The truly stunning thing about Persona 4 is that it just doesn't have any glaring flaws. Even though it doesn't stand up to the graphics of the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3, the clever art style makes up for that. Those who despise reading large blocks of text in games will be pleasantly surprised by the solid voice-over work applied to almost every conversation.

Yes, it's true that at no time while playing Prince of Persia did I feel any of the frustration that I felt on a regular basis in "Mirror's Edge". But neither did I ever feel the joy of doing something right, of stringing together a perfect series of vaults and wall-runs and feeling like it was based on my own skill.

If you enjoy playing first-person shooters with a team of friends or even complete strangers, Left 4 Dead offers an unparalleled social experience. It can be frustrating at times when the team's actions aren't synced, or strategies continually falter, but a bit of practice and, more importantly, communication will transform this zombie massacre into one of the most exciting and addictive gaming experiences ever.

Simply the most reliable gaming purchase you can make this holiday season. No other title will offer more content for the price.

Despite some regrettable drawbacks and frustrations, Mirror's Edge is a singular and incredibly compelling experience. If you're looking to try something that's genuinely new and not just a refinement or tweak of some existing genre or play mechanic, you really owe it to yourself to play this.

Banjo is what you get when you put a lavish coat of polish on nothing: A beautiful, funny game with a clever concept that is utterly lacking in fundamentals.

The game delivers the same grizzled, gore-laden action we've come to expect, and it does it extremely well -- but it's as if the original Gears has gotten a face-lift, and been expanded upon, without much real change.

While it gives players that quintessential amped-up FPS experience, it isn't doing anything especially innovative or new. The firefights are intense, the pacing will keep you on the edge of your seat and quite a few scenes prove absolutely breathtaking, but the game's chief strength is the story that binds it all together, and the multiplayer modes that should keep us amused for quite some time.

The campaign mode is a fun, lengthy, well-polished experience. But the reason most people pick up a strategy game in the first place is to meet new and interesting people and crush them mercilessly.

Despite the clunky menu system and nearly useless real-time combat options, the biggest complaint I can level at Fallout 3 is that it isn't by the original developer, Interplay. But since we'll never see that game, Bethesda's take on the series is a very acceptable substitute.

But I was pleased to discover at least one genre of music that fits in surprisingly well with all the limitations of the system: classic videogame music.

For whatever reason, Fable II consistently stutters and hangs while you're scrolling through the menus. What should be a simple matter of handing a gift to a potential mate becomes a slog into Menu Hell.

Despite minor quibbles about its online modes, Order of Ecclesia is a simply stunning handheld game. It ranks as easily the best portable game of the year and could very well qualify as the best Castlevania ever.

Wii Music is Wii's "Nintendogs." It's not a traditional videogame with challenges and goals, it's an interactive playground. While some gamers will "get it" and have some fun with it, they'll likely abandon it after a little while. Most hard-core gamers will stay far away.

Dokapon Kingdom's perfectly balanced multiplayer, cool aesthetics and pure addictive fun make it a new high-water mark for party games on the Wii.

Dead Space's atmosphere is brilliant, evoking nerve-wracking paranoia, but the gameplay is the same as many other previous games.

Dead Space's atmosphere is brilliant, evoking nerve-wracking paranoia, but the gameplay is the same as many other previous games.

Endless depth, gorgeous graphics, excellent polish for a new MMO.

It's all the more disappointing because you can see, mired in the boring levels and bad cameras, glimpses of fun ideas.

It's all the more disappointing because you can see, mired in the boring levels and bad cameras, glimpses of fun ideas.

It's tough to make the distinction between where Square Enix was deliberately preserving the game's nostalgic appeal, and where it was just cutting costs.

Peggle Nights, like its predecessor, is extremely polished, challenging and fun.

The one major qualm I have with the game is in its voice acting.

It's another three or four hours of solid entertainment.

Rock Band 2 is a massive bullet-point list of new features, each of which makes playing the game a little bit more fun, a little bit less annoying. MTV has played it very safe: It has not broken anything, but neither has it taken any great risks to add any feature that is mind-blowingly new, the way it did when it added drumming and vocals to Guitar Hero in the first place.

I can't imagine a good reason to purchase Zoids Assault.

Better break-time puzzle rounds and a story that's not throwaway filler would make a truly excellent game; this is merely a fun diversion.

In attempting to Sim everything, Spore tries to be all things to all people -- a strategy that never quite works out the way it's supposed to.