Battle for Middle Earth 2 isn't what you'd call a unique RTS game. It sticks to its guns, and offers a up an incredible amount of polish instead. This formula works very well. The game goes pretty fast, but everything is streamlined so you don't feel like your playing catch up. Though the game may seem a bit complex at first, soon you come to realize that the game is actual more simple that it seems. It doesn't succeed because it's deeply strategic, it succeeds because it has a great, solid formula.

The game can best be described as fast and furious. You don't have time to do much else besides build your armies and bases, and wreck havoc. You've still got to do a lot of the tasks familiar in many RTS, like researching tech for certain units, or gain XP for your units to level up. Though there is a lot of elements of the game - from using a global XP bank for purchasing power ups, to leveling up units, to gaining resources, to building economic, defensive, and unit buildings. It has a lot of variety, but none of it is incredibly deep. It allows you to get your hands wet, without offering so many different things as to make it confusing. Battle for Middle Earth 2 seems to know when just enough is enough.

The game is more of a guilty pleasure than a deep strategic game, but it's a heck of a lot of fun. This is a great game for new RTS players, LoTR fans, or any gamer in general. My only real complaint is the lack of depth in the War of the Ring (turn based) mode. If that were a bit more in depth, this game would have been one of my top picks.

I've always been a fan of the Battlefield series. Battlefield 2142 is the best of the bunch, easily. It fixes a lot of the mistakes that Battlefield 2 made, while making a few additions as well. Nothing is as fun as playing online with a good squad, using as much teamwork as possible to complete your objectives. It was a much better experience, and plays a lot smoother than Battlefield 2 did. Though Battlefield 2 was one of my favorite games, the fixes and additions that 2142 employs really makes the experience all the better.

Just improving on Battlefield 2's formula isn't quite enough, though. The additions of new vehicles, titan mode, and better infantry balance are nice. But they aren't exactly groundbreaking either, and even though 2142 is a different game, a lot of the time it can feel like BF2. Though it's the best Battlefield thus far, it's nothing revolutionary. And to be completely honest, even though the "Battlefield" formual feels really polished, it's also getting a little tired.

Space Rangers 2 started as a minor diversion before I got my hands on Oblivion. It was fairly fun, though not incredibly deep. Then something happened, and I had a hard time stopping myself from playing. Suddenly, I was always running quests, doing trades, tracking pirates, and liberating systems. I couldn't wait to fry some Dominator scum, or get my hands on the next laser upgrade. It's the core gameplay of being rewarded for doing tasks. Constantly earning money for that next upgrade. Before too long, you're addicted to the game. Since it has quite a bit of variety, you never get a sense of repetitiveness.

Space Rangers 2 runs somewhat like Sid Meier's Pirates, but it's turn based. But the combat isn't really what the game excels at. It's the RPG elements it integrates all over the game that add some great depth. Though Space Rangers 2 is far from being bleeding edge, it has solid gameplay that is both fun and rewarding to play. What else can you ask for?

You'd never guess one of the most strategic and interesting games of 2006 would be a child's game based around collecting Pinatas. Part Harvest Moon, part Pokemon, part The Sims, Viva Pinata offers a really unique concept. You collect as many pinatas as you can. Sound easy? It can be, but as you progress it can be quite a challenge. You have to manage dozens of different factors for Pinatas to visit, become residents, and eventually romance each other to create offspring. The size of your garden, your level, the variety of plants, the availability of certain foods, and other pinatas are all a factor in the game. You've also got to manage the physical and mental health of each pinata, customize and improve them if you wish, and even name them if you want. To top if off, you're given missions from "Pinata Central", "Sour Pinatas" show up to ruin your fun, you can hire "helpers" to help with your garden, and much more.

The game is fairly deep, but it does a perfect job of presenting the new features in a linear, easy to understand fashion. The variety of the game keeps it interesting, and the cute visuals and sounds make the game fun to watch. Co-op play is a neat addition, and any age can have fun with the game. The unique approach to gameplay and visual style make the overall game simply fantastic to watch and play.

If you want a visual feast for your eyes, look no further. If you've got a high definition setup, Gears of War is simply a wonder to watch in action. Draw dropping would be an accurate description. If you've don't got HD, or don't like drooling over graphics, don't worry. Gears of War offers a great campaign, with fun, actiony combat, and with a fantastic gritty visual style. It's the complete package, and a must have for any Xbox 360 owners.

The developers of Gears of War know how to make a good game. Don't come in thinking this is an FPS, though, because it's far from that. The gameplay is far more focused on cover, and using it to your best advantage. Gears of War somehow makes taking cover FUN, which is something games have been trying to do for ages. This is partly because of the great camera use, that makes the game very cinematic while your playing it. It feels like a great, action movie with you as the star.

You can't deny Gears of War it's top position on the Xbox 360. It's deserved it, because the game is amazing.

Rockstar simply knows how to make good stories, characters, and gameplay. Everything about Bully is full of wit, sarcasm, and twists. You can be doing the simplest things in the game, like going to class, but Rockstar knows how to make it interesting. The clever writing and voice acting are a huge bonus to this game, and it brings it to the next level.

The gameplay isn't anything fantastic, it's pretty much your standard GTA style of things. Rockstar instead shows you the importance of good mission design, interesting characters, coherent plot, and a unique setting. You don't play Bully because it has great gameplay, it's a great game because it's an interesting story. It's like watching an interesting dark comedy, but it's completely interactive.

It's the details that really bring it to the next level. How you get different reactions depending on what your doing, how different factions treat you, and how the entire game flows. It just hits the spot with good storytelling, a fantastic premise, and the gameplay that enables you to have a great time without being great on it's own legs.

You want great graphics? Incredibly solid strategy gameplay? The best WWII RTS ever? You got it.

Company of Heroes is the new bar for all RTS games. It offers the best graphics in an RTS , the best gameplay formula, the most realistic sounds, and the best ambiance of a battlefield. It actually looks and acts like a true battlefield, while still being completely fun to control. The core RTS gameplay, map design, unit balance, resource management, and just about everything about the game is thought out perfectly. Everything has it's place, and strategy becomes the ultimate key. The more you expand, the more resources you get, and the larger armies you can mass. It forces conflict right from an early stage, and things never get tame throughout the game.

The campaign is also amazing. Though I'm generally pretty reluctant to play yet another WWII campaign, Company of Heroes is something special. The map design is just wonderful, and it completely captures the battlefield while being the most strategic maps I've ever played. Everything seems to have a place, from bottlenecks to flank areas to kill zones to buildings and garrisons. It compliments the strong unit design and balance perfectly, and it's really fantastic. For RTS fans, Company of Heroes is bliss.

I did an audio review of this game for the VGPub "Pubcast", which is just over a minute long. Check it out!

Essentially, the fusion of turn based and real time strategy is done just right. The turn based mode is great, the real time strategy mode is just as great. It's incredibly deep, even a bit too deep if anything. I'm a huge strategy fan, and I'm just eating this game up.

Oblivion would not have made my #1 pick if it were not for the incredible community support. The fantastic additions, fixes, tweaks, and modifications to the game by the Oblivion community have brought this game from great to legendary status. You cannot skip this game if you call yourself a gamer.

The gameplay is traditional to the Elder Scrolls series, but it feels much more streamlined and polished. Combat is way better than previous entries, and it's actually quite a bit of fun now. The entire game world has received a huge face lift, as well. Towns are more epic, the architecture more prominent, the townspeople more interactive, the outdoors are more realistic, and overall the in-game experience is lovely. The graphics, presentation, ambiance, sound, and general feel of the game is spot on.

The combination of Oblivion's incredibly polished game, along with the healthy portion of community mods, tweaks, and more, make this game hugely replayable. I'm not usually a big RPG fan, yet something about Oblivion makes me rethink everything I've previously thought on the subject. The real reason Oblivion got my top pick was not because of it's core gameplay, but it was the sheer amount of additions and changes the mod community has made, which elevates the game to a different level.