Rock Band

There may still be room in this category for games that don't involve guitar-shaped controllers, but there's no question that Harmonix's Rock Band overshadows them all. It was the most fun we had pretending to be rock stars all year. The developer behind the first two Guitar Hero games took the fake-instrument concept and ran with it, letting you cut loose with not only the guitar and bass, but also drums and vocals. Perhaps more importantly, it finally evolved this specific style of gameplay to truly include multiple people in a cooperative group setting where everyone can get involved with the silly fake rock.

With the MTV pedigree backing Rock Band, we figured a killer tracklist was a given, and for the most part, we weren't disappointed: everyone from Aerosmith to the Pixies to Nine Inch Nails to Bon Jovi popped up. Surprisingly, the game's visual presentation was a stylish tour de force too, with endlessly customizable band members, tons of off-the-wall venues, and some especially believable camera moves, slow-mo effects, and visual filters used like a music video during the gameplay. With weekly downloadable content scheduled for the foreseeable future, Rock Band is a game we're sure to be coming back to when next year's inevitable rhythm sequels start to show up.