If you're a number-munching automotive aficionado with a penchant for judging games the way an accountant judges a financial portfolio, know that this is a racing game dedicated to the act of racing rather than the actors, more intent on refining the experience of driving rather than celebrating car culture with scads of vehicles.

Dreamfall is an amazing journey that propels players into a world where science and magic and art and music combine to make a whole much greater than the sum of its parts.

An excellent addition (and homage to "Ocarina") to the franchise, and you'll have an enormous amount of fun playing it from start to finish. Get over the fact that the Wii's hardware is simply not as powerful as the other next-gen machines and get into the fact that Twilight Princess is one of the best games you'll play this year.

Warhammer Online has had the smoothest, most complete MMO launch we've ever seen. Game balance and other elements of the game need tweaking but they're all there, they all work and most importantly, they're all fun.

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.

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.

Dead Space is a solid realization of several of our favorite gameplay mechanics in a way that we've only seen in blockbusters like BioShock, Half-Life and Resident Evil 4. Its quality is undeniable and we have no reservation in recommending its potent mix of panic-inducing plotline, furious action and deep customization.

Most definitely qualifies as art -- exquisitely horrific, body-slam-your-emotions, tears-on-your-keyboard art. It is a near-perfect conclusion that may leave you emotionally gutted.

If you enjoy playing the best, then you absolutely need to play Super Mario Galaxy. It's our favorite Wii game this year, and a strong contender for the best game of the year.

It's the way that Mass Effect 2 expands upon the narrative established in the first game that marks a true breakthrough for interactive storytelling.

The cover mechanics, the lethal firearms, the satisfaction of working with a smart team, plus maps that couldn't get done in time for the single-player game and some returning classics make multiplayer golden...I can't overstate how good the multiplayer is here.

From the new Trick Stick system to the amazingly deep career mode, nearly everything added to NBA Street V3 works perfectly... [T]his may very well be the greatest basketball game ever made, arcade or otherwise.

It's deeper, has more flexibility, it's more engrossing, and it's even easier to modify and expand. But there's something else here as well, something that can't be measured. Sims 2 is simply a lot of fun.

The fact that I didn't even get into the stunning visuals and amazing sound design speaks volumes about the sheer amount of content in the game, and I could probably write another 800 words simply about the ridiculous attention to detail on display in each level.

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

Part of what distinguishes Disgaea from more run-of-the-mill SRPGs is its wicked sense of humor, which makes just unveiling the story a treat.

I can't remember the last time I played a game in which I wondered whether something could be done, and nine times out of ten it actually could be, whether it's calling in an airstrike on a lone soldier or jacking a helicopter from the sky. Blowing stuff has never been this fun, or this satisfying.

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.

For PC gamers at least, the decision by Dice to lead on our beloved platform has resulted in a game that delivers a truly next-generation feel. BF3 is an absolutely massive experience, but it's the explosive multiplayer mode that makes this the must-have FPS of the year. There's simply no other shooter that lets you wage war on a scale this huge, but even better is the infinite number of satisfying ways to lay the hurt down on your opponents.

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.

By far my favorite PSP game yet. Not only is it an outstanding remake of an already fantastic game, but there's an entirely new version of the game with tons of replay value thanks to all of the unlockable characters.

For a truly surreal experience, take Hot Shots out to the course during your next 18, and play a hole or two in between real holes. The only danger there is the rest of your group might become too hooked on what you're doing on Open Tee rather than finishing the real round.

Instead of feeling like a stale retread or losing steam halfway through, it manages to be a blast from start to finish.

This is the Xbox 360's first "Halo"-style killer app, and it's one that we'll all be playing for a long time to come.

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.

While the single-player campaign is outstanding in its own right, Call of Duty 4 contains one of the most addictive multiplayer modes we've ever played in a shooter.

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.

Portable Ops feels like one of the few games to live up to the PSP's promise, in part because it translates the entire Metal Gear Solid experience into something that can be easily digested in small amounts...inarguably one of the best games to release on the PSP, let alone one of 2006's best.