Some players will be creeped out playing soldier in a whitewashed mirror-universe version of an ugly war that's still in the headlines. The score is not being docked for it, but it's something that needs to be mentioned.

It'd need to deliver a pretty substantial kick in the ass to get anyone to purchase it yet again, but Far Cry: Instincts -- Predator falls quite a bit short in the asskick department. It just doesn't offer enough new material beyond yet another noun tacked to the end of its ever-lengthening name.

I suppose that some gamers out there are willing -- nay, perhaps even eager -- to play a long game of uninspired levels strung together with an inconsequential character-creation system. But then, some people also like to watch "Friends." In reruns.

But even with sluttier graphics and hot girl-on-girl-(on-girl-on-girl) next-gen processing capabilities, the reversal-heavy game is unfortunately afflicted by the not-so-sexy slow reaction time. The venues, digital vixens, and excitably slick moves all convey an illusion of frenzied energy that the reaction time just cannot match.

If you still haven't given the series a try by now and want the best version of the best installment, a rental is a good choice. Just don't be surprised if you find yourself overwhelmed with familiarity this time next year.

Perhaps the weakest addition is a new targeting mode that allows the actual aiming of shots.

Space Rangers 2 is one of those rare games that you don't just finish and stick on a shelf. Even after "beating" the game several times you're left with the feeling of having just scratched the surface.

The extra ten bucks buys you much better looking planes and light effects, no slowdown during particularly busy fights, and access to your 360 Live list.

Blazing Angels is a lot of fun, but it's kept down by a lot of irritating levels. Hopefully for the sequel, we'll see an improvement in the mission types which aren't just dogfighting.

Fans of classic games -- or anyone who has ever longed to save the world by answering trivia about the Golden Girls, really -- can't afford to miss it.

For any other legacy, this game would have been just fine. For the iconic Godfather series, it really could have been something with more of a Brando stature. But even though it ends up as more of a Tony Soprano, The Godfather still manages to deliver a solid gangster experience.

A welcome return to form for the series. Even the plot revolves around minor characters from "Suikoden II," and the loading screens show the game's characters as they would have been rendered in a 32-bit sprite style, as if Konami is apologizing for the turns taken after that era.

While it may be the most lackluster chapter to date, it's still pretty entertaining -- but only in small doses. Just be aware that the price is too high and the replayability is too low.

Factor in all of the unlockable goodies and the innovative 3D effects, and you've got yet another genre-defining experience out of Kojima Productions that sits alongside games like Boktai as true boundary-pushing efforts.

For any other legacy, this game would be just fine. For the iconic Godfather series, it really could have been something with more of a Brando weight. But even though it's more of a Tony Soprano, The Godfather: The Game still manages to deliver a solid gangster experience.

Much like that infamous Japanese MMORPG, Oblivion promises total freedom of character generation but fails to deliver that perfectly.

Oblivion is easily the finest open-ended RPG to date. It lacks the out-of-the-box crippling technical issues of every other Elder Scrolls game, looks great, and delivers on every promise Bethesda made during its development.

But at heart, it's simply Tetris, on the go, with online multiplayer and a highly polished presentation. And that makes it a must-have for anyone with a DS.

FPS fans should appreciate the rich Metroid universe, and Metroid fans should recognize the technical achievements NST pulled off. Then everybody can be happy.

Better than any PSP shooter yet, Dark Mirror functions without a second analog stick. The extraordinary grace of the remaining controls is enough to almost forget how nice dual-stick control would be.

Sure, it's derivative as hell, but there's nothing getting in the way of actually enjoying the game now.

Actually being able to see what's in front of you without having to stop and enter the first-person viewpoint is a godsend.

No doubt we'll all be sick of it by the time Powered Up 6 rolls around, but you can hardly hold Capcom's inevitable future sins against what amounts to one of the most addictive PSP games to date.

This isn't a game where any session's likely to be "relaxing," but it is a game where every session's going to be rewarding.

The difference between Parallel Lines and "DRIV3R" is that while the previous game was a pretty half-assed "GTA" clone, Parallel Lines is more like a three-quarters-assed "GTA" clone. Maybe even four-fifths-assed.

Going head-to-head can make for some surprisingly complex, drawn-out games, and if the single-player campaign is fun, going through it co-op is 10 times better.

The big new addition is Tokyo. Fortunately, the developers have made the city available by default right on the menu screen, so for those of you worried that you might have to play through the original three cities to get to the new stuff, worry not.

The big new addition is Tokyo. Fortunately, the developers have made the city available by default right on the menu screen, so for those of you worried that you might have to play through the original three cities to get to the new stuff, worry not.