The best news yet, however, is that EverQuest: Omens of War doesn’t use the flagging/trial system that has been so prevalent in the last few expansions. Much to the delight of just about everybody, most zones are accessible right off the bat and should make both raiding and grouping a less frustrating experience.

A simple, intuitive user interface, coupled with excellent sound and truly amazing visual effects for an RPG of this magnitude is amazing in itself.

Despite the lack of competition in this genre, MCII is a must have game with superb graphics, fun single player action, and multiplayer modes that will keep you gripping your controller for months to come.

With dazzling 2D graphics that are rife with detail and a heavy metal soundtrack that will undoubtedly incite you to throw up the metal horns, it's hard to not like Guilty Gear X2 #Reload.

The greatest and most unfortunate part of this game is that it's almost a carbon copy of the original Knights. While this isn't a bad thing, because it was a solid gameplay design to begin with, there's not much more beyond a couple of interface improvements, some new powers, and a brand new story.

The bulk of the game is really a pretty standard adventure game steeped in average but not too puzzling puzzles.

In the end, what makes SC3 stand out is the great replayability that it contains.

Although it does not support multiplayer and is a bit short, this definitely one of the best action games this year.

The bottom line is if you’re a turn based gamer (it’s 3:00 AM and you’re telling yourself again, "Just one more turn..."), Galactic Civilizations II: Dread Lords is not something you are going to pass up easily.

Not just a great Star Trek game, but a really great game in general.

The overall graphics, gameplay and realism are as good as any racing game I have seen for the Sony PlayStation, and it’s a lot of fun too.

I normally want to kick off a few points for a title that closely matches it's original, but in this case, the gameplay is near rock solid.

A fantastic game that uses the GBA link in a meaningful way, turning a pretty good single player game into an over the top joy to play multiplayer experience.

Good, very good. Excellent playability, a large selection of game modes, five good courses included, and improved graphics over the last version. What would I like to see? More pros, better chatter from the pros and players, and I would also like to see a build-a-player mode.

The gameplay itself and the controls are great. I found the game to be a little more forgiving than "Rallisport Challenge" and it seemed like I had better control.

For all Warhammer 40,000 fans, you'll find a sumptuous, satisfying look at the age of war, with units that are both familiar and completely faithful, including the impressive Avatar of Khaine. Those of us that are RTS fans will find a game that has some deep gameplay elements, furious action, and absolutely gorgeous art design.

Gives you enough to be entertained but doesn't leave you thinking you just wasted a bit of cash on features that should've been included in the first game.

Although not the high point of the Monkey Island series, EMI earns an overall score of 80 as a worthy addition to the adventure game genre.

A great racing game that is a ton of fun. You can link up 4 GBA's and race against your buddies providing a great multiplayer experience.

If you wake up in your chair at home, having mysteriously forgotten the last half hour of your memory, but with a fresh copy of Psychonauts in hand, don’t question it. Just play and have fun.

There's nothing new here, just more of the same Viewtiful Joe goodness.

It may take some time to master and feel comfortable with the controls and movement, but the combination of genres (real-time strategy, space flight simulation, group cooperation, etc) makes it worth the effort.

Featuring the same combat system from Warrior Within, and best of all, a completely new and inventive narrative, Prince Of Persia: The Two Thrones is a sequel worth playing.

A powerful PC simulation with boundless potential, but no matter how good it looks on paper, one hesitates to let his guard down and plunge into a sim that isn’t quite ready.

I'm not kidding when I say this -- Rainbow Six is the most realistic, challenging, and fun game to play that was ever made.

A very difficult game that was frustrating almost as much as it was fun.

It blends meticulous fragging action with invigoratingly new brawling elements that, in the end, makes for a completely enthralling experience.

One of the best massively multiplayer online games I've played to date. Maybe it's the new topic, maybe it's the oodles of women in tights, but I love this city even at $15 a month.

There is, however, a very high learning curve to the game, which I guess isn’t surprising considering how complex it is. The tutorial gives you only the minimum of basics and there are very few in-the-game resources for learning.

Online racing thrills like you’ve never seen before. Combine this with a race editor that allows you to reconfigure checkpoints for your own customized races, and what we have here is a game with replay value that flies over a ramp and off the charts.

It provides both a immensely enjoyable movie experience as well as some quite robust game play.

While FFX2 could’ve been better, as it does rely significantly on the design of FFX, it’s still a top notch title. It can be a little too ‘pop’ music style, but once you get over that, it’s just as dramatic as any other FF game.

The game in many ways is an anachronism, with gameplay little changed from earlier versions of Wizardry, and marred by some truly awful 2D/3D renderings.

In the long run, I'd suggest that you pass this game by and save your money for one of the hotter releases later this season.

Provides hours and hours of fun gameplay that will have you staying up way too late and ignoring your spouse. This is one of the most enjoyable first/third person shooters to come along in a long time.

The addition of real politics, planning, and consequences to the decision-making process adds a level of suspense not present in other building games.

Definitely a great game, but it was just so tough in spots. I fear that many gamers will tire of getting stuck all the time and not want to continue.

Intensely frustrating, rewarding, and challenging, Dead or Alive 4 is not a game for those of us with short attention spans, anger management issues, or serious over competitiveness.

Despite the gummi ship craziness, I found this game to be completely addictive.

With easy-to-learn gameplay and a learning curve that lets you build up your skills as you progress without overwhelming you, Gotham is an incredibly fun title.

Really, almost anything you can do in real life can be done in Fable.

Offers a nice twist on the role-playing genre, blending a fascinating and darkly brooding plot with the occasional and very bizarre dark humor while throwing in an interesting twist to the genre’s weakest point –fighting.

It’s clear the Army is taking this development seriously as the results are impressive.

The combination of magic and weapons is unique and, meshed with excellent graphics and sound, makes this a game a winner.

An exceptional golf game.

An excellent adventure title for those of us who haven’t had a good adventure game in sometime, and with but a few small tweaks, this game engine could produce many fine adventure games.

CoN glued me to my couch for hours on end with its refined take on the genre. It certainly hasn’t revolutionized the genre, but it’s pushing the genre in the direction it should be going and in the end, that’s almost as good.

With a smooth control system, well designed game structure, and first-rate graphics, obvious time and effort was put into this game that will keep you occupied for some time.

A hoot of a game.

The presentation of Dead Rising is close to being the best I’ve ever seen. Massive amounts of zombies, store shelves that are completely stocked with goods (the supermarket is especially impressive), and a creepy soundtrack frames the game well.

The only real flaw that I saw is the tendency for lag to creep in during a four person game, as the Gamecube does get a little stressed by the amount of processing required.

As a MMORPG, Final Fantasy XI is definitely one of the best around and for those who enjoy them prepare for hours upon hours of fun.

With graphics and frame rate no longer an issue, this time around, gamers will no doubt appreciate the depth of gameplay that the game has to offer.

Come prepared for a rousing adventure, as Bloodmoon has reinvigorated the adventures of the Elder Scrolls universe.

Ikaruga rests its laurels on hard and fast gameplay, and while it is good gameplay, it's also very challenging, fairly short, and not what I'd call a mass appeal title.

I hate to say it, but this latest Metal Gear Solid isn’t just painful to play in a stealth-action sort of way, it’s painful to play in a bad game sort of way.

Everything the PC version was and more. With pleasing graphics and all new modes of play, you’ll find that there’s a whole new meaning to the adage, "get a life."

A deftly blended mix of strategy and timing, a game that not only remembers that boxing isn't just about brawn and speed it's also about strategy.

The fighting system is remarkable with a number of combo potentials and variety of moves that keep the combat from getting old.

At $19.99 and even $9.99 at some places you actually cannot afford to NOT buy this game. It is so impressive graphically and it's such a straight-up fun game.

If you're already a bona fide Sims addict, go out and buy this pack now. It's priced as low as $17 in some places and is definitely worth the money.

An excellent game with plenty of character and story development, engaging plot and rich graphics. This game will undoubtedly appeal to the gamer of a more disturbed taste. I liked it.

There’s precious little to be said about an expansion pack, but I was really happy with Dawn of War, and I’m really happy with Winter Assault as well.

A solid addition to the series. The thrills are definitely here, and they're more disturbing than ever, but it sticks to the traditional survival horror mold — a likely turn-off for those looking for something new.

The entire gaming experience, other than a few minor grammatical issues in conversations with NPCs and the necessary huge patch downloads, was as close to flawless as I’ve seen.

SimGolf was surprisingly good, however, and before I knew it, hours had passed and I was sitting on top of a small 9-hole course, screaming at my pro to sink a 5-foot putt.

The fact that this so closely mirrors the world we find ourselves in today and the dangers we face, both in the Middle East and North Korea, instills both a sense of horror to the game and grudging respect for EA.

More an experience than game, a cinematic feat that really lives up to the idea of putting a gamer in a story and making them care what happens.

Like with the Grand Theft Auto titles, a lot of credit has to be given to Rockstar for creating huge, seamless environments that act as your own playground of racing mayhem.

If you're anything like this reviewer, and your lookin' to have a good time (no, make that great time!) with a baseball game that emphasizes accurate game play with believable results…once again, this year's version is the game to beat.

A great mix of cutting audio/visual splendor with tried and true platforming game play.

This game is geared (ha ha) more for the RPG player, and I can say that it could have possibly converted me into one with a little more action.

There’s a ton of things to do but don’t give up on it too early. It may take a couple of times playing before the full scope and possibilities of the game is clear.

Although the gameplay hasn't changed much from the original, the updated graphics and the resolution of minor bugs make this a wonderfully enjoyable title.

It’s the jack-of-all-trades but master of none, and as long as you go in knowing that, then there’s a lot to be had in Deux Ex: Invisible War.

Tailor-made for an older audience. It has an intriguing plot that consists of a thinking man’s storyline, devious puzzles, and movie-quality voice acting.

One of the biggest stumbling blocks to this fun throw-back is the over-abundance of these random fights.

The actual racing won't disappoint either with tight handling and a forgiving, over-the-top physics engine. There's no realism here and who would want any in this type of game.

Devil May Cry 3 Dante's Awakening will bring action fans to their knees.

This game gave me a new respect for turn-based strategy.

The graphics are nothing short of fantastic. Whether viewing the city from a bird’s eye perspective or up close and personal to homes, businesses, or traffic, the level of detail and finesse are obvious.

Challenging, fast-paced, and most importantly, fun. I’ve already spent way too much time playing this game, and most RTS fans will be spending just as much time with this title as I have. Highly recommended to gamers of all stripes.

Not for everyone, but rail buffs will absolutely love it. Where other train simulations have attempted to recreate a model railroading experience, this one is designed to give you a taste of the real thing.

The controls are easy to learn, races are challenging without being unbeatably difficult, and the terrain is rich and varied.

Bottom line, if you liked Rise of Nations (and there were few who didn’t), Rise of Legends will be right up your ally.

Madden 07 doesn’t take an revolutionary leaps this year but does make some strides with new gameplay modes and gameplay tweaks.

The game would have scored much higher had it managed to better balance its weapons’ issues, but it’s still worth buying if you are into flight simulators and don’t want to mess around with a computer game.

Although the graphics and sound are not noticeably improved, that won't affect the experience as Activison takes us back into the Xmen universe.

It's on the low, low end of my FPS scale, right there alongside "Undying" and sitting on top of "Daikatana." Lot's o' fluff, no polish.

The audio, however, really shines above all else, with a replicated soundtrack and absolutely superb voice acting by many of the original actors who starred in the film.

On the PSP, it really shines, offering up a portable dungeon hack that matches its consoles counterparts in just about everyway -- something you can rarely say for a PSP port.

Once you start you won’t be able to put down the controller until you’ve beaten it.

It helps all the more if you can recognize the subtle genius in zerging an enemy base with a battalion of Lothlórien elves, but even if you can’t, it’s still worth a long look.

What really makes this game such a blast to play is the developers' understanding the importance of vehicles and aircraft in the Vietnam War.

The gameplay is deep, fun and exciting but to fully enjoy it you’ll also have to enjoy manipulating some unintuitive and at times dense mechanics. Nippon Ichi’s writing and humor is top notch, but as with the gameplay, its wackiness might turn some people off.

If you can get past the stiff difficulty, it has all the elements of a great RPG with its intriguing storyline, compelling combat and deep game mechanics.

There's not a whole lot you couldn't live without if you stayed with the original and passed on the upgrade. However, those enhancements and fixes combined with the elaborate, well-researched and intriguing scenarios just manage to put this sub-product over the top.

What you'll get with EFMI is a rich adventure game that entertains with its quick wit and colorful characters.