These shifts in the gameplay keep it fresh most of the way through, and the excellent visuals keep you coming back for more.

It grabs hold of the intangible elements of interactive entertainment -- atmosphere, compelling gameplay, and emotion -- and runs with them.

By providing an impressive level of detail in a game where detail is essential, and by including intuitive enhancements to the player experience, this is one title that should easily land on the “must have” list for any gamer.

It summons into an already great game compelling storytelling elements, excellent graphical variety, solid strategy, and extremely high polish and production value.

Even though the product has a complicated editor, a huge install size, and an absence of depicted passengers, its impressive graphics, sound effects, and realism make up for its shortcomings.

Compared to other racing games on the market, Wipeout 64 has one tremendous advantage: its graphics are absolutely gorgeous. However, a racer lives and dies by its gameplay, and Wipeout 64 has that locked up pretty well too. The control is dead-on and the courses are well designed.

What I encountered here was a very difficult combination: incredible creative innovation combined with a high degree of faithfulness to the original film.

In a market full of dull sequels, here's a follow-up that shows how expansion should be done.

Master of Orion 2 is just INTENSE! I absolutely loved this game and if you liked the original Master of Orion I think you will too.

Not a very daring expansion, with battles still limited to two factions and maps that are, in many ways, a step backwards in strategy. At its price, however, it certainly delivers.

Playing Full Spectrum Warrior over Xbox Live can become a dangerously addictive hobby, but even without it, the game is an absolute blast. The only thing that I could have asked for is more – more tactics, more weapons, more grenades, more missions, more everything.

The addition of mid-level transitions between land and water also makes for exciting differences in the controls while simultaneously provisioning for some simply amazing environments.

Anyone coming to Onimusha 2 cold will find brilliant beauty, but baffling execution.

The campaign is a bit short even by today's standards, but has phenomenal replayability and enough bonus content to keep you busy for quite some time.

It's got great non-stop action with pretty visuals and its three new playable characters offer a unique gameplay experience, despite its general brevity.

With great story, action, and adventure, presented with beautiful graphics and audio and an intuitive control scheme, this carefully crafted science fiction title fosters genuine caring about what goes on, making it an absolute pleasure to play.

It doesn’t set any new standards, but it’s great fun in both the single- and multiplayer sides of the house.

The graphics are of unprecedented quality, and the gameplay is well implemented, balanced, addictive, and bug-free.

The core gameplay is involving and well executed, and bolstered by a great camera, solid controls and an intuitive interface. However, the sequel lacks any decisively outstanding or revolutionary features that truly invest the player in the storyline.

An extremely approachable game that has a strong foundation for those who are willing to stick with it for the long haul, despite the fact that it tends to wear a bit thin at present due to the vagaries of its random events and a difficulty level that tends to be too easy or too hard, with very little middle ground for experienced players.

Anybody who even kind of liked "Jagged Alliance" or its sequel should have already left by now for the store to pick up a copy.

Entertaining, but not for the hardcore fighting fan. Every move is very easy to pull off, it's more a matter of learning the best combos, and what each character will throw at you so you can properly defend yourself.

If this would have been released sans the law enforcement and Pursuit inspired aspects of the game, it would have been titles Need for Speed: Underground 3, because really that is powering it.

That dazzling indulgence for your eyes, coupled with the all-consuming sound effects, make this such an enjoyable world to just wander through, never mind the gameplay! And yet, one must mind the gameplay, because incredible design and story work were put into the action, and you're going to have your work cut out for you.

For a game that's billed as strictly linear, the multitude of possibilities in Icewind Dale II is striking; its breadth is in its depth, not its scope.

The micromanagement got a bit tedious at times and I found myself having to do too much just to keep things running. I thought the scenario editor was quite good, although I wish I'd been able to have more control over the amount and location of resources, which could have made for even more interesting scenarios.

This game, however, is not for the lighthearted or for those with no flight experience, as even on the easiest of settings pilots will find it very difficult to keep enemies in their sights long enough to shoot them down.

In trying to appeal to all rally tastes, it ends up not being the very best at much of anything. While the car graphics are outstanding, the other dimensions of this release fail to live up to expectations.

The brilliant story is enhanced by a beautiful score from Mitsuda and cinematic sequences which are stunning, to say the least.

Anyone who liked the first will fall instantly in love with the second. Even if you've never heard of the series, I offer my highest, unconditional recommendation that you try MR2 out at your earliest convenience.

So many small nuances coalesce here to make this game one of the most rewarding flight experiences since the generation of "TIE Fighter" and "Wing Commander IV."

A fun and rewarding experience that offers endless addictive entertainment.

The smooth controls, incredibly fast races and fun combat are still here, and the Cube's processor seems more than able to handle the blindingly fast races even in four player split screen.

The single-player campaign is a great addition and will be of benefit in training those who are new to Tribes and in entertaining those who have been around since the beginning.

Its superb graphics, open-ended nature, and compelling storyline make it a title that many flight sim junkies will not want to miss. While I found the learning curve a bit too steep, the controls somewhat cumbersome, and the save-game system annoying.

Doesn't contain novel graphics, audio or gameplay, but it does offer more of what worked so well before. Given the short length of the campaign, Mercenaries might have fared better as an expansion pack.

The gameplay is flawless and the presentation is both beautiful and full of character. Army of Zin is neither the most innovative title on the market nor is it the most awe-inspiring, but it accomplishes the difficult task of translating the form and spirit of a classic into a worthy modern successor.

Each aspect of Metal Arms illustrates the greatness of which the fledgling Swingin' Ape Studios is capable, but sadly, a number of faults keep the product as a whole from being outstanding.

Easy to get into, difficult to stop playing and always enjoyable.

There are people that say a good game must have good graphics and some that say its gameplay is the most important. TRL has both. Great graphics and a superb gameplay make this game a true jewel.

It's not an innovative title, but it was made with a good deal of polish and will hold your attention for some time.

It's not a standard first-person shooter, and it can't be played as one; trying to do so will lead to failure and frustration. SOCOM is a game of patience, planning and wits.

Every once in a while, a wargame comes along that makes you think about war and all its terrible consequences--and this is one of them. But that doesn't mean I won't be booting it up to try my luck again tomorrow.

Ultimately, it's better to think of Legends as a deep action title more so than an RPG or dungeon crawler, and in this respect, you can't go wrong.

Excellent AI, controls and sound design combine their respective strengths to make a package that's stronger than the sum of its parts.

Even with a somewhat weak split-screen multiplayer mode, the challenging gameplay and engrossing plot will satisfy players on their first run through, while the superb AI and outstanding level design will keep them coming back for more.

The game exudes style, polish, and quality from every pixel...From gorgeous visuals to immersive gameplay, Battle Realms never ceases to amaze.

The vaguely nostalgic Warlords Battlecry is a greatly entertaining offering with the potential for a long and healthy shelf life; if you pine for the days of good, old-fashioned RTS orc-bashing, you owe it to yourself to give this title a chance.

A wonderfully complex simulation that entertains more than it frustrates, though this title is clearly not for everyone. Action-oriented RTS fans should avoid it like the plague.

The best baseball game that’s hit the PC in a very long time. It’s pretty, it’s smart and it’s packing a deep pool of gameplay options that’ll keep you going well after this year’s World Series is put to rest.

One of the best adventure games I've ever played. The near-perfectly crafted combination of story, gameplay, graphics and audio makes it utterly enchanting.

With fantastic visual and audio elements (setting a new standard), an engrossing story, an intuitive interface, and amazing overall polish, Myst IV Revelation has all the makings of a real winner. However, the tortuous difficulty posed by many of the puzzles, even for those with considerable logical abilities, detracts from the mainstream appeal of this offering.

Blood is everything "Quake" should have been. It offers unparalleled single player gameplay, dozens of beautiful visual effects, tons of new weapons, and killer multiplay. I've had more fun playing Blood in the past day than I have playing any other game in the past year.

Virtual Pool 3 has it where it counts: high precision pool table action and awesome cool-and-confident A.I. opponents.

The new situations and scenarios brought about by the new additions are truly enjoyable, and are easily sufficient to cause former Sims addicts to suffer another relapse.

Nowhere else in today's market will you be able to find a flight simulator with the boldness and keen utilization of detail shown by B-17 Flying Fortress.

One of the most realistic and captivating starship simulations ever made.

Having little interest in the subject material of this title, I found that I was not terribly compelled by the story line...I found a majority of the animation to be uninteresting, which certainly detracted from the title.

Quake 4 really delivered on all fronts for me in terms of purely frenetic gameplay. I jumped at the cutscenes, I cried out expletives when I was getting owned by the Strogg, I gasped when the storyline took a major plot twist, and I was moved by the stunningly beautiful graphics.

It has times where it bogs down in the monotony of endless waves of enemies that do nothing but cluster on your position, but it balances itself out with a great deal of depth in what they do.

If Nippon Ichi’s last three releases can be considered a trilogy, then Phantom Brave is without a doubt "The Empire Strikes Back" of the series.

The best arcade fighter on Xbox. It's not as pretty as "Dead or Alive 3," and it lacks the comic book appeal of "X-Men Next Generation," but Deadly Alliance still knocks them both flat.

"SWAT 3: Close Quarters Battle" changed the face of the first-person tactical genre, and the Elite Edition polishes it to a near mirror shine.

It brings to life all that is good in RPGs and improves on other things that were not so good. With it, we encounter the best of the genre in quests, combat, and a revamped magic system.

Fraught with inconsistencies and potholes. Although it is a satisfactory, basic RPG, it is nowhere near the level of excellence that it should be.

This game is pure, unadulterated fun.

Ultimately an entertaining title, but one with enough quirks to prevent it from attaining true RPG greatness.

Aside from the two new racing modes, Beat the Heat and Race the Pro, the best part of the gameplay in NASCAR Heat is the thrilling pack racing experience, driving door-to-door and fender-to-fender against your opponents.

To those willing to pay, however, the reward is one of the deepest and most exciting combat games ever. The hacking, the engineering, the raw firefights, the chaos of vehicular combat - all of these elements are but minor ingredients in the eats-like-a-meal stew that’s PlanetSide.

With near perfectly balanced hybrid gameplay, and thoughtful, intuitive controls, Kingdom Under Fire is sure to surprise even the most jaded player.

A major leap over its predecessors and is a huge success. With attractive full 3D graphics and an ability to fully experience your own rides, the level of play fulfillment has gone up significantly.

If you ignore the sub-par audiovisual effects, you will find a decent and engrossing intellectual challenge underneath it all, which particularly exciting in human-to-human competition.

A few technical issues prevent this product from overtaking "Falcon 4.0" as the premier hardcore flight sim on the market today, but that's not to say it's set in stone. This is a very complex and sophisticated aircraft, and the simulation built around it is equally so.

Instead of puzzle and chess mini-games and a story mode, why not spend time and resources developing another dozen levels and resurrecting the series' classic characters?

Its updated graphics and method of control breathes some new life into a well-worn building-conquest genre, even if the mission types are the same as most other RTS titles on the market.

While there are a few glaring problems, most notably with the poorly implemented multiplayer features, plain jane graphics, and lackluster AI, XGIII Extreme G Racing is still fun to play.

The combat and exploration never generate much excitement, though in certain areas, bad game design -- such as the illogical non-combat missions and the imbalanced enemies -- leads to considerable frustration.

Despite the fact that Crimson Butterfly is much longer than the original, it might have been preferable to trade the extra length for a little less backtracking, as it often slows the progress of the adventure.

Very well designed and polished to near perfection. Its complex storyline keeps the gamer hooked from beginning to end, and the movies provide enough eye candy to give your corneas cavities. In every way, this is a beautiful, beautiful game.

Perfect Dark Zero offers up a great combination of stealth and action using vehicles, AI teammates, the concept of shadows-versus-light for cover, and intelligent enemies who respond to both visual and auditory stimuli.

It’s not often you have such a personal interest in your digital troops' survival and treat them as anything but grist for the meat mill, but Stormregion has managed to make it so you feel like a mother hen and take it personally if one of your guys buys the farm.

It's a fantastic game especially if you are into strategy puzzlers. Even if you’re not, it’s still a terribly addictive venture that’s easy to pick up and you’ll find yourself haunting with the best of them in no time flat.

Looks infinitely better than its ancestors, but plays pretty much the same.

With its amazing sound work, stunning musical score and easy to use control scheme, about the only thing you can complain about in this release is the length.

Despite some weakness rooted to the genre, Conquest's solid graphics, gameplay, and AI make it a title with enough reasons for RTS fans to join the fight.

The graphics and music are still great, showing great polish and attention to detail, but the story and gameplay are a bit of a letdown. What is missing here is the diversity and twists and turns, as well as the mystery, complexity, and enchantment of the outstanding original.

It's equipped with tons of powerful adventuring tools, such as a newly designed 3D engine and free-floating camera, and contains one of the most riveting endings I've seen all year. But ultimately I wish it had offered me more.

The gameplay is streamlined a bit from the previous edition, and while the changes are minor, they're tweaks that simply smooth the way.

Possesses the single most important quality for a game: it’s fun. Controlling my party of characters to victory over the hordes of enemies that would flood the screen was a blast. Yes, there was a large amount of repetition, but I found myself faithfully returning to the game to move to the next area, or to achieve the next goal.

I prefer to think of Invisible War as a flawed diamond rather than a better-than-average lump of coal, as the sheer depth of its storyline and superb graphical quality make up for a multitude of shortcomings.

Smart gameplay blends with furious action to produce an experience that can only be described as "Metal Gear Solid" Goes Barbarian!

It's got frenzied action, a thoughtful storyline, and gameplay that will swallow you whole.

The multiplayer cooperative mode is the real reason to own Crystal Chronicles. Solving puzzles and overcoming foes requires absolute teamwork, and this sense of camaraderie is inexplicably addictive.

Its graphics are outstanding, and the interesting single-player campaign should provide a good basis for those looking to spend countless hours in its challenging multiplayer.

From a purely objective standpoint, the poor use of the Source engine's capabilities makes for a disappointing offering. Speaking subjectively, I've enjoyed Bloodlines more than any other RPG since "Knights of the Old Republic" or perhaps "Morrowind."

Brilliantly designed, the waves and riders are appropriately the highlights, as the animations are smooth for both, and every wave's approach is unique enough to keep you entertained for as long as the increasingly sprawling levels of the Tony Hawk games.

You want weapons? I76 has about 25 different weapons. Slug throwers, SPP Pods, Flamethrowers, Mortars, Droppers, and even a hand-held 45 caliber automatic pistol are there for the taking. There are about 15 different views to choose from to set your sights on the enemy, and there's even a Missile Cam, for a rocket's-eye view of the mayhem.

Nothing I have ever played before can even come close to the level of detail or gameplay as this. It is a game unlike any other.