The longest yard

I'm at the precipice of 20,000 gamerscore points (75 away to be precise) and I'm thinking about which game(s) will have the last hurray of this milestone.

Over my sordid affair with badges, I'v actually only played 3 games I don't own. Guitar Hero 3, Dynasty Warriors:Gundam, and Gears of War. I honestly want the last two, and I with I didn't have an extra thousand points associated with my overall potential score from the first. But in thinking about this milestone, I've actually gone back and played sone of the games I really loved and wanted to find out more about.

Here's a quick list of some games you should play (in no particular order).

Guitar Hero 2. This one in my opinion really set the stage for all the band games to come. GH2 is good music, and great challenge and you can honestly use it as a getaway when you just want to relax. I like rock band, but love GH2.

Batman: Arkham Asylum. This game is short. Really short, like 8 hours. Maybe that's standard, but the game is so polished and smooth that you actually want to find all the hidden items. You even want to try to combat and stealth challenges, and eventually you even want to come back and try it on Hard difficulty. Then you really want to play Arkham City whenever it comes out.

Mass Effect 2. This is the best movie you'll ever watch. You really want to play this game after you play the first, just because it gets so many things right. Controls, threats, combat, graphics. You can almost overlook mining, since if you're like me, you only do it when you're in between missions and trying to decide if you want to turn off your console and go to bed, or play for 3 more hours.

Burnout: Paradise. You'll come for the racing and stay for the crashes. Or vice versa. Either way you'll have some great fun.

If you have some friends Battlefield. It's not the most polished shooter, but you can have a great time some days and hate it others. The large maps, game modes and classes will definitely expand your point of view from just run and gun.

I wish I could recommend Dragon Age as a must, but it's hit or miss for some people. I personally love it, but I think it's just more up my alley than anything else.

Ultimately, Mass Effect 2 is going to bring home these last 75 points. My entire team didn't survive the Suicide mission (yes there's a badge for it), and that's something I just can't have. I wish the first ME had that type of options, but going into Mass Effect 3 eventually, I want to have everyone alive that I can, and as high as a gamerscore as possible.