While this won't replace MLB 08: The Show -- the best portable hardcore baseball game out there -- it's tailored for tots and casual seamheads on the go.

For barebones-but-respectably-polised arcade fun (and all those terrible voice clips), the Gunblade and L.A. Machineguns pack isn't a bad pick-up.

On a theoretical level it achieves a significant design accomplishment in pulling everything together into a cohesive package. As the person holding the controller, though, it stumbles too often on its inability to turn its potential into a consistently fun game.

It's just a shame that, due to Sega's mismanagement of its properties over the last decade or so, Superstars Tennis comes too late to fully resonate with today's gaming audience.

The lack of variety is actually a good thing. In an area of game development where being overly ambitious can destroy you, developer Luxoflux has instead created a smart, focused, and (most importantly) polished effort that should delight young fans of the film.

Crosswords is simply a game about word puzzles made for people who love word puzzles -- and that's OK with me.

FFIV is great! But it's also well-trodden territory at this point, presented in a technologically unambitious and aesthetically questionable package. The problem with this collection isn't that it lacks anything new, but rather that the new content feels like a pale imitation of the masterpiece it follows.

If nothing else, this is the best game ever to carry the title Castlevania: The Adventure. And that alone is worth the asking price.

It might not hold a candle to a certain classic contender once Fall rolls around, HoopWorld is still good, arcade-y fun that particularly shines when you play with a friend.

There's no question that Crackdown 2 is a mere shadow of the first game, which stands as an absolute classic. The sequel feels more like an ambitious user mod than a true follow-up.

EA's tennis game is far from perfect, and the control inconsistencies will be too much to overcome for any but the most dedicated tennis fans, but it's a good early attempt; hopefully as developers become more comfortable with the add-on, they'll create more precise (and easier to learn) controls.

TiQal falls squarely on the casual side of the puzzle spectrum, but it's an interesting change of pace for hardened veterans looking for a more relaxing puzzle experience, and a solid primer for block-dropping novices.

As a casual rhythm game, Battle of the Bands gets big points for charm and humor, and the intended audience is sure to appreciate the ability to actually play this without too much difficulty. Guitar heroes looking for their next challenging digital wankery, however, are advised to move along. This one's just for laughs.

Once you grow accustomed to the game's quirks, you soon find yourself in a rhythm where gamer instincts overcome sloppy game mechanics. Eventually, the thrill of starting a level -- unarmed -- and slowly but surely making your way over rooftops and underwater and over rafters becomes a guilty thrill.

To their credit, Atlus seems to acknowledge 3DDGH as the lightweight diversion it is, pricing the game well below the standard for a PlayStation 3 title and bundling a bunch of Japan's bonus DLC content onto the disc to boot.

Fighting games and fancy graphics have passed Soul Calibur, but if you've got any nostalgia for this one, it's a golden oldie that just might be worth the steepest price of all: having to play a fighting game on the 360 controller's awful D-pad. If you're willing to put up with that, the 10 bucks is trivial.

No, it's not going to go head-to-head with the onslaught of great FPSes we saw at the end of last year (though its slick, well-designed, robust multiplayer should give it some legs). But the unusual premise, solid writing, and nicely varied play make it worth a look for shooter fans looking for that next fix.

Unfortunately, the end result is a little more Rambo, a lot less Rocky. It's going to take a rethinking to pull the 3D brawler out of its "me too" phase, and Streetwise certainly isn't helping.

It's not a classic game, but Fullmetal Alchemist 2 ably performs both of its intended functions: it's fun for existing series fans, and a decent enough game that those who haven't had contact with the original property will get far enough that the concept could intrigue them.

The hyper-speed of this game makes it feel like more of an arcade experience than a real hockey simulator. It's still a huge step in the right direction, though.

This one's fun, no doubt about it, and the way the beats bang the environment is a must-see. But its lack of fighting depth definitely keeps it on the casual tip.

A competent strategy RPG that sadly doesn't push the genre in any significant way.

But here's where, at least for me, NBA 07 earns the "sports innovation" award at the PS3 launch: Every week, Sony will offer five downloadable scenarios from this year's real NBA season that you can try and re-create (hey, the rest of you sports developers, this is how you give your game some longevity, OK?).

A good -- if not great -- game. Learn to deal with the artificial intelligence on particular tracks, and the experience in an enjoyable one. Just as long as you're not looking for a very deep -- or even all that logical -- career mode.

An irresistible little charmer. It's short enough that it doesn't overstay its welcome, clever enough to be engaging, full of enough action to be consistently fun. Fans of the film series will, of course, want to grab it, but action gamers looking for a dose of sarcasm, zombie guts, and light puzzles will find themselves amused as well.

Combine that frustration with the almost insultingly shallow combat and it's hard to get too excited about jumping back into the game more than once or twice.

So if you don't mind a little bit of slow-paced memorization, there's a solid game here that will provide a lot of fun. It's just a shame that some of the levels don't leave more wiggle room to accomplish objectives in even slightly different ways.

The A.I. is generally good, but constant one-timer goals and did-you-see-my-stick-clip-through-the-goal-post wrap-arounds can get quite annoying.

Both games -- the Wii version especially -- ought to be so much better.

It reminds me of that college professor who taught a fun class but didn't explain things very well -- in the end, you didn't learn as much as you could have. Second Opinion's fun, but in the end, you feel like you didn't enjoy it as much as you should have.

The main game isn't terribly long, and the missions, though sometimes creative, are often frustrating because there's usually only one way to complete them, making them feel needlessly restrictive--something that stings a little more in a sandbox game such as this.

In the end, the sharp graphics trump the competition (2K Sports' "Top Spin 2"), but the oversights in gameplay and the pros-only career mode hold Virtua Tennis back from being a must-play. For a quick knock-around with friends, this can't be beat, but for a deeper, more authentic tennis experience, go with "Top Spin 2."

The game's well-polished; it would have been hailed as revolutionary a few years ago, but now it's just another decent, 10-hour-long hop-n-bop to add to the pile.

It's all a bit dull, gameplay-wise, until you can trudge through at least one season of shutouts. The good news is that presentation-wise, Quidditch World Cup sparkles.

It certainly holds up better than certain other Mini titles, which shall of course remain nameless. Provided you can get past the fact that multiplayer is but a fleeting dream, the solo experience isn't bad at all.

Area 51 is in no specific way a bad game, it's just an exceptionally dated game. The player's objectives aren't much more evolved than an old Doom or Turok game, and the graphic presentation isn't up to par with the genre's best.

The hi-tech gadgets are there - yet you don't need them. The massive levels are there - yet most of them are plain boring. The place is full of security cameras and guards - yet you can easily deal with them once you've familiarized yourself with the gameplay mechanics.

Since the combat already feels almost exactly like the standard Onimusha fighting style with the addition of jumping, it seems like it would fit right into a more robust game's engine.

Trozei offers a decent array of multiplayer support to provide harmless, inoffensive fun. It's an acceptable diversion, provided you don't expect any sort of staying power with your puzzle games.

Like any Mario Party, this one's harmless fun, and it's especially worthwhile if you've got a group of friends and don't have to deal with the cheating computer. But the repetitiveness and shallow, luck-based gameplay just further drive home why the wacky, dynamic WarioWare has been crowned Nintendo's real party king.

Like most third-person action games, Bullet Witch has its share of problems, but it was designed with considerable replay value in mind for those who find the game's sweet spot.

Crashing is probably something you should get used to before jumping into Create & Race, though, which brings us to the primary problem with putting a simulation racing game on a handheld like the DS.

While it's true that things have improved, that doesn't mean it's suddenly a great game. While the downplaying of the storyline does help streamline the game, it also makes your goals seem a little disconnected and random.

The core of the game is simply a fun, great looking button-mashing brawler, and there's a good time to be had with it if that's all you expect.

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.

As an FPS, Dead Man's Hand is nothing special at all. As an experience, though, DMH is a blast.

While you can manually toggle the maximum strength of the shot, the analog swing is still enormously more sensitive than in previous versions -- only there's no meter to give you any indication of how strong a putt you're making. Frustrating? You bet.

No, it's not going to go head-to-head with the onslaught of great FPSes we saw at the end of last year (though its slick, well-designed, robust multiplayer should give it some legs). But the unusual premise, solid writing, and nicely varied play make it worth a look for shooter fans looking for that next fix.

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

It's clogged up with new features and ideas that simply seem gratuitous. The emphasis on driving skill seems to have been diminished, and in its place the Tiburon team appears to have spent the last year asking "what more can we do to add something new to this thing?"

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

EA's NHL effort is masterful, ballsy, and innovative. NHL 2K7 is stale, boring, and predictable.

Honestly, though, that's part of the problem. Way too much of your new game feels like you're just playing it safe.

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.

Combine that frustration with the almost insultingly shallow combat and it's hard to get too excited about jumping back into the game more than once or twice.

The marriage of the Yu-Gi-Oh! universe with strategy-based combat is an addictive one, making this game one that even the curious fan should check out.

Sorrows nails the controls, making the repetitive hack-n-slash action enjoyable in a Dynasty Warriors kinda way, and multiplayer is mostly successful. Unfortunately, the graphics fail to impress, the story isn't anything memorable, banging buttons is as effective as making use of the combos, and what should have been an epic quest can be completed by a novice gamer in around eight hours, with not much reason for replay.

If you're looking for a more competent take on gaming-mascot Olympics, go with the DS version. But if you're looking for a casual party game, go with the Wii version -- it's just not the same without trash-talking all the Sonic furries.

This one's fun, no doubt about it, and the way the beats bang the environment is a must-see. But its lack of fighting depth definitely keeps it on the casual tip.

Evolution's problem is that each of the characters is distinct, but there aren't nearly enough of them for the game to stand on that concept alone. It's not gimmicky nor is it comprehensive, instead going for some kind of arbitrary blend of the two.

The atmosphere in Red Dead is the real thing -- not the pseudo-parody of "Dead Man's Hand" -- and that alone should satisfy the audience it was made for. If you can forgive all of its faults, you'll enjoy the few hours you spend in Red's world.

The game's well-polished; it would have been hailed as revolutionary a few years ago, but now it's just another decent, 10-hour-long hop-n-bop to add to the pile.

Whereas the original Doom 3 featured dense, serpentine level designs that played every bit as much of a starring role in exerting dread and ambience, the environments here lack a sense of coherency, even while it tries to hit you over the head with its own exoticism.

Once its player-versus-player elements are fully implemented, Lineage II could become the tense, harsh, and Darwinian experience it's supposed to be. At this point, it's basically an occasionally chaotic, and aesthetically attractive level-grind.

I can't recommend the weak single-player mode, but the multiplayer left me surprisingly satisfied.

The hyper-speed of this game makes it feel like more of an arcade experience than a real hockey simulator. It's still a huge step in the right direction, though.

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.

It's all a bit dull, gameplay-wise, until you can trudge through at least one season of shutouts. The good news is that presentation-wise, Quidditch World Cup sparkles.

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.

The younger set might not mind backtracking through old levels, hunting high and low for weapon parts (and that last, pesky, unsmashed crate). But other aspects of Root of Evil definitely aim older, such as the characters -- which include a dead boy, conjoined brainiac twins, and a wiseacre baby with stumps for limbs in a jar of formaldehyde.

Although it's not a great game, it is worth investing time in, and one that grows on you in less than a half-dozen missions.

The ability to find various items and combining them to create new items like lock picks and Molotov cocktails is an interesting aspect, too, though not as cool in practice as it sounds in theory.

There's just nothing new at all on the gameplay end, and nothing very compelling on the external-polish end. It's hardly the first GBA game to be guilty of this, but it won't do much to compel people to buy it.

Knights of Honor is never slow and offers plenty of things to occupy your time in each game, but none of it is particularly deep or challenging. Once you've mastered the basic mechanisms of the game, it's just a matter of time before Europe is yours.

Area 51 is in no specific way a bad game, it's just an exceptionally dated game. The player's objectives aren't much more evolved than an old Doom or Turok game, and the graphic presentation isn't up to par with the genre's best.

Yes, this is a low-budget game, but at least they spent their time and money working on the most important aspect: the nuts-and-bolts gameplay. There are 30 tracks and 20 characters buried within, and when you get tired of blowing past the computer, there's a four-player mode with just as many options.

Disgaea 2 adds only one significant new feature to its gameplay: the ability of stacked characters to attack.

While Live 08 is definitely looking better in every respect (gameplay, graphics, and online), the series still needs more time in the gym.

The millions of die-hard fans who wanted to get their Kombat on will have no doubt already picked up the superior PS2/Xbox version six months ago.

Progressing from a lucky-club-swinging rookie whose every shot is a hook or a slice to a seasoned golfer using advanced club sets in Super Swing Golf: Season 2 is entertaining -- if you are patient enough to learn the ropes.

Whether under the guise of modeling real-world weapon accuracy or not, no excuse rationalizes repeated misses with scoped-in headshots from a sniper rifle.

Despite all the stats management, there's no combat log; you don't even get to see what you or your opponent are rolling for attacks. But even for the true D&D aficionado -- or maybe more so for them -- fighting with party management in a game about party management saps so much life from a title that's right on the brink of being much better.

A solid hack-n-slash game that will appeal to fans of the genre, though it'll wear thin quickly.

As it stands, Race Driver 3 suffers from too much variety and not enough substance.

Despite offering some memorable moments, relatively unrestricted gameplay, and the occasionally satisfying play mechanic, Gangland should still be packaged with a bottle of Valium and a straightforward, "your brain has the potential of spontaneously bursting" warning, as it can be damn frustrating.

Squad Command is far from perfect, but it is also the closest thing to playing actual Warhammer 40K on a videogame system. Turn-based strategy enthusiasts will definitely want to check this game out, and if you are a Warhammer fan then it is really a no-brainer.

And while it's no recurring nightmare, it's hard to recommend this game in a world where World of WarCraft provides a better, more well-rounded experience.

This is a solid game overall -- and without a doubt, All-Pro Football should continue building on this foundation. But if you were expecting 2K euphoria after two years on the sidelines, you'll be disappointed, as this one's got rust in many of the wrong places.

Since aiming and movement is too difficult to track enemies as they appear, a typical mission will have you die on the first enemy, learn his location and kill him before he can strike back, only to be felled by a second enemy, and so on.

A flawed port of a brilliant game. The quality of the original product shines through regardless, and it's still a fine way to spend an afternoon with a friend, but it's impossible not to be disappointed. Because it should have been so much better.

It's all a bit dull, gameplay-wise, until you can trudge through at least one season of shutouts. The good news is that presentation-wise, Quidditch World Cup sparkles.

The whole thing can be finished in just a couple of sittings. However, fans of the film, both young and old, would do well to give it a shot, as it's an entertaining platformer that complements the movie quite well.

Rise of a Ninja, if nothing else, is undoubtedly a good foundation for something better the next time around. The graphics are fantastic, and running and jumping around the Naruto world is as convincing as it is compelling. If only the activities of this world were made of sterner stuff than rote replication of the source material's events or mind-numbing coin-collecting chores.

If you've played this before in its previous incarnations and had your fill, or if the concept never really appealed to you in the first place, there's really nothing new enough here to bring you back.

I can't recommend the weak single-player mode, but the multiplayer left me surprisingly satisfied.

It sits uncomfortably on the borderline between puzzle game and platformer, but it lacks the substance of the latter while failing to capture the "zen trance" feel of something like "Tetris" or "Lumines."

The atmosphere in Red Dead is the real thing -- not the pseudo-parody of "Dead Man's Hand" -- and that alone should satisfy the audience it was made for. If you can forgive all of its faults, you'll enjoy the few hours you spend in Red's world.

As it stands, Race Driver 3 suffers from too much variety and not enough substance.