Black Publisher:  Electronic Arts Developer:  Criterion Games

Why It Rocked: Few games have made us deathly afraid of our volume button, but Black does just that. Unfortunately for our neighbors, the game begs and screams to be cranked up to 11, rattling the plaster from our walls from the first clip to the last (and there are plenty here for the shooting). Criterion has done an outstanding job of sampling each of the game's numerous weapons, both from a clarity standpoint as well as the variety of sounds. The weapons sound incredibly realistic as the game doesn't simply repeat the same sample over and over again.

It's amazing how well the game's surround sound is able to pull off this symphony of chaos. Considering the fact that dozens, if not hundreds, of bullets are whizzing around on-screen at any one time, you can distinctly make out where each of them came from, and where they're headed. Black is an aural masterpiece, simply put, and is THE PlayStation 2 benchmark for sound.

Runners-Up:  
Guitar Hero II
LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy

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