No, the problem here is that getting to the naked women is a painstaking chore, and the few seconds of a girl going wild does not make up for the five minutes of inane videos leading up to it.

As a sequel, Pikmin 2 is very nearly perfect; it refines the shortcomings of the first game while adding a ton of new elements, yet feels both balanced and polished. The attention to detail is phenomenal.

Fine graphics notwithstanding -- this year's model has better arenas, improved sell animations, and much more dynamic camera presentation -- Day of Reckoning isn't much fun to play alone.

Towards the end, the game kind of gives up on itself. The final two levels are overly repetitive, followed by a trio of boss fights in outer space that are twice as long and annoying (but just as easy) as the previous ones. And then... it's over.

With Omega Factor, Treasure has crafted what is perhaps one of the finest 2D sidescrollers in years.

It's not a matter of whether it's challenging or not--the difficulty level you select at the beginning of the game determines that--it's that, despite the juicy subject matter that Stardock could have taken and run with, there's less depth here than there is in the average puddle on Pennsylvania Avenue.

Their new defensive tactics coupled with fluid gameplay make for a superb football experience.

It's not the best-looking of the football titles out there, but it's the most fun to play and compete with.

It's not the best-looking of the football titles out there, but it's the most fun to play and compete with. Maybe next year they'll nail the visual category as well, but as long as the game keeps playing as well as it does, there's no reason to really trip over it.

An expansion pack done right. It doesn't pretend to be a full sequel, and instead just offers new maps, modes, and tweaks that make the overall experience better.

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.

Fans into beat-'em-ups will find there's not enough to captivate them, with way too much repetition even for that genre. Likewise, RPG nuts will grow too upset with the unending pattern-like progression and clunky management. And if you happen to like both, the combination just won't be enough to make you squeal with joy.

The game could have been so much more bearable if they had simply changed the camera operation. The camera is not in your usual third-person perspective, and it quite often faces her, making gameplay very difficult if not impossible at times.

Despite all these improvements, I can't help but feel that last year's "Madden" still has the edge over this year's ESPN, thanks to fundamental pacing and controls. ESPN has great visuals, has tons of new features, all kinds of new animations, ... but the same gooey controls - they're just not as responsive as "Madden"'s.

It's madness to think that Climax can excuse Sudeki's awful storyline and blasé characters with some interesting stabs at combat, when there are so many competing RPGs that offer quality in every respect rather than just one or two.

After the grueling long exploration levels, I found myself craving a good catfight. Unfortunately, the simple combos and lifeless combatants make the fighting in the game more like a catnap.

As it stands now, ESPN looks better, but it doesn't feel better. It's pleather not leather, nutri-sweet not sugar, and that's not going to get them far in the long run.

There's absolutely no excuse for the GameCube version to offer only two-player action when it could so easily be expanded to include four and make full use of all those wonderful controller ports.

The problem with this control innovation is that the game often requires you to perform very particular movements (such as jump in the air, and grab a pole with your whip) with imprecise controls forcing you to playing the puzzles over and over until you are ready to rip your fur out.

If you have little cousins who don't care what kind of games you buy them, but just enjoy getting new games for their PlayStation 2, this is what you can get them. If you got it for yourself, you'd probably forget you owned it in about a week.

While the new characters and features unquestionably add new life to the game, Vol. 2 isn't really different enough from its predecessor to be sold as a stand-alone title -- it's much more an expansion pack than an independent product, and the $40 seems a bit excessive.

Symphonia isn't any great shakes as a narrative, and its graphics may inspire more hate than love, but it's fun to play, and that's the important part.

One of the most frustrating elements of the game is the sense of helplessness in controlling and customizing units and squads, and setting up offensive tactical maneuvers. In the end however, the amalgamation of storyline and gameplay is successfully delivered as a truly unique experience in Perimeter.

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.

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.

The best part of Reshef of Destruciton is the three free trading cards that come with the game.

A big reason why the things you do are so much fun is because the controls are exactly like the game needs them to be.

Spider-Man 2 is not perfect, but it's innovative, with some of the quickest and most fluid movement since Ninja Gaiden. If you like the character, this game will let you feel like him more than any previous title, and that in itself makes Spider-Man 2 a success.