While the flying levels are frustrating and the change-characters-to-hit-this-switch mechanic gets old, the great humor and extras make Lego Star Wars worth playing if you haven't tried it yet.

Of all the military games released this winter, Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault brings together perhaps the best ingredients: a character driven story, the action and fatigue of war combat, and top notch video and sounds. If only it weren't for problems like lengthy loads, a tendency towards repetition, and the innately random flow.

I can see myself buying it again for XBLA, just because I enjoy the core game so much. At any rate, it's $5 cheaper than the retail handheld versions, so you're getting an extra affordable edition of a universally-praised shooter.

Like Wii Sports, Wii Play, and Wii Music, this is a game made to be played with friends, and your enjoyment with the title will directly relate to how much time you're able to spend playing it with other people.

This is quite probably the only hardcore PC football game you're going to see this year, and it's a very good one.

A mostly successful experiment. While the plodding pace of its first half is off-putting, the second half and the challenge levels become so gripping that I find myself stopping to play for a little bit in the midst of writing this review -- and when I'm finished, I'm heading right back to it.

But if you get your kicks closing howzatwork-gaps or scribbling 10-page After Action Reports (AARs) novellas on message boards, Doomsday's probably a $20 bargain-basement ticket.

Visuals aside, what makes or breaks a game like Street is the gameplay, and No. 4 in the series totally delivers.

It's kind of disappointing that a sequel that finally upgrades its character sprites would at the same time not move anything else up a level. And I would like more people to play and enjoy Disgaea games, because the fact is everyone is getting the best sequel until "Disgaea 5" comes out (probably). But it's a step forward that could have, for once, been a leap.

Well-made, well-considered, and well-designed. It has its shortcomings, sure, but it marks yet another solid digital release for the increasingly robust 3DS software library. Any fan of hard-as-nails classic platformers is bound to love it.

It's not for the kiddies, but if you've got 800 Marketplace points lying around, you oughta come get some.

It's a winning gamble with a new style of RPG combat, and it's pretty enough to frame and put on your wall in the bargain. With a stronger cast and narrative, though, it could have been an absolute world-beater.

In so many ways, on many levels, Renegade Ops is one of the most refreshingly enthusiastic action games of the year.

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.

I'm impressed by the effort on the part of Digital Extremes to deliver a satisfying sequel that builds on the ideas of the first game. Jackie's empowering abilities encourage players to experiment and try different tactics, and ultimately allow every player to discover combat techniques that they think work best. His world is realized through a remarkable graphic style and nuanced and meaningful character interactions.

The ambiance and atmosphere are usually enough all by themselves to suck you in; but never quite enough to make you ignore the hundred little things that matter.

PS2 is the best version. I prefer a comfortable controller over mildly better graphics any day. The extra highlights on Xbox are barely noticable. And the smoother textures on GameCube don't make up for that confounded controller.

The characters and talents are almost enough to overlook the fact that the skills, which are where abilities like crafting and coercion reside, seem a bit uninspired.

Throw out the multiplayer and other gimmicks, and it sounds like a basic action RPG, doesn't it?... FFCC's core gameplay is older than the hills, and The Game Designers Studio hasn't done much to keep the 25-or-so-hour experience very engaging for solo adventurers.

505 Games and 1C did an fantastic job of not only crafting a fine flight simulator that just about anyone can pick up and play, but also doing a fine job of paying homage to WWII pilots and aircraft. This title is a far cry from a cash-in or a port -- it is the best combat flight simulator one can own on the console. Still, for the hardcore, you would be better off on the PC, where the flight simulator still reigns supreme.

It just doesn't feel that different the previous installments. But since those previous installments were good games, that's not necessarily a bad thing. But publishers should stop holding content back from their next-gen sports games, especially when more full-featured versions are available at a cheaper price.

With solid, yet incremental, improvements on the field since last year, college football fans will certainly appreciate the more balanced game NCAA 10 puts on the field.

The game is uniquely engaging, and it's not even remotely similar to its predecessors...or any other games, really. The elegant pairing of a psychedelic aesthetic and smart, addictive platforming mechanics is a rare find indeed.

Honestly, the level of enjoyment you'll get out of the game will largely depend on which character you play. If the character you play is now one of the stronger fighters on the roster, then you'll most likely have a blast steamrolling the competition.

One of this year's biggest new features is the inclusion of online play. Though this sounds like a great addition, the actual implementation is far from stellar.

The core of Strange Journey is classically engrossing MegaTen and Etrian Odyssey.

This latest chapter improves on virtually every aspect of its near-flawless fundamentals, while delivering more modes, missions, and multiplayer components, proving to fans that its days of resting on its laurels aren't here quite yet.

For the first time ever, Lara Croft controls fluidly -- her world isn't divided into little squares, and she can perform complex series of acrobatic maneuvers without a pause (and often has to, later in the game).