I've already had my fill of this recipe. I was sort of hoping for something a little new.

Despite those nice touches, BBB could have been more fun had it adopted a few modern touches and included online multiplayer (co-op is limited to local play only). Instead, it feels like more effort was spent on ensuring that the Team Fortress 2 section looked exactly like the Dustbowl level than on making sure the game played as well as possible. At $15 BBB is just $5 too expensive to justify picking up.

You can play a few pointless sandbox maps that demonstrate the straightjacketed city progression, whether you're in Capua, Venice, Sparta, or Memphis.

You know that "PS2 game with shiny characters and lots of bloom lighting" look that plagues PS3 and 360 ports of last-gen titles? It's dripping all over Spider-Man 3. Except it's not a port. Which is almost okay, until it throws in some vicious slowdown whenever you make the mistake of breaking environmental objects.

Don't be fooled into thinking Red Steel reinvents the FPS. It's nothing more than a ho-hum shooter with a creative but flawed gimmick stapled on.

It's been a mess. But growing pains aren't unusual for online games these days. These sorts of kinks get worked out in time, and there's no reason to doubt Confrontation's issues will be smoothed out in the process of a patch or two. But in the meantime, the game is available for purchase at retail and via download through the PlayStation Store, and you deserve to know what that game's like right now. [10/20/09]

Also worthy of note: the stupid, unforgiving, scripted button-tapping events (think God of War, only terrible). The only reason these do not throw me into a fit of vein-bursting rage is that you can retry them infinitely.

Of course, most people will rightly expect to play Scrap Metal with friends (or random strangers over XBL), and the game makes a very entertaining time-waster when multiple meat puppets are involved. Just make sure you don't bogart the nitro boosts or your friends may never speak to you again.

Nine patches in, Gothic 3 has a long road to hoe before rating "close enough for government work." Try it if you're hardcore and even-tempered. But yep, here we go again -- closing with another "until it's adequately patched, caveat emptor."

Originally, the biggest problem I had with Afrika was that there wasn't more of a narrative. I like having the freedom to explore beautiful virtual worlds, but I also appreciate some story to bring it together. But as the game progressed, I felt that maybe a game like this doesn't need a bunch of drama attached -- a picture is worth a thousand words.

Söldner-X tries to mimic Japanese shooter sensibilities, but in execution, it takes on the trappings of the worst so-called "Euroshmups": stages that don't seem to have had a lot of thought (or maybe too much thought) put into their design, and an art style that's mostly, well, art rather than eye candy to compliment the action.

If you're prepared for the steep learning curve and the insane load times, Trails is yet another extremely competent PSP title that's certainly worth checking out.

For most, the biggest turnoff to an otherwise engaging game is that it's downright ugly. Choppy water looks like shaky carpet, characters' faces creep you out with their lack of expressions, and the majority of the areas you'll explore are gray and dreary.

Stacked does have one hook (aside from the Negreanu name), but it's not a terribly compelling one. You're in control of a customizable avatar, and you can convey some basic poker information through your character via frowning, smiling, calling tentatively, or raising aggressively. Trying to simulate body language and table presence is a fine idea, but with such limited options it's more a gimmick than a viable gambit.

The Guild 2 works just fine with its original four classes, but toss in three bor-ing derivatives and it veers toward generic.

Without the story, all your venturing through the game would be for naught. It's the redeeming quality that makes the back-and-forth, to-and-fro quests, the battles every five feet, and the unaltered appearance worth wading through. It's just something that you'll really have to want to do.

The game's premise is ingratiating and deliciously creative, and so is the delivery.

Despite its few slipups, the core of Societies is strong enough -- and the gameplay addictive enough -- that even the stodgiest traditionalist will find something to shout about.

It's hard to argue that the minor tweaks to FFII -- though improvements they may be -- really justify its being sold individually when it's previously been packed together with the original Final Fantasy so many times.

If you're like most gamers, however, it may be too much like a post-graduate MBA sim of life running a distribution center of some sort.

Aside from the dynamic object interaction and music, the graphics and gameplay made me feel like I was back in high school, playing "Resident Evil 2" after doing my homework. But that was then, and this is now, and Obscure just doesn't make the grade.

Ultimately, you'll be much more satisfied playing "2K6" instead or even EA's "NCAA March Madness 2006" for basketball purism.

No matter how much you improve your weapons with alchemy, you probably won't have to do much other than buy the next best sword, then hack-n-slash your way to victory.

Online multiplayer amplifies everything that is good and bad about Fatal Inertia EX. Again, the combat is fun, and it's especially rewarding to pull off attacks on another human player.

In many respects, it's exactly what I would expect from a follow-up: more of the same with minor enhancements. At the same time, it is just more of the same with some enhancements, but Fatshark seemed to be aiming to make the best damn sequel they could...just without rocking the boat too much.

Dog Days ultimately feels less like a typical crime shooter, and more like a player-directed version of the Crank movies.

The majority of the environments are quite sparse, with few buildings yet plenty of fog to help hide the fact that the draw distance here isn't that spectacular. The lack of vision also doesn't help when you're traversing the grassy plains and trying to get a read on your enemy's position.

The greatest problem with Elite Squadron is that it feels like a step back from its predecessor, Renegade Squadron.