Just as addictive as its crackhead father. Like any good drug, the entry fee has gone up (to $30, still fairly cheap), but you don’t get any significant gameplay additions for that. Instead, you get another mellow jaunt through one of the two weirdest and entertaining games released for the PS2.

Magical and special.

If this had been just a couple of hours longer and had the option to kill Gambit, I’d say this was a shoe-in for game of the year.

If ESPN wants to compete with an EA Franchise that has made some serious leaps and bounds this year, they’re going to have to buckle down in the off-season, tighten up their offense and maybe learn some new plays on defense.

The gameplay and presentation are perfect and approachable for those who haven’t been introduced to music video games, especially families with wide generational gaps who have at least a remote interest in the Beatles. Though it is short and isolated from the other Rock Band titles, The Beatles: Rock Band is much better than your average day tripper.

But the real reason to buy inFamous is that, regardless of your morality, it's just plain old fun being super-powered Cole in a city full of helpless mortals. And if you're a 360 owner lamenting the PS3 exclusivity, don't worry about it - just go pick up a copy of "Crackdown" instead.

The load of modes and options will keep you easily entertained until next season, and the new animations and context-sensitive controls add a never-before-seen layer of realism, even if you have seen everything else before.

While GT2 features over 500 cars, GT3 contains only a fraction of that number. In fact, the original Gran Turismo holds more cars (166) than the advertised 150+ cars of GT3. Enthusiasts will be sorely disappointed, but trust me, 150+ cars is still pretty hefty. Also missing is the used car lot.

Yes, the camera can be very annoying and the game is unquestionably difficult and at times frustrating, but the whole is much better than the sum of its parts. It's rare for an action game to get better the longer you play it.

MAG puts communication front-and-center in the online shooter genre. Using a headset isn’t just “useful” or “convenient”. It’s absolutely necessary. Zipper’s made a ballsy move—particularly on a console where headsets are sold separately—but it’s paid off. MAG is a unique experience and is sure to gain a dedicated fan-base all its own.

By the end of the game, I found myself left with a distinctly ashen taste in my mouth; the victories are left hollow and incomplete. Partially because the ending doesn't fully resolve the numerous sub-plots of the game, but also because the storyline felt arbitrary and disconnected.

It's a near-perfect traditional space combat game. I'm one of the most discriminating space combat fans out there, and StarLancer was just a joy to review.

Controlling these guys is a snap thanks to a simple and efficient setup.

Despite some missed opportunities, Medieval II: Total War is still, hands-down, the best strategy game you can buy today. The scope is epic, the battles look legendary, and the increased use of non-military units and the smart incorporation of the politics of religion are welcome additions.

Another great addition to the series. It's a little more geared towards the magic-lover.

Though it doesn’t quite match the intricate strategies of Lumines, it isn’t supposed to. Meteos manages to be interesting and engaging without feeling like just another Tetris clone. Not bad for a new drug.

Battlefield 1943 is an impressive feat - it's a fun and gorgeous-looking downloadable game. If its rigid online structure can somehow be made more user-friendly in future patches, it'll be even more of a sure-bet that many of us will be playing for a long, long time, especially if this type of co-operative unlocking of features becomes a standard in future content.

Like a fruit fly bred to eat other fruit flies, Far Cry: Instincts injects some really good genes into the morass of first-person shooter DNA. In its next evolution, we'd like to see more appendages and, of course, more tail.

This is free roaming BMX action, complete with dirt tracks, half pipes, empty pools -- just the goods to fulfill any BMXers dream.

Almost as interesting as the Force powers is the skill it takes to use them effectively.

Does a fantastic job for the hardcore hockey fan with endless hours of play in Dynasty mode, but it can’t quite match the competition when it comes to delivery and mechanics... Despite its small faults, NHL 2004 is still one hell of a hockey game.

Occasional hiccups or no, having this much open-world freedom to come at the enemy any old way you see fit is just too much damned fun.

The universe feels fully fleshed out and not just slapped together for a game. You understand the houses, the units, the motivations, and the raison d' etre. And of course, harvesting finally feels right.

An excellent start to the planned four-part series. It manages to capture everything that makes the Wallace and Gromit animated shorts so endearing, expanding it to the adventure game genre. Seeing it's just a two- to four-hour long slice of a bigger, fully priced pie, we cannot wait to see what craziness is in store for the folks at West Wallaby Street in the future episodes.

A great way to end the downloadable content run for Fallout 3. If it's indeed the final DLC we're to see for the game, it's surely an out-of-this-world way to close off our explorations of the Capital Wasteland, providing a thoroughly enjoyable ride that is likely to last almost as much as the longest of the packs that's come out so far - Broken Steel.

The vast-majority rest of the time, Valkyria Chronicles offers a unique take on RPG-strategy, a truly involving story, endearing characters, and a chance to reflect upon—or wonderfully, hopelessly anachronize— whatever sense of real-world history you may still have in your head.

The addictive gameplay, well-rendered graphics (even on an aged system), easy control scheme, innovative cooperative features and tons of replay value make for a winner.

Madden 10’s improvements also highlight just how rusty the A.I. has gotten over the years. Spit and polish have taken the series far over the last two decades, but this is the first sign that maybe a more substantial revision is due.