By no means is the DS a graphics powerhouse. However, 2007 saw a crop of games that really seemed to push the system to its limits. Big, beautiful worlds with great art and style could be found in several titles released during the year.

DS - Best Graphics

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

Bullets zing past your head, fog envelopes the canyon ahead, and you’re pretty sure that was an enemy helicopter flying overhead. The sights in n-Space’s Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare will amaze you, not just because they’re awesome in their own right, but because they’re happening on your DS! Fully 3D landscapes, a little bit of environmental flexibility, big explosions and a chug-free framerate combine to blow your mind.

If there's a cooler handheld experience than seeing your sister Black Hawk gunned down by an RPG, watching in horror as it falls to the ground, then raining death upon the enemy from above, please let us know. Call of Duty 4 blows every other DS game out of the water in terms of graphical presentation. You have to see this game to believe it!

Runner-up: The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass

This was a tough call, folks, but in the end, poor Link was regaled to the number 2 spot. That’s not to say that Phantom Hourglass isn’t gorgeous, though, because it is. Fully 3D characters run around a colorful, fully 3D world. When out on the open sea, the waves swell below your bow, and distant objects come into view from afar. Everything from Link to enemies to good ol’ Gongoron animate beautifully and help bring the world to life.