This title has it all—engrossing and challenging gameplay, a plot that rises above the usual clichés of the genre, loads of depth and customization, great graphics, and some excellent audio. This is, hands down, the best RPG I've played in 2005.

A totally lush and vibrant experience.There's a palpable sense of energy in the game, and it shines so brightly it's impossible not to see.

A wonderful survival horror game. The new control scheme is so good that if Capcom were to redo all the previous RE games in the style of Outbreak they could probably convince me to go ahead and buy all four titles for a third time.

It's really a testament to the game's quality that even though I found its politics and implications deeply troubling I was still won over by the amazing gameplay.

Oblivion is a game people will still be calling a classic a decade from now—and in the fickle world of gaming, that's high praise indeed.

The developers obviously care greatly about the source material, and it shows in everything from the spot-on controls to the excellent voice acting.

Oblivion is a game people will still be calling a classic a decade from now—and in the fickle world of gaming, that's high praise indeed.

Simply put, Team Ninja deserves a truckload of praise for their work on this game.

Overall, I was quite impressed with Rogue Galaxy, and as one of the presumably last RPGs for the PlayStation 2, I think it's a fitting tribute to the machine that is home to the most games of this genre.

Metroid Prime 3: Corruption is an expansion of its predecessors, and it builds on their legacy in every aspect.

I’m glad that after 20 years, Nintendo can still make something old feel new again.

Virtua Fighter has been successful as long as it has by catering to an audience that could serve as the definition of the word hardcore.

Rock Band is admittedly a financial investment, but for the gamer with at least one friend who enjoys music, I think it's worth it.

Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition is one of the best games available for the Wii. Period.

With its polished cinematic presentation, well-paced action, and surprisingly emotional story, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare brilliantly captures the feel of a grand, epic game.

So Portal does its job within the Orange Box compilation, taking a brilliant left-field idea and successfully merging it with Valve's universe over an entertaining few hours of gaming.

Its charm and style engrossed me from the opening level and never let go, and I received an experience with lots of substance, challenge, and a little heart thrown in for good measure.

For a trip back to the well, R6: Vegas 2 proves an unusually excellent cash-in. I'd be lying, though, if I said that my two favorite levels weren't the prologue and epilogue, which both forgo the Vegas setting for a trip to an exotic locale.

Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 is a true gamer's game. Atlus has outdone themselves again and proved that they are at the leading edge of role-playing.

I came into Strong Bad's expecting quality adventuring, the unique comedic stylings that make me feel like I'm a kid watching Rocko's Modern Life again, and some good old fashioned The Cheat kickin'. That's exactly what I got, and there was virtually nothing throughout the experience that annoyed or dissatisfied me.

Among Thieves is far and away the best game that I have played this year, and one I will likely come back to time and again.

In the culmination of this story BioShock 2 outdoes the original and establishes its own worth, with a closing sequence that hits every note perfectly.

If the player were disappointed by this scenario in the original, he'll probably be disappointed now too. However, with a wealth of new content and lots of other welcome additions and tweaks, Left 4 Dead 2 continues to focus on what it does best, and it's damn good at it.

Perhaps this game appeals less to adolescent and adult males than most games do: Starfy is more Kirby than Mario. But it does what it does very well, and I hope that this title is merely the beginning of Starfy's legend in North America.

Persona takes everything that made the original so memorable (the demon-fusing, the storyline, the atmosphere) and streamlines/updates it while restoring things that were cut from the original as well.

Overall, this is the largest and most fully-realized expansion yet produced for Fallout 3, and it's an order of magnitude better than any of the previous installments.

Skipping my usual witty remark or pun-laden ending line in closing, let me just say that Clash of Heroes is an absolute winner from start to finish. Any gamer worthy of the title needs to have a copy of this cart in their library. Buy it. Ra

It's extremely smart, has a great sense of humor, a bold design and fantastic art direction.