Rockstar has taken the ‘basher’ genre to new heights. While their latest release The Warriors is, at its heart, a beat-em-up orgy of violence (and a noisy orgy at that), it incorporates numerous side quests to expand the world of the game. You can work out to build your pecs, steal car stereos to get cash, and learn new moves to be a better fighter. Think about meshing the complexity of 10-hit combos with the continual onslaught of baddies in Final Fight. As they did with their legendary GTA series, Rockstar has forcibly improved a genre beyond what it could previously accomplish.

Rockstar, predictably, has another entry in the top 5: Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories. This handheld game for the PSP is not all action. It has a surprising amount of plot, telling the complicated story of Tony Cipriani with amazing graphic design techniques. Watching the 70s-esque oblique panels moving to overlap, the entire mood of the game just oozes cool. If you play GTA just to get 6 stars and steal a tank, this game isn’t for you. If you enjoy the stories, that’s what this game is about. Great stories, and you get to take part in the telling.

The handheld systems are getting more innovative every month, as everyone addicted to Mario Kart DS can attest. The latest (and best) in the Mario Kart series, this game has a multiplayer option available by Wi-Fi. The competitive nature of the series, and especially of this game, will hook anybody who even sees it being played. In addition to classic tracks to drive through, this game has 16 new tracks, a return of the turrets-inducing Battle Mode, and a new Mission Mode—you have to accomplish a series of objectives, like knock an enemy off a cliff and get through a series of gates, all while watching the clock.

Fighting game enthusiasts are rejoicing over the release of Soul Calibur III. Knowing that they shouldn’t tweak the golden goose to death, Namco amplified everything that made this the best fighting game series around. The visuals flow seamlessly, the fighting moves are complex but not unintelligible, and the characters offer great variety. Alas, they overstepped by trying to make their cumbersome map-missions finally work; they failed. However, as 2-player fighting games go, this is still the best release of the year.

And lastly, Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed Kings has been released in the states, giving RPG players a new reason to spend winter indoors. If you’re wondering what happened to the other 7, do you remember Dragon Warrior? We had a few released in the states, and Japan has been improving the series ever since. This action-packed turn-based RPG is fully 3d, with great characters and a friendly combat system. Instead of wading through dozens of characters to set out on an adventure with, DQ8 gives you a handful of richer characters to choose from." [Via PimpWiz.com Exclusive]