Its depth and addictiveness is second to none. If the GameCube is your only console, then I wholeheartedly recommend this game.

None can deny that it's a huge step forward.

While the story isn't quite as moving as the original, Klonoa 2 has a wonderful mix of action, great control, nice challenge (if you try to really complete the game), and just beautiful presentation.

Superior AI, breathtaking graphics, unassailable realism, a growing user made add-on community: expect IL-2 to grab a lot of "Simulation of the Year" awards in the coming month.

From beginning to end, the involving storyline and varying mission types will keep you wanting more, which is provided by the sufficient multiplayer capabilities, and the interesting SquadWar ladder system.

UYA's multiplayer experience is excellent. The level of polish is surprisingly high, which is evident in everything from specific gameplay details (the grappling beam's ease of use is superb, for example) to the extensive number of options that can be tweaked.

A masterpiece of macabre mayhem, encased in a graphical shell so realistic you'll be wincing at every arterial spray and brutal decapitation.

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.

While some serious camera and less serious interface problems keep it from perfection, Snake Eater is both an exciting return to form and the most successful fusion yet of video games with Hollywood-style storytelling.

The reason that the Wii version is the best is because the new control system makes the gameplay more enjoyable. Using both the Wii remote and the nunchuck, players will be able to perform all of the regular moves and attacks from before, only now they can do them in a more sensitive, accurate and pleasing fashion.

The odds of Sony dropping a first-party title better than this for the rest of the year are slimmer than a supermodel on the Atkins diet.

One of the most tension-packed, visually stunning games you're likely to play this year.

In many ways it is a far superior product compared to last year's hit. But in other ways it also feels like a rushed product.

Crysis pushes the envelope in the graphics department and experiments with some freewheeling gameplay. The end result may not be a perfectly polished game experience, and it might require a monster system to really appreciate, but it's hard to fault a game for pushing so far past the bleeding edge.

Simply the most polished and responsive action game we have seen so far this generation, and it's my belief it will likely remain so till the end. It fulfills the half-forgotten promise of the Xbox: to provide a gaming experience you can't get anywhere else. [*Note: GameSpy equates 5-stars/Ed Choice with a score of 95.]

Chains of Olympus is more than another console game grafted to PSP; it's a pint-sized triumph for the platform.

DoA2: Hardcore's innovative style of play, coupled with blazing fast graphics makes this a title to own - even if you already have "Tekken Tag Tournament."

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.

A fantastic piece of video gaming entertainment.

As a PC port however, it's somewhat disturbing that these issues weren't resolved. It all comes down to the apparent laziness in fixing the shortcomings of the PSX version.

The powerful story affects you as it unfolds and by the end you will be drained--your life will never be the same again. This game could do to adventure games, what Doom did for the FPS. A must buy for anyone and everyone.

If anything, the PC version skews towards golf fans because it's more of a simulation, but that doesn't change the fact Tiger 2005 is one of the best PC games of the year, and one of the deepest, most completely realized sports games you could ever hope to play.

It is the near-seamless integration of the ESPN look and feel that sets this game apart.

Shooters are a dime-a-dozen these days, with many different variations to choose from. Killzone 2 manages to stand out from the pack thanks to its superb graphics, its unique setting, and its robust multiplayer offerings.

Suffice it to say that while it's not a perfect game, it's definitely the best Halo game yet and a fittingly epic goodbye to fans from Bungie, the developer that helped to launch a million Xboxes.

Dark Avatar does much more than just add new units or new maps, it revisits the very underpinnings the game itself and adjusts them to make the whole experience richer.

It's a rare thing when a game comes along with the power to move a player emotionally... Mass Effect takes interactive entertainment to breathtaking new heights.

If you're a Batman fan, this is the best treatment the World's Greatest Detective has ever received in videogame form -- and if you're not a Batman fan, Arkham Asylum will change that. This is how to make a licensed game.