Star Ocean contains an interesting plot buried in its depths, but it's incredibly demanding of your time and your patience. The long-winded, poorly conceived dialogue, and formulaic cut-scene, dungeon crawl, cut-scene, dungeon crawl design isn't getting any fresher. I still enjoyed the game and its comforting, monster-slaying grind, though.

UGnG gets the superficial bits right, yet the fundamental elements that have always made the series so compelling despite its esteem-crushing difficulty are either missing, compromised or broken in this sequel. And without those crucial underpinnings of quality in place, the entire affair collapses in a morass of mediocrity.

I can't recommend the weak single-player mode, but the multiplayer left me surprisingly satisfied.

Tiger 08 may not be a must-have if you own previous versions, but it's an exceptionally solid game on its own.

It feels more sophisticated, looks great, delivers tons of cars and racing disciplines, and upgrades what was already a solid online component. But far more critical, it's one of the best <I>drives</I> on the 360.

As a WWII fighting experience, it rivals EA's Medal of Honor in atmosphere and immersion. The in-game graphics are spectacular, with detailed aircraft and some lovely explosions, and the only obvious issue is some pop-in from high altitudes.

If you love Dragon Ball Z -- like, love it to the point where tears run down your face as you stare at your Vegeta wall scroll -- then you'll love Burst Limit. Casual fans, like myself, will be impressed initially but ultimately let down by the fact that -- despite the new name -- this is still part of the Budokai family of fighters.

Long stretches of each stage can be severely frustrating and annoying, but when they're not, it's still pretty fun -- and getting "in the zone" to complete an especially hard part in one try is always satisfying.

FlatOut basically feels like a slightly more frustrating successor to the original "Destruction Derby" series on the PlayStation 1 (well, the first two games).

So while I'm excited about the changes to the formula for Galactrix, the downsides aren't sorted out nearly as well as I'd hoped, making this huge bundle of gameplay seem more like a chore than a boon.

Resonance of Fate features some pretty substantial (and fussy) systems made for endless fiddling and tinkering -- which is why it's a shame that the learning curve is so ludicrously steep.

It's not exactly a bad game, but it feels oddly archaic -- the kind of thing that would have been pretty hot 15 years ago on the NES. Now, though, it's mainly interesting as a poor man's "Castlevania."

But whether you're playing online or off, you just can't shake the feeling that the PC version of Blazing Angels 2 is a messy afterthought, made all the more disappointing for wasted potential.

One thing Champions League clearly has over Winning Eleven, though, is the ability to transfer your Treble campaign back and forth between the PS2 and PSP, so you never have to go without. The games are identical, and while the PSP has a tough time with everything, doing transfers on the PS2 will save you time.

When Tactical Strike works, it works really, really well. In spite of the soul-crushing frustration I experienced, those moments of genius made it worth soldiering on for me. If you have an extraordinarily high tolerance for cheap deaths, long load times, and insubordination, you could have a pretty darn good time with this game.

It's a mostly well-built title with seemingly good intentions, but it lacks the weight -- whether it's in the narrative, campaign length, or feature set -- to seem like much more than a quality diversion.

Wolfenstein's plot is little more than an excuse for you to revisit the titular Wolfenstein castle and cause unnecessary mass destruction, but even without the added magical powers, Wolfenstein is built on a solid foundation and packed with hectic action.

Where The Red Star is best is in its combat system, which brilliantly blends melee attacks, shooting, and blocking defenses. There's an almost poetic beauty with the mastery of these, as you unconsciously perform incredible attacks by switching between and blending the three.

At the moment, Champs is a good MMO with the potential to become a great one.

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.

A landmark in what some might consider more "casual" fighting games. Not only is it great fun, but it's the best fighting game on GameCube (sorry, Smash Bros is not a traditional fighting game), and one of the best 3D fighters around.

From the custom voice work done by show creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, to original artwork for the over-the-top-but-barely-there story, there's a treasure trove of unlockable artwork and hilarious video clips of the show.

It won't light the world on fire, but this next-gen playground of destruction offers you tons to do (well, tons to explode), it's always enjoyable, and I dove right back in after the credits rolled.

It's quickly clear that Dark Messiah is a "Half-Life 2"-style rail ride, but with "Deus Ex"-style character development.

For all its competence, there's no real hook for anyone who doesn't remember the original Rocket Knight game. It appeals mainly to nostalgia for the way platformers used to be. Although it has a lovely next-gen presentation with the hi-res, 3D graphics engine, this is very much two-or-three-gens-ago gameplay.

The events aren't anything mind-blowing, but they're all competent and solid enough to keep me coming back to improve my last run.

Unlimited Codes is a competent 2.5D fighter that's bound to raise interest in the fighting game community, for better or worse. Newcomers will enjoy the game's simplified inputs, but may grow tired and frustrated when learning strategies for high-level play and advanced combos.

It could have been made somewhat better by more accessible, easily relatable songs, but with an otherwise lacking career mode, everything about Warriors of Rock reeks of regurgitated design decisions and a desire to simply make as much money as possible without really trying to add anything new.