The best snowboarding game on the market.

NFL 2K3 has not only narrowed the gap between it and Madden -- it might have surpassed it.

There's a surprising amount of depth as you work your way through the various difficulty levels, and the new songs, online leaderboards, and upcoming downloadable content make it the definitive version of one of the best games of the past few years. Now, if we could just get a new guitar...

A great-looking PS2 game, with good character models and beautiful environments. However, the one flaw in this gem is its framerate, which can bog down in moderately busy melees.

It's an experience like no other in videogames, and it's amazingly realized considering it's really the first time anyone's tried it.

Best of all, Eternal Darkness doesn't treat the story as an excuse to kill monsters; you kill monsters as an excuse to advance a great storyline. There's plenty of shock and gore in ED, but it's not afraid to show off its brains either.

The real coup for diehard Warcraft players is a true map and mission editor that can be used to create scripted maps, custom heroes, voice and sound files, unit variations, as well as a completely new story.

Most gamers should consider playing it on general principal, but the addictive and fun gameplay, tons of personality, and huge replay value are pretty good reasons as well.

Possibly the finest snowboarding game ever. SSX 3 offers an insane amount number of challenges, near-limitless replay value, and tight gameplay from start to finish.

With Rock Band 2, Harmonix has created a game that's quick to grow and evolve... just like the music libraries of its ardent fans. If there's any game that reflects the age we live in, and the way that we interact with music, it's Rock Band 2.

Even without a high level of graphics pleasure, Forza is still better than "Gran Turismo 4." Why? How about incredible online play, solid AI and a realistic damage model? That's in addition to hundreds of cars, impeccable control and a career mode deep enough to rival your local bottomless well.

With added depth to the on-field action and expanded management options, Madden 2004 is a game worth picking up regardless of whether you're a rookie to the series or a diehard veteran.

One of the top strategy games of the year, on any platform.

At this point, it's a leading contender for our Multiplayer Game of the Year, and whether you pick it up as part of the Orange Box package or on its own via the Steam digital download service, it's worth every penny.

Mostly a joy to look at and play. It's a shame that the PC's co-op mode is so problematic, but it's a small complaint in the grand scheme of things: the solo campaign alone is worth the price of admission, and the versus mode is delicious icing on the cake.

The game looks great, sounds great, has great writing, offers a lengthy and satisfying journey, has a great technical element and engaging sword-swinging and spell-slinging. It would be difficult to find a game out there with better production values, or that meets its goals so successfully while still introducing new ideas and innovations.

As good as a platformer as we'll ever see. However, it's time that the Nintendo brain trust hits us with something new with the same level of quality.

It has great graphics, exciting gameplay, and a solid online mode. If you can skip over the slightly gimmicky modes and stick to the excellent Franchise mode, you'll be happy that you whipped Mr. Jackson out at the game store.

This is one game you won't put down until every technique, option and secret has been revealed.

The deepest pro football game available this season, rivaled only in replay value by it’s younger brother, "NCAA 2003."...The only thing we could hope for is online play, exclusive to the PS2 version this season.

A stunning title... Sure, it might be a little complex for the casual gamer, and it might be a little rough in places, but Rome is as deep and as satisfying as they come.

Forza 3 is a brilliantly engineered, if somewhat cold, racing game.

This action-adventure is so smart, so well-written, and delivered with such an obvious love for its source material, I daresay it is both the best licensed game ever made, and arguably the best game of its kind in our current console generation.

A little rushed at the end, with too few worlds to explore. Other than that, SMS is an absolute classic...This is pure, "Video Game Crack."

Possibly the finest snowboarding game ever, SSX 3 offers an insane amount number of challenges, near-limitless replay value, and tight gameplay from start to finish.

It's the best version of an extremely excellent game, on the most powerful system of this generation, and that's something to relish.

A very strong and well-themed real-time strategy title that shouldn't be missed. A fun single-player and multiplayer experience with plenty of fresh gameplay and original ideas, despite its adherence to the original Age of Empires formula.

The graphics are so beautiful that some scenes are sure to make you weep; the gameplay is intricate and well explained; the story is simple, yet powerful; and the characters are memorable and endearing.

A wonderful rebirth of a classic franchise.

The mutators, bots, teams, and sheer number of maps give the game an awesome depth and replayability.

The technology trees alone make it impossible for someone who's sampled Twilight of the Arnor to ever go back to just playing Dark Avatar. Add to that impressive customization tools, new gameplay dynamics, better AI, graphic upgrades, new ship-builder components and completely re-done flavor text and hundreds and hundreds of smaller tweaks, fixes and changes and what you have is an absolute triumph and a new standard for turn-based-strategy games.

It's everything good about videogames in one package, forever encouraging you to play "one more song!" until it's 3AM and the neighbors are yelling for you to turn down that racket.

Factor in reasonably priced downloadable content, and you've got the recipe for one of the year's best games, bar none.

Chrono Trigger is one of the best examples of what the Japanese RPG experience can offer. Its gameplay feels more unique and inviting to those who aren't enamored with selecting boring attack commands for their static sprites to follow.

If you've been playing Rock Band regularly over the last 9 months, then you'll find a lot of welcome features -- and tons of more music -- in Rock Band 2.

It's easily the best title for GameCube this year, and while there's really not all that much new in terms of game mechanics, play style, and presentation, what you're ultimately left with is a rock-solid sequel that offers a bigger, harder, more rewarding challenge than the first game.

Very little felt new; even the final enemy encounter is heavily inspired by the endgame of "Super Metroid."

If video game history were ever to be taught to children, then Final Fantasy VI should be part of the curriculum's required playing. Its characters are among the genre's most unique and memorable, while its villain is quite possibly the most well-crafted embodiment of evil in RPG history.

Arguably the best golf simulation on the market.

The defense upgrades bring a lot of welcome strategy to the game, and the new AI is simply superb. Its amazingly deep, well thought out franchise mode is the best I've ever seen, while the basic gameplay still can't be beat.

Though I still don't know what a perfect game of DX looks like, the fact that I'm still glued to it (despite -- at this point -- finishing what I estimate to be maybe one actual five-minute game in any given hour) should give you a pretty clear idea of how I feel about it.

It is the near-seamless integration of the ESPN look and feel that sets this game apart.

It's hard to remember many games as cinematic and immersive as MoH: Allied Assault. Simply put, it's the best first-person shooter we've played in years.

Drawing its strength from such greats as Thief, BioShock, Batman: Arkham City, and Portal, Arkane Studios' latest manages to deliver that magical formula of intimately familiar and refreshingly new. It doesn't shine as brightly as it should on PC, and it might not offer the challenge stealth-action fans are used to, but it's an impressive accomplishment that immediately stands out as one of the best things we've seen this year.

Now, if the story mode were the only thing available, you'd find a noticeably lower score up at the top there. As it is, though, so much is here for both players and creators, that it's impossible not to praise the whole package.

Wailing on the guitar, I might add, is immensely satisfying.

It's telling of how ravenously the most devoted WoW players inhale content that level 80 Death Knights fishing for instance runs are commonplace at this point, less than two weeks after Wrath's launch.

The Metroid Prime series was pretty fantastic on its own, and now that all three titles have been brought together with some much-appreciated control improvements, it's one of the best titles (and certainly one of the best values) on the Wii. The new controls really do provide a good excuse for fans to double-dip.

Although it plays beautifully and realistically in some areas, others just don't and ruin the package as a whole. But remember, this is still perhaps the best football title in history. But as always, since the game is so damn good, those little quirks ending up being large quirks in the long run.

Full of caring touches and a microscope-like attention to detail, F1 Challenge '99-'02 is the ultimate thinking person's open-wheel racing sim.

Its depth and addictiveness is second to none. If the GameCube is your only console, then I wholeheartedly recommend this game.

None can deny that it's a huge step forward.

While the story isn't quite as moving as the original, Klonoa 2 has a wonderful mix of action, great control, nice challenge (if you try to really complete the game), and just beautiful presentation.

Superior AI, breathtaking graphics, unassailable realism, a growing user made add-on community: expect IL-2 to grab a lot of "Simulation of the Year" awards in the coming month.

From beginning to end, the involving storyline and varying mission types will keep you wanting more, which is provided by the sufficient multiplayer capabilities, and the interesting SquadWar ladder system.

UYA's multiplayer experience is excellent. The level of polish is surprisingly high, which is evident in everything from specific gameplay details (the grappling beam's ease of use is superb, for example) to the extensive number of options that can be tweaked.

A masterpiece of macabre mayhem, encased in a graphical shell so realistic you'll be wincing at every arterial spray and brutal decapitation.

Fantastic narrative aside, the most important thing to know about AC2 is that it won't make you want to throw your controller through your TV like the first game did.

While some serious camera and less serious interface problems keep it from perfection, Snake Eater is both an exciting return to form and the most successful fusion yet of video games with Hollywood-style storytelling.

The reason that the Wii version is the best is because the new control system makes the gameplay more enjoyable. Using both the Wii remote and the nunchuck, players will be able to perform all of the regular moves and attacks from before, only now they can do them in a more sensitive, accurate and pleasing fashion.

The odds of Sony dropping a first-party title better than this for the rest of the year are slimmer than a supermodel on the Atkins diet.

One of the most tension-packed, visually stunning games you're likely to play this year.

In many ways it is a far superior product compared to last year's hit. But in other ways it also feels like a rushed product.

Crysis pushes the envelope in the graphics department and experiments with some freewheeling gameplay. The end result may not be a perfectly polished game experience, and it might require a monster system to really appreciate, but it's hard to fault a game for pushing so far past the bleeding edge.

Simply the most polished and responsive action game we have seen so far this generation, and it's my belief it will likely remain so till the end. It fulfills the half-forgotten promise of the Xbox: to provide a gaming experience you can't get anywhere else. [*Note: GameSpy equates 5-stars/Ed Choice with a score of 95.]

Chains of Olympus is more than another console game grafted to PSP; it's a pint-sized triumph for the platform.

DoA2: Hardcore's innovative style of play, coupled with blazing fast graphics makes this a title to own - even if you already have "Tekken Tag Tournament."

If you played World of Warcraft to level 60 and enjoyed it, you'll enjoy Burning Crusade even more. And if you never stopped playing WoW, the expansion isn't an option, it's mandatory.

A fantastic piece of video gaming entertainment.

As a PC port however, it's somewhat disturbing that these issues weren't resolved. It all comes down to the apparent laziness in fixing the shortcomings of the PSX version.

The powerful story affects you as it unfolds and by the end you will be drained--your life will never be the same again. This game could do to adventure games, what Doom did for the FPS. A must buy for anyone and everyone.

If anything, the PC version skews towards golf fans because it's more of a simulation, but that doesn't change the fact Tiger 2005 is one of the best PC games of the year, and one of the deepest, most completely realized sports games you could ever hope to play.

It is the near-seamless integration of the ESPN look and feel that sets this game apart.

Shooters are a dime-a-dozen these days, with many different variations to choose from. Killzone 2 manages to stand out from the pack thanks to its superb graphics, its unique setting, and its robust multiplayer offerings.

Suffice it to say that while it's not a perfect game, it's definitely the best Halo game yet and a fittingly epic goodbye to fans from Bungie, the developer that helped to launch a million Xboxes.

Dark Avatar does much more than just add new units or new maps, it revisits the very underpinnings the game itself and adjusts them to make the whole experience richer.

It's a rare thing when a game comes along with the power to move a player emotionally... Mass Effect takes interactive entertainment to breathtaking new heights.

If you're a Batman fan, this is the best treatment the World's Greatest Detective has ever received in videogame form -- and if you're not a Batman fan, Arkham Asylum will change that. This is how to make a licensed game.

It starts off slow, but No One Lives Forever is a unique and stylish experience well worth the cost of admission.

Once you strap into an F/A-18 and rocket over the landscape, once you're crouched next to a tank trying valiantly to repair it while bullets ping off of the armor inches above your head, once you defend a waypoint and ask for new orders from your commander over the radio, all of those nitpicks about map balance or sniper power fade.

Provides just about everything that an action gamer could hope for, from thrilling boss fights to an epic storyline that sweeps through Greek mythology.

The defense upgrades bring a lot of welcome strategy to the game, and the new AI is simply superb. Its amazingly deep, well thought out franchise mode is the best I've ever seen, while the basic gameplay still can't be beat.

Even without the online multiplayer offered in the Playstation 2 version Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 is a near-perfect game.

When I peer down that rabbit hole, however, what is essentially a whole new game emerges.

Yes, Fallout 3 is a lot like Oblivion (with guns!), but it's a superior game in nearly every way, as it features a more engaging storyline, impeccable presentation, and hundreds of hours of addictive gameplay. While the jury is still out on whether or not hardcore Fallout enthusiasts will accept the game as part of the storied franchise, Fallout 3 is a must-have title for most RPG fans, as well as one of the finest games of this generation.

Now that we've finally played the PC version, I'm happy to report that it will be the definitive version of Arkham City... eventually.

Delivers an engrossing tale of identity, mortality and discovery in a bizarre, fantastic setting. Clearly, a great choice for those seeking to role-play and watch their character develop.

Its single-player game will rank among the best PC RPGs of all time and is sure to earn it fame. Power, however, is something it gives, rather than gets. More than any other game, Neverwinter Nights truly gives players power.

This action-adventure is so smart, so well-written, and delivered with such an obvious love for its source material, I daresay it is both the best licensed game ever made, and arguably the best game of its kind in our current console generation.

Masterfully blending some spectacular action sequences and a unique sense of humor with elements of stealth games, first-person shooters, graphic adventures and even RPGs, the end result is a title that tops the original in every way, and stands out even among 2002's amazing crop of PC action games.

The best portable Castlevania game yet created.

After logging over a hundred hours on Dragon Age: Origins, I still want to continue playing. I want to unearth more of its secrets, to better know its characters, to see how the decisions I make can impact its world, and yes, to see more of its endings. I can't think of a better recommendation than that.

The best RPG on the market. Its exceptional graphics and gameplay will keep you coming back.

The joy is in figuring out what kind of ninja you want to be. Mark of the Ninja gives you the tools to get the job done, and lets you run wild through levels with diverging paths, tons of secrets, and ways of slaughtering guards. As a result, that feeling of badassery I get upon pulling off a perfectly executed symphony of violence is a well-earned one.

Even lacking that [online] option, WE 8 stands as the best soccer game of all time. It looks fantastic and plays out of this world.

A deep, engrossing, RPG-platform amalgam that's also perfectly portable.

A brilliant action game from beginning to end, and is packed with so many amazing moments that it's my leading candidate for the best PC game of 2003, and there's a good argument to be made that's it's the best WWII shooter ever.

If you want to dig deep into Madden's highly touted franchise mode, there are some major holes that need to be filled before this portion of the game passes muster -- the game will not be truly complete until it's fixed.