I may have missed this while skimming the thread, but I have to say that one of my favorite games of the year had to be Namco's first-person fighter, "Breakdown". Mediocre reviews, and a high difficulty (harder than Ninja Gaiden IMO), but w/ one of the best stories in a video game I've ever seen. This game can be found for $19.99 or less in most stores now. It's probably pretty rare though, since the game was a flop on release and went to the bargain bins in just a few weeks.

I have been playing through Second Sight by Free Radical (guys behind Timesplitters and Goldeneye), and it is a killer game. Picked it up for $15 at gamefly, well worth it. It is a psi-ability type game, with a little stealth action thrown in. It also has a great story(s). You are John Vattic and you start out trying to escape this facility you were experimented on(hence psi-abilities), but after each level you also play in the past, leading up to how you got involed in the facility in the first place- no psi powers. Kinda similar to Memento. One plot going forward, and one going backward(to an extent, trying to figure out what happened). So every other level is like this. Pretty unique.

Anyway, First 'psi' type game I've played. Pretty interesting. It is a blast using the abilities than weapons. Nothing quite like picking up an enemy with telekinisis and launching them of a building, through a glass window, or just slamming them back and forth against a wall in a tight hallway.

Definitely worth picking up, especially at a sub-$20 price point.

Difficulty is average, nice game to pick up and play a level or two. I've only had to repeat a couple of them so far. But there are two settings, Normal & Difficult. I'm going through on normal(just b/c I probably have a dozen games I haven't even started). Not sure if objectives change if you choose 'Difficult.' There is a good chance though since both TS and Goldeneye were like this.

And I should note it is 3rd person perspective, I know some people don't like that.