Overlord 2 offers a lot of options for customization, be it in the form of minion upgrades, spell specializations, and purely aesthetic options like how to decorate your fortress and which of your mistresses you choose to favor.

Please God, afford Egosoft the time needed to rework the game via some sort of expansion, patch or Gold Edition so that I may finally be content with existence. As is, this bizarre flip-flop of "Freelancer" that features no interface or enjoyable action but a ton of diversity and extended appeal just isn't any better than all right.

If you can ignore the gimmickry and the middle-of-the-road visuals, you'll find an entertaining baseball game that'll keep you just as engaged as the rest of the crop this year. MVP Baseball has little to worry about.

The control hiccups may cause problems, but most of them can be countered with care. But the biggest bonus: Not once will you see starlight dancing off the ball.

Shiren does a great job of straddling the divide between accessibility and challenge, presenting a roguelike experience that may well appeal to any RPG fan. Or at least, any RPG fan willing to give it a chance.

Unfortunately, the translation to Wii brings nothing good. The quest and spell text are difficult to read on a standard definition TV, and it lacks widescreen support. Worse, the actual puzzle grid is much smaller than it could be, which only exacerbates the touchy Wii Remote pointer controls.

Those new abilities feel a little gimmicky at times, but when considered together with the multiplayer, Wolfenstein provides enough firepower and over-the-top storytelling to satiate anyone's desire for occult, alternate history action.

An incredibly subjective experience, and it certainly won't be to everyone's liking. Yet at its best, the game turns Nintendo's DS into an odd spin on the iPod -- an intimate, portable, personal musical experience that shifts and changes each time you touch the screen.

Despite the moments that Lost Frontier falters, most of the game is a solid sequel that lives up to the Jak legacy. The platforming is a nice homage to the existing Jak games, and the flight combat builds a new element that feels both refreshing and familiar.

The millions of die-hard fans who wanted to get their Kombat on will have no doubt already picked up the superior PS2/Xbox version six months ago.

It might be a worthwhile purchase to someone who needs an object lesson in how not to take advantage of the platform, but for anyone else this is just a more expensive version of a game that's been cluttering bargain bins for a while now.

The other major RPG released this week, the disappointing "Blue Dragon," promised to transport players back to those beloved days. Wild Arms 5 is the game that actually delivers.

The days of Jedi Knight, Rogue Squadron, and TIE Fighter are quickly becoming distant memories of what it was like to sit down and feel like we really were in a galaxy far, far away -- The Force Unleashed on the Wii can't hold a candle to those classics.

Consider Spectrobes a fun opportunity to bond with your kids by saving the galaxy from the latest alien menace, and enjoy these times while you still can. In just a couple years, they'll probably be asking you to buy them the equivalent of Modern Warfare 2.

An open-world zombie game has far more potential than what Techland is putting on display. There's certainly a lot of fun to be had on Dead Island, but don't be surprised if tedium sets in once you've murdered a zombie in every way imaginable (estimated time: 20 hours).

Stomach issues and assumption of Japanese linguistic ability aside, however, Squeak Squad is the most complete conventional Kirby side-scroller in some time. Yes, it may not be a "killer app" like Canvas Curse, but it's not trying to be.

The mere existence of this game means that there are people out there with their hearts in the right place...which makes the end results all the more heartbreaking.

If you've been craving the flavor of hot ion bolts and heat seekers, but can't bear to reinstall Freelancer yet again, DarkStar One should hit the proverbial spot.

All that said, Young Thor -- when you're not repeating the same levels over and over -- is an enjoyable, pick-up-and-play romp-fest.

Bookworm lacks a bit of the addictive magic that draws me to PopCap's other titles, but this spelling game still offers an enjoyable distraction for wordsmithing on the go.

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.

It takes a while for the card-based gameplay of Episode III to grow on you, but once it does, it'll get its hooks in as firmly as the other PSO chapters.

Sacred 2 turns out to be a great couch game, largely because you can play co-op with a friend at your side. But the real surprise is that the folks at Ascaron managed to create a mostly-great interface for the XB360 and PS3 controller, giving you faster and easier access to more combat abilities than you could use in the PC version.

The story mode is ingenious, and it's shocking no simulation sports game in this era has taken this on until now. But the execution does have flaws.

It's just a shame that, due to Sega's mismanagement of its properties over the last decade or so, Superstars Tennis comes too late to fully resonate with today's gaming audience.

Shank is the freshest, most unequivocally rewarding beat-em-up game to come along in almost a decade.

So, while I recommend this to anyone who plays golf video games, or used to (this brings me back to my Genesis PGA European Tour days), this is, in a way, a very well-looked-after port.

The microphone mini-game selection is too small to make Mario Party 6's appeal that much wider. But for those who appreciate sitting down for a long night of Star collecting and raucous behavior, Mario Party 6 is a polished upgrade with solid improvements.