If you play platformers, you absolutely must buy this game. Meanwhile, watch as Maximo cuts the generic "jump and run" genre right in half.

The dungeons in the game are far too tedious and aggravating for me to ever want to go through them again. Even beyond all that, though, Xenogears remains one of my favorite games ever because of its unsurpassed story and characters, and I think that says something.

Not only is the best game I've played this year...it probably just cracked my top 15 games of all time.

I’m no expert, but I’m sure that Tetris improves children’s spatial skills or something. Getting a game together on wifi can be a pain, and most people will have a mode or two that they can’t stand, but overall, it’s nice to see how well Tetris has aged.

The stealth portions offer up the really tense moments of this game.

Remarkably deep when it comes to gameplay... Beware of the load times, though, they can be bad.

Last year, I was absolutely incensed by "NBA Live 2004." The game that became the gold standard for basketball games back in 1995 had thrown up a brick...Another year, and I find myself looking back at my NBA Live 2004 review a lot...to cut and paste text for this year's review. They fixed virtually nothing; it’s practically same game.

While Skies of Arcadia is not a paramount of technical achievement, the substance is worth buying. Great story and great gameplay elements are the very meat of this title.

The lack of exploration (linear gameplay) and terrible sound effects really plagued the game. I also was not keen on the control and shady camera angles.

Basically, Devil May Cry 4 is just the Devil May Cry game from 7 years ago with a fresh coat of paint, and that is fine by me.

As glorified expansion packs go, however, it's certainly one of the best, and while the price does seem a bit high, it's still worth every penny.

Surprisingly deep, complex, and accessible, SimCity 4 is the pinnacle of simulation games.

It's EXCELLENT fun with the flight stick, but it's also $130 plus tax for that bundle...it had better be that good. (Add a +1 onto the gameplay, replay, and overall score for the scores with the Flight Stick.)

As a quick game of nuclear holocaust, Defcon is good. As a not-so-quick game of diplomacy, Defcon is a very good game. However, given how successful the diplomacy meta game is, I can't help but feel that the inclusion of some more details, some more units, some more something, may have resulted in an even more intense game.

The create a driver mode is well executed, and is yet another way in which you can expand the replay value. The best NASCAR game available on the PS2, and one of the best racing games overall.

Flat out, Everything or Nothing will blow you away.

Why the jumping puzzles? They were annoying in 2D, in 3D they’re less fun. In a 3D First Person Shooter, they are lameness incarnate.

Breaking away from the stigma associated with the genre of movie-based games, The Warriors serves to set an example for what games based on films should be. The Warriors is a true homage to the original movie and a game that director Walter Hill, and any fan of the film should be proud of.

A wonderful title and well worth a purchase. While the visuals leave much to be desired, the rest of the game is well packaged. This is adventure gaming at its finest and includes a wonderful control scheme innovation that should be used for future games.

The important thing to understand is that you’re getting exactly that, being the version that came out for the NES; you get nothing more and nothing less. More than any of the other NES re-releases, though, The Legend of Zelda is easily worth the $20 investment, despite the lack of updates and occasional slowdown.

Nippon Ichi has done the impossible with Disgaea 2: Cursed Memories – taking a successful game and improving it on every count for the sequel. The battle system was tweaked in just the right ways, the graphics and sound were improved, and the new story is deep and faithful to the style of the series without copying too much from Disgaea: Hour of Darkness. The result is what will probably be best game of 2006.

Valkyrie Profile: Silmeria was tweaked where it shouldn't have been, and was left alone where it needed tweaks. It's still a fun time, but it's unquestionably a step down from its classic predecessor.

Though the Xbox version has a very fun multiplayer mode, Ghost Recon has a lot to offer solo players even after the game's 15 missions are completed.

If you are jaded from too many of the same old RTS games or even if you just want to play an innovative game for a change, then Darwinia is definitely one you should look into and with a demo readily available, there really isn’t a good reason to not give it a try.

Where "WWF No Mercy" on the Nintendo 64 ruled as the best wrestling game, but WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2006 is the new standard.

An enjoyable, but yet again, hack n’ slash fighting type game, but was balanced enough with the way you had to fight a boss that I didn’t mind the hack n’ slash as much.

The two endings give you a overall thirst for more, and the quality of the storyline and gameplay simply astound.

Intuitive gameplay and nearly infinite replay value in the multiplayer mode make up for a lackluster single-player experience.