Every year, Microsoft pokes its finger into my wounds. Ever since it purchased Rare almost a decade ago, I've been hoping my favorite developer would regain its rightful place among the industry elite, and every year, I have to suffer the indignity of sitting through press conferences where the company's name isn't even mentioned. Last year, Rare made a small splash by releasing Kinect Sports. It was a predictable response to Nintendo's uberpopular Wii Sports, but the lack of creativity didn't hurt the game's retail sales. To date, it's the highest selling Kinect game of all time and Rare's first breakout hit this century.