The graphics are devoid of polish and personality, and the sound will make you fall in love with your mute button all over again.

Since the entire title is built around the concept of gradual character development through combat, the lack of a save option instantly nullifies any and all value that the innovation might have brought.

Zoo Empire does add depth to the "Zoo Tycoon" formula, but plays it safe and doesn’t make any effort to change the established norm. If you tried "Zoo Tycoon" but didn’t think that it had enough options or graphical punch, Zoo Empire is for you.

Combat is occasionally entertaining, but more often than not you're mindlessly blasting or backtracking huge stretches of land on the poorly implemented motorcycle. Invasion simply becomes uninteresting, and it can't be redeemed by an equally tired multiplayer component.

Unfortunately, for all its intensity, the experience will be very brief indeed as the lack of a multiplayer mode virtually cripples this content-light cartridge.

While the game's flight mechanics and damage model provide some enjoyment, the few missions that ship with the program are uninvolving.

While some of the puzzles touch the edge of too challenging, overall they are some of the best in the business since "Myst" hit the scene.

Gets marks for depth and scope, but unfortunately so much of the detail goes to waste due to the frustrating interface, horrendous learning curve, and sparse gameplay options.

Just about everything they tried has been tried before and executed much better in "Shogun: Total War."

While the specifics of the setting might be novel, the gameplay consists of ground that has already been covered by better titles, some many years old and sitting in bargain bins.

With the various methods of strategic growth, tactical conquest, and diplomatic gains, Diplomacy lives up to its table-bound namesake’s reputation. It is easy to learn, play, and master.

The biggest problem with Gore is a lack of originality: None of its dimensions live up to the level of the best first-person shooters on the market in the last few years.

In part, it is valuable enough for me just as a collection of gorgeous artwork and thoughtful story design. And for people more interested in concepts and beauty than gameplay, it is a work of excellence of seldom parallel. But as a computer game in the traditional sense, there is not enough there to sink one's teeth into.

The shoddy camera system and somewhat unintuitive controls cause far too many headaches.

Recycled gameplay, overused mechanics and jarring shifts between mini-challenges and exploration will leave you slightly disconnected from the overall experience.

Below average in every sense of the term; the title contains some interesting gameplay mechanics and concepts, but never executes them with any measure of success.

There's too little here that's original and engrossing, there's not enough variety in the obstacles and environments, and the linearity is extremely confining.

If what you’re hoping for is an intense and challenging shooter that harkens back to the classics, with lots of interesting monsters and a few wrinkles added in the form of special abilities, then you’ll be largely satisfied by what you find.

It’s a noble attempt at a solid strategy / action hybrid, but Defender of the Crown feels more like an amalgamation of disjointed gameplay elements than a single, coherent experience.

The developers may have been trying to recreate the success of "Devil May Cry," but instead found themselves in the realm of its disappointing sequel, as an underachieving, run-of-the-mill action title.

The gameplay is often as static as its antiquated graphics, and ultimately doesn't present anything that hasn't been done before.

There are certain novel features and innovative efforts present, but they cannot overcome an annoying patch requirement, clunky interface, multiplayer instability, and an unfriendly gaming environment.

Right down to the familiar trapezoidal box, Tomb Raider Chronicles is completely lacking in significant innovation.

While there are minor deficiencies, such as an over-dependence on timed sequences, a short duration, occasional tediousness, and an absence of novelty, this well-scripted and audiovisually pleasing title has assets that make you forget about these limitations.

Full of promise, with a textured plot premise and unorthodox, and at times, stunning visuals. But the sub-par execution of the confusing backstory and lethargic gameplay, confounded by the limited viewing perspective, sinks this release right from the outset.

Lionheart is to RPGs what "Serious Sam" is to first-person shooters: It's a strict genre game that's stripped down to its essence and is pleasantly devoid of the all too common overarching that happens when too many disparate parts are crammed into the same code base for the sake of widening the target audience.

The backstory is fascinating, and plot hooks keep the player interested; you'll want to uncover Harbinger's secrets. The glue that holds it together, however, fun as it might sometimes be, never seems to change.

The storyline is half-baked, the graphics and sound are substandard, the music is intolerable, and weak enemy AI makes for boring gameplay.