Even if you've never played any of the DOOM titles, if you like first-person shooters and you own a Game Boy Advance, DOOM II is an absolute must-have game.

Ine of the most unique, funny and satisfying games of 2007, and we can't wait until Valve produces more of it.

It's at once entirely expected and a crying shame that this game won't catch on in the same way that, say, Street Fighter IV did, as BlazBlue packs what may be the best online play ever seen in a 2D fighting game (it is -- at worst -- neck-and-neck with the amazing Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix in this category, though the option to replay ranked matches certainly gives it a tantalizing edge).

About my only complaint is that it's over too soon -- just an hour, without mistakes...It's unmisssable for anyone who wants to take a space-age vacation from the typical.

A combination of solid Zelda-style gameplay and cinematic excellence push Beyond Good & Evil into the upper echelons of action / adventure games. This is what an interactive movie should be.

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.

Sporting slightly more impressive graphics than either the 360 or PS3 versions (mostly due to the superior definition of higher-end LCD displays combined with flashy video cards), the PC version of Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 could be the best version of the game.

The controls feel a bit antiquated now that we've been acclimated to the Skill Stick, but it's an excellent way to introduce your non-sports game loving friends to one of the best sports titles in years.

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.

It's a huge improvement over the first title in nearly every area. In fact, it nearly makes the first game obsolete.

The new title combines strong platforming fundamentals, Assassin's Creed's open-world structure, and some of Okami's wonderful aesthetic flourishes. What it introduces to action games is something truly wonderful. Since the Prince can't die, the pace and rhythm of gameplay is never lost, yet it still offers a challenge even for hardcore gamers.

A massive improvement over the original in pretty much every way imaginable: music, graphics, interface, customization options, and difficulty level. It's also a fantastic strategy game, and probably one of the last great GBA titles that will be released in the West.

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.

One of the coolest things about this game is the fact that it doesn't take itself very seriously. The sense of humor manifests in a bunch of ways, not the least of which are the whacked-out in-game TV shows that play out in parallel to the game's own story.

Its kiddy facade hides some terrifically fun gameplay with a lot of meat on its bones.

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.

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 people that made the game really want you to feel like you're chosen by destiny, fated to be a hero; and they've put a lot of effort into it. Being completely solid doesn't hurt, of course.

Although Oblivion's playability hasn't been improved, Shivering Isles storytelling and artistry simply soar beyond anything else the Elder Scrolls team has done.

But for $40, you're getting much, much more than your money's worth. Any PSP gamer with even a passing interest in music creation should absolutely take Traxxpad for a spin.

On a very meaningful level, it gives complete newcomers access to the most exciting aspect of the game right out of the box. And should those players decide to sample everything that it has to offer, they will not be disappointed.

If you enjoy your stories ripping and your RTSs simple but smart, Codename: Panzers Phase Two is probably for you.

This game delivers where it needs to, offering the most realistic NBA experience to date. Heck, even free-throw shooting means memorizing the shooting styles of different NBA players (a feature we really like, by the way).

It's certainly not the bar-raiser that "Modern Combat" was, especially in the solo campaigns. But with the new co-op play and the rest of the multiplayer content, World of War turns out to be an extremely entertaining and faithful addition to the Call of Duty family.

It's simultaneously innovative and derivative, and it's a game, I suspect, that gamers will either love or hate, with little space in between.

While EA's series definitely has its strong points, ESPN NBA 2K5 has better graphics, AI, and that highly addictive 24-7 mode.

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.

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.