The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess Publisher:  Nintendo Developer:  Nintendo

Why It Rocked: Could there really have been any other choice? Nintendo's four-years-in-the-making adventure was everything we hoped and prayed it might be. Not only did Twilight Princess unleash hours of classic Zelda gameplay - upwards of 40, by most accounts - but it also featured superb overworld and temple designs, fantastic character upgrades, and some of the prettiest graphics to grace Nintendo's new console. To top everything off, the Wii build of Twilight Princess boasted several exclusive additions, from Wii remote-enhanced sword fighting and projectile aiming to a 16:9 widescreen mode that was omitted from the GameCube iteration. The title wasn't dramatically different from previous Zelda outings, but Nintendo's if-it-isn't-broken-then-don't-fix-it approach served all but the neediest players just fine. Twilight Princes will undoubtedly be remembered as a masterful achievement, the best Zelda ever designed, and one of the single greatest titles to ever debut with the launch of a console. Wii Sports may have the non-gamers covered, but for players who grew up with Nintendo, Twilight Princess is the pinnacle of adventure offerings.

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