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.