sequel.

Persona 3 holds its themes together with solid gameplay and cool characters, and thoroughly rewards you for the time you invest. [Aug 2007, p.96]

Halo Anniversary sits in a middle ground between faithful remake and spirited reinvention. Players who want an exact replica of the original will be frustrated by the absence of a faithful multiplayer experience. Hardcore modern gamers could be annoyed by the dated nature of the campaign design. However, for the majority of players who fit in the space in between, this classic game has received a new coat of paint and gives you reason enough to re-enter the fold.

Dying Light is a strong open-world zombie game that delivers a good experience on nearly every front.

Even if your attention is turned to the new generation of portable systems, it's worth taking a step back to play Kirby Mass Attack. With solid touch-based control mechanics, a wealth of unlockables, and the classic Kirby charm, it's another great first-party experience on a system full of them.

Shadows, like its predecessors, has now yielded its own memory for me to store in my personal Animus: a reminder that when it comes to this medium, gameplay is king. And in Shadows, playing as Yasuke and Naoe is as powerful as the treacherous Shogun at the heart of this adventure.

Splatoon 3 doesn’t reinvent the wheel, nor does it need to. Instead, it improves nearly every franchise element in sometimes small but meaningful ways. With an already-robust set of content available at launch and at least two years of free and premium content on the horizon, Splatoon 3 is simultaneously the series’ best entry to date and its most promising.

NBA 2K20 also comes through in the gameplay department, allowing individual expression within a team dynamic.

Even with a somewhat bare-bones online offering, it's still one of the most refined fighters on the market.

Olija isn’t a long game; it took me a little over four hours to finish even after gathering most of its collectibles. But it packs a lot of good stuff in that timeframe and never wears out its welcome. With tight gameplay, fun exploration, and an alluring atmosphere, Faraday’s disastrous voyage turns into a rewarding expedition.

Evil Genius is unique, polished, and more flat-out fun than anything since "Painkiller." [Nov 2004, p.167]