Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground does it again. The team at Neversoft has taken a great game and improved it like we’ve seen time and time before.

For me, the role of handheld gaming in the industry is about fun. It’s about tuning out distractions, clicking off your brain for a few minutes and just killing some time. NBA 08 embraces that role by providing a fun alternative to the usual fare during basketball release season.

Perhaps the place where FIFA 08 shines the brightest is in what I am considering the revolutionary mode of online play.

After a bunch of games and trying almost every game mode, I can say without a doubt, this is my favorite baseball game of the year.

The series has “returned to its roots” in a way, beginning with the handling model. At the same time, it’s managed to incorporate very new features, throwing in motorcycles that feel completely fresh and weather that can change every race you run.

While there’s really nothing groundbreaking this year, it’s hard to argue with the formula that works.

Skate is a resounding success, a game that has complaints that are barely even complaints when compared to the rest of the product.

Bottom line—if you play online and like hockey, then NHL 08 has you covered. If you play offline and like hockey, then NHL 08 has you covered.

While Tiger Woods himself continues to reach new heights in his golf game, the Tiger Woods PGA Tour franchise also made noticeable improvements in the last year.

It’s the best football game available on the Xbox 360 and a solid improvement over last year’s maiden Next Gen voyage.

Hot Shots Tennis is as fun and challenging as you want it to be.

It is easily among the top sports titles available on the PSP.

Overall, The Bigs is a well executed attempt at your unconventional take on the baseball video game market.

MLB 07: The Show plays a fantastically realistic and remarkably fun game on the field - in fact, it's perhaps the best on-field baseball game ever created, and certainly the best one this year.

Probably the most entertaining and enjoyable sports game available for the Playstation 3. While the Homecourt Challenge mode gets monotonous, the offline multi-player is where this game truly shines.

The lack of a true Franchise mode is still noticeable, but aside from the disappointing frame-rate issue and exceedingly long loading times, there's a lot to like here.

When the dust settles, SCEA San Diego has done something that few have ever seen – they produced a follow up that was as good as or better than the original classic.

This is a really good game for not only kids, but for adult gamers who want to share gaming with their children. If you’re a 21 year-old college kid looking for a game to play between keg-stands, this isn’t the one. If you’re looking for spot-on, photo-realistic NBA action, skip it. My daughter and I loved this game for the experience. It’s not about the AI, the graphics, or the animations. It’s what gaming should be about – fun. And when it’s family fun, well, that’s a huge bonus.

The most realistic and enjoyable basketball game on the market.

Sure, they could have done more with the two-year development cycle since the last release, but the game is worth a look for fans of the series and rookies alike.

I won’t sit here and tell you that the game is perfect. It’s close, but there are still holes. I thought the create-a-skater function that went with the Career/Story mode was painfully underdone.

There’s a heck of a lot more competition out there. But, what they do, they do very well. It’s a fun arcade racer in single player and a blast of an arcade racer online.

It’s the best game of soccer available on the “next-gen” console and one of the best soccer titles to date.

A good game of golf. A beautiful title on the Xbox 360 that should be used to sell HDTVs. A fun and deep experience on Xbox Live.

FIFA 07 will continue to make me a bigger fan.

I’ve just had so much fun with this game that it’s practically renewed my interest in PC racing single handedly.

Greg Hastings’ Tournament Paintball MAX’D made me do three things that I didn’t expect when I slid it into the PS2. First, I found myself watching some tournament paintball on ESPN2 last weekend. Second, I started the ball rolling on getting my softball team to sign on for a pre-season paintball outing in March of next year. And finally, I kept playing the game after I had enough time in to write my review.

I’m going to make this really simple: this is the greatest basketball game I’ve ever played. This is also the greatest one year leap I’ve ever seen in a series.

It has a great single-player game to partner with the online experience. Plus, the Digimask technology is really showcased in this title, making it a must for Xbox Live Vision camera owners.

The best sports title on Xbox 360 so far. It’s exciting when a company actually uses the year in development to bring us a year’s worth of progress.

Without a bustling online community, Test Drive Unlimited is a pedestrian entry in the racing genre, but for those who are willing to invest the time into it’s multiplayer world this could turn out to be the most bang for your buck the Xbox 360 has yet seen.

For the Madden fans that want a good football game on the road, there isn't a better game available. Speeding up the franchise mode would help out tremendously, as well as programming the AI running backs to see - and hit - the hole better.

The EA team made their off-season adjustments and released a solid product. Maybe not groundbreaking or innovative, but certainly a step forward.

When all is said and done, the most important thing that can be said about FlatOut 2 is that it is fun.

The most important part of any sports game - the on-field play - is smooth and solid, with some breathtakingly realistic animations adding extra spice.

I would give NCAA 2007 a perfect 10/10 based on the gameplay and the amount of fun I had with it. However, I'm knocking a point off for the lack of ESPN integration, the status quo on online play, and for not adding to the pre-game intros.

If you are a baseball fan and don’t mind the lack of graphics or the fact that you can't control your team’s every move, this is a must-buy.

You can breeze through everything it has to offer in less than a week, which is probably the game’s biggest downfall. However, if you’ve got some friends to enjoy it with, or plan on spending some extensive time on Xbox Live, then the $40 dollar price tag that accompanies Rockstar’s Table Tennis is a steal.

To be honest, this game has a stubborn American like me excited to watch the World Cup next month. That's an accomplishment, EA!

In the final tally, holding a PSP with World Poker Tour is like holding the video-game equivalent of the ace-king "Big Slick" - it's not a sure-fire winner, but you're likely to have a lot of fun playing it just the same.

This game is listed at $39.99 - which is twenty dollars less than most Xbox 360 games. If you are a tennis fan, you have no reason to not pick this game up.

The depth is unlike anything that most sports gamers will ever experience. There are so many different ways to play and enjoy this game, it is almost as if there are five or six different games all rolled into one.

Since the features are pretty much identical to the current-gen versions of the games, I find it hard to suggest that someone pay 30 dollars more for what surmounts to a graphical upgrade.

It might be time for EA to let the Burnout field lie fallow for a year or two, before one of the most exciting titles of the current generation becomes a tired has-been in the next generation.

The greatest baseball game of this console generation.

If you're a sports fan with a PSP, my advice is simple: Buy MLB '06, bring it home, pop in that UMD, and enjoy real baseball excitement all summer long.

The quintessential sim racing experience available on the PS2. Time will tell if this is the release that pushes the series over the top into mainstream acclaim.

It’s the best looking Xbox 360 game to date and the in-ring action is the Fight Night series' best ever.

One of the best PC racers available to date. The physics engine just feels right no matter what difficulty you play on, it looks drop-dead gorgeous, and it has stable online play.

They took an existing series that worked; did a 180 when they lost their MLB license - and produced a product with more features that was even better.

Bowl Bound is the best text-based college football simulation I’ve played and I look forward to future versions of this fine game.

With the depth of the legacy mode, the replay value is huge.

The Xbox 360 version of Tony Hawk's American Wasteland is - despite the only-modest improvements - the best version of the game available on any system, and can be recommended as such.

A perfectly balanced arcade racer. It's lovingly crafted, exciting as all get-out, and looks like nothing you've ever played before.

For those looking for the most realistic hockey game on any console, look no further.

Despite its few flaws and it's relative lack of "newness", NBA 2K6 offers excellent value - especially in comparison to other sports titles on the Xbox 360 system - and gives the gamer a full-featured product that also happens to be the best professional basketball simulation ever created.

The police aspect in this game makes it refreshing and "new."

I think that the "major" issue with Major League Baseball 2K5 World Series Edition is that it’s too much of the same. There aren’t enough changes in this game to justify a whole new game, or to justify a purchase from someone who owns the earlier version.

Through the deeper story mode, the sense of reality created through the L.A. environments, and the rock-solid Xbox Live experience, Tony Hawk's American Wasteland accomplishes all of those things. Whether it's your first or seventh Tony Hawk purchase, it's still worth every penny.

If you have great group of online buddies or real-world friends who are on Xbox Live, this game is the next best thing to the Friday night poker-fest in your pal's basement.

I think that the "major" issue with Major League Baseball 2K5 World Series Edition is that it's too much of the same. There aren't enough changes in this game to justify a whole new game, or to justify a purchase from someone who owns the earlier version.

Like most multi-platform releases, this one doesn't quite match up with the encompassing experience of its console brethren, but it's fast, fun, deep and pretty. What more can you ask for?

By far the best version of what has become the best NBA game on the market.

In an online world where racing games are usually about respect, caution, and not causing pile-ups, Burnout: Revenge is all about what you really want to do.

A wonderfully fun and exciting romp through Burnout's history without feeling staid or terribly repetitive. It's also a technical marvel that will wow even the most jaded gamer.

This is the best game of hockey that I have ever played.

I can't tell a true die-hard racing fan if the car setups will provide the depth and accuracy that they are looking for. But I can tell gaming fans that NASCAR 06 is very good title. I think the depth and replay ability alone are worth a look.

No matter what you think about the other players in this game, tip your helmet to the folks at Tiburon. They did their job and they did it well.

There's nothing revolutionary here, and nothing that advances the genre, but this is the best NCAA yet.

I had a lot of fun with GTR. I will continue to play it for some time, as the driving model in the game is rivaled only by the venerable "Grand Prix Legends", a 7 year old game that still sets the bar for driving realism today.

If the competition is Gran Turismo, there's no contest here. The complete integration of online play, full vehicle customization, better racing AI, and many other features raise Forza above the pack.

Very close to being a revolution in portable sports gaming. The gameplay is the best I've seen in this year's baseball titles, and the graphics all but equal those of the PS2. However, a complete lack of all the features we have come to expect from a modern sports game means that apart from exhibition games, MLB just doesn't have the depth to stand on it's own.

Only four things hold Tiger Woods PGA Tour back from true gaming greatness: the abysmal load times, the slightly off-kilter analog nub swing system, better multiplayer capability, and true online... er, "Infrastructure" play.

An excellent soundtrack and surprising amount of customizability just add to the tasty Remix.

However, the series is starting to act like geriatric "classic" rockers who take the same "Greatest Hits" out on the road year after year. It's got its play list down pat, but there's nothing new there.

The new content is useless, the lack of Internet play is disappointing, and the load times are excruciating ... but this is one of the rare exceptions in gaming where the port is better than the original.

Magnificent, all-encompassing presentation serves only to highlight the wholly engrossing game play.

The on-field play is excellent, with a pitching model that’s unmatched, and “Career Mode” is a completely new take on the standard sports gaming franchise/season gameplay, and I expect to see more publishers introducing similar modes.

This is one of the few games recently released that fed my "just one more game" desire - and I really had a hard time putting it down.

The Haymaker, the ability to block and punch while moving and the EA Sports Cutman are all great additions to this year's game. However, there's still a big issue with the AI regarding knockdowns that needs to be addressed.

Does it accurately simulate every aspect of being a player, coach, and/or owner? No. In fact, a lot of the extras are going to be seen as unnecessary fluff by the baseball purists. But I guess you can call me a fun purist because I just plain had fun with this game.

Delivers the ingredients needed to let your imagination run wild, and immerse you into the career of an up-and-coming wrestler. There are times that you feel like you're stuck in the middle of a re-occurring dream, but with a little bit of patience, you can have a lot of fun with this title.

The gameplay is solid, the customization is deep and immersive, and it's absolutely stunning visually. It's a slam-dunk for "Street" series veterans or rookies ready to make the leap.

The biggest and inexcusable disappointment is that we Americans and Canadians are being short-changed in comparison to our European counterparts with regard online play on the Xbox and PS2 consoles.

It is still overshadowed by “NBA Live” and ‘NCAA Football”, and still feels a bit like an amalgam of the two, but it’s starting to come into it’s own.

Well…I'm two weeks into playing this game non-stop and the other shoe hasn't dropped. I can't find a major problem with this game, and I've just been enjoying it.

If they continue to plug forward we could be looking at a future dominator in the sports gaming genre on the Playstation 2 and a sure front runner for the next system from Sony.

Another good step in the quest to create a complete text-based basketball game. The game does a great job of fixing the bugs from last year’s game and making many additions.

The game is a throw-back to old arcade racers, and it doesn't miss a beat. This game will last you as long as you want it to last.

What about the fence sitters? The undecided? It's really simple: If you haven't played "THUG" before, start there. You'll likely find it at a great price. If you like it, then go buy THUG 2.

In my opinion, Live 2005 is once again the more complete game and while both games are fun, "Live" gives you a great NBA basketball experience without the bugs [of "2K5"].

My plea to VC: Please don't revert back to last year's game. The game is a few steps away from being a great game. Just fix the bugs.

Though the engine itself doesn’t match some of the better games in the genre on both the Xbox and PC, it certainly plays a passable game of golf. It’s got an arcade flavor, but definitely delivers a fun game.

This is only marginally a racing game - it's a game of destruction and chaos that holds more in common with a first person shooter than with a true racer.

A visually appealing, nice sounding, smooth-playing version of the NHL. It has just enough simulation mixed with just the right dash of arcade to make it the best hockey effort we've seen on the Next Gen consoles.

It's simplistic in the initial stages, but deep down, this is a fun, surprisingly deep game that can keep you interested for quite a while.

The pinball running, even if you can circumvent it much of the time with the Y button, as well as the aging game engine knock this game 10% for me right away.

You just never know how the AI will react, but at least they do take the timeouts and run the hurry up offense when they are down. It doesn't play dumb. In fact, the AI will go into a no-huddle offense, just to throw you off occasionally. How cool is that!!