Though I'm open to new possibilities and reinterpretations of Mario Party, playing this game made me want to just jump on my Gamecube and play the original console versions -- even if I have to play against 3 CPU players because frankly, being the only player on a board game that's advertised as a party is just disheartening.

Ubisoft's obvious dedication and purity of vision shines through in every single minute that you're playing. It never seems to get old, it's rarely frustrating, and delivers its payload of stealth, action, strategy and exploration right on target. If there's a more complete gaming experience on Xbox, I've yet to see it.

The absence of the thumb stick perhaps dampens game play the most. Like we saw with "Mario DS," 3D platformers are heavily reliant on analog control, and the DS touch screen makes for a very poor analog stick indeed.

Flashy, fun, and playable -- albeit in slightly handicapped form -- this fantastic compilation is superior in many ways to Capcom's own superlative "Street Fighter Anniversary Collection," and sets an early standard for handheld 2D fighters.

If there's one thing you can say about Head On, it's that it certainly provides you with plenty of game to play.

Seeing as how Tiger is one of the launch titles for the PSP, the game's atrocious load times are understandable, but entirely inexcusable.

The sheer quantity of content here astounds: Underground's timer-less Story mode, the original-style Classic mode, robust editing options (including the ability to map a mug shot from the memory stick to your created character's head), and requisite Wi-Fi play.

It would be nice to have a longer main adventure or some mini-games or something to give the game a little bit more meat on its bones, but if you temper expectations, Spider-Man 2 delivers on its promise.

One of the few games out there that is equally fun for 10 seconds or for 10 hours.

By hiring a live events team of twenty or so digital actors and writers to plan events and step into the shoes of the familiar main characters they've been providing opportunities for player involvment in unique plot developments on a surprisingly regular basis, with interesting things happening every few days.

While the game does look great in still shots, when it's in motion, it never maintains a steady framerate throughout an entire scene.

The verdict is clear, this is the epitome of great racing, handheld or otherwise. It's a greatest hits collection of the greatest arcade racer of all time, presented as stylishly and lovingly as possible. The words 'fast,' 'exciting' and 'beautiful' applies equally to the cars, tracks and gameplay.

It's also a travesty that the original arcade games aren't included in this collection (though, perhaps Sega felt those would invalidate these new installments -- especially in the case of Golden Axe, which just plain sucks).

This game is great precisely because it's an original take on a familiar world.

It's easily one of the most affecting interactive experiences to come along in ages -- the kind of game you continue playing in your mind long after you switch the system off.

Fun despite its forgettable narrative, and painfully long load times. Fun in the RPG sense, fun in the no-brainer button mashing sense, and fun in the kill monsters with your buddies sense.

Manages to be solid, yet terribly underwhelming, and ultimately poorly-designed for its intended platform.

Feature-rich and full of worthy diversions, Unleashed's major drawbacks are ergonomically taxing controls (more the fault of the hardware), a horrid soundtrack, some less-than-user-friendly considerations in the various modes, and "Legacy of Kain"-esque load times, which is to say they're really long.

FPS snobs often talk smack about the TimeSplitters franchise for lacking sophistication and for being a bit silly, but the key to its success has always been that it puts fun ahead of any pretension. If that's what you value most, you could do far worse.

Given a choice between these broken versions of classics or simply not having these games on DS at all, I think in the end I'd rather have not had them. At least then there'd have been hope that someone could have done them justice, someday.

Unfortunately, a fatal flaw creeps up as the battles grow larger: unbearable slow down. It gums up the works when too many soldiers surround you, and makes the game almost unplayable.

It's a beautiful game, with an enormous amount of gameplay to keep you occupied. If you want something that really shows what the PSP is capable of, there are few better demos than this.

Not a bad game by any stretch, but simply feels half-baked-somewhat of a throwback to "NBA Shootout 2000" on my PlayStation, when I was expecting something a bit more contemporary.

The campaign is terrific on any difficulty level, and there's always multiplayer if you need go get your base building freak on. Act of War is a heck of a package that will please any self-respecting RTS enthusiast.

The game's graphics are still dated despite the new background changes and themed stages. But it's no biggie -- the monkeys are still sucrosely cute, and the levels are well designed.

The gameplay isn't as rich as it could have been, and it generally doesn't live up to the stature of the classic PSone title, which is disappointing, but the smooth action, appealing graphics, and funny dialogue warrant this game a passing grade.

It scores big points by offering the most strategic Xbox Live experience available. Patient players willing to take the time to continually tweak and test their arsenals of skills will find themselves with a new favorite game to play online.

The game's graphics are still dated despite the new background changes and themed stages. But it's no biggie -- the monkeys are still sucrosely cute, and the levels are well designed.