I fully expected EA to lay it on thick with the clichéd martial arts mumbo jumbo, but aside from oft-repeated comments from the sensei, the ninja theme is thankfully understated, and the clean visuals are more than adequate for the simplistic mechanics.

I fully expected EA to lay it on thick with the clichéd martial arts mumbo jumbo, but aside from oft-repeated comments from the sensei, the ninja theme is thankfully understated, and the clean visuals are more than adequate for the simplistic mechanics.

For this season, consider it the way you would a September game with your team already eliminated from the chase: If you're the type that wants to check out the young prospects called up, you'll probably be right at home. If you've already been watching preseason football for a few weeks and are enjoying the first NFL games, it might not be your ticket.

A must-play that'll dominate your PSP all summer long.

It's far more demanding than its fellow DS-based roguelikes, lacking, say, the cuddly mascots of Pokémon Mystery Dungeon or the cumulative experience-building of Izuna. But it's remarkably well crafted, with streamlined gameplay that belies its impressive substance.

This year, the game has junked its poorest parts and replaces them with some seriously innovative goodies -- but there are a handful of reasons why we're not jumping for joy and declaring this the must-play baseball title of 2008.

This year, the game has junked its poorest parts and replaces them with some seriously innovative goodies -- but there are a handful of reasons why we're not jumping for joy and declaring this the must-play baseball title of 2008.

MLB 2K8 on the Wii just didn't sparkle enough to make me overly enthusiastic. It's a fun novelty play, but I'm taking a Cubs fan-style "wait till next year" approach with what could very well blossom into a must-play by next season.

I enjoyed Triggerheart, but the game's length is both a good and bad thing -- it has only five levels, and most players will be able to beat them all in about 30 minutes.

Aside from the frustrating control inconsistencies and the abbreviated storyline, this is still a well-made trek through a history that thankfully never happened. Though the sluggish multiplayer mode doesn't even deserve a glance, the predominantly solid mechanics and terrifying premise make this a more than competent deviation for someone itching to kill more Nazis.

I wouldn't recommend Turning Point to anyone, under any circumstances...and if that's not the definition of utter failure, I don't know what is.

Via Domus is fan service through and through, and does deliver one genuinely amazing moment via its ending.

Via Domus is fan service through and through, and does deliver one genuinely amazing moment via its ending.

It atones for its faults with understated strategic depth, an astounding sense of reward (both literal and whimsical), and an inspired difficulty curve that sticks with you to the end. Along with a beat you'll take to your grave.

Worst of all, Ninja Destiny doesn't offer infrastructure play for online battles. All of this, combined with the hollow mechanics and lackluster design, makes it hard for even the most hardcore Naruto fan to appreciate Naruto: Ninja Destiny.

It's cheaper, it has all the bells and whistles of its counterparts, and it has extra playable characters that the 360 ver-sion will never see. But this comes at the expense of clearly crappier-than-360 visuals and controls.

While it might not be worth the asking price for veteran Sega Bass junkies, this is a great opportunity for all you would-be Wii fisherman who happened to miss the boat the first time around.

So the single-player campaign is plenty entertaining. Unfortunately, it's also almost ridiculously short: If you're playing very carefully, you can spend a dozen hours in single-player, but you can almost definitely breeze through in six or so hours, maybe even less.

One half of the time, Frontlines won't work. The copy I downloaded from Steam crashes to the desktop soon after I click start. The retail box, running on Vista and branded Games for Windows, craps out three-fourths of the time I try to join an online game. No joke.

Wanton destruction is still a lot of fun -- I just hope that future installments innovate instead of sticking squarely to the foundations set by the original game. And please, next time around, give us multiplayer that feels like more than an afterthought.

If it weren't held back by a few severely annoying technical issues, it might be the best Arcade title yet.

Yes, this is a low-budget game, but at least they spent their time and money working on the most important aspect: the nuts-and-bolts gameplay. There are 30 tracks and 20 characters buried within, and when you get tired of blowing past the computer, there's a four-player mode with just as many options.

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

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

Even when considered as an action-driven arcade game though, the awkwardness of controlling the namesake swords takes too much away from the overall enjoyment.

The localization team at Capcom should be commended for writing dialogue that is genuinely funny. Basically, if you're a fan of the earlier Phoenix Wright games, you will laugh...a lot. Couple the comedy with Justice's engrossing story and you have a case that would be criminal not to take.

As I played through Dynasty Warriors 6, the series' first entry for this console generation, one thought kept permeating my head: "This is exactly the same game I played in college."

As I played through Dynasty Warriors 6, the series' first entry for this console generation, one thought kept permeating my head: "This is exactly the same game I played in college."