Radiata Stories is a game that coasts on charm and stirs up some clever ideas. Like its hero, however, it's too slow, simple, and obvious to overcome its routine existence.

I love the concept of being rewarded for playing a ridiculous amount of hours. Rather than saying "I played Lockdown for 120 hours!", you can say "My character is level 60 and I purchased five outfits, eight new guns, and heavy body armor!"

The hyper-speed of this game makes it feel like more of an arcade experience than a real hockey simulator. It's still a huge step in the right direction, though.

While 2K6 is an excellent game, it's not much different from 2K5, and EA's NHL series is rapidly gaining ground.

The hyper-speed of this game makes it feel like more of an arcade experience than a real hockey simulator. It's still a huge step in the right direction, though.

Great graphics, an updated card database and an excellent pseudo-adventure mode make this the franchise's best handheld effort to date.

It's clogged up with new features and ideas that simply seem gratuitous. The emphasis on driving skill seems to have been diminished, and in its place the Tiburon team appears to have spent the last year asking "what more can we do to add something new to this thing?"

The minimal presentation, weak interface and comparatively paltry selection of titles hardly seems worthy of a golden anniversary.

It's an amazingly thoughtful upgrading of the finest motorcycling game series on the market, and with the addition of the Extreme mode, Climax and THQ have taken their stock standard GP sim and taken it into a realm of its own.

It's clogged up with new features and ideas that simply seem gratuitous. The emphasis on driving skill seems to have been diminished, and in its place the Tiburon team appears to have spent the last year asking "what more can we do to add something new to this thing?"

The minimal presentation, weak interface and comparatively paltry selection of titles hardly seems worthy of a golden anniversary. These games may be classics, but Namco's really pushing its luck here.

The minimal presentation, weak interface and comparatively paltry selection of titles hardly seems worthy of a golden anniversary.

Perfect for those who want nothing but a straightforward, hack-and-slash game. It won't offer you substance, style, or even repeat gaming, but at least you won't need any illicit drugs to make your mind numb.

Superstar Baseball was obviously meant to be played in short bursts instead of long sessions. (The lack of any sort of regular season mode ensures this.) And as this simple type of game that's neither too deep nor too shallow, Superstar's "swing at anything, steal all the time, watch out for the Thwomps in right field" brand of baseball is tough to beat.

An excellent game for the wrestling purists, and while it would actually have been nice to get a little more good ol' WWE brand tackiness, it's hard to decline what the game offers: beautiful bodies on beautiful display, doing beautiful violence.

187 basically defines "average." While the graphics err on the nicer side and the story dips a bit below the equator, most of the game is competent but unspectacular. Every good feature seems to have a bad one that balances it out.

187 basically defines "average." While the graphics err on the nicer side and the story dips a bit below the equator, most of the game is competent but unspectacular. Every good feature seems to have a bad one that balances it out.

Although far from perfect in terms of pacing or narrative, it provides a huge free-roaming playground in which you can let loose and just have fun breaking stuff with scant regard for the overall point of the game.

A game that is certainly violent, absolutely profane, but also acceptably playable and filled with enough replay value and customization to warrant a purchase as opposed to a rental. But in terms of sheer polish and finesse, "Def Jam Fight for New York" is still the standard bearer against which these sorts of games should be judged.

Everyone who enjoys portable gaming, old greats or any combination of the two owes it to themself to pick up a copy of Battle Collection. It would be a great purchase even if PSP software weren't so hard to come by these days; as it stands, it's one of the best titles available for the system.

One warning to potential consumers, though: The bizarrely long cut-scenes (and the baby-game story they painfully tell) will bore any gamer old enough to read them. Avert your gaze.

Although far from perfect in terms of pacing or narrative, it provides a huge free-roaming playground in which you can let loose and just have fun breaking stuff with scant regard for the overall point of the game.

A game that is certainly violent, absolutely profane, but also acceptably playable and filled with enough replay value and customization to warrant a purchase as opposed to a rental. But in terms of sheer polish and finesse, "Def Jam Fight for New York" is still the standard bearer against which these sorts of games should be judged.

Ultimate Destruction is certainly the best Hulk game yet, and despite a few flaws stands tall as one of the best of this particular niche of the action genre. Hulk fans will adore it, but action fans definitely shouldn't overlook it.

This is the type of game you can play to pass the time on the morning commute, while watching TV, or waiting in line for your husband to buy power tools. Touching is good, play well with others, etc. -- Nintendogs is a unique game that brings something new to the DS.

This is the type of game you can play to pass the time on the morning commute, while watching TV, or waiting in line for your husband to buy power tools. Touching is good, play well with others, etc. -- Nintendogs is a unique game that brings something new to the DS.

This is the type of game you can play to pass the time on the morning commute, while watching TV, or waiting in line for your husband to buy power tools. Touching is good, play well with others, etc. -- Nintendogs is a unique game that brings something new to the DS.

A goldmine of tactical riches. The gameplay is fast (once you've dribbled past the Teen Beat dialogue) and the game looks sharp.