Speaking of your garage, make sure you ignore your cars for several hours and play Geometry Wars: Waves, the sequel to the popular Xbox Live Arcade game, Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved. This insane follow up tasks you with guiding a ship across a grid and blasting enemies, except they come, as the name implies, in waves, as rows of orange triangles sweeping across the screen. Destroying them seems easy at first, as all you need to do is camp in one location and shoot holes through them, but then other enemies appear, and that's when Waves quickly becomes one of the most punishing games you'll ever play, mostly because the developers give you just one life and no bombs. We can't even break 600,000 points.

Completing PGR4's single player modes, if that's even possible, doesn't mean the game's over. Its online component packs just as much depth, letting you compete against seven other opponents in a series of modes. Upload your ghost data and race against other players' phantom cars, compete in online championships, share photos and replays with other players, create slide shows and vote on the best performances. We don't have a final boxed copy, so we can't hop on Xbox Live at the moment (we had to settle for a network the public doesn't have access to), but the online portion holds tremendous potential. If you love cars and want to join an engaged community, look no further than PGR4.

We already gushed over the presentation and for good reason. Not only does the game feature an eclectic soundtrack that features music from across the globe, but this international vibe carries through to PGR4's tracks, which let you explore New York, Shanghai, London, Tokyo and a host of other cities. Yet, the game, while very attractive, lacks the graphical punch its predecessors had when they first debuted. We love the attention to detail. Rotating the camera with the right analog stick shows excellent detail on buildings, even ones a few blocks away, and blazing across the Brooklyn Bridge looks sweet, but the game doesn't look as photorealistic as we'd hoped, especially in the shadow of Sony's next Gran Turismo.

With all that said, the game still looks gorgeous, and the actual racing mostly overshadows its graphical shortcomings. Project Gotham Racing 4 is a beast of a game, and car enthusiasts will gush over its numerous muscle machines, modes and exotic locales. There's also Geometry Wars: Waves, which will eventually consume you. So strap yourself in, hit the gas and dominate the road. Just make sure you do it with style.