Taken for what it is, though -- a cheap collection of tons of Genesis games -- the Ultimate Genesis Collection satisfies. No compilation is ever perfect, and Sega and Backbone definitely leave room for improvement. But there's a lot of great gameplay to be had here, and plenty of interesting obscurities for the adventurous to explore -- and all for an enticing price.

Not only does its game system encourage players to think out their moves and concentrate on realistic tricks, but it also does this while still keeping the game addictive as you put more time into it. Quite a feat.

If anything, Sing and Dance is a good idea on paper, but absolutely flawed in its execution. Arrows are laid side-by-side, making the more difficult patterns a pain to read correctly, and having to focus on scrolling arrows while watching your singing pattern (to make sure the game is recognizing it correctly) is incredibly counter-intuitive.

It's nice to see such an ambitious world presented with beautifully-animated 2D graphics and in such an uncomplicated manner: no tutorials or cinemas or dialogue, just pure platforming and exploration.

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.

Aficionados need not hesitate -- The Broken Bond presents the Naruto franchise in a largely engaging manner, with plenty to see and do in the campaign and via Xbox Live. It's a less definite prospect for newcomers, though, as the fan service and familiar scenarios go a long way toward masking the frustrations and limitations found within.

OW2 looks and sounds great, and offers more content than any Worms before it. It's an excellent value and a wonderful addition to the PSP's action-strategy lineup.

Between the consistent improvement of the game's core concepts, and the Black Box's encouraged experimentation, Skate remains in a genre all on its own, but only time will tell if continued re-iteration will cause this still fresh series to stagnate.

If you love a good science fiction tale wrapped around a gorgeous, post-apocalyptic world with some decent gameplay thrown into the mix, you should give Enslaved a try.

Anyone who's ever laughed with glee at taking down a rival racer in a game of Burnout should be all over it.

It's not impossible to ignore the the aggravation on offer, but it's also hard to ignore how much better this Star Ocean could have been.

It stays true to a vision of great game design making great games, and is a swan song for a beloved tale.

Factor in all of the unlockable goodies and the innovative 3D effects, and you've got yet another genre-defining experience out of Kojima Productions that sits alongside games like Boktai as true boundary-pushing efforts.

No, it's not the significant leap 2004's Century of Flight was, and performance -- usually unworthy of mention -- is the big sinker here. Otherwise, Flight Sim X is a solid, if not quite spectacular, tenth iteration.

To all the SmackDown haters out there: If you're going to jump back in the ring, this is the year to do it. Both of these exciting new additions, along with the aforementioned improvements -- and the upcoming downloadable content -- make SVR09 this year's grapple-game champ.

With good AI for single-player games and a few decent multiplayer options, Empire Earth II is a worth a look for most RTS fans, if not worthy of dropping everything and rushing out to buy.

Rough in spots and a bit too casual for some, Test Drive Unlimited nevertheless delivers a truly innovative format and a gorgeous, massive world populated by real people. Now get in and drive!

Let me reiterate: this is a fantastic game, with so much fun to throw your way you'd think you were playing wide receiver with Santa Claus as QB.

Rare is still very much Rare: inspiration is taken from multiple sources, a solid-but-unspectacular game is built on that inspiration, every imaginable color and graphical effect is dumped on top of it, and everyone is given an awful pun for a name.

It heralds a bold new era in arcade-style sports games.

The King of Fighters XIII offers a phenomenal fighting game experience you won't find in many newer fighting games, and while the learning curve might be steep, the time and effort you put into it won't be obliterated by mindless mashing of uppercuts or ridiculous comeback mechanics. If you want to be the King of Fighters, you have to earn it.

Unplugged's gameplay and high-fidelity music fits the PSP almost perfectly, but for all the big features that are mysteriously missing, the developers didn't pay enough attention to the small details, either.

But that's Other M: occasionally nonsensical (and always extraneous) story elements wrapped around generally excellent action and fun abilities. When you introduce more plot, you introduce more room for plot holes.

Once Upon A Monster won't fulfill the role of the traditional killer app for the Kinect; it instead fulfills the oft-neglected role of "great title to introduce children to games without making them ragequit." I'd rather remember playing this as a kid than my current memories of Smurf for the 2600.

While the adventure entertains about as well as its predecessors, Baddest of the Bands makes one notable misstep -- auxiliary elements like Teen Girl Squad and the classic-gaming minigames are less prominent in this iteration.

The combination of a surprisingly lengthy single-player game and a robust multiplayer mode make this one game that just about anyone can enjoy. While the challenges get a little repetitive, the ability to create and operate custom vehicles -- both online and off -- make Nuts & Bolts a unique, entertaining spin on the everyday platformer.

In short, to make the game more accessible to Star Wars fans, the RTS elements -- while innovative and fun -- lack the depth that can define genre greats. Nevertheless, the Force is strong with this one.

The cocky presentation is fantastic, it looks great (especially the crowds), it plays great, and it just might make you smarter than a session of Brain Age. The Bigs isn't just an absolute hoot -- it's also the best current-gen baseball game money can buy.