It's as fun and exhilarating as a classic three-chord punk tune at a folk rock festival.

While it may lack innovation, it makes up for it with narrative effort. Sam Fisher needed a change, and this will suffice. However, it's tough to look at this game and say, "Being on next-gen has allowed this franchise to take itself to the next level." That's just not true.

As is usually the case with Ubisoft's games on Xbox Live, the netcode is solid, so you shouldn't see much lag.

The overall "feel" of the multiplayer game is terrific and the basic gameplay paradigm works to create a game that's deep, rich and thoroughly satisfying. Combined with a fun and very different-playing single-player component, this is a game that's well worth a look by any strategy fan looking for something fun that breaks the RTS genre's straitjacket.

The second best fighting game ever made, losing only to Namco's own "Soul Calibur," but still should be bought.

While the game isn't a construction of godly perfection, it is pure, raw fun that may eclipse the first two, depending on whether you'll miss the adventure elements or the less ostentatious presentation of the first game. I, for one, did not.

Despite its lackluster storytelling, Red Faction: Guerrilla is a whole lot of fun to play, thanks to its meaty campaign and well-rounded multiplayer offerings.

There's a name for what this game is; it's just not typical to console games. That's "expansion pack." And expansion packs don't cost full price. Sure, FFX-2 gives you another lengthy quest to play through, but it’s just not up to par with the best games in the Final Fantasy series.

C&C3 has little in the way of innovation, but that won't stop hardcore RTS fans, and C&C fans in particular, from enjoying the heck out of it. Sit back and enjoy the ride.

While this latest effort has its share of missteps, it's still the best Madden in recent memory. Gameplay is king, and Madden NFL 10 is plain and simple a hell of a lot of fun to play. This is a must-have for football fans.

It's no gimmicks, no frills, and ten times more enjoyable than yet another warmed-over SNES port.

I found myself eager for Hotline Miami to end before it did (after about eight hours) and had little desire to return to improve my scores.

As a band game, the unpolished, unintuitive feel of the interface may likely send many players back to "Rock Band" as their party game of choice – now that Guitar Hero World Tour has delivered its opening number, we'll have to see if it can deliver a superior encore.

It has everything you could possibly ask for in a roleplaying game and then some.

A game which does everything right. Gameplay, graphics, realism, mood, and extendibility through the included fully-featured mission editor.

This game is a riot, start to finish, and multiplayer is especially entertaining. The game's few flaws can ideally be corrected with the aforementioned patch.

A shining example for how to create a fun and challenging game based on an extremely boring and dull concept. Clearly one to earmark as a future hall of famer.

It doesn't expand the genre and it's got technical issues, but the Alien and Predator levels are a blast.

It's remarkable that EA has managed to catch up to the incredible effort from Sega in a single generation, and if it weren't for an overly trying physics engine on the ice, the two would be in a dead heat.

Minor A.I quibbles aside, MotoGP 3 works as one of the fastest, most sharply designed, and deepest racing games on the Xbox.

Although the game still leaves a bit to be desired (a coherent storyline, for example), the gorgeous graphics and intense action definitely make it worth picking up if you're a fan of fighting games.

For the most part, NASCAR SimRacing boasts a fine presentation, although the graphics aren't that cutting-edge, and the cars can look a bit too simple. There's also a silly flaw that hurts the game's authenticity: censorship of beer logos.

As the name would imply, Pure wins because it sticks with only the most important facets of ATV racing: crazy handling and absurd, gravity-defying stunts. Its stellar visuals (exemplified by the glittering glacier track set in New Zealand) are simply icing on a cake of solid gameplay that rarely falters in providing the basic racing game essentials.

In the end, Mines of Moria proves that while innovation is nice, it plays second fiddle to vision.

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.

Soulcalibur has never been broken, and while there is certainly room for some novel approaches in the fighting genre, I would argue that no game has of yet come close in terms of subtlety and inventiveness.

While I would have liked more cohesion in the plot and more depth in the combat, the overall package is filled with enough fun and surprises to keep you playing through the end.

Soulcalibur has never been broken, and while there is certainly room for some novel approaches in the fighting genre, I would argue that no game has of yet come close in terms of subtlety and inventiveness.