@Mazurada: I've played through SMB3 countless times in the last twenty years, yet I never realized you could do that at 0:26.

I think I've played through two games in the last decade with actual cover systems — Uncharted and Mass Effect, the latter of which largely ignored that aspect.

@DocSeuss: Bioware did release a Platinum Edition of Mass Effect with the full game, Bring Down the Sky DLC, bonus themes/gamer pictures, and behind-the-scenes video features for $19.99 about a year after the original 360 release. I've got it on my shelf not five feet away from me. I sold my original copy of the game…

@WEGGLES90: I save ~$50 per game by buying/trading pre-owned and have very rarely gotten scuffed disks or dingy/sticker-covered cases. The second-hand market consists of more than just GameStop, you know.

@Kenny: Mmmmm, I love colons!: There are only "original purchasers" through Steam, so you're treated as such.

@james castle: There is no "solution" to the used game market than creating games that won't be re-sold. Either developers have to create a game that's so good that no one wants to re-sell it or you create a game that so locked down that no one can re-sell it. The latter method is easier than the former.

@Cueil: This is restrictive DRM, albeit applied only to a portion of the game.

I pre-ordered Mass Effect 2 Collector's Edition a few months ago. But I cannot support EA going out of its way to kill the resale value of the games that I buy in addition to gutting content to add it back in as paid DLC. That just crosses the line. (And we will hold the line!)

@Spiffyness: Yeah, just finished the Ice Dungeon and stopped right there, as I didn't want to do more Phantom stuff in the tower.

@Wizard: I was referring to Dawn of Sorrow's quick-swapping trio of slashing, smashing and whipping, which, I believe, is still called "Julius mode" in-game.

@VincentGrey: Yes, you could.

@EternalStar: SotN and CotM were fine, but I've not cared for the later Castleroid/Metroidvania games — there's just far too great an emphasis on grinding for drops and XP and far too little care given to level design. (That said, Julius mode in Dawn of Sorrow was pretty awesome.)

@VincentGrey: Yes, you can steer your jumps in ReBirth. I'd also note that you could steer jumps in several of the classic Castlevania titles, but you had to hold (rather than merely tap) the jump button in order to do so.

Press right for a few seconds on the main menu to go to a level select screen? Excellent. My main gripe is obviated.

I purchased Uncharted 2 within a week of its release. I have yet to play it, despite enjoying Uncharted 1 (until the zombies showed up).

@munkatten: Street Fighter IV! (Although by "someone" you probably meant Kotaku staff.)

@Spiffyness: I played about halfway (I assume) through Spirit Tracks, but I actually preferred PH for its story, music, characters, and overworld travel. I didn't mind PH's central dungeon, either, but hated ST's draw-a-path-for-Zelda/Phantom element.

@Mokon: Over the course of the last year, every time I picked up a new game from the shelf to put it in my 360, Street Fighter IV would whisper to me, "Why not play a few matches? It'll only take a few minutes."

@Pyrefly: ACII really surprised me. There were plenty of frustrating moments as Ezio or the camera did something insane, but overall the game held my attention the way that few others have over the last year.

@njd09: Batman AA would have made a fantastic four-hour game. As it was, repetition and tedium killed it. Still, I'd hardly say "worst overall game of the year" — there were plenty of forgotten straight-to-bargain-bin titles that were easily worse.