It's a terrible system and it's sure to alienate all but the hardcore C&C nerds. But those of you who stick around, those of you who are willing to put up with the ugly graphics, the pointless online-only requirement, and the mandatory grinding are liable to end up as the small dedicated player base for yet another one of Electronic Arts' disastrous attempts at online gaming.

As a mashup of :Need for Speed: Carbon" and "Need for Speed: Most Wanted", Undercover is ultimately fairly successful. For many, though, in a post-"Burnout: Paradise" world, the question has to be raised: "What does this give me that Paradise doesn't?" The answer to that is "cops and robbers," a mechanic that has worked well in single-player since the days of Hot Pursuit, and works even better online when played in teams of 4-on-4 in Undercover.

A throwback to the good ol' days of "Diablo 2"-style dungeon exploring, PSU is a value-packed, worthwhile action-RPG that finds its biggest challenge not in its modern-day peers, but in escaping the shadow of its predecessor: "Phantasy Star Online (PSO)."

The game does provide a few improvements, bringing revised flight controls and new cooperative mission modes, but For Answer lacks what a great series needs in order to stay relevant: progress.

Crates and barrels aside, Batman Begins is generally a well-produced game. Its visuals are often striking, and are distinct in style from those of the film.

Ratatouille is otherwise a very charming game...when you're not playing it. Its biggest failings are, in the end, the built-in limitations of the hardware, and the genre that most developers keep trying to superimpose -- sloppily -- on top of it.

Fans of the system should have no reservations about picking up a copy; it was put together under the supervision of several of the console's original programmers, and their love for Intellivision shines through in the detail and polish of the package.

If you're one of those players who simply can't make do without a Tales-like RPG experience every few months, Arc Rise Fantasia might have enough of what you're looking for. But for most players, the game will simply be a flashback to the bad ol' days of the mid-'90s, when shoestring localization budgets botched many an epic RPG adventure.

While the controls are frequently irksome, Exit DS is a challenging, rewarding, cleverly designed game for any puzzle fan.

The game's main "problem" is that it badly needs four players. I say "problem" because that's only a problem if you don't have three friends to play with.

I understand that the game is meant for a younger audience, but there are quite literally hundreds of other titles out there that provide a far more enjoyable experience.

Soccer fans will find it boring because it's too fast and too vapid, while nonfans will probably find it little more than a mildly distracting ball-themed action thing. It's reasonably well executed for what it is, but it could very well be something that no one wants.

A title that isn't all that great and doesn't make a hell of lot of sense.

A fun game and a worthy sequel to Godzilla: DAMM. If it had been afforded a little more finesse (especially regarding the Challenges) and a little more authentic Godzilla flavor, it'd be even sweeter.

For all its flaws this one's still fun for a short kickaround, but in the end it's really nothing more than a softcore novelty.

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.

For players willing to fully invest, Spectrobes can prove to be as interesting and fulfilling as a Seaman/Pokémon hybrid. If the thought of excavating and incubating ancient creatures doesn't thrill you, though, you should probably consider collecting monsters that are a bit easier to catch.

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.

MLB 2K8 on the Wii just didn't sparkle enough to make me overly enthusiastic. It's a fun novelty play, but I'm taking a Cubs fan-style "wait till next year" approach with what could very well blossom into a must-play by next season.

With combat that is just easy enough to engage the younger crowd, borrowed elements that keep the game from being boring, and a storyline that the kids already love, Eragon on the DS makes for an adequate movie-licensed RPG-lite for adventuring tweens everywhere.

Even though it's a bit rough (bad A.I., the same repetitive mission grind of AC, the out-of-character boss battles, the approximately five-hour length), Bloodlines is saved by its generally solid adherence to the Assassin's Creed formula. Using the hidden blade to brutally counter some Templar makes up for silly boss fights and lame levels -- plus I get also some decent swords for Ezio's villa.

Infuriatingly, it's just the sort of thing that would have been exponentially more fun with other people involved.

For all its flaws this one's still fun for a short kickaround, but in the end it's really nothing more than a softcore novelty.

What keeps me coming back to War in the North is the fact that the game does a remarkable job of divvying out loot. Enemy drops, breakable items, and eager shopkeepers are all there to make sure that you always have a consistent IV drip of high-fantasy swag at your disposal.

I enjoyed Triggerheart, but the game's length is both a good and bad thing -- it has only five levels, and most players will be able to beat them all in about 30 minutes.

While the game does a solid job of recreating the console tracks and maintaining a steady frame rate, the scaled-down visuals don't always depict how your competitors are wrecked, which sucks away a lot of the appeal of the experience.

Wii Music may have a hard time winning over the skeptics who just want to laugh at it, but give the game the chance it deserves. You just might realize it's pretty damn fun being in on the joke.

It's got a few design holes, but in part because of those, Lucidity presents a type of game you don't see very often.

The problems on defense, the monotony of the wait for the pulsating circles, and the frustrating goals in the Life mode really drag the game down.

If you sneak up behind someone, you have the option of picking his pocket or performing a cool and dramatic bloodless kill that will make hiding his body more effective. These sneaky kills are especially nice since once you trigger them.

I've already had my fill of this recipe. I was sort of hoping for something a little new.

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.

You can play a few pointless sandbox maps that demonstrate the straightjacketed city progression, whether you're in Capua, Venice, Sparta, or Memphis.

You know that "PS2 game with shiny characters and lots of bloom lighting" look that plagues PS3 and 360 ports of last-gen titles? It's dripping all over Spider-Man 3. Except it's not a port. Which is almost okay, until it throws in some vicious slowdown whenever you make the mistake of breaking environmental objects.

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.

It's been a mess. But growing pains aren't unusual for online games these days. These sorts of kinks get worked out in time, and there's no reason to doubt Confrontation's issues will be smoothed out in the process of a patch or two. But in the meantime, the game is available for purchase at retail and via download through the PlayStation Store, and you deserve to know what that game's like right now. [10/20/09]

Also worthy of note: the stupid, unforgiving, scripted button-tapping events (think God of War, only terrible). The only reason these do not throw me into a fit of vein-bursting rage is that you can retry them infinitely.

Of course, most people will rightly expect to play Scrap Metal with friends (or random strangers over XBL), and the game makes a very entertaining time-waster when multiple meat puppets are involved. Just make sure you don't bogart the nitro boosts or your friends may never speak to you again.

Nine patches in, Gothic 3 has a long road to hoe before rating "close enough for government work." Try it if you're hardcore and even-tempered. But yep, here we go again -- closing with another "until it's adequately patched, caveat emptor."

Originally, the biggest problem I had with Afrika was that there wasn't more of a narrative. I like having the freedom to explore beautiful virtual worlds, but I also appreciate some story to bring it together. But as the game progressed, I felt that maybe a game like this doesn't need a bunch of drama attached -- a picture is worth a thousand words.

Söldner-X tries to mimic Japanese shooter sensibilities, but in execution, it takes on the trappings of the worst so-called "Euroshmups": stages that don't seem to have had a lot of thought (or maybe too much thought) put into their design, and an art style that's mostly, well, art rather than eye candy to compliment the action.

If you're prepared for the steep learning curve and the insane load times, Trails is yet another extremely competent PSP title that's certainly worth checking out.

For most, the biggest turnoff to an otherwise engaging game is that it's downright ugly. Choppy water looks like shaky carpet, characters' faces creep you out with their lack of expressions, and the majority of the areas you'll explore are gray and dreary.

Stacked does have one hook (aside from the Negreanu name), but it's not a terribly compelling one. You're in control of a customizable avatar, and you can convey some basic poker information through your character via frowning, smiling, calling tentatively, or raising aggressively. Trying to simulate body language and table presence is a fine idea, but with such limited options it's more a gimmick than a viable gambit.

The Guild 2 works just fine with its original four classes, but toss in three bor-ing derivatives and it veers toward generic.

Without the story, all your venturing through the game would be for naught. It's the redeeming quality that makes the back-and-forth, to-and-fro quests, the battles every five feet, and the unaltered appearance worth wading through. It's just something that you'll really have to want to do.

The game's premise is ingratiating and deliciously creative, and so is the delivery.

Despite its few slipups, the core of Societies is strong enough -- and the gameplay addictive enough -- that even the stodgiest traditionalist will find something to shout about.

It's hard to argue that the minor tweaks to FFII -- though improvements they may be -- really justify its being sold individually when it's previously been packed together with the original Final Fantasy so many times.

If you're like most gamers, however, it may be too much like a post-graduate MBA sim of life running a distribution center of some sort.

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.

Ultimately, you'll be much more satisfied playing "2K6" instead or even EA's "NCAA March Madness 2006" for basketball purism.

No matter how much you improve your weapons with alchemy, you probably won't have to do much other than buy the next best sword, then hack-n-slash your way to victory.

Online multiplayer amplifies everything that is good and bad about Fatal Inertia EX. Again, the combat is fun, and it's especially rewarding to pull off attacks on another human player.

In many respects, it's exactly what I would expect from a follow-up: more of the same with minor enhancements. At the same time, it is just more of the same with some enhancements, but Fatshark seemed to be aiming to make the best damn sequel they could...just without rocking the boat too much.

Dog Days ultimately feels less like a typical crime shooter, and more like a player-directed version of the Crank movies.

The majority of the environments are quite sparse, with few buildings yet plenty of fog to help hide the fact that the draw distance here isn't that spectacular. The lack of vision also doesn't help when you're traversing the grassy plains and trying to get a read on your enemy's position.

The greatest problem with Elite Squadron is that it feels like a step back from its predecessor, Renegade Squadron.

The game looked promising, as it employs the Assassin's Creed engine and offers an expansive world to explore. But the intimidating controls and lack of direction will scare away anyone hoping for some quick and easy fun, and sports-game enthusiasts looking for the next SSX or a snow-themed Skate won't find it here.

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."

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.

Whether as a Raiden game or a general shoot-em-up, Raiden IV doesn't really take any steps forward. That's not so bad, though: it looks good (better than most other similar games on Xbox 360), plays good, and has a suitable amount of extras. For a shooter enthusiast, it's just about all you can ask for -- and at around $40, less than standard retail price. It's just nice to see Raiden again.

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.

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?).

It fails at presenting a compelling racing game, and more to the point, it fails at presenting a compelling Ridge Racer game, with backward graphics and bollixed controls.

KOF12 fails to seize the windfall in online matchmaking. It uses an archaic, even backwards, system that serves only to frustrate the player.

Gameplay aside, in a lighthearted adventure like this, the biggest crime is not being consistently funny...an offense of which Harvey Birdman is regrettably guilty.

If nothing else, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is an apt representation of what you'd expect from a Transformers movie: a disposable, explosion-laden piece of mindless entertainment featuring robots beating the crap out of each other.

Somewhere deep within Fracture, far, far below its offensively derivative crust, lies a worthwhile, original game. It's very much a game with a gimmick -- terraforming terrain on the fly -- and while that gimmick works well (if a bit too predictably), Fracture is thoroughly unexciting.

I would've liked to have seen more pizzazz and personality from the actual gameplay and questions (instead of just the silly avatars), and the game flow could've been streamlined considerably (I don't need between-round updates on the betting tendencies of A.I. opponents), but Wits & Wagers is a loose and enjoyable experience that fills a necessary gap on Xbox Live Arcade without significant monetary -- or mental -- investment.

The predominant problem with Drakengard is that it's boring to look at. The level designs don't seem designed much at all.

The biggest drawback to Wings isn't the slightly gimmicky way in which Square Enix basically doubled the size of the game world overnight (by repurposing the existing world and making it older), but in how the retail game shipped with precious little game intact.

Broken World does offer everything an expansion should, after all: new game elements, new characters, tons of content, and fan-suggested tweaks. But, somehow, it still isn't all that much fun. The only conclusion to draw from this evidence is that the base game isn't very compelling in and of itself.

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

For its six-hour playthrough (you can extend that by unlocking alternate characters, but they're so unmemorable and non-gameplay changing, that they provide no incentive to play through again), Wanted: Weapons of Fate is at best a competent, fire-and-forget movie game -- not much more nor less.

The game's buggy as hell, with severe slowdown, characters getting hung up in the level geometry, and stuttering audio.

The game does provide a few improvements, bringing revised flight controls and new cooperative mission modes, but For Answer lacks what a great series needs in order to stay relevant: progress.

The game suffers by comparison to stronger titles that are similar enough to make such a comparison unavoidable.

The passing system seems to have regressed a bit and takes us back in time to the days where tapping the pass button in FIFA was like showing your complete faith in the forces of chance.

Fans into beat-'em-ups will find there's not enough to captivate them, with way too much repetition even for that genre. Likewise, RPG nuts will grow too upset with the unending pattern-like progression and clunky management. And if you happen to like both, the combination just won't be enough to make you squeal with joy.

NFSW features a big open-world to explore, but it's largely just the cities from Most Wanted and Carbon slapped together.

The real failing here is the unfamiliarity and limited appeal of WWI and the lack of Live support, but if the yearn to pull-on the leather cap and goggles and throw the scarf around your neck strikes, by all means hop in and give her a whirl.

Unfortunately, a fatal flaw creeps up as the battles grow larger: unbearable slow down. It gums up the works when too many soldiers surround you, and makes the game almost unplayable.

Combining pinball, real-time strategy elements, and voice-recognition commands into a ball (pun unintended), Odama straddles the line between 'whack' and 'wacky.'

How do you get "Diablo" wrong? It's like screwing up tic-tac-toe or something. But that's just what Monte Cristo's done with Silverfall, an epically crummy action-RPG with gimpy controls and bugs that'd make a flophouse mattress blush.

Dog Days ultimately feels less like a typical crime shooter, and more like a player-directed version of the Crank movies.

That failure to compete isn't just in the options, either -- even the grapple system failed to hook me. It's a shame, too, because the developers boasted that they based their controls off of the Nintendo 64 wrestling classic "WWF No Mercy." Nice try, guys!

What it does, however, is offer fans of the cartoon series a reasonably fun diversion for the twenty-three and a half hours between episodes.

You won't find a better handheld RPG so fitting for bite-size moments of play, and those cute 'n' marketable pocket monsters are only the icing on the cake.

A really disappointing (but, as mentioned at the start of this review, inevitably still entertaining) Wii debut for the series. Perhaps the next game will truly take advantage of the Wii controls through and through.

Naruto: Path of Ninja 2 is a missed opportunity, lacking consistency and polish. Fans may embrace the game for the Naruto brand alone, but the story and unadventurous level designs will fail to keep their interest. At least the battle mechanics are a step in the right direction.

All in all, while Ratatouille has its enjoyable moments, the main missions leave you feeling a bit hungry for something meatier, while the tasks like slides or races spoil your appetite.

For its six-hour playthrough (you can extend that by unlocking alternate characters, but they're so unmemorable and non-gameplay changing, that they provide no incentive to play through again), Wanted: Weapons of Fate is at best a competent, fire-and-forget movie game -- not much more nor less.

It's technically playable and, despite its best efforts, probably won't plunge the industry into a period of navel-gazing and political sanction. Everything else about it is largely forgettable.

It's a shame that Metal Saga's high points -- the humor, the music, and its relative freedom -- are mired in disappointing production values and a concept that hasn't improved since the series' 8- and 16-bit days. It's droll and "different" -- but it's so different, it's the same.

The inconsistencies and haphazardly-borrowed elements keep Headhunter from ever realizing its potential and drag it down to mere "mediocre" status. It has a certain underdog charm... if only it were content to be <I>good</I> instead of clumsily striving for <I>cool</I>.

I figured the move to the PS2 would, at the very least, allow for a bit more detail in the bland levels. I could not have been more wrong. Compared to the PSP version, this is a step down -- that's disappointing enough. But compared to other PS2 Ratchet games, it's a sharp kick in the nuts.

If you're a gamer wondering what all the fuss over 24 is about, the game is not the right place to find out. Without the connection to the characters and the twisting, turning style of 24, you're left with an average third-person action game with simple gadget puzzles and bad driving.