Gran Turismois the new definition of a great racing game. With wonderful graphics, TV-like replays, and an entire host of cars to chose from, this instant classic goes beyond a driving game into the realm of driving simulator. You can choose between the arcade version (featuring classic cars such as Corvettes and Aston Martins) or the simulation, which is the true heart of the game. The simulation starts you on an entire racing career beginning with a cheap used car and second-rate tracks. You will find yourself longing for the Dodge Viper as your sad $10,000 starting fund puts you behind the wheel of a used Honda Prelude or Mazda RX-7. As you win races, acquire money, and earn advanced licenses, you are able to buy better cars and race in more competitive matches right up to the GT World Cup.

Complete with cunning renditions of actual car models and a very playable interface, this game is great for the serious racing simulation fan and the casual gamer. It promises instant action and the kind of gradual advancement that keeps gamers playing for weeks. While the license tests can be hard, the fun track design and sheer number (140-plus) and variety of cars to choose from makes this an exciting race experience. —Allen Stewart

Pros:

• Great graphics

• More than 140 accurately modeled cars

• Awesome replays—actually looks like a TV race

Cons:

• Steep learning curve

The PlayStation2 takes the Gran Turismo franchise to new heights in the third edition of the venerable racing series. The graphics are sure to grab you—the cars and tracks are awe inspiring, and there are some incredible lighting effects. This game is much more than eye candy, though.

The gameplay in Gran Turismo 3: A-Specis the same as its predecessors; fans of the previous games will feel right at home, while newcomers will be able to pick things up easily. There are more than 150 cars from which to choose, and plenty of tracks upon which to race them. Arcade mode works well for a quick fix, while simulation mode provides outstanding replay value. The sound effects are impressive—each engine has a unique sound, and tire screeches from different cars sound noticeably different. The soundtrack is a good mix of original compositions and a wide variety of recording artists, including Motley Crue, Raekwon, Jimi Hendrix, and Snoop Dogg.

One minor flaw with the game is its relatively predictable artificial intelligence. Computer-controlled cars follow distinct lines, and you'll be able to pick up the patterns after a few races. Considering how far the graphics have come since the original Gran Turismo, it's disappointing that the AI hasn't progressed similarly. Despite this, GT3remains an outstanding game. Few games offer its combination of high quality and immense variety. —Raymond M. Padilla

Pros:

• Incredible graphics

• Excellent physics and controls

• Great soundtrack

Cons:

• Predictable AI

• No Porsche or Ferrari licenses

With Grand Theft Auto III, Rockstar proves that not all developers are concerned with toning down the violence in their games. This sequel is even more bloody, violent, and sadistic than its popular predecessors, offering up an enormous 3-D city in which nearly any criminal act is possible. Players are free to steal cars, beat up the local population for their money (or weapons), make time with prostitutes, or simply roam to their heart's content. Those seeking more structure can embark on dozens of plot-driven missions or steal cars that let them play minigames. Nab a cop car and you can go on vigilante missions. Grab a cab and you can play a deadly version of Crazy Taxi. Take a fire truck and you can earn money putting out fires. The game just never gets boring.

As in real life, there are consequences for your criminality. As your random acts of mayhem mount up, the police start hounding you, eventually calling in SWAT trucks, the FBI, and even the army if you continue down the path of destruction. Shaking these pursuers is easily the most fun part of the game, especially when a bunch of friends are packed in the room to witness your narrow escapes.

Grand Theft Auto IIIis fine-tuned to near perfection in every category. All the vehicles, from slick sports cars to lumbering dump trucks, handle exactly as you'd expect and smash apart realistically when abused. The three islands in the game are rendered in terrific detail considering their size, and are packed with traffic, pedestrians, and hidden jumps. The audio is equally amazing. Pedestrians talk, cops scream at you, and you can tune in nine different radio stations whenever you are in a car. It all adds up to a monumental achievement: the rare console game for adults that manages to get everything right. —T. Byrl Baker

Pros:

• Offers an enormous world for players to exploit, rendered in staggering detail

• Equally fun whether you go on plot-based missions or run around as a freelance crook

Cons:

• Ultraviolence, foul language, and adult situations mean you'll want to keep this faraway from kids

• It takes too long to get from one island to another, making some missions tedious

If you can put up with the cutesy graphics, Grandia is one of the longest, most compelling, and most character-driven role-playing games you'll ever spin in your PlayStation. By the time we finished this massive quest, we really cared about the game's characters. (By comparison, our interest in Final Fantasy VII was focusing more on getting from one transition movie scene to the next).

The main story line is standard role-playing fare. The powerful General Baal has plans to unleash something of a Pandora's box on the world, and you can guess whose job it is to stop him. Grandia provides a world packed with colorful characters who are fun to talk to, and the unconventional combat system lets players pick and choose their fights. The characters in your party grow, as do their magical skills and weapons, meaning there's always some new accomplishment just around the corner that keeps players adventuring long into the night. Role-playing fans should be overjoyed that this conversion from the Sega Saturn classic was made, as it provides weeks of solid adventuring that never becomes a chore. —T. Byrl Baker

Pros:An entertaining adventure with loads of interesting charactersCharacters, weapons, and spells all improve with experienceCons:Quirky, cutesy graphics won't appeal to everybody

See if this sounds familiar: You're from an outcast mercenary class that upstanding folk don't want around until there's trouble. You're sent on a mission with an innocent, idealistic woman with whom you don't immediately get along. Forces of darkness, safely contained until recently, have escaped and are threatening a world-ending clash with the forces of light, unless you successfully intercede. This is one of the safest templates for console role-playing games, as well as the story in Grandia II.

Thankfully, however, everything else in the game is fresh and provides hours upon hours of fun. The backdrops and character designs are colorful without being flashy, the game has a great pace (for an RPG), and players never have to stand around too long for the next thing to do. Even the writing, within its cookie-cutter plot, is smart, well translated, and occasionally funny.

The game's strongest element, though, is its battle system. Taking the best of turn-based and real-time battle engines, Grandia IIforces you to choose your moves carefully with respect to timing and position. The battles are very simple in the beginning, but grow increasingly complex as you fight larger numbers of monsters with a growing party of allies. How you meet your encounters—whether you initiate the fight, are ambushed, or meet head on—affects both the timing of the blows and the positions of the contestants. Battles emphasize counterattacks and combination blows, but you'll soon find that movement and defense keep you alive against the tougher enemies. Elemental magic, items, and skill books are just icing on the cake. Even if the battles do grow old, the random fights are fairly easy to avoid, and a versatile AI option lets you cruise-control through the rest.

Grandia IImay just be the traditional role-playing game that Dreamcast owners have been waiting for. The question of whether or not it is too traditional doesn't matter, since it offers a better experience than most that have come before. —Porter B. Hall

Pros:

• Battle system creates interesting, complex fights

• Solid, traditional role-playing game for a system with few others in the genre

Cons:

• Predictable plot and characters

A killer sequel to the best Music game of 2005, Guitar Hero II lets you rock the lead, bass and rhythm guitars as you shred on 64 new guitar tracks. Get a friend and form a guitar duo, or go head-to-head in all-new multiplayer modes like the Pro Face-Off. Show off your stuff on Sweet Child O' Mine, You Really Got Me, Freebird and others from a collection of over 70 classics — and go from Guitar Hero to guitar god, with one press of the fret button.

Gun is the story of a man's quest for revenge. When life robs Colton White of all that matters, the only thing left he can trust is his gun. Follow along with him as he exacts vengeful justice on those who have wronged him. Seek retribution as you face corrupt lawmen, warring tribes, cold-blooded outlaws, and ruthless renegades.

More often than not, when a game is in development for more than three years, it does not live up to the hype. Bungie's Halois the exception. Not only does it meet expectations, it greatly exceeds them. This sci-fi first-person shooter is a nearly perfect blend of gameplay, graphics, and sound.

The story revolves around the conflict between humans and an alien race known as the Covenant. The aliens have discovered a powerful artifact—on the ring-shaped planet called Halo—that will shift the balance of power, and it's up to the player to stop them. In addition to several first-person-shooter levels, the game offers numerous opportunities to engage in vehicular combat. Both the enemy and allied artificial intelligence are extremely impressive. Enemies will use the terrain and layout to put you in tight spots. Allies will know when to cover and aid you. For instance, if you hop into a jeep, an ally will know to jump in and man the turret on the back of it.

The graphics are exquisitely detailed, but only move at 30 frames per second rather than 60. The sound effects and voice acting are superb. The level design is among the best ever; most of the game is engaging and challenging without being frustrating. There's also high replay value thanks to the built-in single-player, cooperative, and deathmatch modes.

Much like the outstanding GoldenEye 007for Nintendo 64, Haloraises the bar for console first-person shooters. All console action games will be measured against Halofor years to come. —Raymond M. Padilla

Pros:

• Outstanding game design

• High replay value

• Impressive AI

Cons:

• Several maps are used multiple times

• Save functions could have been better implemented

• Graphics move at 30 frames per second, not 60

Halo 2 Limited Edition continues the story of Master Chief, the heroic super-soldier who defied the invading alien Covenant and survived. The Covenant leaders within Halo are angry at this unheard of event. To save face, they launch an invasion of our planet. Earth's defenses are breached, and we're all in danger — unless Master Chief can lead a small military squad to victory against Covenant forces, in all-out guerilla warfare! Special Limited Edition includes DVD with behind the scenes making of footage, deleted characters and cinematics, art gallery, developer commentary and more Comes in special edition tin case

Headhunter: Redemption takes players into a dark and mysterious new world, 20 years after the events of the original Headhunter. In this dark and deadly world, only the toughest win, and you'll become one of the toughest there is.

Part hard-boiled detective story, and part interactive mystery, Hotel Dusk: Room 215 is an intriguingly addictive yarn that takes place over the course of one night; December 24, 1979.

Game Storyline
Kyle Hyde, a disgraced New York detective turned salesman, arrives at a run-down Los Angeles inn called Hotel Dusk. Once there, Kyle soon becomes involved in a 30-year-old mystery that involves lies, betrayal, kidnapping, and murder.

Wander into the Hotel Dusk and find yourself part of a 30-year-old mystery.

Unveil the secrets of the main character, Kyle Hyde. View larger.

Unique dual screen gameplay makes the mystery all the more engaging. View larger. And over the course of the night, he will also discover something very special about Room 215, a room that is said to grant wishes.

But who is Kyle Hyde? Why does his past haunt him? And what happened in Room 215? Only by taking a stylus in hand and navigating through the story's twists and turns can you learn the answers.

Gameplay
Players hold their Nintendo DS like a book and use the touch screen to grill characters, search for clues, and solve mystifying puzzles. Simple point-and-click touch screen navigation allows for players of any skill level to play.

Hotel Dusk uses branching storylines to tell its tale, giving you many options for how to go about solving the mystery. Should you strong-arm a suspicious stranger in the hallway? Be friendly to the hotel maid? Pretend to be interested in the manager's rambling stories? It's all up to you, but choose wisely. One false step could get you thrown out of the hotel and forever seal the mystery of what happened on that dark Christmas eve so many years ago.