This doesn't feel like a knock-off Lord of the Rings game, rather it comes off as a true labor of love from designers that have a very good understanding of the material from which they are working and the finished product is much better because of it.

With the inclusion of a fully accessible level editing utility included with the game, as well as the capacity to accept third party modifications, Battlefield Vietnam is probably going to make as big an impact as "Battlefield 1942" did.

All in all, with a price of $29.99, Ghost Recon 2: Summit Strike has a few flaws and annoyances that can be over looked for the punch it packs.

A worthwhile download for any role-playing fan and an absolute must have for Guild Wars fans.

Disgaea 2 is ultimately about the characters you create, the battles you fight, the equipment you improve, and the party you level up and kit out. Like many of the best games -- Civilization, X-Com, Diablo, Pirates -- Disgaea 2 is about the story you create in the playing.

The enormous, epic battles, the variety of classes, weapons, upgrades and the stacking mission objectives for each map will have you enjoying the game for quite a long while.

Sure the game can be difficult at times, and some players might not like the way you have to navigate the world, but if you can look past that you'll find a unique storyline and some pretty engaging gameplay mechanics that are worth the price of admission.

In the end the company has created an excellent game with good graphics, great controls that you can change, and one that runs smoothly even with 32 people playing at once. Warhawk is truly a benchmark for the PS3 and easily one of the best games in its lineup.

There are a few niggling problems and annoyances on and off the field that keep the game from being picture perfect, but by and large, MLB The Show 08 for the PS2 offers a very realistic and entertaining brand of baseball.

Once beaten, there is little cause for repeat playthroughs, but the initial experience is so captivating that this hardly matters. Too many people missed out on the first game, and I hope that they don't make the same mistake twice. Trine 2 is easily one of the year's most enchanting puzzle-platformers.

This is easily the most satisfying and wildly entertaining one-on-one brawler I’ve played on a console.

While Rift still has some things to iron out in terms of balance, bugs and lag, that's par for the course for any new MMO and since launch, the Rift team has been actively talking to the community and addressing their concerns. Although many of the quests could use a heavier dose of originality, the game as a whole offers a large amount of interest and fun; so much in fact, it just might lure more than a few players away from that other MMO.

Even if you played the original version on the DS, it's well worth it to jump back into the game via the HD version. Every unit and background is now hand drawn and units have excellent attack animations, complete with some fantastic audio.

If Child of Eden suffers from one significant drawback it's the length of its campaign. For serious players looking to rush through, it's possible to finish all of the stages within a few short hours. Finishing stages does unlock new visual filters and opportunities to mess with samples in-game, but if you're looking for 8+ hours of genuinely fresh content you will be disappointed.

Prepare to get addicted all over again.

While I am enjoying Road to Rome, I've a feeling that it will only live from now until the time Secret Weapons is released.

Delivers on the promise of offering a modern day tactical game that is totally different from the average title, yet is incredibly easy to pick up and play. My grievances focus around the slightly linear mission design, occasionally idiotic AI (both enemy and friendly, though more so the former), and a short campaign, but everything else the game offers left me with an excellent experience that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Lapses like the holds in pit-lane, the AI nuisances, and lousy rules enforcement prevent this game from reaching its full potential.

Despite a non-existent story and poor characterization, Vanquish manages to breathe life into an otherwise stagnating genre.

Are there enough improvements to warrant a purchase of 09 if you have 08? That’s hard for me to say. The dynamic ratings are fantastic, but with a majority of the courses being identical and the gameplay being almost identical it’s a tough sale.

Sadly, the bugs I encountered during the game (especially with the way the graphics engine started chugging so severely in the later levels) really hurt my experience, and the action just eventually ended up being reduced to using the same strategy over and over again.

The time you spend earning it is well worth it, not just because it makes your hero stronger but also because of the additive fun you have along the way. Despite the torturous AI, Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords is easily one of the most original games to hit the PlayStation Portable.

This is, for all intents and purposes the same game that was released for the DC over a year ago. It was great then, it's still great now.

Spy Hunter has left me stunned, proving itself to be one of the most fun and addictive games to hit the PS2.

In releasing this DLC, Gearbox and 2K have done what seems to be so difficult for other studios: drop a well designed, value laden expansion pack in a timely manner.

It has been a while since I've had so much pure joy while playing a game.

Picross 3D is that kind of game, the kind that burrows itself into your mind, puts down hooks and never, ever leaves.

What makes this game interesting is the speed of play and the sheer, as mentioned before, chaos of it all.

The single player is a complete waste despite the hefty amount of content put into it. If you're going to enjoy Kid Icarus: Uprising, it's because you can stand the awful controls and really badly want something to play online. If you're considering the game for any other reason than that, I highly recommend catching the next updraft and tossing it into the sun.

Just like "Sly 2," Sly 3 controls like a dream. In very short order any gamer of moderate skill will have Sly and the gang traveling quickly about the levels and running roughshod over the bad guys with the very tight and responsive controls.

Certainly, a game with well-developed characters, intriguing storyline, and entertaining play is not one that should be passed over too lightly, nor forgotten too easily.

Bugs and roster issues aside, for $20 this is a no-brainer for hockey fans – it's one of the best, if not the best, hockey games of all time and no fan of the sport should miss it.

A success due to a number of reasons including an inspired artistic style that is simple but strikingly beautiful, characters that are both eccentric and charming, and a catchy soundtrack that you won't get out of your head.

Yes, we can still dream of online leagues and a real franchise mode, but what we have here is very impressive, and gives you thanks that there’s no exclusive license in baseball.

A truly satisfying adult game on the Wii—which is a true rarity. This game may not be everyone’s cup of tea with the violence, language and mature subject matter that hits you from everywhere, but despite the rated R subject matter, there is no denying that this is one of the best games available on the system.

All in all, ODST is a solid addition to the Halo franchise.

When I was done, I was disappointed that I couldn't start it up all over again as like any adventure game, there's no real replayability here, but ultimately I was glad that I got to spend time with these characters and set up endings for them that allowed them to be as happy as they had made me.

A sleeper hit.

A must-own baseball game. The price is a bargain ($39 for Wii) and you could be playing this game alone all the way to next opening day.

DiRT is a great game to show off your Xbox 360’s graphical capabilities and is a fun and addictive racing game with a high amount of replay value.

Even with no multiplayer, Hulk: Ultimate Destruction is a game that is well worth the time.

Undeniably charming. Technically, it's not the best role-playing game on the market but it is loaded so much personality that its problems melt away underneath a blanket of just plain fun.

It’s still an enjoyable experience, but multiplayer is the absolute reason to pick up RE5. It’s the feature that we’ve been wishing for since day one (Outbreak didn’t count), and Capcom delivers a fine show.

Pay attention folks, THIS is how you make a "Special Edition."

The single most brilliant, most thorough, most customizable baseball management game in existence.

What EA has done here is reinvent a bloated franchise, and turned it into a product that the hardcore and the more casual among us can enjoy equally.

The Xbox 360 makes NFS: MW an even better game and it should absolutely, positively be one of your first titles with the console.

This is a must buy for fans of the original Bangai-O, Treasure addicts looking for an excellent, sustained fix, and old-school shooter fans of all breeds.

Surely, if you already have a version of the game, two or three new boards won’t sway you into a re-purchase, but this is the definitive classic pinball sim on consoles.

It may feel a bit different from the Final Fantasy you're used to, but Final Fantasy XIII deserves the chance to branch out and develop on its own.

In the end what you have is gameplay that is as good as it has ever been – not perfect and still with some frustrations but clearly NCAA 10 is the most respectable version of this series to date.

But what really blew me away was the inclusion of a cool and intuitive (if limited) map editor and the online facilities for players to trade their works of art amongst one-another easily and efficiently.

Packed with so much stuff to see and kill, Borderlands offers plenty of things to aim your spiffy new weapons at, all the while providing one of the best co-op experiences of the year.

Crackdown does everything right and doesn't let the narrative (which assails you at every turn) get in the way of the fun - and there's plenty of fun to be had.

A brilliantly crafted work art in almost every respect. It just never became fun for me. It always seemed like I was supposed to be working for something, but I never figured out what that this was.

This is easily the most satisfying and wildly entertaining one-on-one brawler I’ve played on a console.

The Lost Chapters looks as good as the original game, which still can hold its own against any other game released on Microsoft's game system.

What you are left with is a great 2-player game, a lot of features that the well established fan base most likely won’t care about (even though Backtrack and Rewind are both pretty good ideas), a half-baked online league system, and gameplay that is at times highly polished and entertaining yet also plagued by AI issues.

Let’s just say that the game looks great by PlayStation 2 standards. Double plays really feel like double plays – diving for grounders and the physics of the ball are amazing.

“Easy to pick up but hard to put down” has become a trite phrase but it fits Picross DS perfectly. It’s hard to believe that such a fun and puzzle packed game only costs 20 bucks, especially when many “next gen” games clock in at three times the price with barely as much content.

The jewel of the EA Sports lineup.

It is utterly breath taking at times. Anime and video game fanatics unite! The start of a truly excellent series is here!

If you're a fan of mindless violence and are willing to be satisfied just pulling a trigger on some very neat technology, Resistance 3 could tickle your fancy. With stunning visuals that once again push the Playstation 3 to its edge, there's plenty to be satisfied if you're looking for a Bruckheimer-esque production. Walk in looking for anything else though and you'll find a six to seven hour campaign that fails to spark anything more than basal satisfaction throughout.

This game is just a blast to play – it's too bad there's no 2-player or cooperative mode via a link, but it's easily the best Game Boy Advance game I've played in quite some time.

A solid, predictable, and competent game. It's not a revolutionary step by any means, but the gameplay tweaks are for the most part meaningful additions.

Like the very best puzzle games, this one gets in your head and refuses to leave.

The main elements that work against it are the length, the somewhat generic and stale pacing towards the middle-point of the campaign, and the fact that the portal system really wasn’t pushed as far as possible.

Darksiders has set 2010 off to a running start. With gory hack-and-slash action, challenging dungeon puzzles, an intriguing (albeit sometimes annoying) guardian demon, gorgeous scenery and a story that begins with killing mankind, you get a little bit of everything.

Quibbles aside, MLB 08 The Show packs quite a bit into this smaller platform and it makes a great companion to the console counterpart and is easily the best handheld baseball game on the market.

The game offers a cool setting, interesting characters, a great combat and skill system, and lots of extracurricular activities, providing countless hours of RPG fun.

As a campaign inFamous 2 is a sub-par experience, but it makes up for that disappointment plenty with a rich and enjoyable sandbox. It's still recommended that you play through the story for context, but this is a game enjoyed most when you color outside the lines. The flaws in this game would kill any other, but the sense of freedom and strength that come with playing Cole MacGrath outweigh any complaints making this a more than competent experience for anyone looking for a power trip.

And while it is clearly geared for a younger crowd, it nonetheless shows off well the DS experience – something that no other system currently has a prayer of duplicating.

It’s gorgeous, fun, and is easily one of the very best racing games available for the console.

Battlefield: Bad Company provides some fantastic gameplay on and offline and features some of the best audio of any game in recent memory.

And Yet it Moves provides an adventure that is both challenging and relaxing in equal measure and shows that complicated controls and crazy move sets aren't needed to give players a compelling platforming experience.

The game’s story mode is relatively easy – you can finish it in less than a full afternoon, but the fun doesn’t end there. The replay value is through the roof as every game you play will be different and always enjoyable.

You may not have heard of it, but you owe it to yourself to play this game.

No other title has ever gone so far in attempting to capture a realistic feel to mech combat, and Capcom would deserve acclaim for the attempt alone, even if it were not so well executed.

You'll be grinding your teeth every few minutes as you realize the difficulty that Acclaim has sunk into this thing. It's one of those racers where you need to be pretty much perfect each time, as well as constantly upgrading your vehicle.

Despite the story in this outing leaving me lukewarm, I'm still interested in seeing where the story takes Layton, Luke and Emmy. Level 5 has done such a great job making the characters so delightful to hang out with, that even a subpar addition by Layton standards still makes for a good puzzle game.

And while it is clearly geared for a younger crowd, it nonetheless shows off well the DS experience – something that no other system currently has a prayer of duplicating.

Games that are this good out of the box are relatively rare. Add in the fact that the game can be found for $20 and it's a absolute steal. Race '07 is a exemplary game that will provide many hours of racing bliss at a superb price.

It’s unfair to criticize the game too much for being just a Souped Up World Cup version of FIFA 10. It’s really more than that. Yes, you can make the argument that dropping 120 bucks for two similar soccer games in a six month stretch is asking a tad much, but when the actual World Cup starts play in June and you want to get in on the act you’re going to want a copy of this game—and EA Sports knows it.

It’s a shame that Dragon Sword is such an uneven game.

Patient newcomers will likely have a good time, warts and all, but if you already have the Xbox 360 version Sigma 2 doesn’t really add enough to the experience to warrant a second purchase.

Another lesson in how to take a franchise in different direction entirely - and with great effect in this particular case.

The game is a lot of fun, even if the challenge level is out of this world. If you’ve been around for all 20 years of Contra, this is a must purchase.

F1 2001 has superb graphics, great sound and unbeatable realism. There's not much more you can ask for in a racing game period.

With the lack of Xbox Live support, the limited split screen multiplayer modes, 2 player co-op, Scramble, Race and Arena are not quite as interesting as the Multiplayer should have been but the single player aspect more than makes up for it.

The graphical updates, online play and extra modes from the original release more than make up for the $10 price.

Between the medals, the tasks, the mini-games and the levels themselves, there's more than ten Kirby's worth of content here, all wrapped up in the charming and creative wrapper that the Kirby franchise become known for. Kirby may never reach the same level of gaming fame as some of Nintendo's other properties, but if the pink puffball's status as a second tier character allows him to show up in such innovative, out there titles, I'm all for him staying out of the spotlight.

While the dark spooky woods environment can get a little tedious - as can the combat, the story telling is compelling enough to keep you moving forward and just when you finally think you know what is going on, the game will turn it upside down, flip you the bird, and have you rethinking everything all over again - right up until the credits roll.

This is a heavy metal fairy tale, spun with love and copious amounts of good humor from Shafer and crew – and it’s every ounce the game fans hoped it would be.

Marvel Ultimate Alliance does what few do – it actually improves on the two original games and adds something new to the series.

If you've already played Disgaea 2 and abused the Magichange system of Disgaea 3 for all it's worth, the handful of bonus content is probably not enough to do it all over again. However, if you haven't sunk 200 hours into your elite team of Prinnies, or won’t dry heave at the thought of another geo panel puzzle, Disgaea 2 is probably the perfect portable SRPG.

Nothing gets the gamer closer to experiencing the epic battles of Star Wars than this game.