IGN

NOLF is a shooter with a brain and a sense of humor...let's just hope more developers will jump on the bandwagon and give us a shooter experience like this. It's stylish, it's smart, it's witty, it's campy, and it's a whole lot of fun. What more could you ask for? As much as I'm going to cringe by impersonating Austin Powers, "It's groovy, baby! Yeah baby, yeah!" Feel free punch me in the face now.

What EFMI ends up feeling like is a highly honed episode of your favorite show. Old characters reappear, relationships are fleshed out in even more humorous detail, and old locations are brought back for your joy and giggles. While the glitches are definitely frustrating, and the polish is lacking at times, overall this is a welcome return to the eeps and oops of your childhood.

There's still healthy competition from Blizzard and Microsoft's AoE series, but it's gratifying to see Westwood returning to the fight with such a remarkably developed game. We'll still have to wait for another title to redefine what RTS games are going to become, but Red Alert 2 is an excellent example of everything that RTS games currently are.

It redefines attention to detail, game balance, longevity, and spit and polish. It's not overbearing in its creativity, and it's not paper thin. In the end, it's simply a superb role-playing experience--one of the best. There's not much you can compare it to. Baldur's Gate II has no peers. It commands your attention and will command your life for months. It's exactly the RPG I've been waiting for.

It's fun for a while, but ultimately is very, very repetitive and hard on your clicking finger. A great overlay map, interface, and skill system are nice but the buggy code is frustrating. I can't see wanting to play through the game by myself again. Battle.net will help out a little bit...when it gets fixed, but playing through this game in a slightly different way isn't very appealing.

Despite the somewhat cookie-cutter story, the game will have you playing long into the night the whole time saying to yourself, "Just one more dungeon, just one more dungeon!" It's an exciting dungeon crawl that I recommend to any true RPG fan that is looking for a meaty quest to hold them over until the epic Baldur's Gate II is released. Lots of ways to play the game, added to a long adventure with multi-player options will keep you playing this one until after Baldur's Gate II arrives.

Its brilliant design and elegant follow through make Deus Ex the best game I've played this year, and I think it's safe to say it's one of the most versatile first-person games ever. Those of you looking for a complex, unique experience will find it in Deus Ex. While I had a good idea that Deus Ex was going to be a winner way before I played it, the team at Ion Storm has gone above and beyond all the expectations I had for this game, and has made one of the most fulfilling single-player games I've played in years.

Shogun is a remarkable game and definitely worth getting. So many historical wargames are inaccessible to the casual gamer. They're usually so complex that only hardcore grognards have the patience and understanding to get anything out of them. Shogun is the exception. It proves that a wargame can adhere to standards of realism and fun. It's a great change of pace from the genre's usual offering of Civil War or Second World War games.

Starcraft is still a thriving multiplayer game. Consider the numerous third party maps, scenarios, and even campaigns that are available for download. Consider, too, the game's phenomenal sales. There are still people playing Starcraft all over the world. Just log onto Blizzard's battle.net and you'll find thousands of them.

For those of you looking for a complex, unique effort, Thief II continues to shine. The game puts in so much world detail that you can't help but get immersed in Garrett's plight and his adventures. Whether you're creeping up on a guard, or hiding in a dark alleyway listening to an important conversation, it's hard to separate yourself from the tension and tell yourself that you're still just playing a game. Like Half-Life, Thief II is an adventure that leaves a resonating impression, and a game that you'll want to return to, often.