NBA 2K11 has managed to piece together the best parts of past basketball video games to create an experience that is immersive, rewarding, and novel. Though there are frustrations that mostly stem from the level of difficulty, these are changes for the better. Without the addition of Michael Jordan, this would have been a great basketball sim. Add MJ to the mix, and you've got a complete package that will satisfy any fan of the game.

Rockstar has delivered everything they needed to here—bigger, better, and most importantly more, more, more GTA. Simply put, it rocks.

3D Land delivers an experience that will satisfy long-time fans of the franchise while also making it accessible enough for newcomers to enjoy.

Worth the hype it received? Well, it definitely is worth it for the multiplayer, for the augmented gameplay features and for the vocal delivery by the Hollywood talent in the title. It isn't, however, thanks to the weakly developed storyline, similarity to the original title and the long duration that we'll have to wait through for the continuation of the saga.

Quantum Break is Remedy’s best game to date. It is their most-polished game so far and accomplishes every goal it sets out to from a narrative perspective.

The bottom line here is that Assassin’s Creed 2 is one of the best games of this year or any other, period. The first game was great in its own right and this one is better in almost every way. Even the finale is brilliant in how it provides a satisfying conclusion to this chapter while dropping huge bombshells that demand the series continue. This is a gamer’s game from start to finish, and if you don’t like it you might need to consider a new hobby.

The newly added depth to not only your offensive attacks, but also your defensive options allows battles to feel fresh and rewarding.

Forza Horizon 3 doesn’t reinvent the wheel in any way – but it does perfect it. Everything that worked about past games is better here. There’s more terrain to traverse, more variety, and the inclusion of off-road racing alone expands the game’s already-expansive replay value. If you have always wanted to enjoy a Forza game, but don’t like the idea of sim racers, the Horizon series makes for a great gateway.

Overall, Black Ops 3 is an outstanding entry in the franchise.

God of War: Ghost of Sparta takes the PSP's previous high-mark and raises it.

Batman: Arkham Knight closes out Rocksteady’s trilogy in a big way. It’s the most epic entry in the series to date in terms of sheer scope for the world and the story it’s telling.

Overall, while it isn’t perfect and doesn’t quite feature some of the more versatile quality of life features in the genre – Streets of Rage 4 still delivers an incredible experience. The increased focus on the narrative works surprisingly well despite the genre being known for having razor-thin plots. The combat flows smoothly. Long-time fans will love the latest entry in the series, while newcomers may want to start with an earlier entry as some of the humor and fun is tied a bit too deeply into callbacks to really work on a series newcomer. The game looks great, plays even better, and has one of the finest OSTs in the genre’s history. The 25-year wait for Streets of Rage 4 was worth it.

Rare Replay is one of the best compilations ever created even if it does have some less-than-stellar games in it.

Anyone who has loved prior entries will fall in love with this, and if you’re a lapsed fan, you’ll be reminded of why you loved the series.

The most interesting element of the Sims is the random, life-like quality of it all. Your Sims do things you never told them to do – never even thought of them doing.

Replay value is enormous with the in-game collections, trophy support, and online stat tracking.

The graphics are buoyed by the exceptional voice acting for the characters in the game.

The Mega Man Legacy Collection may seem lacking in core game content given how vast the Mega Man franchise is, but what it delivers is executed perfectly.

The Awakened Fate Ultimatum is an absolute must-buy for anyone who enjoys dungeon-crawlers.

The end result is the best Halo title since Combat Evolved. Halo: Reach isn't about to convert any of the Halo haters out there, but it will keep fans of the franchise busy for months if not years to come.

A lot of imagination, work, and care has gone into it, and your best bet is to slow down, explore it, and see what you can find. It's one of the better games this year, and will probably still be discussed ten or twenty years from now.

Forza 4 has its flaws, but they're relatively minor in the grand scheme of things. The latest entry in the series does everything right that prior ones did, but adds some new things that are surprisingly well-executed.

Forza Horizon 2 takes everything that made the original game great, includes it here without removing anything and then adds some new stuff to boot.

Dark Souls fans rejoice! Elden Ring is exactly the game you have been hoping it would be, I think, and it is created in grand style. I feel pretty frustrated that the keyboard controls are either so broken or so poorly laid out that I just couldn’t figure them out, and I spent a lot of time trying to (and where some things lie in the menu system are crazy counterintuitive), and I installed it on two different machines to see if it was a hardware problem (note: didn’t help). Elden Ring actually made me want to go back and play Skyrim again, because it always seemed to me that GUI was very well laid out and just made sense. But for you gamepad guys, sharpen up your sword and get in there. You have blood to spill (a lot of which may be your own).

The console version is without a doubt the Diablo III you should get, even if you already have it for PC. The controls work brilliantly on the controller and its painterly style still looks as vibrant and gorgeous as ever. Thanks to a few smart changes, Blizzard has managed to remedy essentially every problem I initially had with the game, leaving me to enjoy Diablo III the way it was meant to be played.

Even at this early stage (1 of 5), Tales of Monkey Island earns a full recommendation for adventure fans that are pining for the days when games had a strong mental challenge and the payoff was completely hysterical lunacy.

Overall, Dead or Alive 5 is not only the best entry in the series yet, but my favorite fighting game this generation. It's got the smoothest gameplay of anything out there now and delivers the goods online more often than not. It also raises the bar for graphics in fighters and has some great animation too. The story mode's a blast to play through and provides the right mix of drama and B-movie wackiness to make it fun to get through despite its epic length. If you've ever loved the series before, make this a part of your collection ASAP, and if you've been turned off by it before, at least give it a rental – I'm positive it'll win you over.

If you enjoyed the original LittleBigPlanet, you're going to love LittleBigPlanet 2. Everything's either been polished or seen substantial improvement in the form of easier navigation or welcome additions.

Easily one of the best sports titles that have come along recently. The expansive and highly replayable Street Challenge mode can absorb gamers for months, and the level of customization is truly massive.

Yooka-Laylee: The Impossible Lair manages to outshine the franchise’s debut effort in every major way. The game’s design remains open to an extent, but greatly focuses in on what you need to do – cutting down on a lot of busy work. The fast-paced action feels perfect and manages to out-Donkey Kong Country the Returns series as a result of nailing the pacing that made the original DKC trilogy so addicting on the SNES. The action meshes perfectly with the lush graphics and robust soundtrack to create one of the finest side-scrolling platformers on the market today. The Impossible Lair is a must-buy for any platforming fan.

Easily one of the best sports titles that have come along recently. The expansive and highly replayable Street Challenge mode can absorb gamers for months, and the level of customization is truly massive.

Marvel’s Spider-Man is the best gaming representation of the legendary comic book character to date. Insomniac nailed the smartass tone that has been his calling card better than anyone else and the core action is faster here, with a solid blend of combat and world exploration. It looks great and controls like a dream. Spider-Man has had his troubles in gaming, but Insomniac’s effort checks all the boxes for a top-shelf Spidey experience and delivers a solid storyline that brings its own unique universe to the mix to tell an all-new tale that keeps you engaged and adds some gravitas to everything you do.

Overall, Crash Bandicoot 4 is the best-playing entry in the series and a must-buy for fans – even with some cumbersome jank on its backend. It’s one of the finest platformers of the last decade and manages to seamlessly combine and transition between 2D sidescrolling and 3D platforming better than anything on the market. It plays like a dream and anyone who wanted a new Crash game in the style of the old ones will be happy, as will those hoping that core game design would be taken to the next level.

A must-own for any Switch owner and is worth buying the console for on its own. It combines two franchises together wonderfully and gives Mario fans seeking another console-centric RPG-style game more thrills. Everything about the concept gels together surprisingly well, with the only weakness in the whole package being the story.

There was a lot of hype leading up to the release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, and for the most part the sequel lives up to it’s billing.

Anyone who enjoyed EA UFC should give this a shot because they’ve fine-tuned everything that made it great, while those who missed out should give the series a shot here.

The bottom line here is that Assassin’s Creed 2 is one of the best games of this year or any other, period. The first game was great in its own right and this one is better in almost every way. Even the finale is brilliant in how it provides a satisfying conclusion to this chapter while dropping huge bombshells that demand the series continue. This is a gamer’s game from start to finish, and if you don’t like it you might need to consider a new hobby.

Excellently produced, with intuitive, responsive controls, a deep, engaging storyline and immersive sound.

So if you’re looking to do some playing, creating, and sharing this holiday on your PlayStation 3, I totally recommend picking up LittleBigPlanet.

Dreams is a must-have for anyone who has wanted to create a game but didn’t have the know-how to make all of the elements work together. Dreams does a better job of teaching you about game logic than any toolset I’ve used, and makes it fun. It’s perfect for any age range and can foster creativity in its users for years to come.

As has already been pointed out in many other places by many other people, The Orange Box may be the single greatest value in gaming history.

This is one of those sequels that feels like a mission pack for the original. There’s a distinct feeling, as you go through Dishonored 2, that we’ve been here before, which even the characters themselves remark upon from time to time. That doesn’t make it a bad game, but it’s a slight sour note in what’s otherwise just as dense, manipulable, and customizable an experience as the original Dishonored.

You'll need to bring your A game, as this is unapologetically difficult, but you'll be rewarded for your effort with one of the most polished shooters of this console generation.

Everything, from the brutal police state of the city, to the rundown tenements, to the ugly toxic sludge, to the gleaming sci-fi labs, looks beautiful. The textures are rich and sharp, bricks actually look like bricks and wood looks like wood.

Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End is the PS4’s best exclusive to date, and one of the best reasons yet to own the console.

Gears of War 3 is without a doubt the best installment in the Gears of War franchise.

Titanfall 2 fixes the content-lean issues that plagued the original game while delivering an even more action-packed experience. The addition of a full campaign allows players to finally invest themselves in the Frontier vs. IMC war while new game modes make multiplayer more fun than before. It’s a tougher game with a bit more strategic thinking required than the first, but remains a top-shelf shooter that is a must buy for any fan of the genre.

Somehow where a lot of 4X games fail (I'm looking at you Master of Orion 3), Civilization keeps changing the game without losing the magic.

A wild, edge of your seat, white knuckle ride that fulfills any speed freak's cravings. What's more, it's also one of the best games that's been released this entire year.

Considering that the original was a perfect balance of maneuverability and speed, this really turns TMB Online into an awesome title.

However, as an overall product, A Hat in Time is a must-buy for any 3D platforming fan. The pacing is superb in every stage, and there’s far more variety here than in any 3D platformer released in the past decade. The game definitely has some rough edges – but they’re a bit like eating a fine meal on a cracked plate. The overall experience is so great that you don’t remember the small nagging issues very much. The camera could definitely use some work, and the soundtrack may not be the most memorable ever – but it’s genuinely great, as is the voice work. It’s clear that this was a passion project, and it’s one of the finest crowd-funded projects ever made.

Overall, Final Fantasy VII Remake is a must-buy for fans of the original – but with some caveats attached. Those going into it expecting the complete FF VII experience from start to finish with a new gameplay setup and graphics will be disappointed, while those going in knowing that it is part of the overall package, just with a poor name choice, will wind up quite happy with it. Being able to go between a more classic gameplay approach or a modernized one offers up a lot of freedom to players, while the story itself remains my favorite in franchise history – and it’s now told with more depth and detail than ever before. The revamped graphics aren’t perfect – but do a better job on the whole of conveying the story, while the voice work helps it gain a new level of gravitas that wasn’t there before.

If you’ve been impressed by just the visual style, you’ll be glad to know that it’s worth buying for that at first, and then turns into an RPG you won’t be able to turn away from.

If you happen to be a fan of football, even if you bow down to the altar of "Madden", you should go out and buy 2K5 simply because this is a great simulation of football.

Was the return to Rapture worth it? Absolutely. Although the odds seemed stacked against the developers, having to do without both Ryan and Levine, they have delivered a rich, awesome trip through one the most fantastic video game environments ever built.

It’s a fantastic game overall, and owners of any platform should have fun with it – although Xbox One owners may want to stick with that version since that would then be the ultimate way to play all the B-K and B-K-style games on one device.

Simply a brilliant game. Sacrifice seems to be a relatively flawless experience, perhaps because there's nothing like it out there, but also because this game exhumes quality.

Combining a great storyline, great gameplay, great graphics and an enjoyable multiplayer experience, Age of Mythology is guaranteed to delight RTS fans everywhere.

With an enormous amount of customizable options, absorbing story mode and large mod community, T.H.U.G. provides just about anything a gamer could want in a skateboarding title without grabbing a board and hitting the streets. Combine that with the ability to "place" yourself into the game with the face mapping feature, and you have a product that could easily be considered one of the best games of the year.

The many improvements made by Yuke's make this the smoothest-playing MMA game yet, and its robust amount of features and modes will keep players entertained for months.

It's atmosphere and unique style have changed the face of PC gaming.

There was a time in PC gaming when A-list titles regularly pushed the limits of what computers were capable of. This might've been a necessity, but it forced developers to deliver new experiences. Crysis harkens back to that mindset, reminding me of why I became addicted to PC gaming in the first place.

Was the return to Rapture worth it? Absolutely. Although the odds seemed stacked against the developers, having to do without both Ryan and Levine, they have delivered a rich, awesome trip through one the most fantastic video game environments ever built.

Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit is one of the generation's best racing games.

Overall, WWE 2K19 is an evolutionary step forward for the series – but a big one. The return of the showcase mode offers up a lot to enjoy for fans of Daniel Bryan while the MyCareer mode brings things back that worked before – but tells a far better narrative than most. The debuting 2K Towers offer an ever-present challenge and are sure to make even seasoned players wince a time or two, and the revamped gameplay for things like striking and cage-related modes allows for more realistic matches than prior entries across the board.

Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit is one of the generation's best racing games.

Yet another astounding title out the doors of the Black Isle factory.

Was the return to Rapture worth it? Absolutely. Although the odds seemed stacked against the developers, having to do without both Ryan and Levine, they have delivered a rich, awesome trip through one the most fantastic video game environments ever built.

Everquest has an extremely long replay value simply because there is so much to explore and so many classes to play. So what the hell are you waiting for?

Definitely not as "out of this world" as SC1 was... But the gripes aside, I love this game. That's one (fault? feature?) of my reviews: the more I like the game, the more faults I try to find with it. [Japanese Import]

Truly, after playing, I'm surprised why it wasn't the first Mario convert put on the Game Boy Advance. Marvelous in all aspects, it is everything a game from this genre should be.

The many improvements made by Yuke’s make this the smoothest-playing MMA game yet, and its robust amount of features and modes will keep players entertained for months.

With this title Lucasarts has completely revolutionized the adventure game genre much like Sierra did when it invented the clickable mouse interface.

It’s an incredible game well-worth its $15 asking price on any platform you desire – although the symmetrical sticks of the PS3 may be a bit easier to get used to than the 360′s design.

The gameplay and atmosphere in NHL 13 is something every hockey fan should experience for him/herself. If you haven't already, go out and pick this one up. After all – unless we see some progress fast, it may be the only NHL action we get this season.

Portal 2 has an enormous warmth that makes it easy to adore, even when you're up against its many frustrating brainteasers. An amazing gameplay experience merged with a very unique, engrossing concept. Truly an exceptional experience that almost any gamer should give at least one go.

Despite a few flaws, Yakuza is the most enjoyable game I’ve played all year. It’s got a deep plot that keeps you guessing and features a deeper cast of fleshed-out characters than any other game I can recall.

Despite some rough edges, Heavy Rain is an unforgettable experience.

Every game in the franchise looks great, sounds even better, and will have you chuckling with the spot-on chemistry of the cast in each entry.

Overall, EA Sports UFC 3 is the best entry in the franchise yet – but falls a bit short of being the best MMA game ever. The roster is lean on legends, which hurts the ability to do dream matches compared to games like UFC Undisputed 3. The career mode is a huge improvement over past games and the revamped bobbing and weaving system makes combat more enjoyable and intuitive. Anyone who has enjoyed past entries can safely pick up this incarnation and jump right in, while newcomers would be best served trying out prior versions to avoid being in over their head.

The gameplay is plain wicked - with no environments ever repeating (except for some cities), it's always fun to see what's around the corner.

Saints Row is worth your money, plain and simple. Its "Grand Theft Auto" inspired gameplay is not only very well done here, but through many refinements and advances in the feature set, Volition has delivered a game that is... dare it be said... better in some respects.

In the end, Forza Motorsport 3 succeeds at offering up the best entry in the series to date. It should please everyone who plays it and beyond just making sim racing fans happy, the increased emphasis on user-friendly gameplay makes it an easy recommendation for anyone who is usually intimidated by sim racers. There’s a lot to do here, much of it is quite awesome, and this is definitely a game worth playing for racing game fans of any experience level.

An amazing game. I mean, seriously, wow. Expect to invest an absurd amount of time getting to the end of the game.

The new features and additions give this game more replayability than the combination of all the single player games collecting dust on my shelf.

There’s an unbelievable amount of things to do and fun to be had, much of it at the player’s whim.

Definitely deserving of every accolade it gets, but many of the complaints against its content seem absurd after playing it. There’s no graphic violence, and much of the fighting is done out of either self defense or in defense of someone weaker than their attacker.

A fantastic boxing title that really delivers the action in a realistic way for fight fans, and those discovering the sweet science for the first time on their home console.

Very near the perfect game. It’s engrossing, has a speedy learning curve, and is packed with action. You can play for just an hour, or be sucked in for hours on end.

Despite its slight gameplay and extensive loading problems, DiRT still delivers the most exciting and rewarding racing action I’ve experienced on the 360, and the finest rally racing experience I’ve ever had in a game.

Need For Speed Heat is a return to form for the series and the best entry this generation. The racing action is top-shelf and the day to night shift in gameplay focus keeps things fresh.

L4D2 may be more of the same, but in a thoroughly pleasing sense.

Revamping the action platformer genre with plenty of action, wacky, impressive gadgets and an interesting storyline, this is what the future of action games should be.

If you like to have fun playing games, and even if you like to laugh, there are a few parts in MDK 2 that are simply FUNNY, not the normal supposed-to-be-funny crap that you see in a lot of games, but clever humour, something that is generally very rare.

The plane physics and world realism are incredible.

Anyone who loved the original should pick this up as soon as possible, and if you’re new to the genre, at least download the demo and give it a shot. I’m sure you’ll enjoy it once you’ve gotten used to the controls, and find that the game’s wide variety of well-done events result in an incredibly fun experience that should please nearly anyone.

With an enormous amount of customizable options, absorbing story mode and large mod community, T.H.U.G. provides just about anything a gamer could want in a skateboarding title without grabbing a board and hitting the streets. Combine that with the ability to "place" yourself into the game with the face mapping feature, and you have a product that could easily be considered one of the best games of the year.

Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled is just about perfect at what it’s trying to do. The redone adventure mode is a blast minus the grind required to get coins to unlock stuff, and the core gameplay has been refined. This results in the best-playing Crash racing game ever and yet another top-shelf kart racer. Right now, the genre is as big as it’s been in 20 years, with Sonic, Mario, and Crash all competing at stores and the best thing for players is that you can’t go wrong with any of them. Crash offers up a tremendous game overall and it’s definitely an experience I would put above Team Sonic Racing, but ever so slightly behind Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.