It's every bit as stellar as the original, though it's best played and appreciated by those that have gone through its predecessor.

Patapon is like a cleverly designed trojan horse, built to sucker you in with cute graphics and then beat you down with its primal, rhythmic challenge. It's great fun, but you may find it tough to actually play the game on the go considering the amount of attention it requires.

That these additions make the experience deeper and richer and way more fun can be considered nothing less than a "Wonder."

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.

Sims 3 is exceedingly adaptable to any character you'd ever dream of making.

There are very few games, though, that manage to take great gameplay and merge it with the kind of sheer exuberant style that brings a big goofy grin to your face that never leaves you while you're playing.

Capture and Hold and Raindance are strong additions to an already-strong free shooter, and it makes Tribes: Ascend an even more addictive "just one more match" FPS that's unlike any other shooter on the market. In the age of me-too shooters, that's not just a good thing, that's a great thing.

From the main story mode to the arcade mode to the multiplay, there's not a weak spot to be found.

The biggest change in 2003 is how the ball handles... The ball feels much more separated from the players now, and the control even reflects this.

In lesser hands, the art design might have overwhelmed everything, leaving the levels to feel like an overly cluttered and repetitive mess. Instead, it's a wonderful platformer with its own unique style that's most definitely worth experiencing, and especially shared.

If you buy one PSP title this year, Ghost of Sparta is a safe bet for the best game you're going to get.

If you love physics puzzlers -- and, more importantly, don't mind one helluva challenge -- I think you'd be hard pressed to find a better option on XBLA.

Punch-Out!! is destined to become one of this generation's top classics, right up there with Super Mario Galaxy. It's one heckuva peace offering for Nintendo's jilted lifers, an elaborate brainteaser for everyone who picks it up, and absolutely the best Punch-Out!! to date. If you're still fishing for a reason to own a Wii, this is it.

Suikoden fans will immediately "hate" the new battle system, while they will probably just "dislike" the world map and the move to 3D graphics with no camera control.

The graphics are well polished and the game so addictive that it will keep you hacking, slashing, and casting for a good long while.

A prettier, tighter game on Xbox, making it the number one racer on the system -- at least in my eyes.

It has more of what made the first game so outstanding and contains several improvements over its predecessor. For fans of the first game, this is a nearly perfect sequel.

Crysis 2's shiny graphics are nice and all, but the Nanosuit is the true star of the show. Offering a true sense of power rarely seen in modern shooters, it helps to make this one of the most exciting games of the year.

A tour-de-force of imagination, an electronic window into a fantastic world that exists in only our consoles and a creative French guy's mind. I greatly enjoyed my time in that world, and my only real regret is that it was over so soon.

There's enough action so that it doesn't really feel like an RPG, and the humor makes it all the sweeter.

With its combination of an engaging single-player campaign, addictive adversarial multiplayer modes, and enjoyable cooperative Spec Ops action, there's no denying that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is one of the year's finest games.

Of course, if you're like the vast majority of the folks who wandered by my desk during the weeks that I played Mortal Kombat, you want to see one thing, and one thing only: utter carnage. And hey -- it's here in spades. Just try to remember that for once, Mortal Kombat is more than the sum of a few flying body parts.

The Soul Calibur fighting system is back, and it's the best it's ever been.

If you cut your teeth on, say, Telltale's various Sam & Max or Strong Bad series, you're about to find out exactly what a hardcore adventure game plays like.

The action in Max Payne 2 is as adrenaline-pumping as anything you'd see on the silver screen, and you're in control. Or dangerously close to spiraling out of control, as Max often is. Despite the length, this is top-quality entertainment.

"Master of Orion" is dead. Long live Galactic Civilizations II!

The gameplay is a snap to pick up, but the player is rewarded for delving deeper into the combo system. Sure, there are those who will say that the original Tetris is the best puzzle game of all time, but if there was ever a game that could top it, it's this one.

It's endlessly addictive, and thanks to its design, it'll be a long time before you run out of things to do in it. Thanks to the brilliant translation, it's also one of the funniest games that I've playing in some time.