Sure, not everything here is a winner, but there's enough good stuff that the flops are a sort of bonus rather than a nuisance.

Fairly meaty, but ultimate a godsend for retro-junkies rather than general audiences.

Taken as a whole -- online included -- Fireteam Bravo 2 is a notable, laudable step above its predecessor. But for those of you with no interest in playing in infrastructure mode, don't expect too much more of a good thing. It's a step up, to be sure - just not a very big one.

It has lots of small pluses, but not enough of it feels new or captivating. Far too short on thrills, Okayville just needs more pizzazz.

It has lots of small pluses, but not enough of it feels new or captivating. Far too short on thrills, Okayville just needs more pizzazz.

Locking on to a specific enemy is a crapshoot. The character faces are bad enough that we were actually shocked to find that they had the rights to use the actors' likenesses. We could write a book about everything wrong with Superman Returns.

Periods of sneaking around are rewarded with spectacular firefights, and every so often there's a huge set piece that really shows off how great the Unreal 3 engine is for big, open battles.

This year, the game's graphical reworking tips off with the implementation of a Face Gen system that churns out countless random players. The effect is massive.

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.

Don't be fooled into thinking Red Steel reinvents the FPS. It's nothing more than a ho-hum shooter with a creative but flawed gimmick stapled on.

Truly fantastic. It's not a reinvention of the genre like Ocarina was -- but it's much better, because it takes all its predecessors' raw ideas, perfects them, and creates an experience that's at once new and familiar. It's rare to find a launch game that truly justifies the purchase of a new console, but this is precisely that.

Shallow fun after all, and it's fun nonetheless. On that mental list we all have about the Wii's capabilities, it's safe to cross off "racing."

As a demo that gives a glimpse into the Wii's gaming future, Wii Sports is reassuring, charming, and good, clean fun.

If you can round up three of your buddies who are ready to get their bumper car on, then you'll find more than your money's worth with Big Bumpin', and only that way. The drop-off from multiplayer to single player is vast.

While the online play is a mess, the offline content is definitely worth a run-through, as well as the $3.99 price tag.

Best taken in short bursts, the King's solo effort is a decent romp through the world of fast-food capitalism, but only if one can stomach the incredibly frustrating camera and challenges that don't quite test the ol' reflexes.

Ultimate Alliance is more than enough fun to last through the main story -- especially if you bring a couple friends -- but whether you'll be returning to it again and again over the course of months is dependent largely on your superhero obsession and tolerance for repetition.

A sequel worthy of the other Hawk games I spent countless hours playing.

If you're looking for a more full-featured game, with greater variety -- and don't mind the cartoony milieu of Gunpey DS -- then you will find this version not only a superior value, but a superior game.

The PSP version is the purest taste of Gunpey you're likely to receive anywhere. The skin collecting is addictive, and as long as you don't mind the brutal, linear, hours-long grind needed to collect them all, then this is probably the version most older gamers will go for.

And while it's true that every brain training game is probably assisted with a healthy dose of pseudoscience, it's Brain Boost that shows its seams the most. And because of that, Brain Boost feels the most condescending.

In short, the Brain Boost games are curt, emotionless, audacious, and as a tool for self-improvement, a little bit pointless.

And that map editor -- when United maintains its stability -- is undoubtedly the game's marquee feature.

You steer with the analog stick like normal, but then you can tilt the controller in a tight turn for a tiny bit of extra turning boost. And that's just dumb. It's like adding a "turn harder!" button that hardly does anything anyway.

Despite the learning curve, Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 is a worthy purchase. Even if you can't find people to play in the two-player modes, the story mode has enough action-packed content to soak up the entire DBZ legacy, and to keep you busy for a long, long time.

Xiaolin Showdown has the elements of a good game, but the execution is so sloppy and shallow that it ends up falling flat.

Essentially, what the player is buying is a competent music video player with microphone attachments.

Come for the intricate and frequently difficult single-player mode; stay for the entertainingly goofy minigames guaranteed to hook your most obstinate nongaming loved ones.