Ubisoft

The ultimate example of a difficult game to review, Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell possesses the best of what modern videogames offer as well as some of the worst from the past. Unfortunately in this case, the bad clearly outweighs the good and prevents the game from reaching its full (and considerable) potential.

Game Description: Ghost Recon is a deadly game of intrigue and military combat, where you control a top-secret military strike force! Interact with dozens of different characters, including specialists that add distinctive weapons to your team.

Ghost Recon is another fine Clancy shooter, and should satisfy fans of the series while remaining accessible enough to win a few new fans as well.

But for the first time ever, the developers of Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell have tamed light and shadow to not only present the most groundbreaking lighting effects in videogame history, but to have it do their bidding. And they have effectively used light and shadow within the gameplay elements, validating the hard work and beauty of the game.

According to ESRB, this game contains: Blood and Gore, Violence

Game Description: Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell grants players access to the highest echelons of national security, where shadowy operatives have the freedom to do whatever it takes to safeguard America. The player controls Sam Fisher, a field operative of a secretive black-ops NSA subagency called Third Echelon. Sam Fisher is geared up to infiltrate high-security strongholds, seize critical intelligence, destroy threatening data, and neutralize the enemy—all without leaving a trace.

According to ESRB, this game contains: Strong Language, Use of Drugs, Violence

Deathrow graces the Xbox without much media hype or word of mouth, but its a game that should definitely create a buzz in the gaming community. It doesnt have a million-dollar ad campaign or an established franchise to move it off shelves, but it has a unique concept, polished graphics and sound, lots of options, and deceptively simple gameplay that is sure to challenge even the most seasoned gamer.

Game Description: Deathrow pits two teams in a no-limits, no-honor, total-aggression arena battle. In Deathrow, there are no rules and full-contact aggression is not only legal, it is required! The fastest, toughest players are victorious and the slow and weak are defeated. The game combines the lightning-fast gameplay of third-person action games with the cooperative team play and gritty roughness of rugby, offering a unique combat sport experience.

After forcing myself to sit through Final Fantasy VIII and The Legend Of Dragoon, I appreciate any game or developer that does away with prerendered 2D backgrounds. Though not always as pretty, 3D graphics like those found in the game add a level of interactivity—and dare I say realism—that the aforementioned titles were missing.