Patapon 2 melts the time away and before you know it your PSP will need some juice.

The design constraints of Nintendo's system forced the developers at Platinum Games to be creative, and they followed through on their creativity by putting together a thoroughly enjoyable brawler with just the right amount of the ultra-violence.

Flat out, this is an amazing shooter. You can fight through over 50 levels, upgrade your weapons, take control of enemies, recruit enemies to help you fight, drive different types of tanks, and a lot more -- think "Ratchet & Clank" fused with "Halo."

An awesome addition to a deservedly-lauded series. Now excuse me while I finish my powered-launch, 3000-foot air-powered supercoaster. The peeps are gonna love it!

It's no better and it's no worse than what you will find on Microsoft's side of the console space. It may not be much of a showcase for what the Playstation 3 can do. But for golf, you can't go wrong with Tiger.

The expansion neatly captures the frenzied pace of college, the numerous things you can discover and do, the strange secrets every campus is rumored to have, and of course, streaking.

It attempts a lot of ambitious things and it almost succeeds at every one. But it's apparent that these grandiose ideas may have been a little too much to master the first go-round. But hey, at least the groundwork is laid for a killer sequel -- right, Ubisoft?

I am happy to say that EA Sports Active finally bridges the gap between house and gym, earning it top honors as the best exercise game currently out for the Wii.

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.

LostWinds is a solid, charming little platformer, and it's a really promising start for the WiiWare line.

What we have here is about as close to a perfect-port of such a massive title that we're going to get.

Thanks to some tough (but never unreasonably frustrating) battles, a healthy dose of fan service, and a quality localization, Revenant Wings is a thoroughly enjoyable hybrid. It's hardly the second coming of Final Fantasy XII...but somehow manages to turn that into a strength anyway.

SCV reinvents the series again, and implements a number of changes that add layers of complexity and depth to a winning formula. The new Street Fighter-centric direction is surprising, but one that still works within the general framework without being overpowering. While plenty of single-player content can keep you busy for months -- much like the original -- in the end playing with friends and real opponents is the best way to experience Soulcalibur.

Though that simplicity can be an asset, in many ways it's the game's greatest weakness as well. The personality will carry you through the campaign, but repeating battles of attrition wear thin too quickly; Ronimo has some great ideas in this little package, even if the end result falls a little short of becoming an RTS classic.

An interesting, engaging, witty game that takes full advantage of its portable platform's strengths.

After years of online fumbles by developer EA Tiburon, our annual war cry for an online dynasty mode has been answered. Not only is NCAA Football 09's most impressive innovation brilliantly seamless, but it's full-featured as well (from recruiting and scheduling to talking sure-fire pros into staying on an extra season).

It's not a particularly original adventure, but MvsDK is a classy reminder of where these games all started. And as it happens, it's pretty fun, too.

If you're looking at the game for continuing the fun, campy Mortal Kombat legacy, you'll find a lot to like here. If you're looking for highly technical fighting matches or evolved modern game storytelling, you'll do better looking elsewhere.

Like the legendary sword the game's named after, Muramasa easily cuts through all the unnecessary fluff and gives you just what you want: tons and tons of flashy sword action.

Occasionally, Reckoning plays it too safe. As good as the combat is, it cannot make fights against giant rats any more interesting. Crime follows the Fable route of, "if you disappear and come back later, all is forgiven." Reckoning teases with consequences, but either doesn't follow through or does so in wacky ways.

From the cleverly designed puzzles to the ability to speed up or slow down the scrolling of the cards at will, every part of this game feels painstakingly adjusted for maximum enjoyment.

Even if you're lousy at shmups -- a category I definitely fall into -- Jamestown is very approachable, allowing you to slowly hone your skills before you tackle some of the trickier stages. And as Final Form Games' debut title, Jamestown can't be called anything but a fully realized labor of love.

The setting, story, and graphics of Kohan II are so full of cliches that one is almost surprised to find a wonderfully original and engaging game beneath the generic packaging.

For all the additions in this game, some sensible, some less so, there's one constant: The gameplay is sharp, and players move up and down the court with purpose and meaning.

The battle system helps make the rest of the game come even closer to Final Fantasy X, and this time, that's a compliment. The result is a game that's faster and a little more fun to watch.

While MC:LA won't necessarily wow you beyond its technical achievements -- it sticks too close to the feel and formula of preview MC games -- it still offers plenty of thrilling (and sometimes frustrating) driving.

The addition of the online play really is a huge deal.

Sadly, just like with "NCAA Football 08" and "All-Pro Football 2K8," PS3 owners are stuck with an inferior version of Madden. While the game runs at 60 frames per second on Microsoft's box, Madden only clocks in at 30fps on Sony's console. The result? The gameplay isn't nearly as smooth as the 360 version and even stutters at times.