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 mechanics may not seem as new, and you're always several steps ahead of the story, but the eccentric cast of characters in Ace Attorney is always fun to meet again.

Tropico 3 is a great distraction, if a bit dated and minimal-looking.

The multiplayer component may not be to everyone's taste, but the original game is nothing short of brilliant. Meanwhile, very much like the XBLA version of Rez, it's a game that doesn't show it's age on account of the fact that it was deliberately, stylishly dated to begin with.

If you were hoping for another chance to jump in and explore Rapture, BioShock 2 probably won't disappoint you, but you're not getting the same caliber of twisted, engaging story this time around. It's a standard, straightforward tale, with a few too many holes to be called truly "great," but it's still a fun ride.

If you were hoping for another chance to jump in and explore Rapture, BioShock 2 probably won't disappoint you, but you're not getting the same caliber of twisted, engaging story this time around. It's a standard, straightforward tale, with a few too many holes to be called truly "great," but it's still a fun ride.

Shiren does a great job of straddling the divide between accessibility and challenge, presenting a roguelike experience that may well appeal to any RPG fan. Or at least, any RPG fan willing to give it a chance.

The game is filled with lots of good and well-executed ideas, but they all seem to exist independently of one another. It's a popcorn movie that clearly took a good deal of talent to pull together, but comes up short of creating the grand adventure that it seems to be trying for.

The game is filled with lots of good and well-executed ideas, but they all seem to exist independently of one another. It's a popcorn movie that clearly took a good deal of talent to pull together, but comes up short of creating the grand adventure that it seems to be trying for.

Star Ocean contains an interesting plot buried in its depths, but it's incredibly demanding of your time and your patience.

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.

Fret Nice reminds me of LocoRoco in the way its stages aren't terribly difficult to plow through, but finding all of the enemy locations, music notes, and little extras will take a lot of time. Still, I wouldn't advise picking up Fret Nice unless you're okay with abandoning its peripheral-centric gimmick to get down to the game underneath.

Ultimately, Star Trek Online's problem is that it doesn't put enough emphasis on its own ground combat abilities. The action feel much better in space, where properly combining a Tachyon Beam and a boost to auxiliary power can result in the swift annihilation of your enemy.

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.

While pretty much the same game on either system, the PS3 version of Thexder Neo has a couple of advantages over the PSP version, namely an online multiplayer mode where you can complete stages with several other players (though it's somewhat useless, since you still have to finding fellow players of what is, to be honest, a niche game), and the inclusion of the original 8-bit version of Thexder, which is a nice touch for retro game fans.

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

When Mass Effect 3 rolls around to bring this tale to its finale, I'd really like to see BioWare strike some sort of happy medium between the clumsily executed RPG mechanics of the first game and the stripped-down shooter feel of this sequel. But even with its simplified mechanics, ME2's story makes for a compelling odyssey.

A fine sequel that takes the fun parts of the original (the combat, the characters, the dialogue) and tries to make those the focus while practically quartering off the weaker parts. By being the high-quality, consistently enjoyable action game it wanted to be the first time around, Desperate Struggle is now a must-buy, and at the very least, finally makes the series deserving of the evangelism surrounding it.

TVC, while a fun game, isn't the best in the Versus series. It's definitely better than Marvel Superheroes vs. Street Fighter, but it trails behind Marvel vs. Capcom 2.

MAG is unlike anything else on PS3. In fact, it's unlike anything else on any console system.

Vandal Hearts may be competent at what it does, but its derivative throwback nature doesn't do much for a genre that's in desperate need of innovation.

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

Vandal Hearts may be competent at what it does, but its derivative throwback nature doesn't do much for a genre that's in desperate need of innovation.

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.

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.

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.

Shattered Memories gives you something to think about, even if you don't feel like you have direct control over how events transpire -- a result of the game's non-binary, open-ended decisions, both in how you play the game and in the "psychological profiles" you undergo.

DV Zero surprised me with its well-laid-out, retro-style platforming -- so much so that my daily commutes flew by as I kept my nose in the screen. I would love to see a follow-up, but as this was basically a promotional tie-in, there's little chance of that happening.

Namco Bandai wisely placed heavy emphasis on the sensory overload graphics, and the reason is clear: if you aren't laughing at the craziness, the game itself might actually drive you mad.

This is a bargain-priced re-release of an older title. Did you always want to play the original, but forgot where you put the disc? Grab this puppy off Steam or XBox Live and have yourself a grand ol' time. But if you are into realism, refinement, cohesive plot structure, and/or crates, go blow your hard-earned cash on some pansy, frou frou FPS and quit wasting my time.

Even though I think they ultimately contributed to the Army of Two's inconsistent tone, which moves from "flippant" to "serious business about how messed up people can get," the morality moments are what I'll remember most about The 40th Day. Not the solid cooperative play, nor the snazzy graphics where buildings fall apart, nor even the little flaws that still annoy me at times; but whether or not I chose to look the other way when that one guy closes the door in that one place.

Even though I think they ultimately contributed to the Army of Two's inconsistent tone, which moves from "flippant" to "serious business about how messed up people can get," the morality moments are what I'll remember most about The 40th Day. Not the solid cooperative play, nor the snazzy graphics where buildings fall apart, nor even the little flaws that still annoy me at times; but whether or not I chose to look the other way when that one guy closes the door in that one place.

Sky Crawlers was better than I was expecting, but still left me unfulfilled in a couple of places. The main culprits are the largely unexciting missions, which don't pick up in scale or drama until the final few, when the fighting and the set pieces around it start to actually feel stressful.

I was initially excited about the prospect of a top-down shooter to play on the go, but my excitement quickly turned to disappointment and frustration. EA tries to stuff too many peripheral gameplay components into The 40th Day, which loses focus of the point of the shoot-em-up genre. Coupled with the extremely poor AI, there just really isn't much to recommend about this game.

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.

Divinity II genuinely surprised me; loathe as I am to admit it, I may have entertained the slightest of preconceived notions about the quality of the game, but Divinity II totally shattered them. It may not be ready to take on BioWare's finest, but if you're feeling an RPG (or dragon-riding) jones, you could come up with helluva worse ways to spend your coin.

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.

At its best, Darksiders plays like an interactive compilation of this console generation's most interesting game mechanics. At its worst, it's like sitting through a mediocre cover band as they fumble their way through your favorite tunes.

At its best, Darksiders plays like an interactive compilation of this console generation's most interesting game mechanics. At its worst, it's like sitting through a mediocre cover band as they fumble their way through your favorite tunes.

This is as good as action games get. It controls like a dream, is extremely well balanced (not terribly difficult on Normal and incredibly challenging on Hard), has tons of variety, features great retro game references, contains tons of unlockables and challenges to keep you busy after you finish the story, and when it comes down to it, is the best game Sega has published in years.

This is as good as action games get. It controls like a dream, is extremely well balanced (not terribly difficult on Normal and incredibly challenging on Hard), has tons of variety, features great retro game references, contains tons of unlockables and challenges to keep you busy after you finish the story, and when it comes down to it, is the best game Sega has published in years.

Divinity II genuinely surprised me; loathe as I am to admit it, I may have entertained the slightest of preconceived notions about the quality of the game, but Divinity II totally shattered them. It may not be ready to take on BioWare's finest, but if you're feeling an RPG (or dragon-riding) jones, you could come up with helluva worse ways to spend your coin.

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

Dragging the game out with endless fetch quests and terrible combat makes getting to the end more of a chore than anything.

0 Day is a complicated mess of imbalanced levels, ineffectual A.I., and ghost-town online multiplayer, culminating in no incentive to keep playing.

Among the already-unique PixelJunk games, Shooter manages to stand out.

As soon as you hit the city, the game's pace drops off, and the sub-par graphics and poor controls steadily bog down an otherwise terrific idea.

As soon as you hit the city, the game's pace drops off, and the sub-par graphics and poor controls steadily bog down an otherwise terrific idea.

If the developer had tried to keep anything from Silent Hill, they should have ditched the faux plot relationship to past games and gone after what makes Silent Hill truly unique: the psychological scares.

Like New Super Mario Bros. Wii, it's a direct follow-up to a recent release that exceeds its predecessor in every way. And while it may not hit the soaring heights of Mario's latest, it's a fine game in its own right.

The game's a bit short and doesn't provide much beyond the visceral glee of running over craploads of people who actually have it coming, but that's probably more than enough for the lean, $10 price tag.

Rogue Warrior isn't simply dumbed-down in its final incarnation -- it's just plain dumb.

Rogue Warrior isn't simply dumbed-down in its final incarnation -- it's just plain dumb.

Avatar's not a bad-looking or playing game -- it's just very average. You may have the whole planet to explore, but your primary objectives boil down to "go to a point, push a button and or kill some guys, then go back to the start." The framework's in place -- a wide array of weapons, big enemies to take down -- but Avatar just doesn't put them in an interesting setting.

Avatar's not a bad-looking or playing game -- it's just very average. You may have the whole planet to explore, but your primary objectives boil down to "go to a point, push a button and or kill some guys, then go back to the start." The framework's in place -- a wide array of weapons, big enemies to take down -- but Avatar just doesn't put them in an interesting setting.

While the game has its fair share of annoying problems and suffers from being a bit too straightforward, it offers a solid off-road experience; motocross fans will be hard pressed to find a title better than this one.

While the game has its fair share of annoying problems and suffers from being a bit too straightforward, it offers a solid off-road experience; motocross fans will be hard pressed to find a title better than this one.

Bookworm lacks a bit of the addictive magic that draws me to PopCap's other titles, but this spelling game still offers an enjoyable distraction for wordsmithing on the go.

Like Soul Calibur Broken Destiny, another Namco Bandai developed 3D fighter, Tekken 6 is a quality port that closely resembles its source material.

Considering the low price, multiple game modes, challenging single-player, level editor, and funky art style, Gravity Crash is nothing to give the high hat to.

At 1,200 Microsoft Points on Xbox Live and $15 on PSN, Madden Arcade simply isn't the bargain of the $10 NHL Arcade. While it's $5 more, the experience isn't appreciably better -- in fact, I'd peg it as slightly worse.

At 1,200 Microsoft Points on Xbox Live and $15 on PSN, Madden Arcade simply isn't the bargain of the $10 NHL Arcade. While it's $5 more, the experience isn't appreciably better -- in fact, I'd peg it as slightly worse.

This is a bargain-priced re-release of an older title. Did you always want to play the original, but forgot where you put the disc? Grab this puppy off Steam or XBox Live and have yourself a grand ol' time. But if you are into realism, refinement, cohesive plot structure, and/or crates, go blow your hard-earned cash on some pansy, frou frou FPS and quit wasting my time.

The DS game doesn't capture any of the magic inherent in Fighting Fantasy's formula. Instead of an adventure packed with mystery and excitement, the series' first videogame provides a dull story and frustrating controls in a generic dungeon crawl wrapper. It's a shame, because I remember enjoying the "Choose Your Own Adventure" style so much as a kid, and I bet that formula could make for a great game.

For about half the cost of a lift ticket at a major ski resort, Stoked: Big Air Edition's mountains and riding are an authentic representation of what snowboarding is: a canvas for creativity, where finding a perfect line is its own reward.

AC2 is everything a sequel ought to be: An improvement on the original in nearly every way. Perhaps more impressively, it actually has me interested to see where the series goes from here -- something I wouldn't have expected after I slogged my way through the original. Anyone who enjoyed the first game will definitely like AC2, but the real accomplishment is that people who didn't enjoy it will likely have a good time, too.

AC2 is everything a sequel ought to be: An improvement on the original in nearly every way. Perhaps more impressively, it actually has me interested to see where the series goes from here -- something I wouldn't have expected after I slogged my way through the original. Anyone who enjoyed the first game will definitely like AC2, but the real accomplishment is that people who didn't enjoy it will likely have a good time, too.

About the only moments of real tension I had were when I spotted an herb or other valuable item, and frantically tried to grab it before the camera swung in the other direction. Not to say the game is boring, though, because even though it's a little more passive, this will probably be the closest thing to a complete RE2 remake in our lifetime. Darkside Chronicles looks great, has a good amount of content, and is mindlessly fun without the mindless gaffes of its predecessor.

It would be easy to pinpoint the games faults solely on the new, unresponsive control scheme, but Ride's gameplay lacks several established principles of the skateboarding genre. Concepts as simple as session markers and on-foot travel are nonexistent, and the ability to restart a challenge mid-run (a longtime staple of the Pro Skater series) is simply not there.

It would be easy to pinpoint the games faults solely on the new, unresponsive control scheme, but Ride's gameplay lacks several established principles of the skateboarding genre. Concepts as simple as session markers and on-foot travel are nonexistent, and the ability to restart a challenge mid-run (a longtime staple of the Pro Skater series) is simply not there.

L4D2 delivers multiple improvements over its predecessor, and I get to keep all my fingers and toes.

All in all, it's amazing the amount of content that's packed into this game -- this is more than a sequel, even while including a redux of the first game's three movies.

All in all, it's amazing the amount of content that's packed into this game -- this is more than a sequel, even while including a redux of the first game's three movies.

All in all, it's amazing the amount of content that's packed into this game -- this is more than a sequel, even while including a redux of the first game's three movies.

In the end, I felt that Discovery was a smart representation of Assassin's Creed on the DS, but the game feels a little incomplete. Ezio, and you, has no real end goal other than to survive and get back to the main quest... in the console version of Assassin's Creed 2.

Clash of Ninja Revolution 3 is a step up from Clash of Ninja Revolution 2, but nagging problems keep the game from reaching its full potential.

Regardless of how insane it sounds, it's not the making and sharing of your own levels that makes Little Big Planet special this time. You still get an excellent platformer with an unmistakable style, but the nearly-identical look and feel makes this PSP edition feel like an expansion pack.

It's not a comprehensive museum-style release with tons of improvements, new bonus features, Chains of Olympus, Betrayal, etc., but instead a great rerelease of two of the best games of all time in high definition. Here's hoping Sony continues the trend with another critical darling pair of games soon.

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.

But with an attractive price point ($39.99) and a good number of exercises and routines to choose from, More Workouts is a welcome update to the original.

L4D2 delivers multiple improvements over its predecessor, and I get to keep all my fingers and toes.

The game's no longer only for the most die-hard NCAA basketball fans -- it can finally serve players looking for a change of pace from the year's professional hoops offerings.

The game's no longer only for the most die-hard NCAA basketball fans -- it can finally serve players looking for a change of pace from the year's professional hoops offerings.

A worthy beginning for what will surely be a long line of expansion packs.

For every developer or publisher who's ever dreamed of pushing beyond the demographic limitations of "hardcore" or "casual" gamers, here is how you do it. And were that universal appeal NSMB Wii's sole achievement, it would be one of the most important games in recent memory. But, no: It's also ridiculously fun. [Grade = A+]

The quests are fun and quirky, and the animals all look adorable. With it's plodding pace, it's not going to try draw in a new audience, but if you love Harvest Moon games, Animal Parade delivers just what you want.

But be patient, put in the dedicated time, research, and strategic planning, and Sunshine Islands will reward you satisfactorily.

An unmitigated disaster.

Despite its minor annoyances, Buzz is still the best assorted trivia game around.

An unmitigated disaster.

It looks fantastic as far as 3D games on DS go, and I'd rank it among the better loot treadmills currently available for the handheld. Just don't go in expecting a flawless -- or particularly modern -- experience.

Mixing real-world locations with bombastic set-pieces MW2 continues the guided, thrill-ride experiences of its predecessor, and adds even more depth to its multiplayer offerings. It might not have fixed all the problems from the first game, but there's just so much quality content packed into this game that it will almost certainly be one of the most-played games in your library for a long time to come.

Mixing real-world locations with bombastic set-pieces MW2 continues the guided, thrill-ride experiences of its predecessor, and adds even more depth to its multiplayer offerings. It might not have fixed all the problems from the first game, but there's just so much quality content packed into this game that it will almost certainly be one of the most-played games in your library for a long time to come.

The PC version of Modern Warfare 2 is identical to the console versions in almost every way, and that's actually the problem. PC gamers have a certain expectation for online shooters. Removing dedicated server and user mod support from a game that's already $10 more than its predecessor seriously hinders the long term appeal for me.

Not exactly what fans would call "Super Saiyan," but certainly good enough.

Think of it like this: the Wii-mote has already proven it can be a good FPS controller, so what's wrong in bringing a good FPS to Wii? Modern Warfare is still an excellent game, even when it's done "good enough" on weaker technology, and like it or not, Reflex fills a niche. Maybe there's a family that only owns a Wii, but with a dad who might enjoy something a little rougher than Mario Kart.

The only real change-up in the whole game is when the Turtles get shiny cybernetic-looking gear when they travel into the future. It's literally wave after wave of enemies through eight stages that serve as mere backdrops. And that wasn't really what was worth remembering from the old days.

But even though the action can turn into a not-so satisfying grind (which really does kind of hurt the game's staying power), it's hard to ignore Kenka Bancho's charm. The presentation, including the rarely-serious dialogue throughout, and the complete pisstake on the rougher side of Japanese youth culture, is too good not to miss. When you let loose with that first menchi beam, you'll be hooked.