If you want to lose yourself completely in a game or need a reminder of why you enjoy gaming so much, Half-Life 2 is exactly what you need.

Batman: Arkham City sets the standard against which future superhero games will be judged.

So back to the big question at hand: is Skyrim too much like Oblivion to the point where it loses credibility? In a word, no. If Skyrim had the exact same game engine and mechanics of Oblivion it would most likely be a contender for game of the year. But by addressing every issue from the last game and improving everything else, Skyrim leaves little room for error for the next game in the series.

A masterful blend of storyline, exciting action, and freeform gameplay that will keep you hooked for hours on end.

This is a planet that you'll want to visit time and again, and that will be different on each return.

Red Dead Redemption is a fantastic game and arguably the finest Rockstar has ever produced. The production values are amazingly high, the gameplay is varied, challenging and nearly always a blast and the old West is as alive as any video game world yet seen.

A lot of gameplay modes and some pretty darn good football to boot; you can't go wrong with Madden NFL 2003.

Personally, I would have preferred more challenge, but overall I found the game to be so much fun that I was able to looked past that.

Portal 2 is really a worthy successor to Portal, and is a great example of a very well-designed, well-implemented game. I recommend it highly.

Modern Warfare 2 is a complete package and one of those games you'll be playing for a long time to come. It's not only one of the best shooters of the year; it's one of the top shooters ever to appear on a console.

BioShock a year later is still a fantastic experience, and its still a game that every gamer should play.

There is no denying that Mass Effect 2 is a fantastic title and one that people will be talking about for years to come. It's also plain to see that the PS3 port is the definitive version of the game, with graphical upgrades, technical fixes and all that DLC right out of the box.

An even better storyline and a city with a lot more character.

Gears of War is one well-oiled machine.

It’s one of those rare games that is more of an experience than just a game and you’ll love being long for the ride.

Call of Duty 4 easily earns its place among the elite shooters available for the Xbox 360.

The bottom line is, online or off, Halo 3 is a game every 360 owner should at least try out

Street Fighter IV changes the series' overall look to 3-D but still sticks to its root with the normal 2-D Street Fighter style gameplay that we have come to enjoy making it quite an enjoyable fighter to play for Street Fighter purists.

Making a return appearance is the very innovative Spies vs. Mercenaries multiplayer with its own set of improvements including a very cool active camouflage for the spies that makes them practically invisible.

Now, on the PS3, Metal Gear has regained some, not all, of its former glory. But weak, reused bosses, a broken online game and the gameplay to video ratio keep it from the lofty standards that Metal Gear Solid set up so many years ago.

Every once in a while a game comes along that pushes the boundaries, that takes risks and innovates without losing the qualities that make games so enjoyable – God of War is one of those games. It’s a “best of system” quality game, game of the year material, and more.

The story is engrossing, complete with plot turns and surprises, and although it starts slowly you'll soon be complete caught up in it.

The grandmaster series of strategy gaming spawns another game for the ages.

Brawl is fun, both alone and with friends, and if you’re a completist like me (completist: a gamer who refuses to stop playing a game until they have unlocked all the secrets and done everything there is to do), you’ll be looking at literally hundreds of hours of fun before you get even close to finishing.

World War II finally gets the epic strategy game it deserves.

Chinatown Wars proves that it's not only possible to fit an open world Grand Theft Auto game on the DS, it's possible to make a very good Grand Theft Auto game for the DS.

A masterpiece of action gaming. Story, production values, gameplay, ... it’s the whole package, and it runs just beautifully on the PS3 too in case you’re interested. Unless you absolutely hate action gamers, you’ll absolutely love God of War II.

Classic RTS gameplay that's as good as it gets.

Street Fighter IV changes the series' overall look to 3-D but still sticks to its root with the normal 2-D Street Fighter style gameplay that we have come to enjoy making it quite an enjoyable fighter to play for Street Fighter purists.

The game's developers have done an outstanding job of pushing the Xbox to its full potential and the result is a game with incredible atmosphere and a fully immersive environment.

No matter your feelings on how things turn out in the end or the addition of multiplayer, Mass Effect 3 is the trilogy-capper we've been waiting for, and its an experience that can easily be recommended to nearly anyone.

Overall, Rock Band 3 does a great job of refining the music game experience while at the same time pushing it forward by blurring the line between playing a music game and actually playing music.

They don’t come any better than this.

Come for the engrossing single player campaign, stay for the addicting multiplayer.

Uncharted 3 delivers a compelling story and backs it with some great gameplay.

All in all Rock Band is thoroughly enjoyable experience and could easily become one of the top party games of 2008

The yardstick that will be used to measure strategy games for some time to come.

Some people might become bored with it once the novelty wears off. However, the game has inspired a very loyal following on the internet, so it definitely has a long-term appeal among many gamers.

If there is a knock against Forza Motorsports it's that the game does not have much personality. The racing is great and the cars look sweet, but there's not much going on in between.

If you haven't experienced The Sims before, now's your chance. This bundle will provide you with plenty of gameplay and introduce you to the enjoyable addiction that The Sims can be.

A lot of gameplay modes and some pretty darn good football to boot; you can't go wrong with Madden NFL 2003.

The player faces are expressive, and you can see their eyes move as they look around.

A strategy game for the ages.

A beauty to behold and play. The AI may prove to be too great a challenge for some beginning players, though. Otherwise, there is very little I can find to complain about. This is a genuinely well-designed, fun to play game that stands out from most of the other games out there.

If for some reason you didn’t like the original Guitar Hero, then there’s probably nothing new here that will change your mind about the game. For everyone else, new songs, new animations, and the new practice and co-op modes make Guitar Hero II a no-brainer.

Rock Band was just the opening act. Rock Band 2 is the real headliner.

It is just one great mission in a series of great missions that provide players with a thoroughly enjoyable and immersive gaming experience. If you ever wanted to be a part of a great war story, Medal of Honor: Allied Assault is a must.

I can sum it all up in one sentence: If you’re a gamer and a fan of rock music, then you owe it to yourself to play this game.

Lich King is an impressive addition to an already compelling game.

Who would have thought that combining a platform game with an online shooter would have been so much fun?

Shadow of the Colossus is experienced as much as it is played.

The sound in the game is also phenomenal. The sound is so well done that you can sit still and listen, and you'll be able to tell the direction that guards' footsteps are coming from and whether or not they are coming towards you.

To really enjoy the game in all it's glory, though, you'll need to play it in dynasty mode.

Crysis has a lot going for it, even though you'll need a pretty powerful computer to get the full experience. It does have its shortcomings though, and among other things I think that it may prove to be pretty frustrating for casual gamers and that a fair number of gamers won't be too pleased with the endgame.

God of War: Chains of Olympus is hands-down one of the best PSP games available.

If you have a high level character, it’s hard to find a reason for you not to buy The Burning Crusade. An entirely new continent filled with great content and with some really imaginative zones to explore make the expansion a must buy.

If you're a college football fan, you can't go wrong with this game - you'll love it.

Stardock has managed to make a great game even better.

All in all, Mass Effect is every bit a great as we were promised. The story is fantastic, the graphics are unbelievable, sound is fairly good and the music is wonderful, but weird difficulty changes, ridiculous length and a failed ‘run and gun’ battle system keep Mass Effect from its almost perfect score.

On the field of multiplayer shooter combat, Battlefield 2 conquers the competition with shock and awe.

God of War and God of War II are gaming at its best and this collection is recommended to anyone who missed the games the first time around.

Unless you have taken an oath to reject violence in your entertainment, there is no reason to skip Gears of War 3 – it has everything you could ask from a shooter and does them all with first class polish. If the Gears franchise has come to an end, it goes out on top of its game.

Games like Killzone 2 don't come down the pike very often, but when they do it is your duty as a gamer to purchase, play and love them. When it comes to action and/or shooting, nothing else even comes close.

Gameplay, presentation, everything about it is about as good as it gets, and I can't really imagine any gamer coming away from this one disappointed.

Smart and sexy, just like its heroine. It is a thoroughly enjoyable, tongue in cheek romp through the world of 1960s espionage.

Dragon Age: Origins might have a few clichés here and there, but for those looking for a RPG to lose themselves in, you need not look any further. Dragon Age: Origins is a winner.

Far Cry 3 is a very impressive game, one of the best of 2012, and will certainly make the list of most memorable games that I've played on the Xbox 360.

No game puts you closer to being on a field of battle in World War II than Call of Duty.

PGR2 just doesn't make sure that you meet a race's goal – it will watch how you race and reward good moves.

The Sims 2 takes your sims to a whole new level, making them even more fascinating to watch going about their lives and interacting with other sims than they were in The Sims.

As for control, it is fluid and precise.

Bayonetta is a bizarre game that some will love, but many will hate.

The most advanced military shooter available on any system, bar none.

If you didn't enjoy GTA IV, then The Lost and Damned won't change your mind about the game. If you did, however, you're going to love this downloadable expansion.

Ground-breaking and very fascinating, but the game is hurt by an overemphasis on micromanagement. Improved village management and some poor level design kept this game from rating higher.

The best platform game available on the PS2.

Much like Gears and Halo for the 360, or Metroid Prime 3 and Twilight Princess for the Wii, Phantom Hourglass should be "the" game every DS owner has in their collection.

Revenge is a dish that Burnout serves up hot, and you'll savor every bite.

The biggest extra you’ll find, though, will come after you’ve completed the game. You can then re-enter the game and as you play through the second time you’ll notice the addition of some floating icons. Clicking on these pauses the game and plays designer commentary about the design and development of the level.

At its best, Civilization III is addicting and enjoyable. Unfortunately, it suffers from some play balancing , AI, and occasional stability issues which bar it from realizing its full potential.

Limbo shows that there is salvation for an industry stuck in sequel hell.

Aside from the game-ruining Celestial Brush control and intro, Okami is really something special.

You'll still find mayhem for mayhem's sake in this title, but for the first (second if you count the DS version) time, the GTA series has delivered more than just hooker target practice; there's a great game here as well.

Still haven't played it? Well you should now! Okami has now arrived in HD on PS3!

From the action-packed intro to its ultimate conclusion, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption is bursting at the seams with "win" material.

Multiplayer aside, Freedom Force is a thoroughly enjoyable game. You'll often find yourself wanting to play the next mission just to gain one more hero, or see what happens next.

A game that provides a lot of fast-paced and exciting action, and does a great job of conveying the feel of the Star Wars universe.

A must have for fans of multiplayer Halo 2 who do not subscribe to Xbox Live.

As close as you'll come to starring in an epic war movie.

Buy--don't rent this game as it is one to keep in your library and show off to future generations.

Among the best in the Valhalla of strategy gaming.

Demon's Souls can do no wrong in my eyes. It reinvigorated my love of RPGs and video games as a hobby, not just a job. Its punishing difficulty is a throwback to the brutally unforgiving games of my NES childhood, and the feeling of accomplishment in the face of innumerable odds is truly unlike anything I've experienced with a controller in my hands.

As much as I truly tried to enjoy Fable II, the fun gameplay and convincing world just couldn't make up for the game's drawbacks.

If you're one of the people who it does appeal to, get ready for a great ride and months of online play. These zombies don't quit, and you probably won't be able to either.

Left 4 Dead is one of those games like Madden NFL or Rock Band that is a lot more exciting and fun to play when played with friends.

Jade Empire's unusual setting and deep, rich story should make it appealing to RPG fans. Other gamers will appreciate the more action-focused combat and shorter game length – about half that of typical RPGs.

Hot Pursuit is not the most feature-rich, realistic, or deep racing title available, but it certainly is one of the most exciting and enjoyable ones.

It is, hands down, the best RPG of this console generation, but that one minor control issue keeps it just shy of a perfect score.