For Wii owners looking for a traditional action game in the vein of Castlevania or God of War, right now, this is still one of your best bets.

Ultimately, Afro falls into the same pitfalls as almost every other game based on a movie/television license: It presents an edited down version of a story that's familiar to fans but indecipherable to newcomers, wrapped up in a generic game housing. It looks great. It sounds great. But, otherwise, it's a mashup of characters and situations that makes little sense.

Ultimately, Afro falls into the same pitfalls as almost every other game based on a movie/television license: It presents an edited down version of a story that's familiar to fans but indecipherable to newcomers, wrapped up in a generic game housing. It looks great. It sounds great. But, otherwise, it's a mashup of characters and situations that makes little sense.

Like so many games that try to straddle a balance between mass market and fervent gaming enthusiasts, what Big Bang does well and what it does bad are both incredibly noticeable. Yet, on the whole, it's worth a try. Weird.

New San Van itself is a phenomenal accomplishment, a tightly designed playground that begs for physical interaction without overly looking the part.

New San Van itself is a phenomenal accomplishment, a tightly designed playground that begs for physical interaction without overly looking the part. It's easy to feel like you're a skater noticing the potential around you, rather than a gamer looking at visual footnotes of design.

Evolution's new localization justifies this PSP port's existence for fans of the franchise. The PS1 version's overly literal translation and amateur-hour voice work was mercifully binned, replaced here with an expanded, well-acted script delivered by capable actors.

Interpol doesn't do enough to create or maintain interest or excitement. If you're already into the idea of finding hidden items, Interpol will keep you busy for a few hours (including bonus "spot the difference" puzzles, ala QuickSpot on DS), but if not, the bland interface and narrative are unlikely to win you over.

You'll spend so much time fighting the Wii Remote and accidentally building towers in the wrong places that you might as well just go to a backyard sandbox or actual beach.

With only four modes, no unlockable incentives to encourage multiple deployments (besides trophies), and a cartoony art style, Crash doesn't sound exciting on paper. But when you zip around, wasp-like, through the levels -- perching on platforms while grabbing out-of-reach body armor and taking potshots at the opposition -- the Contra-meets-TF2 gameplay gels perfectly, keeping you from setting the controller down. And really, that's all an online shooter needs to do.

Absolutely nothing about Rise of the Argonauts stands out as special, and just when you think the game's about to take a turn for the better (at least in terms of reworking the Jason and the Argonauts story), its fundamental and technical problems -- including some annoying loading times in the Xbox 360 version -- bring it way back down.

Absolutely nothing about Rise of the Argonauts stands out as special, and just when you think the game's about to take a turn for the better (at least in terms of reworking the Jason and the Argonauts story), its fundamental and technical problems -- including some annoying loading times in the Xbox 360 version -- bring it way back down.

Maybe it's the spot-on humor based on the industry I work in, or perhaps just accumulated experience from the earlier episodes, but whatever the reason, 8-Bit Is Enough certainly embodies the maxim of saving the best for last. Well, until the assumedly in-the-works second season rolls around.

Maybe it's the spot-on humor based on the industry I work in, or perhaps just accumulated experience from the earlier episodes, but whatever the reason, 8-Bit Is Enough certainly embodies the maxim of saving the best for last. Well, until the assumedly in-the-works second season rolls around.

What really sets Persona 4 apart, though, is its endearing, relatable cast.

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.

At a glance, SPRay seems like a mediocre outing on a platform already overstuffed with useless titles. But shipping an outright broken game is inexcusable.

A somewhat archaic, unpolished platformer belied by a novel premise and seemingly interesting world to explore. I enjoyed it enough as an introduction to a very cool, deliberate aesthetic, but it's tough not to desire a Mushroom Men game that executes its ideas more skillfully -- never mind one that takes more than five hours to finish.

If the team behind The Fallen King had just made it a lot shorter and perhaps added some additional challenges, like time trials, it might have helped with the diminishing returns I felt from each successive level.

The game design is often thoughtless and shortsighted. Rockstar treats Liberty City as a backdrop...when it should have been the stage itself.

Prince of Persia delivers well-crafted gameplay that borrows elements from its predecessors (and plenty of other titles) but makes great strides in developing a new identity for a series -- and a character that isn't as completely annoying as you might think from the first few lines of dialogue -- that seemingly lost its focus over the past few years. Of course, some issues here and there disrupt its goal in surpassing The Sands of Time, but it's an incredibly enjoyable journey nonetheless.

Prince of Persia delivers well-crafted gameplay that borrows elements from its predecessors (and plenty of other titles) but makes great strides in developing a new identity for a series -- and a character that isn't as completely annoying as you might think from the first few lines of dialogue -- that seemingly lost its focus over the past few years. Of course, some issues here and there disrupt its goal in surpassing "The Sands of Time", but it's an incredibly enjoyable journey nonetheless.

Seriously, though -- for Kingdom Hearts fans who missed out on COM the first time, this is definitely the best way to play it. While the new stuff is small (a few so-so minigames in Hundred Acre Wood, additional voice acting from the Sixth Sense kid, etc.), my memory of Chain of Memories hasn't changed: It's a pleasant little title that reminds me how much I want Kingdom Hearts 3.

Some will likely fight the flaws for another chance to terrorize their '70s-era brethren, but if the name "Crypto" doesn't bring to mind a litany of past quips, Furon will simply seem like an out-of-touch, thoroughly unpolished romp through mediocrity.

Get Even's cities are simple and fairly nondescript, but the game strikes a smart presentational tone, juxtaposing serious-sounding tunes with the obviously bizarre happenings, not to mention visual words of praise ("Cool!") and amusing human radio transmissions ("Our forces are not equipped to take on 2D targets!"). Frustratingly, it comes at a higher cost than expected, as the initial $5 purchase delivers but a single three-stage mission (about 15 minutes of play).

I can answer the more immediate question -- whether HD Remix holds up in online play -- with a resounding "Hell, yes." Backbone wisely co-opted fan-favorite peer-to-peer platform GGPO.net, which you can essentially think of as the netcode equivalent of the Google algorithm. This crazy Internet voodoo works well, and it makes for the most lag-free versus play this side of a brick-and-mortar arcade.

I can answer the more immediate question -- whether HD Remix holds up in online play -- with a resounding "Hell, yes." Backbone wisely co-opted fan-favorite peer-to-peer platform GGPO.net, which you can essentially think of as the netcode equivalent of the Google algorithm. This crazy Internet voodoo works well, and it makes for the most lag-free versus play this side of a brick-and-mortar arcade.

For fans, the reason to pick up Chrono Trigger is simply because it's available, intact, and enhanced. For newcomers, it's because the game has easily withstood the test of time.