A fun, well-designed, innovative title, and if you've got a long, uninterrupted stretch of weekend in front of you, it's worth at least a rental.

A great game. While the AI can be extremely tough and playing the Story mode through so many times gets a bit old, these shortcomings are more than made up for with the intensity, presentation, and clean fun that it has to offer.

In short, it's a little on the boring side – it's only the aesthetics that will keep you playing.

The A.I. predictability coupled with linear game levels somewhat dampen the invigorating, bullets-flying-everywhere gameplay that will have your ears ringing from gunfire hours after playing.

But as far as action games go, Stranglehold is about as flashy as they come, with enough slick gunplay to keep fans of the genre glued to their seats and having fun, even if they skip multiplayer altogether.

It has a few areas where the whole package could be tightened up, but the strategy is deep, delicious and crispy like bacon, which is what you want in a strategy sandwi-- I mean, game.

RPG fan or not, Monster Rancher 4 gives everybody a little taste of something.

Isn’t a bad game, however it isn’t terribly spectacular either. It’s unrefined, but still a reasonably fun title, more worthwhile to rent or track down in the bargain bin one day.

It’s similar enough to Red Alert 2 to feel really comfortable and though there’s been a lot of extra things added to the toy box (and not all of them work), it’s still fun.

With enough patience, and perhaps a printable list of vocal commands by your side, EndWar can become an engaging strategy-based game. It may not reach the level of PC gaming’s most popular RTS games, but for console owners, this war is anything but hell.

If you are looking for the 30 seconds of perfected and repetitive combat found in major North American developed shooters, then Metro 2033 is probably not for you.

It adds multiple innovations to the survival horror formula and improves on that genre immensely. Unfortunately, The Thing also holds on to some of the most annoying conventions of the genre.

Aside from the multiplayer (which is a hoot), there’s not a whole lot that’s new.

Although there are some gameplay moments if gamers aren't especially careful with expenditures early in the game when some dark clouds of boredom while waiting for some moola to multiply in the national vaults can rain on a sunny day of tropical island ruling, those who enjoy SimCity or Civilization-style resource management gameplay with a heavy dose of political behind-closed-doors wheeling and dealing will enjoy an excursion to Tropico in its latest rendition.

It's part of the "thug in a sandbox" action genre, so if you don't mind playing a criminal and can accept a few minor bugs here and there, The Godfather: The Game is a solid title.

Unfortunately, there's no online support, but SWON is packed with enough diverse gameplay with a heavy challenge level that you won't lament the online absence too long.

A little bit long in the tooth.

Resurrection of Evil isn't such a hot multiplayer game. There are a few different deathmatch modes but co-op mode has been eliminated. However, co-op still exists in the original Doom titles.

It doesn't have the same high quality of the "NBA Street" series due to the more urban roots of street basketball versus street football, but for a good adrenaline rush of smash-mouth football, look no further than NFL Street 2.

It has a great balance and will draw you in with its depth thanks to some innovation, and is fun, even if it’s fun in a serious way.

Outlaw Volleyball manages to be the only "pure" beach volleyball game on the Xbox.

The wacky characters, impossibly upbeat music and insanely addicting party management, will have strategy gamers obsessed long after the doldrums of the summer months have passed. Makai Kingdom isn't the best of the bunch, but it holds its own quite nicely.

With more emphasis on quick-hit, easy-to-play mini-games and casual-centric visuals with extremely basic controls, Madden NFL 10 on the Wii might as well be referred to as Madden Lite.

This iteration is a stellar continuation of the series – plus an offer for a free year of Golf World or Golf Digest to sweeten the deal for aficionados – but there’s room for expansion (including an LPGA event was good step!), rather than improvement.

A game that would be closer to an interactive episode of the show rather than a proper video game.

While F.E.A.R. 2 still delivers in its action and grim setting, especially for fans of the original, FPS games have evolved since 2005, and the very innovations that made the first game stand out have now become cliché and drawn out.

Tales of Graces F is a good game and though the story may seem like a typical JRPG, it does stray away from the stereotypes as the story progresses, and leaves you wanting to know what will happen next.

But despite the short length and difficulty, Klonoa’s classic strengths far outweigh its long forgotten weaknesses. Whether you were a fan of the original or a curious newcomer, Door to Phantomile is a wonderful experience that deserves to reach the reception it has long deserved.