With revamped animation, new zone defenses, and improved AI...the most true-to-life simulation of the National Basketball League to date.

Soul Calibur II won't impress you as much as its predecessor, since you've seen most of these characters, their weapons, and their moves before, and the available gameplay modes are nothing out of the ordinary. Nevertheless, on its own terms, Soul Calibur II is by all means a great fighting game.

Recommended wholeheartedly. It looks fantastic and features responsive controls, some original play mechanics, a good story, and plenty of thrilling adventure. In the simplest terms: Do not miss out on this game.

The single-player campaign is over in a flash, but the high quality of that campaign and its terrific multiplayer options make Call of Duty 4 a fantastic package.

Playground Games continues to excel at making the act of virtual driving exciting, approachable, and entertaining without sacrificing complexity.

Exhilarating combat and an imposing sense of scale provide a fitting end to Kratos' saga.

The deepest, most realistic 3D NHL game on the market. Its graphics are impressive, its depth of gameplay modes is staggering, and the gameplay is predominantly tight.

More than just an upgrade of the original, SSX Tricky is the best snowboarding game ever made.

The graphics look great, the commentary is interesting and sounds natural, and, most importantly, the game features balanced offensive and defensive gameplay that does an excellent job of mimicking the nuances of the actual sport.

The Guitar Hero series makes a fantastic debut on the Xbox 360 in Guitar Hero II, adding a bunch of new content and even tweaking a few small things that weren't so great about the PS2 version.

Recommended wholeheartedly. It looks fantastic and features responsive controls, some original play mechanics, a good story, and plenty of thrilling adventure. In the simplest terms: Do not miss out on this game.

This is a beautiful, cohesive, and, most importantly, fun adventure that cements the Uncharted franchise as one of the best around. More of a good thing is welcome here.

Thankfully, what Final Fantasy Rebirth succeeds at eclipses what it fumbles. It's a superbly designed gameplay experience that instills a sense of freedom while also making exploration rewarding in a meaningful way. Refined gameplay that makes character synergy a focal point breathes new life into the slick and satisfying combat, and all the while it reinforces the underlying themes of the story. As a game that has the unenviable task of living up to one of the strongest legacies in the medium, it is a worthy second chapter. Whether Square Enix can bring it all together in the third and final part will be the subject of much discussion from here on out. Just like at Destiny's Crossroads, an unknown future beckons once again, and anything is still possible.

Rock Band does a superb job of bringing out the wannabe rock star in all of us, and creates one of the best party-game experiences of all time.

Super Mario Bros. Wonder is a bold choice for a name. It plants a flag in the ground that suggests anything less than a constant sense of awe and delight will be a failure by its own terms. But then, surprisingly, Mario Wonder rises to the challenge and the result is a modern classic. The Wonder effects are the marquee feature, and for good reason, as they serve as a springboard for a cornucopia of creativity. But it's the smart and thoughtful choices around new power-ups, badges, online multiplayer, and visual flair that cement it in Mario canon. This is the rightful successor to Super Mario World, and hopefully, will serve as a touchstone for 2D Mario going forward.

If you are returning to Journey, a higher resolution and a higher frame rate are your ostensible rewards for returning--a return that doesn't cost you anything if you already own the game on the PlayStation 3. But Journey's real rewards aren't so pedestrian. Journey offers you comfort. It gives you companionship in a lovely but forsaken world. It gives you reason to dream even when facing loss.

Only Bloodborne would be so bold as to bury an entire factional player-versus-player mechanic within an optional region, which is in turn buried within a series of oblique steps you might miss if you aren't exploring every nook and cranny, or ignore the game's enigmatic hints. I finished Bloodborne in less time than I did Dark Souls II, yet I treasure it more in spite of its few missteps.

Featuring a gripping story that never lets up, inventive gameplay, sky-high production values, and an attention to detail that is seldom matched, it's an experience like no other.

As good of an offering in the genre as there's ever been, featuring a superb story, carefully refined gameplay, plenty of depth, the best online multiplayer mode in any real-time strategy game to date, and the excellent production values you'd expect from a Blizzard product.

This game is about as solid as the Union line on Cemetery Ridge. It has all the right ingredients to please Civil War buffs, hard-core strategy fans, and maybe even some casual gamers adventurous enough to try something new.

The Sims' actual gameplay is rather limited in some respects - either by odd inconsistencies or by actual restrictions placed on your actions.

The game's new, open-ended structure, excellent audio, enhanced trick system, and improved graphics combine to make this a superlative sequel to a series that's always had high standards.

Graphically, Banjo-Kazooie takes it to another level. The game maintains the look and feel of Mario 64, but instead of flat, shaded polygons, BK uses a lot of textures.

It's a testament to convincing writing and ingenious design that after playing Celeste I felt like I'd been on the same journey as Madeline. Her struggle is one made easy to empathize with, her low points painful to watch, and her high notes exhilarating to experience. Her tale is delicately told and beautifully illustrated, confidently coalescing with the satisfying, empowering game it lies within. Not bad for a game about climbing a mountain.

Forza's main success is in finding a blend between pleasing the notoriously fickle minority that likes its driving games consistently challenging and demandingly detailed, while introducing a set of user-friendly assists that will ensure that even those who are new to the racing genre will enjoy themselves.

Covers nearly every facet of professional football, but what makes this year's entry in the series so special is the fact that it ties all its components together seamlessly. Even the new gameplay features have been integrated incredibly well.

Character rebalancing, strong online multiplayer modes, and an updated roster help Super Street Fighter IV expand on its predecessor in every way.

Forza Horizon 5 is another meaningful evolution of the series as opposed to a reinvention, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's a case of more of the same. Even when it is familiar, Forza Horizon 5 makes small, but thoughtful changes to its established blueprint that hones in on the people behind the cars in a way that the franchise has previously just glossed over. It's not going to convince you to give it a go if Forza Horizon's brand of racing hasn't done it for you in the past, but Forza Horizon 5 still stands head and shoulders above anything else in the genre.