A magnificent mélange of story, gameplay, and acting that takes many fascinating elements of the Star Wars universe and combines them with BioWare's penchant for first-rate interactive storytelling.

A game with this much depth, this much strategy, this much replayability, and multiplayer is totally unheard of in this space. Civilization IV stands alone. No fan of strategy games should leave this on store shelves.

Deeper than Marianas Trench, but fortunately, it's much easier to dive into. The most realistic, well-rounded and technically impressive fighting ever made.

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 ... even if the GameCube version isn't quite as good as its Xbox and PS2 cousins.

The new king of arcade racers. Think about everything that was brilliant about its predecessors -- the whimsical take on the laws of physics, the gorgeous graphics, and the completely insane emphasis on crashing -- and multiply it by ten thousand.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl isn't a giant leap forward from "Super Smash Bros. Melee," but it didn't have to be. This is going to be the game that Wii owners will be playing for the life of the system, and they're going to love every minute of it.

It's a brilliant combination of incredibly deep real-time strategy, beautiful presentation and innovative features that make it one of the best gaming experiences of 2006 to date.

The A.I. is stellar, being random and properly intuitive; the level design is impeccable; the HUD display is laid out with precision, optimizing gameplay to the max. On and on, I could go. To think, Ubisoft Shanghai finished the game in little over a year's development time. A miracle, by modern gameplay standards. [*5stars=95 on GameSpy's scale]

My highest recommendation: Though I'm done with my review, I'm far from done playing. In spite of my early kneejerk dismissal, I can't get enough of this crazy little unregulated dystopia where you can get heavy assault weapons delivered to your doorstep.

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.

The Xbox version beats the other two in all the right ways.

It's a stunning comeback for the franchise, a fantastic mix of the fresh and the familiar, and enough content to make this the only game you need for the next few months. [**Reminder: GameSpy's "How Our Ratings Work" equates a 5-Star review with 95.]

How could God of War II possibly live up to the successes of its predecessor? The answer, my friends, is astonishing, because GoW II completely eclipses its forefather by adding even more of the stuff that we loved, namely: blood, puzzles, cinematic presentation and fifteen minute long combos.

The multiplayer is so smooth, so challenging, and so much plain-old-fun that I can only think of one RTS I ever played that is outright better. The single-player is weaker, in many ways, than that of other RTS titles -- but hey, you don't have to play it, after all. And so, the line you've all been waiting for: Yes, Blizzard has indeed done it again.

It should not be missed, and it is the best snowboarding title in history, with its amazing physics and breathtaking graphics, amazing sound and control.

Street Fighter IV is Street Fighter at its best. It's not the obtuse canvas for virtuosity that Street Fighter III was, nor are its subtleties bogged down by anything like Alpha 3's alphabet soup of "isms." All the stuff that makes it go is more or less plain to see, and more importantly, easy to execute (comparatively speaking -- if double-quarter-circle motions give you cramps, expect no quarter from even this game).

Minecraft is what you make of it, and that makes it pretty damn special.

It's a game you could play for weeks -- maybe even months -- and still discover something new every day.

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.

A truly groundbreaking RTS with no major flaws. The visuals and music are top-notch and the gameplay is on a grand scale. This is the first game I have played where I was truly inspired by the vastness of space.

Featuring brilliant visuals, edge-of-your-seat gameplay, and some of the best voice acting around, Splinter Cell is one of the best single-player experiences to come out this year... The best game on Xbox. Period.

It's one of the best-looking, most creative 3D action adventures in recent memory, and every PS2 owner out there owes it to themselves to snap up a copy to enjoy immediately. Truly magical stuff.

Although virtually every other genre has incorporated RPG elements, no other RPG has so thoroughly taken in the ideals of the sandbox genre as Oblivion. It gives you a massive playspace, a finely tuned (if sadly flawed) RPG engine to play in it with, and lots of other AI-driven people to play with.

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.

While it's certainly open to debate, we're going to go out on a limb and call Gears of War 2 the most visually impressive game of all-time.

The presentation of WE6 rivals any sports title out there. The graphics and sound mesh to deliver an ultra-realistic gaming experience.

The addition of weapons to the fighting game mix has put the Soul Calibur series in its own arena; the intensity of clashing blades and the strategies afforded by their behaviors makes the game feel more visceral than any of the other fighters on the market.

Plenty of tracks, options, characters, and personality -- there's a lot to like.