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Do not f*ck with Bionic Commando: Rearmed. This is the spiritual mantra of Capcom's re-imagining of their 1988 NES classic. While it isn't quite at Ninja Gaiden levels, death is constant, often, and happens a whole helluvalot in BC:RA.

But every true gamer knows that sheer challenge doesn't make a game. By that standard, Rise of the Robots is an unplayable masterpiece. No, what makes the player return for death after control-flinging death in BC:RA is the fact that it's almost never the game's fault. Moving around the world map may be annoying, but BC:RA's precision, in-level controls are the stuff of gaming legend, on par with Mega Man, Tecmo's already-mentioned signature game franchise and any title by hard-core developer Treasure.

Meanwhile, BC:RA's difficulty also begs for a cultural revival in video games; not the one associated with achievement whoring, the one associated with getting good for good's sake (only slightly different). Around 1/5 of the secrets in BC:RA don't even empower the player; they simply unlock more challenge rooms. Alternately put, this game rewards completion of blisteringly hard game play with more blisteringly hard game play. And bragging rights on Capcom's leaderboards.

When you take these play mechanics--that turn novices into pros over 12 levels--and marry them with retina-seering graphics, Simon Viklund's flawless 8-bit-tronica soundtrack, and a $10 MSRP, you have the gold standard by which all other downloadable content and classic game retreads should be measured.

For these reasons, I believe Bionic Commando:Rearmed to (also) be game of the year.