World Driver Championship is a solid title with a lot of potential that's burdened by some design flaws and a driving model that will leave most players unsatisfied. Much as it offers a few new spins on an otherwise old formula, these shortcomings hold it back from true greatness.

Even if the visuals and sound aren't quite cutting edge, the gameplay is still solid, and that’s all that truly matters. K-1 is an absolute must for fans of the sport.

There's plenty of great stuff to be found in this offering, but it just doesn't feel like it's all been pulled together in a tight enough fashion.

For those of us with excess patience, though, the rewards could be great. Battlegrounds looks fantastic and sports a startling degree of replayable fun. Best of all, in establishing a wide beta tester program early on, Diversions Entertainment set the groundwork for a fanatically loyal player base that will be the key to success in the long run.

If you're willing to get frightened out of your wits, be grossed out along the way and feel like an icicle, The Thing will definitely not disappoint.

What we have here is an extension of the original with a much better and generally more compelling storyline. This does not detract from the amount of fun you can potentially have with this title.

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.

Basically the same old product with a few new bells and whistles. Nobody is calling that a bad thing.

As an atmospheric "Devil May Cry" knockoff, Van Helsing is a notable success, despite the fact that the experience is only marginally longer than the movie’s running time.

There is a sense of constant improvement in strategy as you learn new tricks either by having them pulled on you or through experimentation.

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.

Fundamental flaws unjustly hamper the gameplay, and the lack of support for many USB wheels is nothing short of devastating.

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.

Should be a hands-down epic masterpiece but is unfortunately tarnished by a litany of problems that should have been addressed before its release. If it wasn’t so doggoned much fun to play, it would be easy to write off because of its betimes infuriating downsides.

The unbearably monotonous levels, by themselves, easily killed it for me.

The offering does well with what it chooses to present, but it should have incorporated a more multifaceted play experience. Going back to try to get gold medals can only keep you going for so long. Nonetheless, the pure thrill of frenetic combat, interspersed with the humor, makes this title well worth trying.

A flawed but rewarding experience seems to be the average diagnosis for most of the current crop of FPS releases, and Vietcong is no exception.

While the ability to purchase new vehicles by completing challenges isn’t an original idea, it’s executed to near perfection. Admittedly, poor artificial intelligence, sometimes-awkward controls and a fairly small selection of vehicles all keep the game from rivaling titles such as Project Gotham Racing 2, but Evolution is an fine title nonetheless.

Interface problems, relatively brief and inconclusive gameplay, repetitive backtracking, and uneven puzzles detract from your enjoyment.

While the gameplay here is still incredibly engaging, if you have the first release there is no really compelling reason to upgrade.

This title deserves strong consideration if you're willing to put style over substance and overlook a few flaws.

It’s just difficult to wholeheartedly recommend a title that has a mere five or six hours of game time, and no real incentive to play through again.

You must have patience and be excited about non-structured gameplay in order for it to be worth the price of admission. Action hungry thrill-mongers will do themselves a favor by steering clear of this one.

While few titles will ever again brutalize the player as "Shinobi" did, the still relatively high level of difficulty coupled with refinements and improvements to the gameplay should make Nightshade a keeper for fans of the series.

A good title if you’re serious about your strategy games. Casual strategic commanders and those that think the sun rises and sets over "Age of Mythology" and the like probably won’t see the draw or attraction.

Everything that surrounds the gameplay is strongly polished, but when you're battling, everything beyond your bot will be visually disappointing.

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.

The single-player campaign does a great job of going against the build-a-base-and-kill-everything grain that is the stock-and-trade of the RTS scene. Plus, it infuses some inspired missions into the mix, keeping you interested and coming back for more.