More than a Jedi mind trick to make you buy Nintendo's new whiz-bang console, this is the closest a video game has come to recreating a Star Wars movie.

Both the solo and multiplayer options deliver the explosive goods, but for maximum entertainment value try betting with friends on the strategy-based Conquest mode. Loser has to sponge-bathe Jabba!

And even though the graphics look like anime, fans of the original will be relieved that the classic's side-scrolling game play has been left untouched.

NASCAR Heat is more than a grueling simulation, it’s a grease monkey’s wet dream come true.

Do the front lines give you the shakes? Then skip the "let's go boys!" bravado, settle into a more comfortable overhead viewpoint, and orchestrate 40 missions that include famous battles like D-Day and Operation Market Garden. [Aug 2004, p.90]

While most of Revenge’s game play involves turning bad guys into kebab, the game’s strict homage to the comic gives it more depth.

This is actually one of the best adventure games we’ve played in a long time—even if pseudo-Conan is killing beasts by the thousands with something from Toys “R” Us.

It may not appease the history buffs, but it will delight the trigger-happy.

The most fun comes in the game's "Race for the Heisman," an all-new game mode separate from, but similar to, "Dynasty."

You get the pick of the litter of the best real-life SUVs, 4x4s, and Hummers to take into territory more rugged than Edward James Olmos’ cheek.

But it also has a compelling Story mode, written by former Hulk scribe Paul Jenkins, who gives the big guy a reason to use his considerable crushing skills.

While it would be impossible for the game to mimic the raw emotion and chaos that defined this mission-turned-disaster in real life, the graphics are the best we’ve seen on a battlefield.

The controls are fluid enough that you'll feel like McEnroe in his fit-throwing prime, while the PSP's lil' nubbin gives you better ball control than Jenna Jameson.

To hell with lame gunshot wounds and other gang violence. This game's fatalities include creative beheadings and dismemberments that would make Hannibal green with envy.

Extreme games keep getting extremer, but it would be tough to top this hellish twist on motocross racing.

With its tongue-in-cheek take on street life, this consummate B-baller keeps it more real than most of today’s endorsement-whore NBA superstars.

And with the engaging story, plus the graphic-novel presentation (boxes of action and text are constantly popping up on-screen), this truth is worth uncovering.

It ain’t groundbreaking, but who cares?

Fighting an army of the undead with a six-shooter is rather challenging, but the game has smooth controls and sharp-edged firearms that allow you to get your gunsu on.

Confused by the sometimes clunky camera angles? You can deliver your skull-smashing, thong-flashing high kicks in soothing slow motion.

Ingest evidence rather than confiscate it and you'll develop embarrassing addictions you can kick only via meter-driven mini-games, or you'll get busted in a random drug test.

The game is by no means a weak attempt to cash in on a franchise...Gamers not only get tons of extra movie action but also get to run, kick, and shoot in a fully realized Matrix universe.

Once on the court, you discover it's easy to master the fast break and hard to hit a jumpshot, though play moves smoothly enough you won't mind as the bricks pile up.

A potent Molotov cocktail of intrigue and fast, bloody action.

From the opening sequence to the synth-popping soundtrack, there's more style in five minutes of this modern-day "Double Dragon" than five stacks of "Street Fighter" compilations.

But this isn’t just car bombs and cement shoes; characters can marry into families, sire their own shifty progeny, and watch them assume seats of power. It ain’t pretty, but it’s business.

Deploying psychic powers to solve puzzles further taxes your melon and sets the game apart from feeble-minded run 'n' gunners, earning Psi Ops the coveted Best Carrie-Meets-Rambo Game of the Year Award.

We suggest using the seven foot Wolfman, he’s great at blocking shots.

As an engrossing adventure, Kri doesn’t cut very deep, but where quick, visceral payoffs are concerned, it goes straight for the jugular.

Do the front lines give you the shakes? Then skip the "let's go boys!" bravado, settle into a more comfortable overhead viewpoint, and orchestrate 40 missions that include famous battles like D-Day and Operation Market Garden. [Aug 2004, p.90]

CM earns laurels for putting players in simultaneous control of a driver and a passenger who can use a whip or a sword to turn opponents into Caesar salad.

This real-time, 3-D role-player neatly fuses the usual stat-crunching with plenty of chaotic firefights, ensuring there's at least something in here for the nongeeks (or at least not too geeky) among us.

We could have done without the ads for Toyota (what is this, a movie preview?), but the slamming soundtrack and retro touches—the 1995 version of EA's game is included—should help bring the league one step closer to atoning for the Charlotte Bobcats.

The most fun comes in the game's "Race for the Heisman," an all-new game mode separate from, but similar to, "Dynasty."

While not entirely original, it still creatively mixes the first-person punching of "Riddick" with the jump-out-at-you frights of "Doom 3" and the investigative thrills of the best "CSI" episode.

Though it all adds up to, essentially, a tuned-up version of the last game, there’s enough variation to keep your rebel skater spirit from getting too (sorry)…board.

Unlike past SimCities that dealt in generalities, this one takes a more hands-on approach.

All of the carnage is quite satisfying (you get all the old favorites, like oil slick, smoke screen, and missles, not to mention a beefed-up “Peter Gunn” theme).

Awesome.

But it also has a compelling Story mode, written by former Hulk scribe Paul Jenkins, who gives the big guy a reason to use his considerable crushing skills.

Though it all adds up to, essentially, a tuned-up version of the last game, there's enough variation to keep your rebel skater spirit from getting too (sorry)…board.

Sure, most of the game is from left field, but there’s actually enough realistic action to satisfy golf cart owners.

Stealing the best gadgets and characters from the movies, NightFire lets you decide how to topple the requisite megalomanical villain: Use stealth and gizmos (like Eurobabe-revealing x-ray specs—thanks, Q!) or go in guns blazing.

Gamers with short attention spans will likely find all the squad management tedious, but we think it adds a much-needed dimension to a very stale genre. Plus it includes the best video game quote so far this year: "If you see something, shoot it; if it screams in German, shoot it again."

You can practically hear the warbly ocarina, feel the saddle sores and smell Clint Eastwood’s foul, hand-rolled cigar in this video game homage to spaghetti westerns.

New costumes, new environments, new villains—and it’s all just as addictive as you remember.

This third incarnation sticks to the violent battle plan by adding even more twisted tweaks.

War is hell…unless you’re in the cockpit of the F-15 that’s dropping bombs on cavemen.

The game's unique flick-targeting system-"flick" the right control stick towards an enemy and you're automatically locked on-takes some getting used to, but actually frees up the triggers and face buttons, meaning you've got plenty of options when it's time to dole out ass-bootings.

You begin by selecting the background for your on-screen tyrant—anything from leftist journalist to drunken gambler to flatulent womanizer.

Even if a pirate tale doesn’t shiver your timbers, the Lara Croft–like design of Kat will surely raise your mast.

While most of Revenge’s game play involves turning bad guys into kebab, the game’s strict homage to the comic gives it more depth.

Gamers with short attention spans will likely find all the squad management tedious, but we think it adds a much-needed dimension to a very stale genre. Plus it includes the best video game quote so far this year: "If you see something, shoot it; if it screams in German, shoot it again."

If you can keep yourself from blinking, you might be able to help the little furry freak collect his golden rings, like some sort of crank-addicted Hobbit.

Drivables—from hearses to school buses to muscle cars—all handle differently, but their arcade-style ease nicely compliments an overall dumb-ass experience that’s as fun as getting a bellyful of corn liquor and chasing a greased piglet.

Once you get past all the gamesmanship, you can concentrate on bitch-slapping Mother Nature by creating twisted beasts that would make Jack Hanna brown his khakis.

Electronic Arts is keying on the sport's blocking, defensive strategy, and teamwork with NASCAR 06-the closest to "Madden" car racing can get.

True, storming enemy positions is an option, but with environments this wide-open, you’ll just get your ass handed to you by a heavily armed battalion of baddies (or asshole buddies) if you do.

Thrones also gets points for cribbing Sam Fisher's stealth skills and using a whip-like weapon that will send "God of War" fans scurrying to gaming chat rooms to voice their displeasure with the similarities. Thankfully, the controversy is worth it for this energetic adventure.

Though the plodding pace and cutesy atmosphere border on blasphemy, the game’s open-ended design lets you indulge your most megalomaniacal fantasies with ease.

Heck, even if you aren’t a hoops fan, there’s plenty of unintentional humor to appreciate: Seeing Yao Ming dunk on Bill Walton alone is worth the price of admission.

It may not appease the history buffs, but it will delight the trigger-happy.

Splintered wooden furniture doubles as vampire vaporizing shivs to expand on your already wide variety of exterminating capabilities.

If you think the best parts of movies involve explosions, car chases, and death-defying leaps (is there anything else?), then this homage to Hollywood’s unsung lunatics is just the thing for you.

Ingest evidence rather than confiscate it and you’ll develop embarrassing addictions you can kick only via meter-driven mini-games, or you’ll get busted in a random drug test.

Heck, even if you aren’t a hoops fan, there’s plenty of unintentional humor to appreciate: Seeing Yao Ming dunk on Bill Walton alone is worth the price of admission.

As hero Sieg Wahrheit, enjoy third-person action with strategizing and upgrading, RPG-style, plus plenty of splattery hack ’n’ slash fun.

After a thorough training mode on the finer points on scrums, tries, and lineouts, one (or two players cooperatively) can take the controls and realistically injure opponents on soggy, mud-rutted pitches. Think "Madden NFL Football" minus the pads, steroids, and senile announcer, mate.

The Force is strong with this polished first-person shooter.

Told in fragments along the way, the story resolves differently, depending on whether you torture and kill other humans or help them survive. Either way, the eerie atmosphere will scare you straighter than an "Oz" box set.

Eighty-four hyper-detailed players are represented, or you can create your own baller and go rags-to-riches, racking up pimp-wear and "Scarface"-worthy real estate.

Vexx is a curiously grim exercise featuring gargantuan free-form levels fraught with danger and a surprisingly combat-heavy fighting system of combos, uppercuts, and vicious slashes.

From the sadist to the social scientist, The Sims 2 gives you an infinite sandbox to play in.

Splintered wooden furniture doubles as vampire vaporizing shivs to expand on your already wide variety of exterminating capabilities.

Before you get your first set of prints back, you’ll find clues in maps and diaries—even encounter the phantasmagoric—to unravel a plot with more slimy twists than a barrel of Udon noodles.

Adding live online support and a fantasy-league “Mogul” mode that lets you trade players, track stats, and haggle over TV rights? OK, we’re really psyched.

We could have done without the ads for Toyota (what is this, a movie preview?), but the slamming soundtrack and retro touches-the 1995 version of EA's game is included-should help bring the league one step closer to atoning for the Charlotte Bobcats.

Choose from over 179 field layouts across 19 tournaments to test out the game's hair-trigger controls in surprisingly fun online seven-on-seven team showdowns.

Though it all adds up to, essentially, a tuned-up version of the last game, there's enough variation to keep your rebel skater spirit from getting too (sorry)…board.

The console and portable SOCOMs may look the same, but like the Olsen twins, they're different enough that you won't be satisfied with just one.

The game play has been streamlined for less fussy PS2 players. Plus there’s a single-player mode, where AI teammates respond to 160 voice commands. And the online levels—with up to 16 players barking through headsets simultaneously—is enough to make you postpone your pee break for hours.

Two guns up.

And with the engaging story, plus the graphic-novel presentation (boxes of action and text are constantly popping up on-screen), this truth is worth uncovering.

The game takes hits for its often crappy camera angles. Still, it'll satisfy your raging blood lust.

Smuggling drugs isn’t much fun when it involves swallowing condoms to sneak cocaine across the border, but it’s a blast when you drive all-terrain vehicles full of contraband right through police barricades.

Set up like Grand Theft Alien, there are tons of missions to complete, though you can also just roam around, killing filthy humans and destroying their stuff.

Every hard knock is rewarded in the form of a nasty bruise on your opponent’s face.

Crave a purer form of pigskin, where painkillers and cheap shots aren't just overlooked but encouraged? Then give this ballsy baller a try.

Gamers not only get tons of extra movie action but also get to run, kick, and shoot in a fully realized Matrix universe.

Batman Begins isn't just a good game, it's two great games that play great together. When you're the caped crusader, it's an action game in the mold of "Splinter Cell"... Then, when you're driving the Batmobile, the game morphs into "Burnout," with you knocking cars off the road as you careen through traffic.

Eighty-four hyper-detailed players are represented, or you can create your own baller and go rags-to-riches, racking up pimp-wear and "Scarface"-worthy real estate.

Even though it feels more like babysitting than crime fighting, it’s still an NRA member’s dream come true.

Vexx is a curiously grim exercise featuring gargantuan free-form levels fraught with danger and a surprisingly combat-heavy fighting system of combos, uppercuts, and vicious slashes.

Ignore the nonsensical story—centered on Mordoc, the vampire king, and his Onyx Tower of Eldritch—and stay on course with your barbarian, dwarf, cleric, or elf, traversing time and eerie environments.

If that's not enough carnage, you can also engage in 32-player (50 on Xbox Live) online deathmatch missions, which is technically twice the bloody chaos of "Halo 2."

The single-player adventure is every bit as time-devouring as the first Metroid Prime... But the multiplayer split-screen mode, while fun, is straight out of 1997. Plus, there are no online and no 16-player matches.

Batman Begins isn't just a good game, it's two great games that play great together. When you’re the caped crusader, it's an action game in the mold of "Splinter Cell"... Then, when you’re driving the Batmobile, the game morphs into "Burnout," with you knocking cars off the road as you careen through traffic.

Truly spooky graphics and nut-shriveling sounds.