FFVIA is a mostly great port of a mostly great game, and that makes it entirely worth having. If this has to be the end of the GBA's lifespan, we can't think of a better way to go.

A game that desperately needed another six months of beta-testing.

Control issues aside, Battlestations: Midway is a fun game if you're into strategy titles. Just throwing mad amounts of units at each new problem really doesn't work here, since you have finite resources and no unit is really impervious to attack from any other unit.

Rogue Galaxy does a lot of things very well, and it's an enjoyable, recommended RPG trip. But in the end, it feels like it's missing the intangibles that make up a true masterpiece.

The mixing of genres is cool, and adds a unique twist to the play mechanics, but honestly, Midway would have been much more user-friendly had it been either an action game or a real-time strategy affair -- not both.

Fuzion Frenzy 2 isn't terrible, so if you're desperate for a simple, safe party game, it fits the bill. Unfortunately, it fits the bill in so lackluster a manner, it's hard to see why they bothered.

Exploration and variety take a backseat to the constant stream of jokes (an unavoidable trade-off, given the series' episodic nature). Everything else is unmitigated and unapologetic fluff -- the joy is in Sam and Max's wit, after all -- and seasoned adventure gamers might find the game too simple to really sink their teeth into.

Remarkably well-honed-arguably Paradox's finest achievement in the form to date.

LOH III ends a series that at first was tolerable, but with a frightening flatline in the level of quality, it only cements itself as dead-center average.

Hotel Dusk is in a class of its own, with a vastly more interesting story and setting than its predecessor. It's stylish, intriguing, and unique -- definitely worth tracking down.

Pirates!'s brand of potluck goofing around works outstandingly in portable form. Sure, it can get a bit repetitive over long sessions, but that's why a game such as Pirates! belongs on a stop-and-go handheld in the first place.

As this is pretty much "March Madness 06" with a new cover athlete -- which we liked fine a year ago (it scored a 7.5) -- we don't see any reason to choose this over the better and cheaper "College Hoops 2K7."

It's a distant No. 2 to this year's unquestionably better "College Hoops 2K7."

The Burning Crusade is more of a resurrection than an expansion, a vast and munificent span of content that both refines and totally invalidates what came before it.

The whole thing skates dangerously close to the "edutainment" realm by building its core mechanic around reading comprehension and deductive reasoning, but then again, DS gamers weaned on Brain Age will likely welcome the cerebral stimulation.

It lacks the eye-popping unpredictability of its predecessors. And fumbling to conform to some of the more arcane controller positions can take you right out of the game. Despite these modest shortcomings, though, WarioWare should be a welcome addition to any Wii library.

The game gets away from these roots far too soon and often, delving into middling mech territory with brain-dead humans broken up by rote boss battles and a forgettable story. Sleek graphics and a fast start can't mask what's an entertaining but ultimately disposable diversion.

The Shield is too little, too late; what would've been a merely mediocre license tie-in is now, due to its very late birth, simply a bad game.

The game's tightly focused plotting and puzzles work great in three-hour chunks and keep it free of the rampant illogic that most graphic adventures eventually succumb to&at least, when you consider the weird world that Sam and Max inhabit.

With improvements to the A.I. and presentation, Bethesda could be onto something with this simplified "squad-based" style to starship combat.

While it doesn't elevate Rainbow Six back to the genre-defining franchise it once was, it's still a solid, fun game; plus, thanks to Unreal Engine 3, it looks great.

Slim on modes (no online), the storyline is poppycock, and the lone minigame requires multiple controllers (while stroke play and match play don't). Still, there's plenty of good here, but for every bit of it, there's a spoonful of frustrating (sounds like real golf, doesn't it?).

There are too many blown buckets because the shot stick seems a bit inconsistent, especially right around the hoop where players should be more willing to roll in a layup or go for a dunk.

Whatever the hardware, Zelda is a brilliant adventure: a stunning achievement, and reason enough to dust off that abandoned GameCube.

Full Auto 2's like an arcade game -- fun in short spurts. And the tough secondary objectives in career mode (finish without dying, destroy certain crates, outscore your foe, and so on) help in keeping me coming back in order to unlock the secret cars and weapons.

In its current state, it's a crippled -- yet still decent -- wrestling title. Much like its console big brother.

All the focus on the game's details comes at the expense of its questionable design and overall lack of cohesion. It's here that the latest Castlevania comes up short.

A game that essentially pushes the PSP in all of its features: graphics, portability, Internet, extra hardware doohickeys, and multiplayer. Sure, it might have hiccups (occasional ghosting, quirky A.I., the one analog nub), but Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops is not only a fine MGS title -- it's also a damn good showcase for the PSP.