Shadows is halfway there. I experienced plenty of cool "Spider-Man" moments throughout thanks to the basic locomotion and combat and the occasional well-done cut-scene...but Shadows never really hits any sort of stride. Rather, it settles into a rhythm of repetition and drags out as its third act self-destructs.

It's difficult to dismiss the overlying cuteness and simple-but-solid gameplay, which continues to put the series on the top tier of portable RPGs.

Outside of the charming (and yes, very girlie) story and genuinely humorous dialogue, all that's left is a short, extremely easy, and sometimes confusing RPG.

While it's always nice to have a good rhythm game on the go, PaRappa on PSP is still a serious value proposition at $30. There are plenty of extra remixes to download and play (about half of which are decent), but with essentially six levels it's still a more flimsy package than current gamers are accustomed to.

The vaunted cross-platform play works mostly as advertised (including Achievements associated with killing/resurrecting users from the alternate platform), but we still have to question whether it's worth the hassle and cost for PC users.

While it's true that things have improved, that doesn't mean it's suddenly a great game. While the downplaying of the storyline does help streamline the game, it also makes your goals seem a little disconnected and random.

It's technically playable and, despite its best efforts, probably won't plunge the industry into a period of navel-gazing and political sanction. Everything else about it is largely forgettable.

The game's certainly on the short side (with just 18 total songs), but unlike many previous attempts to capitalize on Looney Tunes nostalgia, Cartoon Conductor's whimsical presentation actually matches up well with the fast-paced, familiar rhythm approach -- creating the rare licensed experience that may bring a legitimate smile to your face.

Beyond the reworked graphics, you won't find much legitimately new content here. Patient players seeking an absurd challenge will dig the verging-on-unfair PSP-exclusive Labyrinth of Time dungeon, in which your characters' hit points constantly deplete over time. But truthfully, original additions feel scant.

It would be nice to have a longer main adventure or some mini-games or something to give the game a little bit more meat on its bones, but if you temper expectations, Spider-Man 2 delivers on its promise.

It's a distant No. 2 to this year's unquestionably better "College Hoops 2K7."

The game's not realistic enough to satisfy sim fans...and it's too realistic to be as fun as Rainbow's previous games. It tries too hard to be a jack-of-all-trades, and masters almost none.

The lack of a versus mode is a gross oversight that makes versus battles an uncomfortable chore (the winner can't switch characters without resetting the entire game -- just like in the arcades!).

You won't find a better handheld RPG so fitting for bite-size moments of play, and those cute 'n' marketable pocket monsters are only the icing on the cake.

At its basic level, Transformers on the DS is a pretty average game. But at least Vicarious Visions tried to bring something unique to the table. It's kind of lame that you have to purchase two full-priced games to experience the entire saga (each title is about four hours long), but these are still the best Transformers-movie games you're gonna find.

Despite being a botched rendition of a pair of classics, Legacy of Ys is nevertheless a pair of classics, and that's what ultimately redeems this package -- that and Atlus's meticulous care with the localization.

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.

The only real challenges served on this 12 hour adventure are tasks that are more annoying than hard, such as having to negotiate ocean currents in an attempt to reach a beach.

The game begins much too slowly to really captivate. Which is a shame because a lot of gamers who might really appreciate Innocent Life's vibe could very likely put the game down before it's ever really begun.

It comes on the heels of Capcom's own "Resident Evil 4." After you've played a game as breathtakingly beautiful and exhilarating as that, it's hard to take a step back and play something that just feels dated by comparison.

Too hard for novices, too repetitive for veterans, and too silly for warmongers, CivCity Rome falls into the netherworld of games that you wished you could've liked more.

Exciting as cinematic set pieces are, K&L is a game, not a film. By that standard, it fails to do what a game should do: provide you with meaningful choices and tests of skill.

While it's true that things have improved, that doesn't mean it's suddenly a great game. While the downplaying of the storyline does help streamline the game, it also makes your goals seem a little disconnected and random.

If you enjoyed the previous iterations, Battle Network 5 is a worthy successor to the line, but if you were turned off by the kiddie-veneer, the deep strategic gameplay goes a long way towards making it tolerable.

Not to self: some interesting concepts and lot of technically outstanding mechanics don't make for a good title when delivered improperly.

Overall, The Bigs 2 falls short of providing balanced difficulty, instead easy is too easy, while hard is unnecessarily merciless.

Unless you fancy yourself a hardcore DC comics fan, you'll find little to hold your interest in DCUO in its current state after the first several hours of gameplay.

For those fanatic collect-a-thon types, we can easily see the game taking upwards of 60 hours to max out all characters and skills. And that's really what it comes down to.