Missing are the large sprites, the branching storylines, the dual-planed settings, and perhaps most disappointing to me, the undead hero, a truly iconic figure of the original game.

The meat (and, hell, the bones, too) of this game is comprised of one thing: searching for a series of hidden objects. At first, this is fun in a Highlights for Children sort of way, but once you realize that it's practically all you do, it starts to get as exciting as finding your lost remote in your messy apartment.

The paper-thin storyline (you're shipwrecked on a remote island and decide to put down roots there) may be an inconsequential excuse for you to repeat the same core game of the past 11 years, but some small lessons learned along the way manage to shine through.

The survivor mode is like the game itself in a microcosm. It's rote and uninspired, a desultory thoughtless collage of bits and pieces surgically removed from the movies and dropped lifelessly into a dated engine.

What we didn't expect is a game asking for $50 and giving you nothing new.

GoldenEye's heyday is long gone, and Solace relies too much on nostalgia and imitation to be anything close to the next shooter milestone.

The graphics have improved since this game made its debut on the PS2. They still don't look great, with very plain character designs and horrendously boring backgrounds, but technically, the improvement makes this the better version of the game. If only by a little.

It's an acceptable rendition of a time-tested classic -- a little too complex to stand beside its classic inspiration, a little too primitive to stand up to contemporary releases, but still decent.

Had the developers made it about 30 percent smaller, cut the fat, and tightened its assorted good qualities, they may have realized its true potential and produced something special. As is, nothing's intrinsically bad about Two Worlds -- but neither is anything memorably good.

The stealth fails, however, in at least two significant ways. The first is a near-total lack of choice: there's almost always one prescribed way to navigate a given situation, and player improvisations are promptly curtailed by unsustainable gunfire.

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.

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.

If you play Counter-Strike, you'll find little more than a small assortment of some new laid atop a whole lot of old.

With nothing in the encyclopedic manual or pithy tutorial that actually explains how to game this highfalutin data cube, Supreme Ruler 2020 tends to play like smashing into a wall: break something, fall back wincing, and repeat.

Godfather II suffers from a lack of design foresight. Instead of delivering a movie-quality narrative, it presents a frustrating, accidentally comic world.

Viking: Battle for Asgard falls far short of its potential.

Adding to the repetitive mayhem is the insane decision to have "This Is Halloween" from the soundtrack play whenever Jack enters combat. No, not every once in a while or during a boss battle, but every single freakin' time you encounter an enemy, that familiar tune kicks in.

The best news, though, is that for all its departures from "conventional" racing titles, Baja gives you just as many customization and tweaking options as those games do.

It skews a bit young with its cartoonish characters, but the storyline is surprisingly dark, and the experience is more challenging than you might think. It's a perfect game to play through with your kid or younger sibling, and it's meaty enough for full-grown platforming fans to enjoy on their own.

We rarely see scenarios and story structure this good in a game, and that makes it easier to forgive some of the more hardcore technical game-design issues. It's definitely more of a popcorn game for the action-movie crowd than a hardcore shooter, but there's nothing wrong with that.

As an RPG, it's pretty standard, yet it manages to be just plain comforting thanks to its quirky looks and sounds -- and even its easy one-handed control option.

The venerability of these selections combined with the substandard interface (exiting out of a given game is performed inconsistently and tends to be very confusing) and paltry selection of titles makes this one you can skip over without losing any sleep.

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

Even when the least exciting elements of the game eat up half of my playtime, I still find an excuse to fire up Darkspore every single day.

The effects are also the biggest difference between this WiiWare version and the Flash original, which shared most of the game mechanics but lacked the visual appeal.

But like its contemporary cousin Guitar Hero, it creates a beautiful illusion from physical interactivity, well-chosen music, and pop-cultural style. Despite the pronounced lack of innovation, DDR Universe 2 shows us that getting lost in a stream of arrows to rump-shaking club tunes is still captivating.

AC4 feels like a house that's been added onto so often that it's a maze of twisting passages, oddly shaped rooms, and doors that go nowhere. There may be something worthwhile hidden within, but it's not worth the effort to find it. Time to tear it all down and start over.

When it comes to bringing the full complement of instruments to the DS, Band Hero represents a very rocky start. If it weren't for the game's shortsighted and unintuitive peripherals, there might actually be something worthwhile here -- assuming you dig the soundtrack, anyhow.

Aside from the dynamic object interaction and music, the graphics and gameplay made me feel like I was back in high school, playing Resident Evil 2 after doing my homework. But that was then, and this is now, and Obscure just doesn't make the grade.

A kinder control and save system would've been nice, but as is, Gladiator will test the limits of your gaming patience.

The first improvement is that everything is smoother.

Ultimately, Afro falls into the same pitfalls as almost every other game based on a movie/television license: It presents an edited down version of a story that's familiar to fans but indecipherable to newcomers, wrapped up in a generic game housing. It looks great. It sounds great. But, otherwise, it's a mashup of characters and situations that makes little sense.

I suppose that some gamers out there are willing -- nay, perhaps even eager -- to play a long game of uninspired levels strung together with an inconsequential character-creation system. But then, some people also like to watch "Friends." In reruns.

My advice: If you want to play multiplayer, buy this game with friends; otherwise, you'll just get bored waiting around in a cold, lonely, empty server -- not exactly the best front in which to wage war.

Even with its numerous imperfections, Blood Stone easily ranks as 007's strongest showing in a videogame since the original GoldenEye. Just try to keep some aspirin handy for the inevitable cellphone-induced headaches.

It's a game of trade-offs and cautious play -- a challenge meant for hardcore RPG fanatics but amusing enough that newcomers might find it worthwhile, too.

In the end, did Eternal Poison frustrate me countless times? Absolutely. Does it include inexcusable, easily fixable design flaws? Certainly. But its haunting style and twisted atmosphere also inspired emotions that'll stick with me for a long time to come -- and that's precisely why we play games, isn't it?

An uneven effort, MotoGP '08 is a decent game that should please most newbies and occasional riders but proves that Milestone has a ways to go before it fully grasps the handlebars.

It's an entertaining attempt to revive an old favorite without straying too far from what made it so good in the first place. It's not the most impressive game you'll see on DS this fall, but it's one of the most fun.

It's hard to shake the feeling that Mercenaries 3D is the slimy result of a Capcom executive meeting titled "What can we get away with this time?"

A kinder control and save system would've been nice, but as is, Gladiator will test the limits of your gaming patience.

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.

MS Saga lies just below the threshold of a good game, and the shine of its customization and gripping boss combat is dulled by lackluster, rote storytelling and lifeless presentation.

Considering the production values and repetition, Wild West Guns is probably pushing it with a $10 price point, but for those looking to swap their virtual crossbow for a slightly less-enticing six-gun, this throwback shooter very nearly justifies the investment.

Shuffle Dungeon's strength lies in its level designs, which are cleverly crafted so as to force tough choices at the spur of the moment. The limited structure grows a bit long in the tooth once you've been playing for a while...but even so, it never stops pushing you to make those snap decisions.

It's been a busy year for shooters, but even as everyone else tries to hybridize the genre, Overdose cleverly and creatively embraces its purity.

The all-new telemetry system and be-the-receiver feature are interesting additions that enhance the fun derived from Arena Football, but they are not enough to push the game over the top.

Oogie's Revenge isn't a particularly great action game, the story's hackneyed beyond belief, and there are plenty of reasons to be upset about the game's music, easily one of the reasons people are so crazy about the original film. In the end, though, it is a sequel to The Nightmare Before Christmas.

As rewarding as Choplifter HD can be, it demanded a few too many hours of trial and error for me to enjoy the game past the introductory levels, but the more masochistic amongst you will undoubtedly find something to love.

Nintendo's portable system is the popular girl in school these days, which makes Cookie & Cream an embarrassing photo from back in junior high. Back when she had acne, braces and Coke-bottle glasses and hung out with the kids who weren't cool enough to be on the chess team. Let's put those dark days behind us, shall we?

Despite those nice touches, BBB could have been more fun had it adopted a few modern touches and included online multiplayer (co-op is limited to local play only). Instead, it feels like more effort was spent on ensuring that the Team Fortress 2 section looked exactly like the Dustbowl level than on making sure the game played as well as possible. At $15 BBB is just $5 too expensive to justify picking up.

The story progression, variety of missions and locations, appropriate alternate costumes and great controls make it easy to buy into this world.

So much of the dialogue and story changes depend on your choices that it's absolutely worth revisiting at least once after the credits roll.

The problem with Mario Party is this: the downtime is completely ridiculous. In a game where the sole purpose is to entertain you in a party-like environment, sitting out for periods of up to 10 minutes at a time, waiting for everyone to roll the dice, run around, shop for items, use said items, compete in stale, single-player mini-games, pointless microphone games and other random events drives one to tears of boredom.

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

All that can be said for sure is that this otherwise fine and dandy game is simply missing something that it needs.

Of the 11 included games, every version of Asteroids is awful; Centipede and Millipede are physically uncomfortable; Pong is neat -- in one game mode, anyway -- but like Super Breakout, the controls have been lost in translation; Missile Command and Lunar Lander are good games revamped to somehow look worse than the originals; and Tempest, Battlezone, and Warlords just might be worth buying.

Most importantly, though (especially for fans of the PC Fallout), you've got an RPG without any sort of enticing story.

All of this is handled well enough, but there's nothing special to it.

The space theme could've been carried further, and the weapons need way more originality, but that doesn't stop A Space Oddity from being one of the most refreshing Worms in quite some time.

Any port that makes me consider giving the source material another spin is worth the price of admission any day.

The survivor mode is like the game itself in a microcosm. It's rote and uninspired, a desultory thoughtless collage of bits and pieces surgically removed from the movies and dropped lifelessly into a dated engine.

The Spiderwick Chronicles is a standard licensed game -- it's got just enough content to make a virtual reenactment of the Human/Goblin war worthwhile for fans of the franchise.

"Dynasty Warriors" is an excellent series, but Devil Kings is just downright exciting to play, and there's something about being able to remember the names of the characters that's nice too.

Fare Wars would be a respectable conversion of the arcade and Dreamcast classics had the developers managed to keep the speed -- and thus, the excitement -- in the game. Now Crazy Taxi just feels slow and clunky, and all the minigames and extra cities to explore in the world can't fix that.

The Run takes an awkwardly serious approach to its story, eschewing the over-the-top fun and wackiness of its clear inspirations -- movies like the Cannonball Run series and classic arcade games like Cruis'n USA --to deliver a cross-country campaign that's sometimes exhilarating, but often frustrating and surprisingly banal.

Time Hollow may be light on gameplay, but the story's competent enough for fans of point-and-tap adventures.

And the staggering amount of collectible Pokémon and items will preoccupy you for weeks, if not months.

Click-click, kill-kill, click-click, kill-kill. You'll maybe get a naval battle or an occasional siege on the side. But once you've done this a few times, Rise & Fall has pretty much exhausted its novelty, leaving you with a bland and clunky RTS.

I love the idea of plotting out my draft board, targeting free agents, cutting dead weight, and juggling the salary cap. But Head Coach 09 just left me frustrated and angry.

But it's the seamless transitioning of the single-player to the multiplayer (you can hop in and out from one to the other at any save point) that really seals the deal.

Where's Knuckles Chaotix, one of the few decent games to see the light of day on Sega's abortive 32X system? Or how about Sonic Pocket Adventure for the forgotten Neo Geo Pocket Color? And what about the surprisingly competent Master System ports of Sonic and Sonic 2?

The combat is engaging, the controls can be mapped however you like, and the load times could be worse. But the minigame additions to this version aren't nearly enough to justify a PSP port.

When I'm in the market for an RPG, it's for a select few reasons: I'm looking for an epic story, rad loot, combat that stimulates the tactical chunks of my brain, and beautiful environments. White Knight Chronicles does none of these things well. To top it all off, the game inexplicably ends after less than 30 hours with most of the major plot points left wholly unresolved.

It's perfect for players who love kill-everything-that-moves games like "Dynasty Warriors" and movies like "300." It's not so perfect for those who fancy themselves "true" Shining Force aficionados, though.

After a few hours, it feels like you're going through the motions instead of getting caught up in the story and characters.

The Sims 2: Castaway differs just enough from previous iterations that fans of the series and newcomers alike can find plenty to enjoy. However, how long the entertainment lasts will boil down to how long it takes the player to grow tired of the repetitive tasks of Sim survival.

Sylpheed gets one thing perfectly right: the intensity of the dogfight. The sheer volume of things on your viewscreen during each sortie is almost overwhelming, but it adds that white-knuckle feeling that's so important to a game like this.

If the team behind The Fallen King had just made it a lot shorter and perhaps added some additional challenges, like time trials, it might have helped with the diminishing returns I felt from each successive level.

The game has positives, they're just away from the 5-on-5 parquet.

There's nothing at all safe about this game, and as a result the finished product is raw, unpolished and lacking depth -- but it's also one of the most "next-gen" and exciting games you can play right now on 360.

By and large it reeks of wasted potential and a general sense of trying too hard. If you're really hard up for a pinball fix, it's certainly a lot more budget-friendly than tracking down an actual machine.

NFL Head Coach is a game you really want to like, but ultimately it's a poorly executed great idea.

Even with the issues, 3 on 3 NHL Arcade's a must-play for fans of arcade sports, and I want to commend the makers for mercifully extracting the pointless bloat of pre-game intros and a circling zamboni between periods.

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

This expansion pack is not for every fan of the series, and therein is Uprising's biggest flaw.

Despite the faults the individual events have, winning the Star Cup in all four sports unlocks a bonus cameo that almost makes all of the earlier tedium worth it.

It's a shame that the <I>really</I> original firearms (including a cannon that shoots evil spiderlings) don't get introduced until the game's almost over, leaving you little time to enjoy them.

What I'm really saying is, Fred Willard is in this game. He's the best thing about this game. That isn't a huge knock, actually -- Fred Willard is pretty much the greatest ever. But this game really relies, knowingly, on Fred Willard. The experience is Fred Willard. Without Fred Willard, this is a slightly subpar game.

Play Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Heroes 2 -- The Phantom Fortress for its entertaining battles, not for the tiring story. But if you do play for the story, remember this awesome tip: Change the voice option from English to Japanese so you won't have to hear Naruto scream his ineffable catchphrase. Believe it!

The game has some ambition, and I admire that. But in the end, a score is based on how much fun I have (that's why we play, right?), and I had very little fun playing Wild Arms XF. This says it all: I can't wait to whip out strategy gems like Final Fantasy Tactics or Disgaea on my commute...but I had to force myself to drag out XF.

Long stretches of each stage can be severely frustrating and annoying, but when they're not, it's still pretty fun -- and getting "in the zone" to complete an especially hard part in one try is always satisfying.

The gameplay isn't as rich as it could have been, and it generally doesn't live up to the stature of the classic PSone title, which is disappointing, but the smooth action, appealing graphics, and funny dialogue warrant this game a passing grade.

At 800 Wii Points, some may not want to jump in, especially since Super Star Soldier on Virtual Console is 600 Points -- a "real" full-length shooter -- and the layout of its 2-Minute Mode level more or less provided the basis for Star Soldier R's first stage

The game is a fun time-eater that can be finished in one cross-country flight -- although some battles feel artificially lengthened by seemingly never-ending waves of soldiers that have as much tactical sense as headless chickens. But with the great voice acting, graphics, and audio, first-person shooter fans on the go should definitely give this a look.

If you're looking for just having some dumb fun driving in a big sprawling city, smashing and shooting every last thing in your way, then Wheelman is a great pick. However, it never even attempts to reinvent the wheel from any other free-roaming action-adventure.

If you did frequent arcades in the early '90s and remember just how fun X-men Arcade was, though, this is a must-purchase.

Micro Machines V4 is a worthy part of a traditionally sublime racing series, but its appeal mostly lies with the party gamer set. And sometimes that's enough.