It's just addicting enough for you to stick it out for the entirety of the game, but unless you're in the mood for a stress headache you probably won't bust it out again.

What really brings the story to life is Odin Sphere's brilliant, flowing script, which is almost Shakespearean in places. Combined with the gorgeous art, the eloquent dialogue really cements the illusion that you're playing an animated fairy tale. I can't stress enough how important this is.

Simple? Yes. Fun? Well, only if repetition is your thing. But while the various controllable pirates (Capt. Jack Sparrow, Will Turner, and so on) are mostly identical, at least character-unique, trigger-based sword fatalities offer something different.

Sure, it's cool that you'll find references to some of the more popular third-person action titles, such as Prince of Persia's balance-beam act and hand-over-hand wall crawling, but nothing in here screams innovation.

Sure, it's cool that you'll find references to some of the more popular third-person action titles, such as Prince of Persia's balance-beam act and hand-over-hand wall crawling, but nothing in here screams innovation.

Sure, it's cool that you'll find references to some of the more popular third-person action titles, such as Prince of Persia's balance-beam act and hand-over-hand wall crawling, but nothing in here screams innovation.

Take those problems and add on yawn-inspiring and occasionally frustrating level design and a grand total running time of about six hours for all but the slowest of gamers, and you've got another licensed movie game that's decidedly mediocre.

The act of reloading requires you to physically slide the bullets into the gun with the stylus. Sounds simple (doesn't it always?), but it's not. In fact, it's frustratingly unresponsive.

The Show is a solid game, but where the PS2 (and PSP) versions are inspired, the PS3 offering doesn't give the same feeling of "real" baseball. It's a no-contest this season: For the best new-gen baseball, stick with the most beautiful choice: "MLB 2K7."

Etrian Odyssey will definitely appeal more to the OCD'd than the ADD'd, and its punishing difficulty and very deliberate pacing may turn off younger gamers who grew up on flashier roleplayers. But it offers a real sense of wonder and a sense of accomplishment -- feelings missing from far too many modern games.

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 provides a shockingly large amount of game time (with Separate Ways, expect to be playing this game in the 25-30 hour realm the first time through).

Even without the technical issues, Shrek would have been average at best. But when an already mediocre game comes complete with the types of problems plaguing this product, it's impossible to recommend it at all.

Although the touch screen controls are irritating at times, you may just find yourself enjoying Shrek in spite of them.

And even though CAC is enjoyable in single-player and online multiplayer, it really is one of those games that shine when it's you and your buddies sitting on the same couch and playing on the same TV...And yelling. And throwing elbows.

So it's not going to win any awards. And the lack of multiplayer plus the linear gameplay means minimal replay value. But Infernal is just clever enough to warrant a mild recommendation to shooter fans looking for a fix. Just don't expect any miracles.

Because of all the extra micromanagement you need to worry about in C&C3 -- the aforementioned problems were never issues in "BFME2" -- some campaign missions become aggravatingly difficult. The A.I. opponent doesn't let up on the accelerator even though you can't manage everything as quickly as you can on a PC.

When you start seeing the same character model serve as two different people during an in-game cut-scene, you'll truly know all is lost. There's nothing remotely unique or engaging about Driver '76 (or its lifeless multiplayer) to balance the endless parade of frustrations. Steer clear.

The repetition waters down the game until you're left with the ridiculously overdone story -- which, admittedly, is all the die-hard fans really want and probably good enough for the financial bottom line. So to say "fans will love it" is not a lazy end to a review -- in this case, it's the plain truth.

ArmA is a game best left to guys who know how to disassemble a .223 rifle.

Another major issue is the game's tragically stupid A.I.

If you're up to it, this is certainly the best Spider-Man game that's graced a PC yet, even if it's also one of the toughest.

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.

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.

The obvious rush has resulted a very boring and lifeless Manhattan. We all know the Wii isn't exactly a powerhouse when it comes to graphics, but when it looks like an early port of the PSP game, you're better off looking elsewhere (PS3/Xbox 360) for your Spidey fix -- this isn't even worthy of being called a "guilty pleasure."

Heatseeker manages to nail the whole "pointing the Wii Remote at the screen" thing, rather than introducing flight-combat gameplay, and as such fails to grasp the idea that you're in a damn fighter jet.

There's simply very little allure to Cube, outside of the slim satisfaction you'll glean from solving the more challenging levels.

When all's said and done, Episode 6 (like its predecessors) doesn't stretch much past the two-hour mark, but it's all just as well, since the assorted puzzles never get tough enough to become frustrating, nor easy enough to insult you.