This game feels first and foremost like a pinball game, and a pretty damn good one at that. The Metroid motif's all well and good, but it's really only the icing on the cake.

Pteredon manages to nail a few things fairly well, but it's not enough to light up the entire game, and all you're left with in the end is awesome female Vietnamese voice acting.

The game has all the things that have made "Battlefield" a PC favorite. In particular, the vehicles work well, maybe even better with the controller. Flying a helicopter with two sticks feels natural and the ground vehicles, like tanks and humvees, are a snap.

Sims 2 for consoles is definitely not on par with the depth and ingenuity that its PC sibling offers but it's refreshing to play a relaxed version of the game that doesn't require as much surveying and emotional input.

If you don't own any other console and you just really want to stomp those arrows, by all means, go right ahead. For everyone else, there's simply nothing to see.

Sims 2 for consoles is definitely not on par with the depth and ingenuity that its PC sibling offers but it's refreshing to play a relaxed version of the game that doesn't require as much surveying and emotional input.

It's great fun, a fantastic example of substance and style, and provides depth at nearly every turn. What better way to combat the armies of darkness?

Age of Empires III takes the conservative approach to the conundrum of how to craft a new experience that remains faithful to the original. While that ensures fans will immediately feel at home with an old friend, it's questionable whether it sets another standard, or merely follows its own.

It's a game that dares you to exhilarate while hammering you with consequence. In short, Shadow of the Colossus breaks storytelling barriers none of us knew existed. It's the rare game for which the often overused words "ground-breaking" were truly reserved for, and it's enough to make you regret every stupid coin you ever collected.

It's an entertaining attempt to revive an old favorite without straying too far from what made it so good in the first place. It's not the most impressive game you'll see on DS this fall, but it's one of the most fun.

One of those rare games that manages to not only be creative and challenge many of the game industry norms, but do so within the confines of an extremely entertaining and polished game... One of the best games it's seen in quite some time.

As fanservice, The Warriors is a treat for anyone who loves the movie, and as a beat-em-up, it outclasses recent efforts from competitors. Yet as a complete package, it's somewhat inconsistent.

It brings to your mouse and keyboard the most adrenalin and expletive producing firefights of any shooter made to date, and not just by a little bit. How good? Good enough that facing a mountain of hype-fueled expectations F.E.A.R. will blow you away and you'll be ready to play through it again on the next higher difficulty before it's even over.

As fanservice, The Warriors is a treat for anyone who loves the movie, and as a beat-em-up, it outclasses recent efforts from competitors. Yet as a complete package, it's somewhat inconsistent.

If you're a fan of strategy games, you'll love Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance. And if you want a game that will bring your GameCube out of retirement, this is the one.

"Dynasty Warriors" is an excellent series, but Devil Kings is just downright exciting to play, and there's something about being able to remember the names of the characters that's nice too.

It's by no means a bad game, and is certainly a very admirable effort in the context of the Rush franchise, but its contemporaries ultimately outclass it.

Most of the environments -- despite some moody weather effects in the eerie flooded streets of Poland -- look blocky and blah, especially compared to the much prettier "Battlefield 2." But if you absolutely demand realism over pizzazz, you'll have to re-enlist with SOCOM. It's still the most true-to-life shooter you'll lock-and-load on PS2. [*Single Player review]

It's a great game in the same way its predecessor -- "SSX 3" -- was a great game. It is not, however, a great game in the same way "SSX Tricky" was before that -- that is to say, it won't go on to be <I>one of the greats.</I>

But for all its fire and flash pyrotechnics and soulless premise and execution, there's a delightful source of naiveté powering the proceedings here -- like a raw, juvenile fantasy torn straight out of the id and slopped wholesale onto our PCs. [*Single-Player review]

Romancing SaGa will please those gamers who want a very long game. There are many locations to discover and explore, and each is delightfully designed, although the tedium of fighting the same kinds of monsters may get in the way of leveling up.

As a budget release, Renegade Paintball is a bit more robust than you would imagine, but the buggy gameplay, along with several more oddities will be quick to remind you that yes, this is yet another half-baked budgetware title to forget about.

It's by no means a bad game, and is certainly a very admirable effort in the context of the Rush franchise, but its contemporaries ultimately outclass it.

It's a great game in the same way its predecessor -- "SSX 3" -- was a great game. It is not, however, a great game in the same way "SSX Tricky" was before that -- that is to say, it won't go on to be <I>one of the greats.</I>

As a budget release, Renegade Paintball is a bit more robust than you would imagine, but the buggy gameplay, along with several more oddities will be quick to remind you that yes, this is yet another half-baked budgetware title to forget about.

It's a great game in the same way its predecessor -- "SSX 3" -- was a great game. It is not, however, a great game in the same way "SSX Tricky" was before that -- that is to say, it won't go on to be <I>one of the greats.</I>

Oogie's Revenge isn't a particularly great action game, the story's hackneyed beyond belief, and there are plenty of reasons to be upset about the game's music, easily one of the reasons people are so crazy about the original film. In the end, though, it is a sequel to The Nightmare Before Christmas.

Adding to the repetitive mayhem is the insane decision to have "This Is Halloween" from the soundtrack play whenever Jack enters combat. No, not every once in a while or during a boss battle, but every single freakin' time you encounter an enemy, that familiar tune kicks in.