Radiant Dawn is one of the best strategy games you'll find on any console, with a crazily addictive strategic core that more than makes up for the subpar visuals.

A GBA game that successfully <I>feels</I> like Payne, even though everyone's tiny and doesn't curse as much.

The presentation won't blow anyone away, but the convenience of having the entire series on a single cartridge -- and one that, unlike the GBA versions, can be played on a DSi -- counts for a lot.

Dissidia 012 is basically the original game with a good 20 to 30 hours of additional gameplay heaped on top; Square Enix was even nice enough to include a New Game + feature for returning veterans.

While it doesn't reach the status of a great Western, it's still a marked improvement over its mediocre predecessor.

Metal Slug's simply impossible at times, and the brief joy of rescuing all of the POWs and reaping their particular rewards turns out to be short-lived; you'll rarely register the bonus that comes with rescuing them and then defeating the boss that stands between you and level's end.

The fun comes from watching how differently each season unfolds and how it affects your Sims: Winter helps with family bonding, spring brings romance, summer builds friendships, and fall quickens learning new skills.

It's the closest thing to karaoke perfection I've seen yet.

Similarly, Airborne's standout feature -- land where you will and fight your way through objectives in whatever order you want -- is less about reliving history than saving a sagging series for which decision-making has meant "where to shoot" and "what to shoot with."

But my biggest problem with Keflings is its lack of...well, a soul.

ATV Offroad Fury 3 has one of the most complete set of online options seen a PS2 racing game. Excellent features like ranking, messaging and downloadable ghosts provide all the community extras to go with the main events that support up to six-players.

In its current state, it's a crippled -- yet still decent -- wrestling title. Much like its console big brother.

While casting adorable MySims in a kid-friendly, superspy adventure is an idea filled with potential, the game suffers from the one thing a superspy shouldn't have to endure -- boring and repetitive cases.

TGR truly pushes the GBA's limits to offer one of the most amazing handheld racing experiences ever created. It's a rare creation: a game whose sophisticated graphics engine not only enhances its look, but also its gameplay.

Really the only thing Ace Combat has to offer that its predecessors don't is a couple of new flight modes and real world locations. This would be enough to recommend the game to die-hard fans, but the camera cut aways make the game a worse experience than its predecessors. If you want a good Ace Combat experience, you should play an earlier game in the series.

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.

Is El Shaddai unconventional just for the sake of being different, or were the developers going for something bigger? Is being such an abstract game (on multiple levels) the overall point? Ultimately, I don't know the answer to these questions, but I'd definitely call El Shaddai an unconventional game and an entertaining adventure despite some of the creative gaps.

As a Ghostbusters fan, this game came through by delivering an entertaining experience with plenty of laughs and just the right amount of action.

My chief concern is TR's longevity. At present, the game offers maybe three or four months of content. With little in the way of engaging PVP, useful item crafting, or other distractions for veterans who've hit the level cap and cleared out all their quests, the game could easily fade away.

It's this carefully guarded lack of realism that keeps the game fresh. While the multitude of moves are clearly wacky, they're never too over-the-top, and it all fits together in this surprising, tight package.

Fortunately, the developers have done a good job of implementing that cartooney and sarcastic style, so those players who like the Alien Hominid universe will find a lot to like in the game.

EA's tennis game is far from perfect, and the control inconsistencies will be too much to overcome for any but the most dedicated tennis fans, but it's a good early attempt; hopefully as developers become more comfortable with the add-on, they'll create more precise (and easier to learn) controls.

A pretty face only goes so far when there's no soul beneath the surface, and Shake It! is as hollow as they come.

As a promotional tool for Revenge of the Sith, it's spectacular. I'd not previously been particularly excited for Episode III, but if the machinations alluded to in the game really are those that drive the mythology forward, it's going to be a spectacular finale to the series.

If you can handle the game's particular style (provided you live close enough to a Wal-Mart to buy one -- that's the only place you can get it), you'll find this a surprisingly well-designed game that offers significant playtime, will nurture latent gardening addictions, and will give you the goofiest "god game" experience you've had in a long, long time.

It's a must-have for enthusiastic fans of the original, who will easily recognize the quality beneath the hostile surface. Everyone else may want to proceed with caution, though, because you'll probably be too busy having your butt kicked to have a good time.

Its core gameplay mechanic meets, and in some ways excels over, EA's baseball game... and yet, the window-dressing features are all fairly useless compared to MVP's innovative pitch meter and other extras.

Does Ridge 7 usher in the next-generation of racing? No. Is it the best way to while away the hours, driving on the PS3? For the time being, yes.