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.

So, sure--Beijing may not be gold-quality throughout, but it's the best Olympics game we've had since, well...probably ever.

As much as it pains me to say it, Tron: Evolution proves that it takes a lot more than nostalgia and shiny graphics to make an enjoyable videogame.

Double Helix obviously had good intentions, but, as a whole, Front Mission Evolved is completely unnecessary.

Despite the years of work Realtime Worlds poured into their latest creation, APB still comes off as being woefully underdeveloped, and ultimately unfinished.

It's a capable superhero action game that demonstrates that the team is getting better at crafting a Spider-Man game, but like most comic-licensed properties there is still room for improvement.

Like the show itself, Jackass: The Game is something best experienced when extremely drunk, extremely bored, or, ideally, both. But don't go getting the idea that you'll enjoy it with friends.

Double Helix obviously had good intentions, but, as a whole, Front Mission Evolved is completely unnecessary.

It's by no means a bad game, and is certainly a very admirable effort in the context of the Rush franchise, but its contemporaries ultimately outclass it.

As much as it pains me to say it, Tron: Evolution proves that it takes a lot more than nostalgia and shiny graphics to make an enjoyable videogame.

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.

Most of what Samurai Western has going for it is a goofy atmosphere derived from jamming the samurai and western parts of the storyline awkwardly together, and piling more ludicrously anachronistic elements on top of the result.

If the idea of playing an absolutely average (and not particularly lengthy) Resident Evil adventure with incompetent A.I. allies is exciting, then hop to it.

And just in case Super Army War wasn't stripped down enough, there's no battery backup -- just a password system. It's true that portable games don't need to be as full-featured as console titles, but people have e-mailed me Flash games that are deeper than Super Army War (not to mention more fun).

To be fair, Dark Kingdom doesn't have any single game-destroying flaw, except perhaps for that murderous bastard camera. It's an average, if occasionally very frustrating example of a genre that's abundantly represented on other platforms.

The looseness of Conflict: Vietnam, from the lack of comfortable and immediate controls to the boring progression of the game, just doesn't cut it. While the idea of squad-driven combat set in the tense, emotionally-charged setting of Vietnam has potential, Conflict: Vietnam falls short in execution.

This may not be entirely fair, but I've already played better Jackass games. I've harpooned a buddy to my truck and dragged him around behind me in Crackdown. I've terrorized pedestrians in my underpants in San Andreas and heelflipped over your mother's head in Tony Hawk. My ideal Jackass game would be a rebranded Dead Rising. There are plenty of shopping carts, bowling balls, and golf clubs to do stupid crap with, and the main character already looks exactly like Johnny Knoxville.

Besides some nice CG work in the occasional cinematic, this is just a tepid return to mediocre series filled with potential never realized.

For all of Blade Kitten's low points, it pulls itself together nicely when it wants to show off.

Atari's Alone in the Dark is so busy being experimental -- giving players the tools and rules to solve problems on their own -- that it neglects the alluring experientialism of earlier titles in the series, which set a tone and pace that sparked the survival-horror genre off years before "Resident Evil" hit the scene.

Quest is easy to pick up and put back down, especially with the chapters-in-a-book framework. The swordplay is far from perfect and the adventuring itself overly simplistic sure, but its accessibility is, ultimately, its most prevailing quality.

The more leisurely Wii version is designed to the hardware's constraints, condensed into small, manageable lands, but the DS version's spread thin. Traversing the kingdom on foot causes hours of aimless wandering, and with the surprising lack of direction, I quickly became dismayed that I'd never rebuild the Sims' land.

For $10 more, you can get the exact same thing in the form of a free bonus [in "Metroid: Zero Mission"] with a top-notch remake of the game that brings its graphics, level design and story up to contemporary standards along with a cool bonus section that serves as a valuable prelude to the subsequent games. Now which one would you rather have? Think hard, now.

Still, even with these issues -- and some save points that are just a tad too far apart -- Blaster Master: Overdrive remains the most competent revisitation of the Blaster Master series.

Much like Altair himself, Assassin's Creed for the DS is an unlikable mess.

Once you've been through the process a few times, however, it gradually becomes a snooze fest.

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.

A desert island game, but only in the literal sense.

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.

Besides the higher-resolution visuals, you'd be hard-pressed to tell this apart from the PlayStation game that kicked off the series nearly seven years ago.

The A.I. will almost never actually honor deals and will backstab potential allies willy-nilly. This means that A.I. nations can never actually cooperate effectively. The A.I. also has no real tactical or strategic sense.

No single aspect will blow you away, but there's enough variety, the puzzles are fun, the controls work well, and you keep moving quickly, so it's a fun ride that's unlikely to bore you unless you try to play through it a second time.

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.

Solo players won't find themselves with much depth, while multiplayer fans without a heap of DS-wielding friends will scoff at the poor level design and inability to have much fun without at least three players.

Sadly, aside from the malaise-inducing offline modes, most of Vigilante 8: Arcade's issues are technical in nature. Framerate drops, floaty steering and physics, a shaky camera, and environmental clipping are all things you'd expect to be addressed by release (some are likely leftover from the earlier releases), and with just five total arenas available until the premium DLC comes out, it's hard to believe that gamers will stick around long enough to make Vigilante 8: Arcade an essential Live Arcade purchase.

The game's main hook is that it's entirely played with the stylus. If only said stylus mechanic was actually responsive.

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.

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.

Romancing SaGa will please those gamers who want a very long game. There are many locations to discover and explore, and each is delightfully designed, although the tedium of fighting the same kinds of monsters may get in the way of leveling up.

Solid action-adventure gaming for their respective systems.

Arkanoid Live is good for some occasional casual fun -- as it's always been and always will be -- but with an iffy aesthetic and not much more variety outside of a standard two-player versus mode, it's probably not something you'll want to boot up often.

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

What's worse is that even if game design and locations fail to excite, then a good combat system could salvage the whole package. But again, Dirge fails to capitalize.

About the only thing going for Kuon is the fact that it doesn't have "Resident Evil's" character-relative controls (but then, neither will "RE4"). That, and the story is actually pretty interesting... well, at least I think it is, anyway.

In short, this is a completely standard beat 'em up with nothing innovative, nothing that stands out, and a number of features that have been less than ideally copied from other games. Beyond that, it's a decent title.

As a quick time-waster on PSN, Landit Bandit mostly fails -- it's just too complex and difficult a game mechanic to offer a fun five-minute romp here and there.

Need For Speed: ProStreet is definitely not without wrinkles. That said, good drivers will be able to find ways around the quirks, both on the track and off. It all depends on whether you're looking for a quickie thrill or a more involving challenge.

When you start seeing the same character model serve as two different people during an in-game cut-scene, you'll truly know all is lost. There's nothing remotely unique or engaging about Driver '76 (or its lifeless multiplayer) to balance the endless parade of frustrations. Steer clear.

Not a bad game by any stretch, but simply feels half-baked-somewhat of a throwback to "NBA Shootout 2000" on my PlayStation, when I was expecting something a bit more contemporary.

A determined sea explorer can easily capture the bounty of the depths on film in an afternoon. Still, I enjoyed what I played and would definitely consider plopping down some cash for downloadable expansions (cave diving, please!).

I can certainly think of worse ways to spend your time, but that list would pale in comparison to the staggeringly long catalogue of better ways.

Total Destruction also offers a multiplayer mode, with the GameCube version allowing four players at once, while the PS2 version offers only two players. This clearly makes the GameCube version one of the best choices in frustrating entertainment.

It's just a damn shame that the nigh-amazing "The Rocketeer versus UFOs" premise crashes hard into "tepid Gears of Uncharted knock-off" ground.

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.

Sure, it's cool that you'll find references to some of the more popular third-person action titles, such as Prince of Persia's balance-beam act and hand-over-hand wall crawling, but nothing in here screams innovation.

It's a bad game, but it's a bad game with aspirations, and every so often it manages to entertain in spite of its gaping, hideous flaws.

The fact that this game is fun for exactly 20 minutes, and only in a group of two or more, should keep you from buying this game. In the end, Boogie is light on dancing, light on karaoke -- a jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none moment of fluff.

A very standard beat 'em up/third-person shooter that has many of the elements you'd expect (minor upgrades between levels, slow-motion special power) and none that you wouldn't.

May not be an outstanding game, but darn it if it isn't enjoyable. Its biggest fault is its lack of inspiration.

The accessibility gives it decent chops as a party game, and the unlockables give it fanboy cachet, but it's simply time for Capcom and Bandai to rethink this enterprise.

May not be an outstanding game, but darn it if it isn't enjoyable. Its biggest fault is its lack of inspiration.

Fails for a few different reasons, but the big one is a simple lack of consistency. A good fighting game is governed by clear, well-defined rules and directed through precise, responsive commands. Chaos doesn't have either.

Absolutely nothing about Rise of the Argonauts stands out as special, and just when you think the game's about to take a turn for the better (at least in terms of reworking the Jason and the Argonauts story), its fundamental and technical problems -- including some annoying loading times in the Xbox 360 version -- bring it way back down.

It's easy to spend an hour watching these nifty starships float around a two-dimensional plane, but as soon as you start mousing, you'll want to quit.

Intermittently, flashbacks are thrown into the game's progression by heavily blurring the screen and overlaying some audible forgotten memories. This style isn't very effective -- the blurring gets old and it's a forced narrative that gets old fast.

There's a decent flying game in Blazing Angels, there really is. It's just buried under so many obtuse design decisions and horribly awkward Wii controls that it's not even worth looking for. On the Xbox, Xbox 360, and PS3 it was a decent experience for WWII flight fans despite a handful of quirks; on the Wii, it simply doesn't work.

The only redeeming factor about Bomberman Land is the inclusion of the archaic (but still awesome) Battle Mode. While it's lacking a bit in options -- only six modes to choose from -- at least it's a blast to battle it out with your buds.

While the game's a lot of fun, it's easy to get burned out. If this were in an arcade, you would walk away broke after the first few levels, when the game is at its hardest. At home, however, you have infinite continues and might be tempted to try to grind your way through the game. Seriously -- don't.

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.

The video game equivalent of a hand-crafted reproduction of Howard Hughes' Spruce Goose -- laborious, archaic and best left to fanatics. That's not to say it's a bad game, though. On the contrary, it's great... but only if you evaluate it in the context of what it actually is.

The key word here, of course, is "rough."

It's a capable superhero action game that demonstrates that the team is getting better at crafting a Spider-Man game, but like most comic-licensed properties there is still room for improvement.

No matter the situation, whether you're sneaking around a dark building or barreling through a shopping mall with three police cars in pursuit, you always feel on edge, as if you're living the 007-like "danger is my middle name" lifestyle at all times.

Moscow to Berlin has decent graphics, and the gameplay is no worse than the rest of the genre, but spending money on this would be like paying to see the same movie for the 20th time.

Paradise in a word? Dull. Paradise in two words? Paradise lost. Paradise in a sentence? Paradise is comparatively like anywhere you aren't when playing this game. For old-school pointy-clicky-adventure fanatics only.

If you have a younger sibling or a rugrat of your own, sure, it may well be worth dropping 30 bucks on this thing to express your affection or shut them up or whatever you need to do. You probably just won't want it for yourself.

It's like a faster, more fluid "King's Field," all the way down to the ugly, 3DO-quality graphics -- not everyone's cup of mead, to be certain, but still a satisfying first-person hack-n-slash for those who prefer to take their treasure-hunting on the go.

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.

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.

Truth is, this is a game for kids -- kids with good medical insurance who can afford wrist braces. And the simplistic gameplay style, merchandising-tie-in storyline, and low difficulty level all play to that audience. Nothing wrong with that. Nothing right with it, either, though.

For nearly 14 years, fans in North America have been waiting for a true follow-up to Secret of Mana. After playing through Dawn of Mana, I can safely say this: It appears that wait will be, quite appropriately, never-ending.

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.

The Xbox incarnation appears more faithful to the animation, while GameCube and Playstation2 versions look slightly less crisp.

DBC's trouble goes deeper than simple poor design; there's no vision here, no sense of what the "point" of the game is.

Problem is that neither the strategy nor combat elements are developed in any meaningful way. All but the most strategy-savvy gamers will regard the capture-and-hold mechanics as primitive, and as for the combat...well, I really wasn't kidding with the Dynasty Warriors comparison.

It's a shame that the actual boxing is so bad; with a little more time in development, Prizefighter could've been far more enjoyable. As it is, you'll need to take quite a few blows to the head to have much fun with this one.

Even the most die-hard Naruto fan would be ill-served by this game, especially when the DS library is filled with dozens of far superior, less-contrived options.

Unfortunately, all these mild enjoyments delineated above are ruined by the bugs that crawl throughout this game. One bug wipes out all the cargo on your ship every time you set sail. Another prevents merchants from buying or selling anything. A third cuts off a minor side quest.

In short, this is a completely standard beat 'em up with nothing innovative, nothing that stands out, and a number of features that have been less than ideally copied from other games. Beyond that, it's a decent title.

The controls -- namely character acceleration -- feel awkward and counterintuitive, as you're forced to hold forward on the left stick to accelerate while also trying to steer your character. The tracks are a mishmash of right angle turns and jumps that sometimes lead you down random paths, necessitating several playthroughs of each just find your way around the track.

And the state of the A.I. is deplorable.

This series serves no viable purpose anymore, nor does it really warrant yearly release.

In its weird little way, it's fun, but not quite $50 worth of fun.

We Cheer's so unresponsive, in fact, that I spent four hours in championship mode, trying to beat the easiest song -- Hoku's "Perfect Day" -- to no avail. It's a fate I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy.

The constant switching between three types of gameplay just means you'll never really get into any of them, and the hilariously crazy Rabbid characters of the console versions are sparse and disappointingly tame when they do pop up.

A very standard beat 'em up/third-person shooter that has many of the elements you'd expect (minor upgrades between levels, slow-motion special power) and none that you wouldn't.

Gather a few friends around the TV and Deadliest Warrior can provide about an hour of brainless laughs, but I don't see much appeal beyond that.

Given Fighter's Battle's very short single-player game (two hours at the most) and repetitive combat, it's a shame no minigames or alternate modes exist.