The game's biggest hang-up is that it's simply too hard to tell what's going on half the time. Infantry dissolve into bombed-out backgrounds and balk at inexact selection, and enemy AT and artillery always crouch just out of sight and in perfectly staggered waves, reliably razing your shrewdest scouts.

Sam & Max follows a formula, sure, but sitcom predictability is proving to be this series' secret strength -- it's rare to see a game conjure up such strong narrative continuity and familiarity in such short a time span. In Telltale's hands, recycled assets take on the aspect of recurring joys.

The sense of purpose and accomplishment comes from making your creature grow -- to be king of the primordial soup. And while there are levels, enemies, power moves, et cetera, flOw is more of an entertaining diversion than what we're used to calling a "game."

The main problem with Maelstrom's design: Tons of options don't equal tons of useful options. You can rip off every successful RTS convention in the known universe (and developer KDV Games obviously tried), but the final product won't necessarily add up to the sum of those parts. That's not to say Maelstrom is a bad game - just one with a pie-full of flaws.

Metal Slug's simply impossible at times, and the brief joy of rescuing all of the POWs and reaping their particular rewards turns out to be short-lived; you'll rarely register the bonus that comes with rescuing them and then defeating the boss that stands between you and level's end.

The most glaring omission can be found in the musical department as the original tunes you know and love are nowhere to be found.

It succeeds based on the merits of its infinitely replayable, highly finessed fighting engine. While "noobs" might be content to knit the same canned combos over and over, veterans will relish the ability to improvise, discover, and master new moves, combos, and strategies, day after day after day.

Although Sega deserves praise for Secret Rings' innovative single-player adventure, the less said about the four-player party mode, the better. It's another low-budget "Mario Party" rip-off that stretches out a few weak gameplay concepts into multiple multiplayer contests.

If Crackdown were nothing more than a GTA-ish game with the fat trimmed away and some insane physical abilities, hell, that'd be something to be thrilled about. That it represents the best, if not the first, online multiplayer sandbox game on a console is just gravy.

Visuals aside, what makes or breaks a game like Street is the gameplay, and No. 4 in the series totally delivers.

If you're in the dark about Roguelikes but still want a taste of one, it's better to start with the more accessible Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Its difficulty is more gradual, it's got touch-screen controls, and it features more than one party member, which is easier to deal with than Izuna's solitary dungeon-crawling. But those who already love the genre -- or want to "graduate" from Pokémon -- will still find great enjoyment from Izuna.

If you think "Total Annihilation's" still the cat's pajamas, look no further than Supreme Commander. It's the "ID4" of videogames -- a little sleepy early on, occasionally a little baffling, but incontrovertibly epic...and you're here as much for the light show anyway, right?

Speaking of being taken seriously, the AFL needs more help in the future from EA. This could eventually become a great series, a mix between Madden and Blitz -- but right now it's just $30 you shouldn't spend.

The game itself is polished and, for a while, a lot of fun -- it's just that, unfortunately, there isn't that much game here.

Ultimately, it's a passable RPG for your PSP, thanks to its collection mentality and good dialogue. But the lack of an overworld and short game length that's due to the dialogue-to-game ratio keeps it from being anything special.

Gameplay nags aside, we do want to make it clear that Chulip is certainly worth a look for purveyors of all things Japanese and indie. We can bandy about synonyms for "charming" and "stylish" all damn day, but the game makes an effort to resist labels, really becoming something in and of itself.

Dark Avatar does what a good expansion pack should -- it makes it tough to imagine ever playing the base game without it. It makes a great game greater, even if its achievements are measured in pinky widths instead of leaps and bounds.

If you're looking for a game that matches the quality of the previous games in the Ratchet franchise...well, keep looking.

We found ourselves having some good beat-em-up fun, even if we found a way to exploit [its] game mechanics. But [the] storyline felt like it was thrown together in a few minutes, not really giving us much reason to want to go on. Maybe it would have been better being based on the movie, after all.

Overall, when stacked next to its PS2 counterpart, the PSP version of Ghost Rider is on very weak legs.

Impressive because The Warriors was such a good and complete game the first time around, with a lengthy story, fun brawling mechanics, and a host of that classic Rockstar optional stuff that we don't have to do but are compelled to anyway -- and it all works incredibly well on the PSP. But at the same time, The Warriors was never really designed to the strengths of a portable system, so unless you haven't played it already, there's no real need to play it again while in transit.

Play is made for people who don't really like games, and if you're someone who really does, that's a problem. Sure, most of these minigames are fun...for about 10 minutes. But hey, maybe your grandma will want to marry it.

Despite its control and camera issues and the general predictability of the game's structure (and laughable plot), it's a pleasant throwback to some of the better early 3D adventures.

With only a handful of business buildings for each class, neighborhoods became monotonous stretches of identical storefronts; CL:WE adds dozens of new buildings -- employers, leisure destinations, service structures, and 15 real-world landmarks -- and an accessible building editor for designing and adding even more.

As a stand-alone release, Puzzle World basically consists of one very good (though very dated) puzzler and a handful of boring filler material.

Lunar Knights is easily one of the finest games to date for Nintendo DS. Like the bard said, it plays just as sweet by any other name.

When you compare Winning Eleven to "FIFA 07's" PS2 effort, it wins by a large margin -- particularly as it's the best-playing sports game on the system.

It's puzzling that the team behind MVP 07 chose to keep these significantly less active, albeit authentic, elements in its game. The result: This is a great game to check your e-mail to...The time waste pushes a nine-inning game into 45-minute territory, when a game could last no more 30 minutes if they scissored out the nonsense.

After combining the "meh" story with the 2D sprites, the passably amateurish voice acting, and the melodramatic localization, Ar tonelico feels like a pretty forgettable RPG. But it does do one thing that needs elaboration, one thing that pushes up a bit higher than "meh" on the RPG scale: It has a freakin' dating sim as a major gameplay component.

This kart (and plane and hovercraft) racer has received the sort of imperceptible face-lift known as the "enhanced port" treatment. But not enhanced enough, when you could be playing Mario Kart DS instead.

FFVIA is a mostly great port of a mostly great game, and that makes it entirely worth having. If this has to be the end of the GBA's lifespan, we can't think of a better way to go.

A game that desperately needed another six months of beta-testing.

Control issues aside, Battlestations: Midway is a fun game if you're into strategy titles. Just throwing mad amounts of units at each new problem really doesn't work here, since you have finite resources and no unit is really impervious to attack from any other unit.

Rogue Galaxy does a lot of things very well, and it's an enjoyable, recommended RPG trip. But in the end, it feels like it's missing the intangibles that make up a true masterpiece.

The mixing of genres is cool, and adds a unique twist to the play mechanics, but honestly, Midway would have been much more user-friendly had it been either an action game or a real-time strategy affair -- not both.

Fuzion Frenzy 2 isn't terrible, so if you're desperate for a simple, safe party game, it fits the bill. Unfortunately, it fits the bill in so lackluster a manner, it's hard to see why they bothered.

Exploration and variety take a backseat to the constant stream of jokes (an unavoidable trade-off, given the series' episodic nature). Everything else is unmitigated and unapologetic fluff -- the joy is in Sam and Max's wit, after all -- and seasoned adventure gamers might find the game too simple to really sink their teeth into.

Remarkably well-honed-arguably Paradox's finest achievement in the form to date.

LOH III ends a series that at first was tolerable, but with a frightening flatline in the level of quality, it only cements itself as dead-center average.

Hotel Dusk is in a class of its own, with a vastly more interesting story and setting than its predecessor. It's stylish, intriguing, and unique -- definitely worth tracking down.

Pirates!'s brand of potluck goofing around works outstandingly in portable form. Sure, it can get a bit repetitive over long sessions, but that's why a game such as Pirates! belongs on a stop-and-go handheld in the first place.

As this is pretty much "March Madness 06" with a new cover athlete -- which we liked fine a year ago (it scored a 7.5) -- we don't see any reason to choose this over the better and cheaper "College Hoops 2K7."

It's a distant No. 2 to this year's unquestionably better "College Hoops 2K7."

The Burning Crusade is more of a resurrection than an expansion, a vast and munificent span of content that both refines and totally invalidates what came before it.

The whole thing skates dangerously close to the "edutainment" realm by building its core mechanic around reading comprehension and deductive reasoning, but then again, DS gamers weaned on Brain Age will likely welcome the cerebral stimulation.

It lacks the eye-popping unpredictability of its predecessors. And fumbling to conform to some of the more arcane controller positions can take you right out of the game. Despite these modest shortcomings, though, WarioWare should be a welcome addition to any Wii library.

The game gets away from these roots far too soon and often, delving into middling mech territory with brain-dead humans broken up by rote boss battles and a forgettable story. Sleek graphics and a fast start can't mask what's an entertaining but ultimately disposable diversion.

The Shield is too little, too late; what would've been a merely mediocre license tie-in is now, due to its very late birth, simply a bad game.

The game's tightly focused plotting and puzzles work great in three-hour chunks and keep it free of the rampant illogic that most graphic adventures eventually succumb to&at least, when you consider the weird world that Sam and Max inhabit.

With improvements to the A.I. and presentation, Bethesda could be onto something with this simplified "squad-based" style to starship combat.

While it doesn't elevate Rainbow Six back to the genre-defining franchise it once was, it's still a solid, fun game; plus, thanks to Unreal Engine 3, it looks great.

Slim on modes (no online), the storyline is poppycock, and the lone minigame requires multiple controllers (while stroke play and match play don't). Still, there's plenty of good here, but for every bit of it, there's a spoonful of frustrating (sounds like real golf, doesn't it?).

There are too many blown buckets because the shot stick seems a bit inconsistent, especially right around the hoop where players should be more willing to roll in a layup or go for a dunk.

Whatever the hardware, Zelda is a brilliant adventure: a stunning achievement, and reason enough to dust off that abandoned GameCube.

Full Auto 2's like an arcade game -- fun in short spurts. And the tough secondary objectives in career mode (finish without dying, destroy certain crates, outscore your foe, and so on) help in keeping me coming back in order to unlock the secret cars and weapons.

In its current state, it's a crippled -- yet still decent -- wrestling title. Much like its console big brother.

All the focus on the game's details comes at the expense of its questionable design and overall lack of cohesion. It's here that the latest Castlevania comes up short.

A game that essentially pushes the PSP in all of its features: graphics, portability, Internet, extra hardware doohickeys, and multiplayer. Sure, it might have hiccups (occasional ghosting, quirky A.I., the one analog nub), but Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops is not only a fine MGS title -- it's also a damn good showcase for the PSP.

It's a great showcase of what the PlayStation 3 can do, and it's a much deeper -- and more tactical game -- than you might expect.

Stomach issues and assumption of Japanese linguistic ability aside, however, Squeak Squad is the most complete conventional Kirby side-scroller in some time. Yes, it may not be a "killer app" like Canvas Curse, but it's not trying to be.

Sure, not everything here is a winner, but there's enough good stuff that the flops are a sort of bonus rather than a nuisance.

Fairly meaty, but ultimate a godsend for retro-junkies rather than general audiences.

Taken as a whole -- online included -- Fireteam Bravo 2 is a notable, laudable step above its predecessor. But for those of you with no interest in playing in infrastructure mode, don't expect too much more of a good thing. It's a step up, to be sure - just not a very big one.

It has lots of small pluses, but not enough of it feels new or captivating. Far too short on thrills, Okayville just needs more pizzazz.

It has lots of small pluses, but not enough of it feels new or captivating. Far too short on thrills, Okayville just needs more pizzazz.

Locking on to a specific enemy is a crapshoot. The character faces are bad enough that we were actually shocked to find that they had the rights to use the actors' likenesses. We could write a book about everything wrong with Superman Returns.

Periods of sneaking around are rewarded with spectacular firefights, and every so often there's a huge set piece that really shows off how great the Unreal 3 engine is for big, open battles.

This year, the game's graphical reworking tips off with the implementation of a Face Gen system that churns out countless random players. The effect is massive.

there are too many blown buckets because the shot stick seems a bit inconsistent, especially right around the hoop where players should be more willing to roll in a layup or go for a dunk.

Don't be fooled into thinking Red Steel reinvents the FPS. It's nothing more than a ho-hum shooter with a creative but flawed gimmick stapled on.

Truly fantastic. It's not a reinvention of the genre like Ocarina was -- but it's much better, because it takes all its predecessors' raw ideas, perfects them, and creates an experience that's at once new and familiar. It's rare to find a launch game that truly justifies the purchase of a new console, but this is precisely that.

Shallow fun after all, and it's fun nonetheless. On that mental list we all have about the Wii's capabilities, it's safe to cross off "racing."

As a demo that gives a glimpse into the Wii's gaming future, Wii Sports is reassuring, charming, and good, clean fun.

If you can round up three of your buddies who are ready to get their bumper car on, then you'll find more than your money's worth with Big Bumpin', and only that way. The drop-off from multiplayer to single player is vast.

While the online play is a mess, the offline content is definitely worth a run-through, as well as the $3.99 price tag.

Best taken in short bursts, the King's solo effort is a decent romp through the world of fast-food capitalism, but only if one can stomach the incredibly frustrating camera and challenges that don't quite test the ol' reflexes.

Ultimate Alliance is more than enough fun to last through the main story -- especially if you bring a couple friends -- but whether you'll be returning to it again and again over the course of months is dependent largely on your superhero obsession and tolerance for repetition.

A sequel worthy of the other Hawk games I spent countless hours playing.

If you're looking for a more full-featured game, with greater variety -- and don't mind the cartoony milieu of Gunpey DS -- then you will find this version not only a superior value, but a superior game.

The PSP version is the purest taste of Gunpey you're likely to receive anywhere. The skin collecting is addictive, and as long as you don't mind the brutal, linear, hours-long grind needed to collect them all, then this is probably the version most older gamers will go for.

And while it's true that every brain training game is probably assisted with a healthy dose of pseudoscience, it's Brain Boost that shows its seams the most. And because of that, Brain Boost feels the most condescending.

In short, the Brain Boost games are curt, emotionless, audacious, and as a tool for self-improvement, a little bit pointless.

And that map editor -- when United maintains its stability -- is undoubtedly the game's marquee feature.

You steer with the analog stick like normal, but then you can tilt the controller in a tight turn for a tiny bit of extra turning boost. And that's just dumb. It's like adding a "turn harder!" button that hardly does anything anyway.

Despite the learning curve, Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 is a worthy purchase. Even if you can't find people to play in the two-player modes, the story mode has enough action-packed content to soak up the entire DBZ legacy, and to keep you busy for a long, long time.

Xiaolin Showdown has the elements of a good game, but the execution is so sloppy and shallow that it ends up falling flat.

Essentially, what the player is buying is a competent music video player with microphone attachments.

Come for the intricate and frequently difficult single-player mode; stay for the entertainingly goofy minigames guaranteed to hook your most obstinate nongaming loved ones.

Hardcore RPG players may enjoy it more than modern Final Fantasy titles, thanks to its emphasis on skill development and combat. Casual players may find themselves surprised by how addictive simple level-grinding and monster-slaying can be.

If only the developers had focused on delivering a simple, fun experience rather than trying to create something far beyond their reach.

Like its next-gen stablemate, Madden for the PS3 has a "maybe next year" outing this season, leaving the title of best Madden for the PlayStation to the PS2 version, which is $20 cheaper to boot.

The pick-up-and-play impressions started out positive, but as I spent more time with it, the less I enjoyed the novelty and just wished I could play good football... It's all in the game on the field, and with a defense that's allowing old-school, Hail Mary money plays pretty much at will, this doesn't cut it.

Its sole commonality with the franchise is Tony Hawk's voiceover "acting" -- but it nonetheless retains the palpable adrenaline of the series, all the while establishing a very high precedent for the future of Wii gameplay.

Resistance falls a little short of being the hoped-for "Halo-killer," but with a package that would be considered complete by any standards, it delivers a launch classic, and it lives up to its billing as the PS3's killer app.

This lack of ambition keeps Genji from achieving any enduring success...it'll suffice for launch-time thrills, but likely won't linger long in your mind.

Xiaolin Showdown has the elements of a good game, but the execution is so sloppy and shallow that it ends up falling flat.

Aside from the seemingly requisite handful of games that just plain suck -- including a particularly painful one that has you slamming shut doors (via a shake of the Nunchuk), which sounds simple, but is infuriating as you attempt to find the sweet spot or figure out why it just doesn't respond to your commands sometimes -- the game's biggest fault is its surprising shortage of full-on multiplayer games.

If instead you'd like a cup of real-time Warhammer that's like the Total War series' tactical battles -- only with magic, monsters, and that trademark "grim world" panache -- this is that game. To Warhammer hardcores, that might sound like nerfing. It's not.