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Rock Band expands on Guitar Hero's concept, adding drums and vocals to the guitar-and-bass mix, as well as a killer set list packed
with songs by the original artists and scads of downloadable content, including full albums. It's all the fun of being in a band without the backstabbing,
smelly bus and herpes.
Runners-up: Portal, Assassin's Creed, Crush and Super Paper Mario
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A full third of this single-player game is talk, which should have killed it outright. Instead, the conversation engine lets you direct the
flow of chatter in such a seamless and fluid way that it creates something that is neither passive watching nor improv theater. It's quite
possibly the birth of a new form of storytelling.
Runners-up: BioShock, Portal, Assassin's Creed and Uncharted: Drake's Fortune
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Updated to a present-day setting, this game has an excellent multiplayer action, but the single-player mode is a tour de force featuring
set piece after set piece, unfolding with phenomenal graphics and perfect pacing.
Runners-up: The swords-and-sandals epic God of War II,
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, Project Gotham Racing 4 and Halo 3
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This game has more than a few rough edges, but we loved its compelling scenario and character design. Nariko is gorgeous but also strong,
angry and vulnerable. By the end, you don't just want to date her, you want to marry her.
Runners-up: Ninja Gaiden Sigma, Conan and Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Anniversary
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It's hard to say what we felt worse about: toying with virtual LEGOs or being unable to restrain ourselves from romping through a
title that repackages two games we had already played...a lot.
Runners-up: Stranglehold, Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords,
Overlord and Mario Strikers Charged
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The best innovations feel perfectly natural. Playable with just the stylus, this is the most impressive DS game ever made.
Runners-up: Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords,
Syphon Filter: Logan's Shadow, Silent Hill: Origins and Dead Head Fred
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This stinker snatched the title from such aggressively awful dreck as Jackass: The Game, Lair, Guitar Hero Encore:
Rocks the 80s, The Eye of Judgment and Hour of Victory. We need a shower.
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The Judges: Thanks to Scott Alexander, Damon Brown, John Gaudiosi, Scott Jones, Marc Saltzman, Scott Stein and Scott Steinberg for acting as this year's Academy.
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