Whether under the guise of modeling real-world weapon accuracy or not, no excuse rationalizes repeated misses with scoped-in headshots from a sniper rifle.

Despite all the stats management, there's no combat log; you don't even get to see what you or your opponent are rolling for attacks. But even for the true D&D aficionado -- or maybe more so for them -- fighting with party management in a game about party management saps so much life from a title that's right on the brink of being much better.

A solid hack-n-slash game that will appeal to fans of the genre, though it'll wear thin quickly.

As it stands, Race Driver 3 suffers from too much variety and not enough substance.

Despite offering some memorable moments, relatively unrestricted gameplay, and the occasionally satisfying play mechanic, Gangland should still be packaged with a bottle of Valium and a straightforward, "your brain has the potential of spontaneously bursting" warning, as it can be damn frustrating.

Squad Command is far from perfect, but it is also the closest thing to playing actual Warhammer 40K on a videogame system. Turn-based strategy enthusiasts will definitely want to check this game out, and if you are a Warhammer fan then it is really a no-brainer.

And while it's no recurring nightmare, it's hard to recommend this game in a world where World of WarCraft provides a better, more well-rounded experience.

This is a solid game overall -- and without a doubt, All-Pro Football should continue building on this foundation. But if you were expecting 2K euphoria after two years on the sidelines, you'll be disappointed, as this one's got rust in many of the wrong places.

Since aiming and movement is too difficult to track enemies as they appear, a typical mission will have you die on the first enemy, learn his location and kill him before he can strike back, only to be felled by a second enemy, and so on.

A flawed port of a brilliant game. The quality of the original product shines through regardless, and it's still a fine way to spend an afternoon with a friend, but it's impossible not to be disappointed. Because it should have been so much better.

It's all a bit dull, gameplay-wise, until you can trudge through at least one season of shutouts. The good news is that presentation-wise, Quidditch World Cup sparkles.

The whole thing can be finished in just a couple of sittings. However, fans of the film, both young and old, would do well to give it a shot, as it's an entertaining platformer that complements the movie quite well.

Rise of a Ninja, if nothing else, is undoubtedly a good foundation for something better the next time around. The graphics are fantastic, and running and jumping around the Naruto world is as convincing as it is compelling. If only the activities of this world were made of sterner stuff than rote replication of the source material's events or mind-numbing coin-collecting chores.

If you've played this before in its previous incarnations and had your fill, or if the concept never really appealed to you in the first place, there's really nothing new enough here to bring you back.

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

It sits uncomfortably on the borderline between puzzle game and platformer, but it lacks the substance of the latter while failing to capture the "zen trance" feel of something like "Tetris" or "Lumines."

The atmosphere in Red Dead is the real thing -- not the pseudo-parody of "Dead Man's Hand" -- and that alone should satisfy the audience it was made for. If you can forgive all of its faults, you'll enjoy the few hours you spend in Red's world.

As it stands, Race Driver 3 suffers from too much variety and not enough substance.

Battalion Wars 2 flounders because it lacks both the comic mischief that make cartoons like Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner so much fun and the tactical depth to be taken as a serious war game. The no-man's land in between isn't a place where you want to hang around too long.

Every hero has a weakness, and Justice League Heroes' kryptonite is its laughably lame story. Wait a second, wasn't this game written by an actual comic writer? That's why it's sad that the story is frickin' terrible.

Fans of the system should have no reservations about picking up a copy; it was put together under the supervision of several of the console's original programmers, and their love for Intellivision shines through in the detail and polish of the package.

This is a solid game overall -- and without a doubt, All-Pro Football should continue building on this foundation. But if you were expecting 2K euphoria after two years on the sidelines, you'll be disappointed, as this one's got rust in many of the wrong places.

More strategy could have been applied, and moving that strategy into the multiplayer game would have added a lot. Otherwise, what you have is the same DW4 with a slightly more tactical story mode.

While Live 08 is definitely looking better in every respect (gameplay, graphics, and online), the series still needs more time in the gym.

Full Auto 2's like an arcade game -- fun in short spurts. And the tough secondary objectives in career mode (finish without dying, destroy certain crates, outscore your foe, and so on) help in keeping me coming back in order to unlock the secret cars and weapons.

Here's the problem: both the action-packed style and the stealth style show promise, but neither is fully polished.

It's nice to have a different feel applied to the Prince of Persia gameplay, but after the novelty wears off we side with the simpler GameCube controls.

Namco Bandai says downloadable planes, maps, and levels are to come, but unless they can fix the frustrating mission structure -- the game's largest problem -- I'm only mildly interested.