Through and through, Peace Walker is easily the best game on Sony's handheld, and walks all over some of great console games I've played, too.

This is not a game to relax with after a long day at work. This is a game to play if you want to get so amped up you start typing in CAPITAL LETTERS.

It seems like people are always in need of DS puzzle game recommendations. From now on, whenever someone asks me to suggest one for a family member or a plane trip or something, I'm going to lead with Picross 3D.

I'm absolutely in love with SMG2. It's a near-perfect mix of superb controls, unequaled level design and pure creative genius. Simply, it'll never fail to put you in a good mood. You can't ask for more from a game than that.

Dark, disturbing, yet eerily beautiful, Limbo is a world that deserves to be explored.

With the exception of food, water and, if necessary, important medications, I can't think of anything more worthy of spending $15 on this week. This is a high point for comedy in games, built on a solid foundation of time-tested gameplay and bacon that everyone should experience.

With the exception of food, water and, if necessary, important medications, I can't think of anything more worthy of spending $15 on this week. This is a high point for comedy in games, built on a solid foundation of time-tested gameplay and bacon that everyone should experience.

StarCraft 2 didn't change the formula because it didn't need to. This isn't just a fresh coat of paint on StarCraft, it is StarCraft, right down to its pixelated bones. It's proof that games don't have to be disposable, that some games are so creative and balanced and fun that they don't go out of style or disappear over the years. Some games, it turns out, really are timeless.

This is awesome stuff. I couldn't recommend it more highly, especially at 10 bucks, and I'm sure you'll be telling everyone you know the same after you clear the first stage (if not sooner).

ODST could have been a clever little shimmy, but it came out a misstep. Reach brings us right back into the dance that hooked us nine years ago, introduces some cool new steps, and leaves us twirling in enchantment as Bungie graciously bows out. Just keep twirling, Spartan.

For a game so very, very large, it delivers everything in an easy to understand package no matter what route you take to playing it. The core Civilization experience is still there, but it's like an efficiency expert came in and streamlined everything that had gotten clunky with the series. It's a "friendly" strategy game.

Video games -- not just rhythm games, but all video games -- rarely show this much ambition. Even more rare are occasions where developers manage to fulfill the impossibly lofty goals they set before themselves. Rock Band 3 manages both with ease, backing up brilliant ideas with flawless execution.

Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit may have been a late entrant into the race, but it both grabs the checkered flag for this year and may set a land speed record for this entire class of racer.

Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit may have been a late entrant into the race, but it both grabs the checkered flag for this year and may set a land speed record for this entire class of racer.

But if you have a willing friend, and don't have a history of heart disease, this is a journey worth taking.

Yes, it's an incredible platformer, categorically and exponentially improved over its predecessor, but there's a much larger picture that might take you a few evenings of madcap, freeform architecture to discover. LittleBigPlanet 2 isn't just a great platformer, it's a veritable celebration of creativity.

It turns fetching a bottle into just as heroic an effort as preventing a hitman from reaching his target. And I don't think I've had a better time doing either elsewhere.

It's the kind of deep, well-thought-out combat system that puts most console sword fighting to shame, and it's still only part of what makes this one of the easiest recommendations I'll make all year. You might find games that are a more perfect fit for the platform, but in terms of recreating a console-level experience on the iPhone, you simply will not do better than Infinity Blade.

A game made great by an enormous amount of love and attention to detail. It's a worthy sequel to one of the most beloved fighting games of all time, brought to a current-gen level. Expect this one to be in heavy rotation among fans of fighting games for a long time coming.

Easily the best game the franchise has produced. Engaging for pros and newcomers alike, packing tons of content and wrapped in a gorgeous presentation, it's not just a show of love for fans of the series, but a game likely to make many more.

Some players may be hung up by its brevity, but if its extension would have depreciated how breathtaking the rest of the game is, I don't think I'd have it any other way.

Stuffed with new mechanics, meticulous level design and what I believe (with some confidence) to be the best ending of all time, Ms. 'Splosion Man excels over its predecessor in every way.

With all the chaff you have to swipe through on the Kinect, you can forget just how good it feels when something just works. That's exactly what The Gunstringer does: It works, and in a smart, slick way that feels simultaneously natural and fresh.

On one side, it represents a powerful elegy, a close to a series that has done much to define this console generation. It's a melancholy thing, seeing a solid conclusion for characters that a lot of us liked despite ourselves, that make themselves even more understood in the end. But Gears of War 3 does it with respect and grace, and even subtlety, for a fantastic experience from start to finish. And it bestows a postscript of one of the most full featured, fun, and polished multiplayer experiences I've ever played.

Festival of Blood is campy, vampy fun and an absolute steal for $10. Best part: you don't even need Infamous or Infamous 2 to play it. Happy Halloween.

This is the deepest, lovliest world ever created for a single player to explore, and one that no one should deny themselves. This is a game about following Emerson's advice, leaving the trail and finding that the most powerful force on Earth or Tamriel isn't fire or sword, but the ever-insistent desire to know what lies beyond.

Every nuance is positively dripping with goofy, heart-swelling joy.

Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning presents a world that is immaculately crafted and beautiful, yet still simple and accessible. Every corner reveals a person in need, a treasure to collect, a secret to uncover, a battle to wage. I don't know how much more time I'll spend in Amalur (dozens of hours? hundreds?), but I plan on savoring every minute.