IGN

Microsoft and Bizarre Creations have fashioned a beautiful, fast-moving racer in a style Xbox gamers are all too familiar with. The game is gorgeous, deep in modes and challenges, and well balanced, even if it's nothing more than a minor leap in gameplay over its predecessor. On the one hand that doesn't bother me a bit. The game wasn't broken before, and now it's more accessible. It's even fatter with modes and online gameplay and challenges, credits, medals, kudos, and trophies than before.

Tony Hawk's American Wasteland is the best game the series has seen since Pro Skater 4. Its return to the purer aspects of skating is quite welcome, and the game feels much more focused as a result.

The game's not perfect. There are some camera issues. Some AI issues. And I really would have preferred to have more control over spells. But it still arrives as a solid entry to the series. Kids will probably like it a lot. Older players, on the other hand, might want to stick with the book and movie, as both are significantly more engaging.

If you're a big fan of tagging enemies with sniper bullets and watching your calculated handiwork culminate in a gore-filled, slow motion replay, then you'll definitely enjoy Sniper Elite. The game is basically all sniping, since most close range combat is awkward and ineffective. At times you'll be frustrated by how accurate enemy seem to be or how often you're caught by surprise, despite your best scouting efforts, by groups of foes triggered by certain events.

Call of Duty is part of a proud, if tired, subgenre of shooters, and once again it manages to rise above the weariness of the material to find something not only fresh but visceral and immediate. It looks great, it sounds awesome, and it provides both meaty single-player and multiplayer. The AI is surprisingly dynamic, the missions get inredibly intense, but the hard-to-swallow regenerating health makes things a little too easy too often; multiplayer is fun and varied.

The original Civilization is among the most enjoyable, influential games of all time. Its sequels have sought to build upon the basic model by adding greater levels of complexity and streamlining the interface. And though the sequels were definitely great games, they were still rooted in an interface and gameplay style that had changed very little since the original was released in 1991.

Age of Empires III is a superbly balanced and polished game and it definitely ups the ante for the C&C and 'Craft developers. Discounting a few niggles in the interface, the whole presentation is rock solid. Each new release in the Age of Empires series has added something to the mix. But while Age of Empires II seemed to focus on quantity, Age of Empires III sacrifices some units and civilizations in order to make the whole experience much tighter.

It's a curious direction that Quake 4 has taken this time around, with the heavy emphasis on single-player, apparently at the development cost of multiplayer, previously its very selling point. And while the SP production values are certainly expensive-looking and sounding, the actual combat mechanics feel a step behind the evolution of the genre, and not in an intentionally retro way. And it's difficult to pin down why it turned out that way, because Raven Software is known for having its finger on the shooter pulse.

Monolith forges new shooter territory with some truly freaky elements, challenge, fun, and beauty. If there is a fly in the ointment, it's that the environments aren't too varied, and the game is kinda short. And there are a few plot holes (where did this army come from?) and logic holes (how can I access all of this voice mail?). Otherwise, I was sucked in to the end.

The mechanics of this game are unique and enjoyable enough that I dove enthusiastically right into the sequel. Fifty bucks is a lot to spend on what is essentially a large expansion pack but, short of the first game, you won't find a more authentic or original tactical action game.