2. Monster Lab - Eidos; Wii

Monster Lab was one of the most overlooked games of 2008 but is also one of the best games you can buy for a young gamer. You're basically a mad scientist building the perfect monster. The game looks like the recent film Igor -- very "Nightmare Before Christmas". It's also a slick turn based combat strategy game where you can piece together all sorts of wild monster creations and fight the evil monsters on the map. What kid doesn't like monsters? Especially BUILDING monsters? Ashley may not be the typical eight year old girl in that she loves the Disney Channel and Nick but also loves Spider-man and monsters. Regardless, Monster Lab is great. Just plain great.

The word from Ashley: This game is so much fun. Building your own creature in Spore was cool but building your own monster is even better! My monster shoots beams from his eyes.

1. Mario Kart - Nintendo; Wii

Of all the games on this list, and Ashley enjoys every last one of them, no game earned more play time this year than Mario Kart on the Wii -- with the wheel. We only have one wheel and Ashley confiscated that the minute I got the game so I was relegated to using the Wiimote (which works fine I might add). The game supports four players but we don't like playing with more than two because the four-screen mode is too small. Still, for two-player racing on the Wii it's a thrill. Sure it's an old game but Ashley doesn't know or care about any of that. Pure enjoyment -- that's Mario Kart.

The word from Ashley: I love using the wheel. We've unlocked all the tracks and the riders. Me and dad always play on the same team and it's so much fun. I hate the Bowser Castle maps though. They're a bit too hard, but everything else is great. Dad's really good at this one, which is why we play on the same team. (Dad didn't raise no dummy...)

So there you have it -- Ashley's Top 10 for 2008. From all of us at GameShark (and Ashley), have a Merry Christmas.

Questions or comments? We'd love to hear from you .