Unadulterated run-'n-gun goodness. Future Perfect is packed with so many features that even the most jaded FPS fans will find something they like on offer; decimating everything or hosting a multiplayer kill-a-thon, this game can accommodate all comers.

Most of the gameplay aspects are solid, the graphics are beautiful, and the quest is long. However, the relative lack of narrative elements prevented me from truly enjoying the wonderfully bizarre world Atlus has created.

Madden NFL 09 All-Play is not a dumbed-down version of this year's best football game. Think of it more like a specialized version that successfully refines the crucial elements of football and distills them into a final product that is at once accessible and plenty of fun.

World of Warcraft is one of the few MMORPGs that manages to pull off a satisfying endgame (and thereby justify its outdated subscription model), and the classes and gameplay have reached a blinding level of polish over the last seven years. While it's no longer the only choice out there for a great MMO experience, World of Warcraft seems content with its place.

While the previous game may be more polished, this edition aims higher and achieves more regardless of a few missteps.

Command & Conquer 3 isn't a brilliant reinvention of the RTS game. It's dirt-farming and mediocre live-action cutscenes and tank rushes and screaming that the Mammoth Tank is unbalanced (it is), and that's where the fun lies.

The best skating game ever made, and while it isn't nearly as groundbreaking as the previous game, it takes everything that made it great and adds some new tricks and a dash of juvenile potty humor, leaving you with the best time you'll have at a skate park this year.

If you invest the time in tricking out your ride and mastering the more challenging difficulty levels, you'll be rewarded with an adrenaline rush that you won't find anywhere else.

Compared to the HD versions, this PS2 game has significantly better features, such as great cross-compatibility with the handheld version.

What was a tongue-in-cheek look at Cold War paranoia married to solid RTS gameplay has blossomed into a pure comedy that retains the easy-to-pick-up and addictive-as-peanuts gameplay of the best in the Command & Conquer franchise. It's not a game that will redefine strategy gaming, but it is one heck of an enjoyable ride.

Fans of the original game can find nearly as many objects and tiles on the net for free, and may not get enough replay value out of the expansion pack to make it worth the cost.

In a league by itself.

Even with its various issues, I absolutely fell in love with Earth & Beyond. I love the setting, the players, and the whole package in general -- I've found it incredibly innovative, and I am totally addicted.

An incredibly deep game whether your playing alone or online.

Fundamentally, FIFA on PS2 hit its peak somewhere around FIFA 06 or FIFA 07. With FIFA 09, there are a few new features designed for hardcore players, but hardly the many bells and whistles of years past.

A variety of gameplay issues end up overshadowing the majority of improvements.

Not only a great racing game, but it's actually better on the Xbox than anywhere else.

The game perfectly captures the most important part of the books: the tone and atmosphere. Fans of the comics will appreciate the familiar faces and places that do pop up, but even those of you that have completely avoided the stellar comics and so-so AMC TV series will be engrossed.

A capable, attractive little robot in loads of bullet-riddled action. It's challenging and twitchy, with enough variation to keep the most distracted player hooked for the duration.

After four iterations, FIFA Soccer 08 feels like the first title to live up to the "next-gen" name.

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.

If there's a better swan song for a game studio than creating an important console title in the Halo universe, I'm at a loss to think of it.

When you get two equitable teams playing (something helped by the fact that players are randomly assigned to a side when they join a server), Joint Operations is really a fantastic piece of work and easily holds its own alongside "Unreal Tournament 2004", "Battlefield Vietnam", and "Planetside".

A very worthy sequel. It doesn't change any of the fundamental aspects of the original's gameplay; it just builds on them and gives you a helluva lot more bang for your buck. And considering that those who saw the original's unrealized potential forgave its imperfections, that's exactly what it had to do.

Verant also increased the polygon count for the new models that inhabit the island, and also increased the level of detail used for the new armor, weapons and textures.

The most stunning combat flight simulator I have ever seen. It's nerve racking, historically educational, deeply immersive, graphically unbelievable, awe-inspiring and a sim that proves once again an old axiom -- it's intense software that drives the development of intense hardware.

The tracks are absolutely gorgeous, as everything is rendered in excruciating detail.

It's somewhat short (maybe five hours per character) and isn't the best action game you'll ever play, but it is the best action game based on "The Lord of the Rings."