Despite being a bit burned out on the whole music-game craze, Guitar Hero 5's new features and ear-pleasing track list had me strumming and drumming on the plastic instrument peripherals all over again...and having a great time doing it.

Together with a near flawless play-by-play announcer, excellent sound, music and solid online play, EA Sports has done it again with MVP. [Apr 2005, p.76]

Fun, uniquely designed and has an absorbing mystery to solve. [Mar 2007, p.70]

For 2003, Sega has upped the ante once again and has developed a near-perfect baseball game. [Apr 2003, p.70]

The puzzle-action gameplay, battling both the enemy and the elements, is simply tuned to perfection and the oh-so-spectacular bosses play like an orchestra of action and strategy. [July 2007, p.60]

Quotation forthcoming. [Aug 2005]

The best looking light gun game I have ever seen. This thing is astounding. [Nov 2002, p.94]

Jak X: Combat Racing is the best thing to happen to the genre on PS2 [Nov p.90]

This is one(more)DS game not to be missed. [Apr 2007, p.59]

Now you can take your Chimera-slaughtering anywhere you go. Sounds swell.

I'm not going to say it's a better game than FFXII(although a part of me wants to), but I will say this: if you pluck one other RPG off the rack this year, this little gem should be it. [Nov. 2006, p.77]

Fans of the original will need little convincing, but for the rest of you, trust me when I say this game's well worth your time. [Aug 2006, p.57]

Despite being a bit burned out on the whole music-game craze, Guitar Hero 5's new features and ear-pleasing track list had me strumming and drumming on the plastic instrument peripherals all over again...and having a great time doing it.

EA Chicago should be proud. It doesn't get much better than this. [Apr 2005, p.77]

This is where the PSP begins to run away from the DS. Yeah, I said it. [Feb 2006, p.60]

Despite the pre-release co-op hype, this one’s just as entertaining for solo apocalypse survivors. While I wish more dialog was delivered through animated characters, it’s hard not to be taken in by the rest of what this ambitious shooter has to offer—great visual presentation, addictive leveling and looting, frenzied gunplay, four playable classes. Oh, and Mutant Midget Psychos.

GT what? DiRT 2 is the real deal, capturing the thrill of rally racing in one hell of a slick package. Play it for the mud sliding physics alone.

Warriors succeeds because it wholly engrosses players. [Nov p.82]

Splendid (and strangely addicting). [Oct 2005, p.73]

An amazing game. A perversion of the JRPG formula that is a must for fans of dark themes and morally complicated subject matter.

MechAssault delivers and looks absolutely brilliant doing it. [Dec 2002, p.75]

If you're expecting a revolution, you may come away disappointed. But if you're a fan of the genre, you'll appreciate Lost Odyssey's exceptional craftmanship from start to finish. [Mar 2008, p.48]

EA Chicago should be proud. It doesn't get much better than this. [Apr 2005, p.77]

There isn’t a single element of Arkham Asylum that isn’t polished to the utmost degree.

With 16 players and 16 guns blazing, the game is violent bliss, and certainly a war demanding to be fought over and over again. [Apr 2006, p.58]

Buffy fans can breathe a huge sigh of relief. Not only is the game great, but with Buffy still hotter than a witch's tit in a brass bra, you can bet a sequel is imminent. [Sept 2002, p.67]

In so many words, it feels like the PSP's killer app. [Sept 2006, p.63]

Admittedly, I may be partially swayed by the HD graphics, a pair of new mini-games, and lightning-fast load times, but even though the game remains the same I found the localized familiarity of my 360 buttons slightly more appealing than the Wiimote and Nunchuk. [May 2007, p.65]

There's a clear and steady stream of tactical flow across virtually every map, a rare feat in and of itself. [Aug 2005, p.66]

If you've come for heavy tactics and deployment you will be disappointed. But if you come for epic battles, inspired visuals, soaring overtures, and gorgeous medieval design you will be overcome with joy. [Aug 2006, p.54]

The fourth instalment in the PixelJunk series is perhaps their best, but wherever you stand, this shooter with adventure elements is original and full of style.

Enclave on PC is illegally beautiful; in fact, I'd venture to say it ranks among PC's best-looking ever if you have the power to run it optimally. What a shame and horrible oversight that it doesn't allow you to use a control pad of any kind. [June 2003, p.58]

Sega's VT World Tour takes not only intuitive control but reactive animation to the next level... [Nov p.98]

Mastering multiple note, holding notes, and nailing that crazy spaghetti takes (much) practice, but the quality axe is good to go. [Dec 2005, p.66]

The aesthetic pulled me in and the addicting game play kept me going until my arms could take no more. Bit.Trip Beat is one of the better retro games released this year.

Every year Codemasters puts out a new version, and it's as sure a bet as anything in this industry that it will be even better than last year's--and that once again it will be mostly ignored by U.S. gamers. [Mar 2006, p.44]

Easily the best looking game in the series. [Sept 2006, p.65]

As beautiful a game "Rayman" was, this sequel actually looks and plays even better. [Mar 2003, p.62]

Grandia III may not be everything it could have been, but it's a great game nonetheless. [Mar 2006, p.39]

This RPG is brilliant, taking me back to the good old days when games like FFVII and Vagrant Story were king. [Nov p.101]

The puzzle-action gameplay, battling both the enemy and the elements, is simply tuned to perfection and the oh-so-spectacular bosses play like an orchestra of action and strategy. [July 2007, p.60]

Mini Ninjas is simply wonderful on PS3 and 360. An original break-the-mold adventure filled with tight, constantly evolving action spread across 6 super cool ninja, and more (and better) exploration than the majority of open-worlds. Biggest surprise yet, this year.

If it's combat you crave, Field Commander won't disappoint. [may 2006, p.59]

Freedom Unite is like the cube from Hellraiser that takes you to a world of ultimate pain and pleasure. The only major flaw: Capcom gives us ad hoc gameplay with local friends, but no real online multiplayer support. How many units does a franchise have to sell before you throw us a bone?

Subtle touches like added rain and higher resolution go a long way, especially when a game is this beautiful to begin with. [Dec 2002, p.82]

Spartan Total Warrior doesn't remind me of anything before it, which is extremely rare. [Nov p.70]

The game neither holds players' hands or pushes them away with a series of jumps only an automaton with computerized coordination could make. [Jan 2006, p.39]

So finally, after all these years, we have a gameplay-perfect home version of Alpha 3....and you even get every previous game in the series for free. [May 2006, p.44]

For 2003, Sega has upped the ante once again and has developed a near-perfect baseball game. [Apr 2003, p.70]

Powers, outfits, gear...everything super about each combatant can be modded, and hot-swapping powers puts the gamut of their abilities at your fingertips. [Dec. 2006, p.82]

Every year Codemasters puts out a new version, and it's as sure a bet as anything in this industry that it will be even better than last year's--and that once again it will be mostly ignored by U.S. gamers. [Mar 2006, p.44]

If they gave this game to depressed people Xanax would be over the counter. [Sept 2006, p.66]

Visually, Condemned will spoil you, as everything is exactly as it should be. Monolith has set the bar extremely high with its first 360 offering. [Dec 2005, p.52]

If the market allows giant-budget RPGs in the "Final Fantasy VII" mold to continue to be made(and there is some doubt as to that), they're going to look and feel a lot like this game...and for that reason alone, Blue Dragon is an absolute must-play. [JPN Import; Feb 2007, p.74]

The tools of the demon-hunting trade define Curse. [Nov p.84]

High praise for taking what felt like an idea in Assassin’s Creed and turned it into one of the year’s most ambitious and enjoyable games.

Tube Slider (insert sexual pun here), jumps directly to the head of the GameCube racing class, placing itself firmly in the pole position waiting for F-Zero to take it on. [Apr 2003, p.51]

Stranglehold is fun. It's fun in a "God hand" way. [Oct 2007, p.81]

Essentially, with MX vs. ATV Unleashed, Rainbow has perfected everything they introduced as the pioneers of next generation off-road racing. [Apr 2005, p.74]

This is a beautiful and adult game, whose transition to the PSP is only marred by nearly imperceptible delays in combat. [Nov 2007, p.74]

On the outside this may look like just another flavor of Bit.Trip Beat, but don’t let that sway you. Even though artist Gaijin used the same colors of paint on their canvas, the result is wonderfully different.

Fight Night Round 3 takes the sweet science of boxing to bloody new levels, and he results are certainly impressive. [Mar 2006, p.40]

I've never experienced so much in the way of trimmings from the source material. [Dec 2002, p.61]

Mini Ninjas is simply wonderful on PS3 and 360. An original break-the-mold adventure filled with tight, constantly evolving action spread across 6 super cool ninja, and more (and better) exploration than the majority of open-worlds. Biggest surprise yet, this year.

Massively Open Online Racing has arrived. [Oct. 2006, p.60]

Spire is simply too niche for most. But if you can squeeze yourself into that niche, prepare for addiction to take root.

Once the starting gate drops you begin to see why they call it Untamed. [Dec 2007, p.66]

GT what? DiRT 2 is the real deal, capturing the thrill of rally racing in one hell of a slick package. Play it for the mud sliding physics alone.

This is Katamari at its finest. [Oct 2005]

LittleBigPlanet makes a near seamless jump to the portable. While some of the content and gameplay is lost to the hardware's limitations, the presentation is as infectiously charming as ever. A robust campaign is rounded out by infinite content through user-created levels. SackBoy's new home is a perfect fit!

No game has ever afforded this level of freedom, and it's simply breathtaking to behold. [Oct. 2006, p.56]

The game is juts totally multidimensional; easily the freshest fighting game to come along since "Powerstone". [july 2006, p.71]

With 16 players and 16 guns blazing, the game is violent bliss, and certainly a war demanding to be fought over and over again. [Apr 2006, p.58]

If you're jonesing for old-school, demerara-sweet gameplay wrapped up in a shiny 21st century paackage, by all means, merge with OutRun 2006. [Jun 2006, p.48]

Powers, outfits, gear...everything super about each combatant can be modded, and hot-swapping powers puts the gamut of their abilities at your fingertips. [Dec. 2006, p.82]

This is quite possibly the most visually impressive game I've ever seen. [July 2005, p.72]

It is a game of tremendous emotion, of sadness and exhilaration, tragedy and wonder. [Nov p.80]

The nature of the game's free-form design coupled with its devices also make it an extremely personal experience, more so than any of its predecessors. [Sept 2006, p.50]

With so many RPG’s vying for those last few PS2 dollars, Namco sought to make theirs stick out like a troll at an elves’ convention and so they’ve reached deep into their bag of tricks to present something truly original, while sticking to the genre’s time-honored covenants and their decidedly storybook-meets-manga design etiquette. [Jan 2006]

Red Faction’s destruction tech is leaps and bounds beyond anything you’ve ever seen or played. But the fact this aspect encompasses nearly the entirety of the gameplay is really what makes it stand out; destroying stuff isn’t just a means of extracting some cool eye and ear candy within the game - it is the game.

It's got style. In fact, presentation-wise, you'll not find a better action game...anywhere. [Nov 2002, p.58]

Progressive damage, super real lighting and weather effects, and full surround audio make it the vision of next-gen; great gameplay makes it incredibly addicting fun, and six-axis control makes it unique. [Apr 2007, p.47]

The tools of the demon-hunting trade define Curse. [Nov p.84]

I celebrate this game, and congratulate Square for having the courage to localize a piece that is so thoroughly Japanese. [May 2008, p.64]

I haven't played a puzzle game this addictive since "Tetris." [Aug 2005, p.57]

The simpler past is sometimes as good as the present. [Dec 2005, p.71]

Crafted by hard-core gamers - its strong point in terms of sheer satisfaction - and it shows. [Mar 2003, p.56]

A stylish and sinister strategy RPG that is indeed worthy of the Shin Megami Tensei monicker.

Magnacarta 2 has all the spectacle, expanse, drama, combat, and nuance of an epic turn-based RPG, and none of the worn out conventions. SOFTMAX’s seamless real-time battle and field systems, great ensemble cast and boundless character development make all the difference.

To say that Psychonauts as finally brought the platforming epic out of the kiddy pool (if indeed you considered it wading there) would be a gross understatement. [Apr 2005, p.20]

Spartan Total Warrior doesn't remind me of anything before it, which is extremely rare. [Nov p.70]

You don't need to be an experienced MMO player to have fun with this game, and you don't need a beast of a PC to run the game smoothly. [July 2005, p.80]

Every year Codemasters puts out a new version, and it's as sure a bet as anything in this industry that it will be even better than last year's--and that once again it will be mostly ignored by U.S. gamers. [Mar 2006, p.44]

While they could easily have made a straightforward Tetris port for the system, Nintendo instead chose to really go all out for this one, especially in building the one-player portion of the game. [Apr 2006, p.96]

It can be incredibly intense at times. [July 2005, p.78]

Resistance: Fall of Man possesses a quality very few games I’ve played this year do: that driving factor to play to the end, without breaks, without needing to walk away from that unsettling sense of monotony to reinvigorate the desire to jump back in for the next session.

Capcom turned the venerable but stagnant series around with Evil 4 [Nov p.72]

It's one of the best games of the year. [Dec 2005, p.56]