The snow effects are unrivaled, the framerate is consistently high and the colors are vibrant. Add to that great animations (particularly during tricks) and an intense sense of speed, and you wind up with one of those rare games that can be as much fun to watch as to play.

You won’t give much attention to the unintuitive HUD, and the low level cap won’t stop most from playing the game again with added difficulty or for multiple story options. You'll get frustrated, you'll ask yourself why, but you'll still love it. Facing the dark reality of Mass Effect 2 has its stumbles and slips, but it’s a trip worth taking, no matter the destination.

From Dust is the God game for the rest of us, shallow enough for arm-chair deities, deep enough for messiahs who want to come to Earth and shape the world elbows deep. As one of the few games you can actually relax with and still enjoy to its fullest, From Dust should be in your library.

Great story, acting, interface, are all wrapped up to create one of the best adventure games yet.

If you want more of what you enjoyed in the first Metroid Prime, expect to be pleased as it is duplicated here in vast quantity. High production values, solid gameplay and classic Metroid design combine to form another winner.

An excellent battle system and a level of visual artistry that sets a new mark for others to follow, and the long awaited addition of voices adds a dramatic element that's been missing forever...But with the steps forward come a few backward, like the inability to scene skip and the overly linear flow.

Combining a score-attacking arcade game, the addictive challenges of Call of Duty, varying vehicle mechanics, and all the humor and absurdity Haflbrick can muster, Jetpack Joyride is a godsend of mobile gaming. While you still won't sit and enjoy the game for hours, it's an ideal burst of entertainment in the doctor's office, before boarding a plane, or on the can.

The enormous number of tracks and cars on top of the realistic Gran Turismo gameplay gives this game some of the best replay value there is.

Splinter Cell's gameplay is perfectly adapted to the mouse and keyboard.

When you combine the depth of gameplay, breadth of modes and quality of delivery with the salary-cap friendly $19.99 price tag, it’s easy to see how ESPN NHL 2K5 stays on top of its division.

Enhanced gameplay combined with a great story and fantastic CG will give even the most peaceful elf a new reason to go to war.

New players will find a lot to enjoy and the people who completed speed runs blindfolded will find new layers to enjoy.

Overwhelmingly good. This game is one of the finest gridiron products on the market with great gameplay, smooth graphics and options that would take all day to describe. While perhaps not a perfect football game (if there is such a thing), NFL 2K3 definitely raises the bar.

There is more virtual football reality available in this game than you could ever hope to find on TV, in the newspapers or on the internet. The lack of online play is a disappointment and keeps this version a notch below the superior PS2 one, but even so, this is a great football game.

Forget about what you've done during the main game's single player campaign, turn off your suspension of disbelief, and nail those suckers in the head.

One of the best first person shooters ever.

Between the open environments and multi-branching plot of its story mode and designable maps for multiplayer, there is a ton to do and be seen in Ubisoft’s latest endeavor. So pack your bags and get ready for your trip to the motherland.

Given Telltale's record for producing excellent games, returning fans shouldn't even think twice about picking up this first chapter for Chapter 3.

An extraordinary hockey game. The action is hot and fast, and the intangibles and extras add quality on top of quality.

Rune kicks butt. It's easily the best hack n' slash game out there, chock full of bladed mayhem.

An extraordinary hockey game. The action is hot and fast, and the intangibles and extras add quality on top of quality.

A great game. It's got all the goods you'd expect, from solid gameplay to smooth presentation. But where the game comes up short is giving you things you don't expect, and considering that the series is in many ways unchanged since it first hit the PSX back in 1997, that's a shame.

A port handled as well as this comes up practically as often as a deal like this. Bear in mind, it's still a port, and noticeably aged compared to brand new RPGs. But it's still a terrific game.

The combat gameplay is unrivaled, especially during some of the very creative boss battles. It's also the longest Resident Evil game yet, with 25 - 30 hours of gameplay on two discs along with a ton of unlockables that will make you want to do it all over again.

None of its flaws, though, detract Dance Central from justifying Kinect and revolutionizing the rhythm dance genre. It spearheads not just a movement in new video game technology, but also the inherent connection between dance and downright fun.

With an emphasis on characterizations, and battles that are actually fun to play, this game totally grabbed me.

Rock Band 2 is THE definitive version of its revolutionary progenitor– better instruments, better online modes, and a wickedly better song list – taking its place as one of the greatest multiplayer games of our generation. Where Rock Band 2 doesn’t innovate, it polishes and tweaks until it KILLS.

While we're sorry that the series still lacks an online component for its console versions, we love the cyclical player skills system, as well as the new player search.