Sorry gamers, but the year past – like most years, honestly – didn’t produce 10 truly great games. You’ll have to settle for five, four of which can be categorized as sequels. In an industry that seems to survive on weakly updated sequels (Halo 3, Madden), these are blazing exceptions.

1) Super Mario Galaxy (Wii): Let Xbox and PlayStation duke it out. Wii remembers that fun is priority No. 1.

2) The Orange Box: Portal (PC, Xbox 360, PS3): Puzzle game Portal is the highlight of this bargain of a boxed set.

3) Rock Band (Xbox 360, PS2, PS3): Like Guitar Hero but better, and that’s saying something.

4) The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (Nintendo DS): A remarkably playable handheld title that rocks the stylus.

5) BioShock (PC, Xbox 360): The art direction alone puts it on the list.

This article appears in 2007.

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James graduated from Columbia University in 2000 and moved to Austin a year later. Ever since, he has followed the arts and video game scene in ATX, editing and writing stories for the Chronicle along the way. Over his more than 20 years with the paper he has climbed the "corporate" ladder from lowly intern to managing editor.