Tom's Pick: Enemy Engaged: Comanche vs. Hokum
If it takes the death of flight sims to bring out a game like this one, I say let's kill more genres. Enemy Engaged has it all, which is no surprise considering some of its developers go all the way back to Digital Integration's revered Tornado. Here you'll find detailed, sharp, clear graphics. There is a fistful of dynamic campaigns bustling with activity and options that can be played from either side. You can even just let it run and watch it like a modern war movie. Perhaps most importantly Enemy Engaged hovers delicately over that fine line between realism and playability. It may not have the meticulous avionics of Falcon 4.0 or Longbow 2, but you'll hardly notice. Oh, I suppose I should point out that it's not built for accessibility. This is a game for people who are a) serious about their sims or b) curious about serious sims.

Mark's Pick: Baldur's Gate II
Ok, this game places highly on sheer weight in many ways. It’s a bit like the 280 fatty beating out the 175 skinny for the starting left tackle position. It’s just bringing quite a bit more to bear at the point of attack. It’s pretty amazing nonetheless, and sometimes I wish it was a little less. It has dozens and dozens of new spells, monsters, items, and more. It’s got terrific battles. It’s a more tightly controlled game, which means less wandering to just uncover the map. It’s games like this that show us just how far the industry has come. A small team could never have made Baldur’s Gate II. Lucky for us it only takes one person to play it.

Best Game of 2000, First Runner Up