Regardless of whether Rayman is climbing, swinging, or hovering like a helicopter, the control never once loses its smooth, seamless feel. Rayman 2 brings the same kind of fun that you will find in other great games of the genre, while at the same time creating its own identity and following.

Even after suffering through the grueling battles, the repeated deaths, the campy dialogue and the head-numbingly bad plot, I still had a hell of time thanks to the immensely satisfying combat, the inspired level design and the memorable boss encounters.

Unique and engaging in every respect—and for highbrow types who crave a challenge, this is as good as it gets.

The visuals may be on target, but Advance Warfighter's controls in the single-player campaign bites the bullet. It's been an unfortunate and ongoing theme in the Ghost Recon series, yet the wonky control scheme still hasn't been fixed.

A landmark sports game. Not only is it the greatest football game we've yet seen, it's a masterclass in how to capture the essence of a sport. From they way it looks to the way it makes you think about how you play the game, FIFA 12 is brilliant, through and through.

A wacky, wonderful meditation on the Mario phenomenon. As for the game itself: The combat system is clever, nicely varied, and wickedly fun, but a little more depth to the adventure would have sealed the deal.

The satisfying story mode is a big improvement on THPS’s structure. The story ramps up the difficulty gradually, so you build skills as you go, but there are now four difficulty levels, making THUG totally accessible to newbies.

An action-packed espionage thriller, Syphon Filter’s intense gameplay combines with tight control and a slick style to deliver the PlayStation’s best third-person action game.

With insane amounts of selectable characters and play options, what can possibly be done to top it?

A game that will have you laughing one moment and cursing the next but you'll enjoy doing both. The cutscenes and challenges are equally entertaining, if in very different ways. Bowser's Inside Story works hard to make sure it's never boring or mindlessly repetitive and quite nearly succeeds.

While it may start slow, its got enough action and new content to make it well worth the wait.

The best thing that I can say about Chaos Rings is that, unlike other ports of RPGs that have been brought to the iPhone, (like the original Final Fantasy remakes or Korean cell phone games like Zenonia and Across Age) this is a game that was made for the platform, and it shows.

A landmark sports game. Not only is it the greatest football game we've yet seen, it's a masterclass in how to capture the essence of a sport. From they way it looks to the way it makes you think about how you play the game, FIFA 12 is brilliant, through and through.

Essentially the same game with a slew of slick improvements, and gamers will have an absolute blast throwing down dunks while exploring its new features.

Black & White miraculously pulls you in and doesn't let go until you've sacrificed many hours.

A magnificent example of fine-tuning, Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando sculpts the successes of the first one to near-perfection...but too many similarities to the original make it all seem just a teensy bit stale.

The intuitive controls have been retained, but to enhance the original's sim-like feel, a slice button has been added and the serves are a little more difficult to perfect.

It's an instant classic and one that will occupy you for a long time to come. [Dec 2008, p.86]

This year, the design guys as Visual Concepts have turned ESPN NFL 2K5 into the most entertaining show in video-game football. [Sept 2004, p.98]

All in all, Phantom Hourglass is a successful sequel that improves on everything that its predecessor did right. [Nov 2007, p.92]

Excellent controls, AI, and graphics make this hockey game a must have.

Never before has a sports game improved so much and added so many new features in a single season. It may not be the league-leader in every category, but excellent performances across the board make it the best baseball game of the year. [May 2004, p.86]

Translates very well to the home. Boogie down!

The complex environments from the console games are here, but the small size kills the visual detail, and the 3/4-overhead perspective makes those levels much harder to navigate.

Yesterday I drained my iPod's battery completely while playing online deathmatch games, and the only thing I wanted to do was stick it on the charger so I could hop back in. I just hope you readers are willing to take the $6.99 hit to your wallets and join me.

The new real-time battle mode seems abortive at best, and the AI can sometimes seem a little too easy to manipulate, but the core turn-based gameplay can't be beat.

MLB 11: The Show is so full of the heart and soul of baseball that even jaded baseball video gamers have to admit how close it is to the real thing.

Its premise is straightforward, yet there’s so much to do and see, along with some sizeable challenges that will test even the brightest adventure veterans.