Publishers love taking most of the credit for the success of their games, but without developers working double time to finish these sparkling gems release schedules would be rather bare. This is why it's important to highlight the brave men and women of the development community, whose tireless efforts help us escape from our boring realities.

This week I'm highlighting Pandemic Studios, the California (and Australia) based company that is responsible for some of 2004 and 2005's greatest games. Predominantly supplying oodles of gaming goodness to the masses through the likes of LucasArts and THQ, Pandemic continues to forge ahead, exploring new technologies and developing great games. Is there a reason why the majority of its projects involve space or creatures from outer space, and what's up with that lone baseball title? I will not answer these questions, but I will, as a rockin' videogame journalist, give you the skinny on some truly amazing videogames you might have missed. To Pandemic, this Ecto Cooler's for you!

Star Wars Battlefront
Platform: Xbox, PS2, PC
Publisher: LucasArts

It's a trap! Oh wait...no it isn't. No wait! It's a trap! Star Wars Battlefront allows you to relive some of the classic battles from the films but from either side, that being the good natured (who are we kidding, they're terrorists) Rebellion or the evil Empire. Able to fight across a wide range of famous locales including Hoth and Endor (where you can actually shoot Ewoks in the face), you'll find yourself immersed in 16 player skirmishes where you can snipe enemies, man turrets, and even pilot vehicles. It's just damn good, not to mention the greatest selling Star Wars game of all time. At $19.99, even a Sarlaac would come out to snag a copy, though not before it spits out Boba Fett. Or did he escape? Hmmm.

Destroy All Humans
Platform: Xbox, PS2
Publisher: THQ

Oh those pesky humans. So smart, yet so utterly clueless. With the impending Furon invasion of Earth, you, playing as the alien Crypto, must travel to the third rock from the sun and make its inhabitants pay for kidnapping one of his brethren. This includes harvesting brains, tossing cows, and zapping people with a wide array of sophisticated devices. You can even blow up an entire town using your UFO. This charming third person action adventure title allows you see the typical aliens Vs humans battle from an entirely different perspective, and the result is an enjoyable game that is definitely worth experiencing. Besides, I hear Crypto does a mean Jack Nicholson impersonation.

Full Spectrum Warrior
Platform: Xbox, PS2
Publisher: THQ

FSW is a combat simulator/RTS where instead of playing from the traditional top down perspective you're thrust directly into the war zone. Commanding two separate fire teams, you'll maneuver them through hostile territory suppressing the enemy, thereby killing a few scumbags to restore peace and happiness to the rest of the world. Critically-acclaimed for its level design, heavy doses of action, and realistic graphics, Full Spectrum has been a huge hit on both the Xbox and the PS2.

Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction
Platform: Xbox, PS2
Publisher: LucasArts

This open-ended action game allows you to basically drive all over North Korea causing all sorts of havoc. While the ultimate goal is to track down a bunch of evil doers whose names have been slapped onto a deck of cards (which is super nifty), you can veer off course and just pick fights with people. If someone shoots you a dirty look, you can respond by just shooting them in the face, and to make things even sweeter, all of the buildings as well as the vehicles in the game can be blown to bits. Too much commotion will piss off your allies (who will respond by furiously blasting you), but seeing as how this is a videogame, you shouldn't care about that too much. Mercenaries is worth owning simply because it refuses to adhere to some of the basic and crusty principles of videogames, and besides, making things explode never gets old.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars
Platform: Xbox, GameCube, PS2
Publisher: LucasArts

What's that you say Obi-Wan? You fought in the Clone Wars? Well what the heck was that all about? Ah yes! I had so many questions after watching Star Wars: Episode IV over twenty years ago, and for two decades they went unanswered until George Lucas gave unto us Attack of the Clones. Pandemic followed that up with this sweet action adventure title where you actually take part in the epic confrontations between man and machine. Playing as Obi-Wan Kenobi, Mace Windu, or Anakin Skywalker, you'll cut through and blast apart waves of battle droids and Geonosian warriors with either your trusty light saber or while riding one of several Star Wars vehicles. Clone Wars isn't the most sophisticated Star Wars game out there, but it does satisfy my desire to make things go BOOM. Plus, it was the first Star Wars title to feature Xbox Live play, and it was sweet, sweet play at that. Available at the mall for a budget-friendly MSRP, Clone Wars definitely belongs in your videogame library.

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