However, unlike Snake, Sam Fisher (lead character and chief hero of Splinter Cell) is much more realistic and goes up against threats that currently do hold the world on edge. The first game was hailed with much praise over its gorgeous graphics, outstanding controls, and overall great gameplay. The big turn off for me was the high level of profanity, with the name of Jesus being cursed twice before the actual plot could begin to take shape. Regardless, Splinter Cell went on to win the hearts of many XBox owners around the world, and now, the folks at Ubisoft have brought us a very worthy successor in Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow. And thankfully, it manages to outshine the original in more ways than one.

The graphics are downright breathtaking, from the brilliant burn of fires ascending into the night sky, to a dramatic lighting system that executes shadows practically without flaw. Offering more of a variety of environments than the first game, the graphics bring to life everything from the lush forests, wooden villages, dreary laboratories, and a very fast moving train to darkened city streets of Israel and to the very heart of Los Angeles itself. The actual gameplay looks so stunning, it is a bit of a let down when compared to the only so-so CGI scenes (movie clips that help move along the story) that are shown in between levels. Yet, when compared to any other spy thriller on the market, Splinter Cell is leaps and bounds ahead of the competition when it comes to graphics.

There are three mission sets to the game. You can play as U.S.A., China, or the infamous GLA, each having their own unique style of play, and seven missions required to complete each mission set. As always, you are given a nice array of weaponry which grows through the game, until late in the game when you are able to use all of the available weapons.

Each side has their own special "super weapon" (from a nuclear arsenal to bio-warfare). The U.S. has a particle cannon that zaps a target into oblivion (the U.S. government is trying to design a similar weapon in real life). China has the nuclear missile, and the GLA have "Scud Storms," which launch eight individual Scud missiles full of radioactive material. The weakest seems to be the particle cannon, with the strongest being the GLA's scud storm. But the U.S. comes equipped with a huge air barrage -- including a B2 stealth bomber that sneaks in and unleashes the recent U.S. announced MOAB 20,000 pound bomb. You are also given fuel air bombs, which are fuel canisters released by a B-52. And, if you still don't have enough, you can also upgrade to the sentry gunship, which will circle your set target zone firing until it is destroyed.

Perhaps one of the most important issues when talking about a MMORPG is this: will it have major lag? Will the servers hold up during heavy traffic? Will gameplay move at a snail pace during critical battle scenes when the screen is flooded with alien warriors and killer robots? It is awe inspiring to realize that "lag" was a high priority for NCsoft; and while the occasional slow down is to be expected, the experiences are too few and far between to ever pay much attention to them. In fact, with solid graphics, a decent soundtrack, excellent sound effects (from the life-like punching effects to the firing off of shotguns and pistols), this is a well polished coal that in the process of time, may one day became a diamond.

The lead character of every Metroid game is Samus (who happens to be female-one of the very first lead heroines to every appear in a video game), a bounty hunter for hire who spent most of her time battling wicked space pirates who seem bent on conquering the galaxy. That is, until she bumped into a newly discovered life form called a metroid. A metroid is a strange creature that feeds by literally draining the life energy out of its hosts, much like a parasite. Extremely deadly and near impossible to kill, you just know Samus had hoped to have witnessed the last of the critters when defeating Mother Brain in the first Metroid game (which was made for Nintendo's eight-bit system in 1986).

Metroid Prime takes place shortly after the first Metroid game, with Samus being called upon to investigate a disturbance on a pirate space station in orbit of an unexplored planet called Tallon IV. The pirates are not only harvesting a new energy source called Phazon (the affects it has on things are not necessarily pretty), but they are also in search of twelve ancient artifacts of power they plan to use to take over the universe. Now it's up to Samus to prevent the pirates from discovering the artifacts and creating an unstoppable army of evil. With plenty of twists and turns, and an awesome ending to boot, the story is well crafted and fits picture-perfect in the Metroid timeline.

It was a brilliant, visionary idea that should have worked. But Cyan cited a lack of the necessary number of subscribers while the thing was still in a beta trial period, and pulled the plug. (Having had the opportunity to beta test the online game myself, I'll never understand why enough people didn't sign up -- it would have been fantastic.) Instead, they're going to use all of the content already created and planned for Uru Live in a series of expansion packs, similar to what Maxis has done with the multitude of expansions for The Sims. Except that Uru's expansions will be downloadable online.

As ideas go, it's not the worst ever, and when it comes to Myst, the backstory and mythology of the world depicted in the game is so rich, anything is always better than nothing. So I'll take what I can get, happily.

Of course, even before I dive into the story I really must say that the graphics are in and of themselves an artistic achievement. Beautifully rendered backgrounds, detailed character models, excellent lighting effects, and the gorgeous cut scenes are more than enough of a treat to feast your eyes upon. Your character leaps off of walls, flips over enemies, and hurls in the air so smooth and fluid, you may find that more than half of the times you end up dying is because of the complete shock you undergo from the realism being portrayed.

The story is narrated by the Prince himself, who unfolds the tale as if the events had already come and gone. The Prince's father leads an attack against a guy named Maharajah, and during the ferocious battle scene, the Prince begins a search for some kind of treasure he can uncover that will make his Dad proud. He ends up discovering a mysterious hourglass and dagger, and hands them over to his Father, not knowing that the artifacts have the power to turn an individual into an immortal being who can manipulate time itself.

The Covenant is an alliance of species that have made a religious vow to completely eradicate the human race. Outnumbered, outmatched, and out of time, a courageous captain and his crew do all they can to outrun a massive fleet of Covenant ships.! During the chase they discover a strange circular artifact nestled between an unknown planet and its moon, which we later discover to be Halo. Caught between a rock and a hard place, the decision is made to abandon all personal and ram the ship into Halo to keep the Covenant from accessing their computer systems and discovering the location of Earth.

As the evacuation of the ship commences, the captain decides to activate a cyber-enhanced super marine known as Master Chief to assist in escaping. From here on prepare to be taken on a rollercoaster of twists and turns that will easily leave you hanging if you are not paying close attention. Deep, exciting, and original, are just a few of the words I would use to describe a plot that is far more captivating than the majority of first-person shooters on the market today.

Such a drastic time gap between the game and movies means no special appearances from beloved Star Wars characters, forcing BioWare to create some of its own. They started by building background information, and the research they did pays off big time, in producing something that fits within the timeline of both the books and the movies. The story begins with the Mandalorian War (Mandalorians are the Star Wars version of Klingons), in which the Old Republic appeared destined to lose until two young Jedi Knights named Revan and Malak showed up to save the day. It turns out that Revan is not only one of the most powerful Jedi who ever lived, he's also an extremely gifted military leader, whose strategies quickly subdue the Mandalorians. But the war is soon brought to an abrupt end. Revan and Malak, along with their entire fleet, disappear into the blackness of space, cutting off all communication with the Republic.

After three years of being mysteriously out of action, Revan and company return to the Republic with a seemingly unbeatable force of alien craft, bent on galactic domination. Complicating matters is the return of the Sith, more powerful then ever. And so begins a brutal war that puts the Old Republic on the verge of collapse. The pride of the Jedi, a young girl named Bastila who has mastered the sacred art of "Battle Mediation," uses it as a last ditch effort to stop Revan once and for all. However, just as Revan appears defeated, Malak's ship opens fire on Revan's ship, usurping the Sith Lord's title and taking it for himself. Malak sets out to finish what Revan began: seizing control of the entire galaxy.

Try as you might, the darn thing is just impossible to win, and this is coming from an experienced gamer. Even on the easiest difficulty setting, you'll find yourself hacking away for hours against the same old orcs over and over again, replaying the same levels, and getting killed again and again. These orcs have the stamina and fortitude of The Terminator.

The game's environment, on the other hand, is astounding. The music, dialog, and graphic design all come straight out of the movie, lending the game a highly realistic feel. Nearly all of the trilogy's main characters punctuate the game with their own voice talent, which makes the game tremendously satisfying. There's just nothing quite like fighting atop the walls of Minas Tirith, while hearing Ian McKellan's Gandalf shout, "Men of Gondor, hold your ground!"

Myst and its sequel Riven appealed to not only seasoned video gamers but also to a demographic that was typically untapped by traditional games: those who like to explore. Added to its beautiful graphics was a compelling story, set in a fantasy universe that dealt with a race of people called the D'ni.

The D'ni knew how to write "Ages," or links to other worlds, within special books. The story concerned a man named Atrus, whose sons had betrayed him and vanquished him to an Age where he was trapped. In Riven, we found out that poor Atrus was full of even more family dysfunction, thanks to his megalomaniac father, who kidnapped Atrus' wife and took her to the island Age of Riven, where the player had to go rescue her. The overall story concerned this odd family tree belonging to good guy Atrus, who was trying his best to put right everything that others in his family had done wrong. But it hinted at the grander history of the D'ni themselves, which was tantalizing in every respect.

The games incorporated devilishly clever puzzles that didn't feel like traditional puzzles -- rather, they were more a part of making the environment work in your favor. All of these elements combined to create one of the best-selling adventure series' of all time. Originally conceived by Rand and Robyn Miller, the games' mythology has taken on a life of its own, with the potential to be as rich and detailed as the worlds of Tolkein and C.S. Lewis.