If you have something you need to get done right now, a paper, a report, just hold off on buying this game until you're finished because other tasks don't stand a chance when playing THPS2 is an option.

Any way you slice it, Niko Belic journey through Liberty City and his quest for answers to his shadowy past is an experience you just cannot afford to miss.

Without a doubt the best looking fighting game ever, with nuances like muscle rippling, facial expressions of pain, fear, and anger, and caustic lighting effects that dazzle the eyes.

Galaxy 2 is a constant deluge of fresh ideas that are successful -- not because of its place in a franchise -- but because it is wholly willing to reinvent itself on the fly.

Considering the fact that it's been a target of political and media pundits who keep harping on the infamous "Hot Coffee" incident, it's understandable to think that Rockstar might tone down the adult themes in GTA IV. But thankfully, that didn't happen. This is a mature game, and a devilishly good one at that.

Super Mario Galaxy raises the bar in terms of what can be achieved on the Wii. Galaxy is the kind of game that you're going to want to take your time with because there is just so much to do in the game. This is the first game in a long time that I've actually gone back and replayed levels just for fun. It's everything you loved about Mario 64 and nothing you hated about "Super Mario Sunshine."

This is THPS at its best. More fun? Can’t have it.

With all the gadgets and alternative goals thrown in, "Perfect Dark" is more than just a straight-up blastfest; It's a futuristic spy-thriller that also happens to be the best multiplayer shooter on the console market.

A stellar recreation of the PC version. I've encountered absolutely no slowdown (or any other issues) during my time with the iPad edition.

While Prime's graphics lack a little polish and flair and the controls never really become second-nature, the game itself simply rules.

Greatly improved in GTAIII is the stunning visual and sound package.

This immersive sci-fi epic delivers both an expansive story and electrifying first-person combat, making it one of 2001's best games.

With improvements made over the already incredible "NFL 2K," this year's NFL game on the Dreamcast is all a football fan could wish for.

The way things fly, catch fire, and fall not only carries consequences that add weight to your war of the worlds, but also creates situations that reward guile, guts, and instinct... Everything about Half-Life 2 is remarkable.

What if a game's narrative was as intricate and as immersive as its graphics? What if as much attention went into dialogue and atmosphere as went into pixel shaders and high-resolution textures? What then? Ladies and gentlemen, the answer is BioShock, one of the most playable, thought-provoking, and just downright impressive games to emerge on a home console since, well, ever.

Play GoldenEye one time and you’ll be jonesin’ for James harder than Grace Jones on a lonely night. It’s one of the best movie-to-game translations ever.

The A.I. is a little suspect, the camera can be stubborn, and you will die your fair share of cheap deaths. But it's still a fantastic effort and Naughty Dog deserves full credit for building upon the momentum of the first installment. PS3 owners should definitely experience it, especially if they liked the original.

If RE4 has any problem, it goes on a little too long (it spans two discs), with one boss battle and plot twist too many. However, there's an extensive reward system, including unlockable content that adds excellent replay value.

For first-person shooter fans, it doesn't get much better than this. What's even better is that each individual game runs amazingly well on the Xbox 360. The graphics are amazing as is the presentation. The interface that Valve created for navigating through the content is also wonderful.

There's a real sense of progression to Arkham City in its gameplay, in its story, in the variety of its missions (the abundance of open world side-quests will keep you busy for a long, long time), and in the evolution of its pointy-eared protagonist, that really deserves to be commended.

In order to outshine Tekken 3, a game will need to have a ton of moves (T3 has over 100 per character), multi-hit combos (all T3 fighters can pull off 10-hitters), outstanding graphics (T3 has no breakup on the fighters, no "blind spots" where clipping occurs, and no slowdown), and seamless gameplay that includes juggles, counters, and linking moves.

An improvement on just about every aspect of the original game, with the exception of one tiny aspect; the very final battle. Mass Effect 2 sees BioWare's approach to the role playing genre evolve beyond anything they've worked on previously, and gives us a glimpse of how both RPGs and shooters will begin to merge in the years ahead.

The GameCube controller doesn't quite offer the potential of the Wii remote, so slicing down enemies and firing arrows isn't quite as engaging.

Whether it's the exhaustively full-featured leaderboards, gorgeous graphics, or community features, every element of Super QuickHook goes above and beyond what's expected of an indie game release on the App Store.

Like every other game in the series, Skyrim is going to eat hundreds of hours of my gaming time over the next few years. It has that sense of wonder that makes he Elder Scrolls games so great, and with the changes to skills, the Shouts, and dual-wielding, I think any gamer is going to have a lot of fun with Skyrim (and its eventual expansions) as well.

A masterpiece of epic proportions, the "Saving Private Ryan" of first-person shooters.

While the controls can get a tad touchy and the visuals aren't quite as crisp as they once were, any gamer in the know deserves to check this game out. It's just that good.

A brilliant, dazzling wonder, no matter how you feel about Link's new pants... If this game doesn't make you happy, then it's impossible for you to be happy. [Apr 2003, p.94]