This is an event game, the kind of thing you simply need to own ... even if you don't consider yourself a Grand Theft Auto fan.

Rockstar Games has managed to exceed my expectations and create one of the best games of this generation.

An astounding triumph that will certainly stand above the pack this season, Red Dead Redemption 2 is a unique game about unique people. The writing, visuals, and gameplay combine to make an absolute standout of a title, one that has been well worth the wait.

The first-person perspective manages to make a year-old game feel new again, and the changes made to the graphics, gameplay and online mode are substantial. One of 2013's best games is made even better on the PlayStation 4.

Rain falling and bouncing off your gun, a blast of steam fogs your visor and leaves condensation on it, a bright flash of light lets you see your own reflection in the visor. These are just a few of the many effects that make Metroid Prime stand out above its peers. I nearly wet myself the first time I fired my weapon rapidly and noticed that heat waves came out of the barrel.

A crowning achievement for Valve and one game that I thoroughly enjoyed. A few problems do exist such as the crashing and minor engine quirks. All in all, a wonderful PC game and one that fans of the original will love.

The level of polish is near perfect.

An area that kind of let me down was the audio; it features support for Dolby Pro Logic II decoders but it doesn't take full advantage of the hardware. Yes, there's mulit-channel support and the sound does come at you from all sides, but it's not done all that well.

An incredible detailed and large game, Baldur's Gate 3 is a joy for RPG fans and fans of the pen and paper game as well.

If you liked Mass Effect 1 to any degree whatsoever, you’ll definitely love Mass Effect 2 with its improved combat and AI, and cinematics and storyline – sans the glitches we all know and hate from ME1.

The best the series has to offer up to this point.

FromSoftware effortlessly immerses you into the beautiful world of The Lands Between, with challenging enemies, secret treasures, and deep lore tucked away into every corner. This is, without a doubt, FromSoftware's best project yet, showcasing a culmination of all their previous games.

There is a substantial amount of content in Skyrim and while it's easy to nitpick on all the flaws present, Bethesda has still delivered a product that even a jaded gamer like myself can still be awestruck by.

The animation is also top-notch. When you watch Link engage in a sword duel, the fluidity of it is remarkable, and unparalleled. There are just so many times where it blew me away.

What you have here is the most polished, feature-laden, action-packed Grand Theft Auto title to-date. I've had my qualms with the franchise in the past but this is the first time that I was able to sit back, shut off my brain and enjoy the experience.

Media Molecule has created an amazingly fun and deep game that will allow people to create their own games and explore the creations of others.

Red Dead Redemption feels like a new breed of sandbox style gameplay. In the place of flashy cars, provocative women and crazy weaponry is the historically accurate and enthralling realm of the Wild West.

The single-player campaign is boring and ineffective, the action is dull, the level structure is bland and the overall game lacks the oomph and power of the original. HALO 2's multiplayer aspect fares a little better but it's marred by an ineffective matchmaking service and some poor judgment in the balance department.

Like the fungus that infected its deformed inhabitants, The Last of Us is not an enjoyable thing to experience. It’s depressing, exhausting and even disturbing. But , contrary to everything I tell myself, it’s something I won’t soon forget.

The best the series has to offer up to this point. It gives a tantalizing taste of the Wii’s potential and an experience so big, only hardcore RPG’s can compare in depth and breadth.

Hades 2 is a masterpiece. It's something I will probably never stop playing until I unlock everything. The new trope should be if it ain't broke, take a lot of cooler things, an amazing soundtrack, and some of the greatest storytelling, put them all in a caldron, and out comes the king of roguelikes. This also proves, that things do get better...with time.

With far too many action segments and repetitive puzzles, this survival action game gets bogged down by filler. Thankfully the strong last act and great chemistry between leads makes this a must-play, warts and all.

Red Dead Redemption is more than a great western, it's the first time this type of game has been successfully recreated for a home game console.

Portal 2 is a masterful execution of one of the key components of gaming, fun. Valve has really outdone themselves this time, and managed to make me say, "What's episode 3?"

Team ASOBI came out swinging for the fences, expanding on the existing games in the series in every direction. Astro Bot is a delight in every sense of the word. A magnificent tour through Sony PlayStation’s history, the franchise – and the Astro Bot character – has enough charm and chops to now launch forward as PlayStation's premier mascot-driven series. Stellar platforming, a mountain of secrets, and a never-ending sense of discovery and adventure, Astro Bot is a new classic. So. Much. Fun.

This is a skull-smashing story about making mistakes and taking responsibility. While hacking and slashing their enemies, a father and son build bonds of love and loyalty. God of War is a minor masterpiece.

Arkham City is not just one of the best games of the year, but also one of the greatest comic book games of all time!

Last year’s spectacular action/shooter/RPG-lite finally makes its way to the PS3. If you haven’t already tried this on a different platform, do yourself a favor and pick it up.

Mass Effect 2 was an incredible game on the Xbox 360 and is just as incredible a year later on the PlayStation 3.

Easily one of the best game of the year. Gears of War has raised the bar of what gamers should expect in future next generation games.

Oblivion has the audio to match the graphics. Outside of the orchestral score Bethesda Softworks went all out with the voice over talent bringing Patrick Stewart, Sean Bean, and Terrance Stamp to give voices to their characters.

The core of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt remains unchanged, thank god. It's the same game we all fell in love with before. Playing on a PlayStation 5 and being able to play around with the new controls, including the haptic and adaptive triggers made playing as Geralt all the better. The new quick casting system works wonders for me, and if it doesn’t for you then you retain the old configuration. The framerate has been given a noticeable overhaul as well. I no longer chugged about when I ran while in a city full of objects. This is the perfect excuse to play The Witcher 3 again. The best part of the update is that it’s completely free; you can’t afford not to play again.

BioShock Infinite is such a fun game with an incredible atmosphere. The long wait has been worth it and Irrational Games has done an incredible job at bringing Booker, Elizabeth, and Columbia to life.

What it comes down to is that Halo 3 is still a great playing first-person shooter that manages to get just about everything right.

Another masterpiece from Santa Monica Studio. God of War Ragnarök is the highly anticipated sequel to 2018's God of War that delivers on all fronts.

Overall, I found Modern Warfare 2 to be fun but it's starting to lose the appeal it had for me after the fourth time around with Infinity Ward. The campaign is really short and the story's pretty weak. Also, there will be parts that offend people but at least you can skip the "one" mission. Multiplayer can be fun and addicting if you don't get frustrated easily.

It's definitely one of the premier titles right now on the PlayStation 3.

All of the dialogue is easy to understand, the imagery is excellent and the entire storyline comes together nicely thanks to a masterful piece of storytelling.

The missions themselves are excellent and the writing behind the game is remarkable (even surpassing most of the movies).

An incredibly fun and addictive addition to the Civilization franchise. Civilization IV brings back everything that makes this series great, and adds enough innovation to keep things fresh and approachable for both veteran and newcomer.

From its engrossing world to its compelling narrative and characters, The Witcher 3 is one of the best games in years. The Witcher 3 is a must-own for role-playing genre fans—and gamers in general. The experience shouldn't be missed.

Despite having an online mode that disappoints in nearly every respect, Smash Bros Brawl gets everything else right.

Simply an awesome game that really takes the WWII RTS to a new standard. Just make sure you have a nice machine to run the game.

Ultimately, I can't call this game perfect, but I can call it compelling. I can say it is an absolute joy to play. I can say it is a natural extension of the first one which was best in class, but takes the story into an entirely new direction, taking a very different path.

The game does suffer from too many touch screen mini-games and a slightly outdated look, but those problems are easy to overlook when the product turns out to be this good!

Pac-Man Championship Edition DX is an incredible game, from top to bottom.

I had such an incredible time going back into the Half-Life universe, and in VR. It's outstanding. The story is full of surprises as you can expect from a Half-Life game. A true AAA experience in VR, Half-Life: Alyx is a triumphant return for Valve—even if you aren't playing as Gordon Freeman.

I wouldn’t hesitate to say that it’s the best pure online FPS ever made.

Braid is an absolute masterpiece, from beginning to end.

God of War II manages to improve on nearly every element of the original game, something that seems unbelievable given the quality of the first title.

Super Mario 3D World takes the excellent gameplay from its 3DS predecessor and expands upon it with 4-player co-op, new gameplay and even more creative levels. Mario's first 3D, HD adventure is bar none the best game on Wii U right now and the console's undisputed killer app. Whether played solo or with friends, it is a master class of platformer design and more importantly, one hell of a good time.

A triumphant return to the StarCraft universe, Wings of Liberty offers up old-school RTS goodness in one of the most solid RTS titles in years.

It's updated graphics, awesome animation, and great fighting makes Street Fighter IV a great pick up.

Action roguelikes is a genre seeing a bit of a surge of new entires lately, and Hades is as good or better as anything you will find in that field. It offers an overall experience in storytelling and gameplay that is top-notch regardless of genre. It's this incredibly unique type of game and play loop that turns your every failure and death into a reward of unlocking more story, injecting more humor, and inviting you to take a stab at one more run. It's won numerous game of the year awards on PC, and there is no reason for those accolades to stop with the port to consoles. Just don't forget to give Cerebus a pet on your way to the next run.

Persona 4 Golden has easily justified the purchase of the Vita. It may be a rerelease of a game from 2008, but with the amount of additional content thrown in, it feels like a fresh new game.

I'm glad to say that Persona 5 is everything I had hoped it would be and then some. The incremental improvements over the gameplay of Persona 4, the visuals, the soundtrack, all of it came together almost perfectly. That translation could have used a little bit more polish, but otherwise this is the finest work Atlus has ever produced.

A gorgeous world with so much to explore awaits everyone. It's not without some faults, and those with older spec'd PCs may have trouble running this. If you've got the rig to handle it, it's a wonderful experience.

AI is very hit or miss but because this game is more dependant on your actions rather than your enemies, it becomes serviceable in the end.

Simply one of the best games to come out.

There's a tremendous amount of replay value here as well so you'll really want to play it over and over again. Fallout 3 is worth the wait and it's not surprising that Bethesda has done it again.

Pick up this game and round up some friends—Gears of War 2 is this year’s multiplayer experience.

Rock Band 3 is a good, solid musical game and those with the past two along with some good amount of DLC will really enjoy it.

Capcom continues to push the Resident Evil franchise forward with their pristine remake of Resident Evil 4. Few words can describe how much love was poured into this well crafted survival horror experience that will continue to stand the test of time as a masterpiece.

It's the end of Shepard's story. What does that mean to you? For me, it means the end of one of the best video game and science fiction franchises ever. The final scenes take a decidedly classic sci-fi turn that surely won't make everyone happy, but that was never a real option. Instead it maintains BioWare's unique vision and approach toward game development. Regardless of the rest of it, that makes Mass Effect 3 a rousing success.

Inside is an incredibly and thought provoking experience from start to finish and a game that I won't soon forget.

And best of all, in this time of graphical resource-hogging, you don’t need a machine built by God to enjoy it.

Maestro puts the hand tracking of the Meta Quest 3 to the test, and nails it. With song familiarity, unlocks galore, and a simple, yet fun and challenging interface, this is a game you don't want to pass up. Even if you're not a musician, you'll be pleased with the hand tracking by itself, and that's going to get Maestro a lot of roses. Bravo.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a thunderous debut from Sandfall Interactive. Its palette is brimming with cleverly engaging turn-based combat, impeccable art direction, and voice performances that rival feature films. The result is an incredible work of video game art. This game is worth more than the asking price, and I highly recommend it.

Call of Duty 4 is a complete package that does everything well. From the intense single player campaign to the fun multiplayer options, the game's got it all.

Fans of the God of War series will eat this up. It's violent, visceral, and truly an epic game in both presentation and action.

Downloadable content, cleaned up graphics, and new songs makes this a nice buy for Xbox 360 owners.

Even with some control and difficulty issues, Uncharted 3 tells a fantastic story and has graphics and gameplay to match. You can do no wrong in picking up Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception.

With the core team assembled, Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth feels like embarking on a fantastic adventure with a gang of your best friends. More open, action-packed, and surprisingly funny, Rebirth gives players days of content and the freedom to pursue it, while still telling a wonderful and cohesive story. Every aspect of Remake has been examined, refined, and improved. This is the franchise's Empire Strikes Back, in all the best ways.

While not as solid as a single-player game, the game's multi-player experience is better than just about anything else released this year. You must buy Rock Band ... and then you must rock!

Journey is masterful. It's meaningful. You won't remember the details of every journey, but every journey is unforgettable. You'll have no choice but to play it again and again.

Despite the manner in which it will punish and abuse you, Bloodborne will have you crawling back to it and saying, "Thank you, sir, may I please have another." It's a gorgeous and dreadful world that sucks you in, and then kills you. Beautiful in every single aspect of the game and sense of the word, this progression of the Souls franchise is more accessible and addicting than ever.

Forza is quite likely to be the pinnacle of racing sims available on today's Xbox, and certainly demonstrates the level of quality and realism that we can expect from the next generation of consoles.

What Remains of Edith Finch knows its niche from the beginning and rarely strays, resulting in a cohesive experience that I was never jolted out of. It elicits the strangest mixture of emotions, and its different modes of storytelling are second to none. The controls don’t translate seamlessly from PC to Xbox One, but you don’t play this game for the controls; you play for the story, and the story is gripping.

Splinter Cell is such a departure from the humdrum that I can’t help but get sucked into it. It’s a meaty game with a LOT of content, and all of it has a sense of realism that is unmatched.

Delivers everything you could possibly want in a role-playing game; it has a deep story, a ton of quests, great graphics and a brand new combat system. It's one of the few games where you can actually say that it's well worth the wait!

In a move that shows that the designers had far too much free time on their hands, each of the bobble head dolls can be manipulated and bobbled, just like in real life. Hell, I'd pay $20 for this aspect alone.

The scope and depth of Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth are stunning, as is the amount of addictive fun the game provides. With a ton of new mechanics, minigames that are more like full-sized games, and great characters, this enormous (and enormously entertaining) action/RPG title is one of the best values in AAA gaming. Like a Dragon is willing to do anything to entertain you. You should probably get on board if you aren't already.

Capcom has given us a complete game right out of the box. The single player experiences are enormous. The online experience is perfect. Street Fighter lore is littered in every nook and cranny of this game. There are modes and modes within modes. This is one of the best Street Fighter games in the history of the franchise. If Capcom hurt you in the past, this is their apology. Street Fighter 6 is a new classic that people will be playing for years to come.

A constantly impressive element is the rousing speech your general hollers before a battle.

Seriously this is the best racing game of the current console generation.

Demon's Souls is the must-have PlayStation 5 exclusive as the showstopper of the launch lineup. It's so close to being a perfect 10. But some archaic mechanics left untouched, as well as questionable deluxe edition items giving an unfair head start, just prevent it from reaching that pinnacle. Nevertheless, if you want justification of why the PlayStation 5 is worth upgrading to at launch, look no further than Demon's Souls.

There is so much in this package that any sane gamer should not even think twice about passing it up. Everything in the game just reeks of shine and polish and though it's flawed in some areas, it's still one of the best games to come down the line this year.

Fire Emblem: Awakening if by far one of the best games on the 3DS. Whether you’re a long-time Fire Emblem fan or a newcomer to tactical RPGs, this is a game that anyone can get into and enjoy. If you don’t have a 3DS yet, this could be the game to change that.

Original Sin 2 shakes your hand a little too hard when you first meet. It needs to relax until you get to know it better. It's endlessly surprising, with characters that lose their stiffness over time, in dialogues and battle logs that piece together a dangerous, thoughtful world. It's tough. But the reward is that you get tougher, too. It still needs to clean up some of its tactical sloppiness, though. Having a ton of options in battle is only good if its rules are fair and make sense.

Galactic Civilizations 2: Twilight of the Arnor is one of the best expansions I have ever experienced in my many years of gaming.

Get this game at the earliest opportunity and gather your friends—Smash Bros on Wii U is now the undisputed king of party games.

It adds a few new features and has the great gameplay from the first. Fans of the first will love the second one and new to the series will enjoy the features that help them get into the game.

Regardless of whether you missed it the first time or not, Chrono Trigger is a must-own game!

There's nothing revolutionary about the second game and it's more evolutionary but it's still a fun game to play with others.

As it’s done in the past, Out of the Park 17 shows why it’s the go-to simulation series for someone wanting to manage a baseball team, historical or present day.

If you're willing to take a chance I'd say that you should bench Madden and take "NFL2K5" for a spin. In our opinion, it's the better football game this year.

At $40, it's definitely worth your money even if you bought the previous game.

Pac-Man Championship Edition DX is an incredible game, from top to bottom.