Although this first chapter is part of a larger storyline and of necessity ends on a cliffhanger, it functions well enough on its own to be a satisfying gaming experience.

Sure, there was a new minigame added (a variant on last year’s pitching minigame) but that doesn’t keep this from feeling like I’m playing pretty much the same game that I did last year.

SHIFT 2 isn't quite to the level of the big boys yet, but it's still very much worth your time.

When Dead Island is firing on all cylinders, it's an absolute blast to play, but sadly, this game will have people running into quite a few technical and gameplay-based frustrations before they get even a couple of hours in.

Despite a few issues with reluctant AI and somewhat clunky platforming, The Saboteur stylishly proves that the genre of open world action-adventure is considerably bigger than GTA.

And that is where Charged really shines – the multiplayer arena. Take it online, knock some people around and have a blast.

Assassin's Creed has excellent production values, a wonderful story, and tons of creativity, but it's still seriously flawed. It's certainly not a bad game, but don't expect too much out of the Creed.

Need for Speed: Shift fills an interesting niche for a gamer looking for a light-hearted action racer masquerading as something serious.

If you're looking for an exciting romp through impressive-looking dungeons where you smash monsters, get loot, use tactics to win, and level up a lot of fun abilities, then this game delivers that in a way that's more true to Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance than it is to either the past Dungeon Siege games or the Diablo series. And if you want something with the kind of wide-open online play that lasts for years, well, you're better off saving your money and waiting for Diablo III.

Take some time to get into Syndicate and you'll discover it's not just another shooter with a pretty Blade Runner paint job.

If you're looking for an exciting romp through impressive-looking dungeons where you smash monsters, get loot, use tactics to win, and level up a lot of fun abilities, then this game delivers that in a way that's more true to Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance than it is to either the past Dungeon Siege games or the Diablo series. And if you want something with the kind of wide-open online play that lasts for years, well, you're better off saving your money and waiting for Diablo III.

Overall, Broken World makes for a good, fun expansion. While I feel that the new skill trees should have been added differently, I don’t see it as anything game-breaking.

With LEGO Pirates, Traveler's Tales didn't really intend to create a pitch-perfect reproduction of the tone and feel of the movies, but even in their crazy cartoon style, you might be surprised at just how much they got right. Adventure gaming fans now have plenty of stuff to choose from, especially with TellTale and Double Fine making pure gold on a regular basis, but I think that the LEGO games are a great choice too, and Pirates might possibly be their best one yet.

Tomb Raider delivers a slick, fun time with plenty of collectibles, great action, and an excellent main character.

With LEGO Pirates, Traveler's Tales didn't really intend to create a pitch-perfect reproduction of the tone and feel of the movies, but even in their crazy cartoon style, you might be surprised at just how much they got right. Adventure gaming fans now have plenty of stuff to choose from, especially with TellTale and Double Fine making pure gold on a regular basis, but I think that the LEGO games are a great choice too, and Pirates might possibly be their best one yet.

The combination of free-roaming Manhattan to smoothly swing through, a serviceable (but not wonderful) sequel-to-the-movie plot, and some solid stealth and action to fill out the experience is what makes The Amazing Spider-Man a winner.

The single-player game is fun but manages to end sooner than it should with no possibility for player created campaigns (yet). Multiplayer is also lacking – a play-by-email system would have been a huge help to the game.

Space Marine gets off to a sluggish start and it never really reaches the lofty heights that long-time fans of the tabletop games probably hoped for, but Relic has still done an admirable job in making their first AAA-level action game - and the online play is a definite fun distraction if not entirely unique or long-lasting.

Space Marine gets off to a sluggish start and it never really reaches the lofty heights that long-time fans of the tabletop games probably hoped for, but Relic has still done an admirable job in making their first AAA-level action game - and the online play is a definite fun distraction if not entirely unique or long-lasting.

Despite a few iffy choices and some frame rate issues, this new, fresh version of an FPS semi-classic breathes new life into the classic shooter genre. Even if you didn't grow up playing these games in the early-mid 90s, I think you'll still value the kind of action that Rise of the Triad provides.

Altogether Tales of Valor is an adequate package of upgrades with a few surprises in the multiplayer and single player.

While F1 2010 was a breakthrough game, it was almost by accident, and 2011 goes a long way towards fixing the faults of last year's edition.

Blue Dragon Plus has a few character movement issues but overall is a fun, easy-to-learn, highly-polished game.

Shadows is certainly not for everyone. Still, it's far more accessible and appealing to the mainstream than Grasshopper's last few games, while remaining super-satisfying for their faithful following.

Shadows is certainly not for everyone. Still, it's far more accessible and appealing to the mainstream than Grasshopper's last few games, while remaining super-satisfying for their faithful following.

The Cognition series is nothing if not consistent. Thus far, all three chapters have delivered bizarre-looking characters and laughable dialog, but more importantly, they've delivered seductively gruesome murder cases and an impressively comprehensive story arc.

If you missed Darksiders the first time or if you just stick only to PC gaming, then this one's worth a shot.

Black Ops does well, mostly due to the sheer amount of exciting and fun multiplayer content, but I've got some serious concerns over where Call of Duty is headed.

Geometry Wars: Galaxies is about as good a sequel as we can get to what originally was a bonus mini-game in Project Gotham Racing and then eventually a downloadable $5 game.

Black Ops does well, mostly due to the sheer amount of exciting and fun multiplayer content, but I've got some serious concerns over where Call of Duty is headed.

Really, though -- you do not need to be a train enthusiast to get something out of this package -- you just have to have an open mind and be willing to try out something new.

Ultimately, the game requires more skill and frankly, more patience than many gamers, casual or otherwise, will be able to muster.

I've found it difficult to fully enjoy the PC version of Guerrilla because its highly variable frame rate severely hurts the controls and fun factor.

It's kind of a lose-lose for Rockstar at this point, and it's too bad, because GTAIV is a wonderful game that doesn't deserve the problems this PC port has.

Frontlines probably won't win any big awards and might even be forgotten by summer, but until then you can get in a lot of great matches with dozens of people together at once.

Overall, Wanted: Weapons of Fate won't win any GOTY awards, but it's still a major improvement for movie-licensed games and serves as an example for how to truly do a movie-game right.

Ultimately, BattleForge isn't the embodiment of the next-gen RTS but it's a beautiful, flawed step in that direction.

If you are in the need to go into a game and slaughter creatures in a mindless fashion, then Doom II is definitely for you. Do not expect top of the line graphics or high quality music, but you can expect a lot of killing and being killed as you play your way through the slaughterhouse called Doom II again.

I hate to say it, because this game is actually very fun, but Fight Night Round 2 is less of a boxing game than last year's attempt.

I enjoyed Hellgate immensely. You have a ton of items to find, lots of fun monsters to kill in the randomized levels and fun bosses to face off with. If you're looking to scratch that pack-rat itch and can put up with the bugs, I'd highly recommend Hellgate.

Overall, Spellforce 2 is slightly above average. It take two portions of a game that wouldn’t succeed on their own and combines them into a package that proves to be fun with a large amount of gameplay.

Between the bugs and lack of originality during the single player campaign, Dark Messiah is a great idea for a game that was executed only somewhat well.

Rainbow Six Vegas 2 isn't terribly exciting when played alone, but it is solid when you go online.

The game might not be worth the purchase for those that aren't terribly interested in first-person melee combat, but for anyone that's looking for that - or at the very least an imaginative, slightly crazy game world to beat people up in - then this is a fine choice to make.

While Knights of the Nine certainly maintains a high quality of gameplay that you might be expecting, it just doesn't last long enough.

Overall, Indiana Jones: The Original Trilogy is cute and good for one or two laughs but is likely to bore older gamers. It's a perfect title, though, for gamers 10 and under.

While the environments, sound effects and music are some of the best that I’ve seen in a next-gen game yet, I can’t say the same thing for the fighting system that seems to lack variety.

Overall, I'd still recommend this game, despite its higher-than-expected price point. You'll still have a good bit of fun for your gaming dollar.

It's got functional online play and an interesting way to go about delivering a career's worth of single player races, but when it comes down to it, the racing gets old fast.

Frankly, Band Hero could have easily been called Guitar Hero 5 Part 2 and no one would have cared.

It's a great party game, a bargain at $10 and it's the only way to hold an eating contest at your house without someone heaving on your rug.

As a $10 packin, Wii Play does provide a good value, if only for Laser Hockey, Billiards, the Shooting Gallery and Tanks.

It has great art, fun game play, a good story and it's a dream game for you collection junkies out there. It just goes to show; sometimes it pays to think small.

Overall, Freestyle Street Basketball has the potential to be a neat game. The idea is solid, the graphics and overall style are neat and the gameplay is pretty fun. However, the horrible players you have to get through to eventually play with the decent ones will turn people away and the lag will push even more away.

But if they can get some online updates through to clear up the more glaring issues and maybe adjust some of the stranger problems that plague online and offline play, this will be the best boxing game ever made. Until then, I don't recommend that you run out and purchase this game just yet.

In closing, I have to say that despite the beautiful graphics, it's hard to ignore the game's shallow narrative which fails to take advantage of its rich, original literary source. That said, RPG fans may overlook this marked lack of fictional creativity and the game's few monotonous aspects, to enjoy its considerable hours of solid RPG play.

MX vs. ATV Untamed is not a bad choice on the 360, but it's not a terribly great one either.

If anything, Operation Anchorage is a good hint of what's to come from Bethesda in future downloadable packs.

The game is fun enough, most of the time, if made up of content that’s a tad more forgettable than the original.

With a lack of multiplayer modes or any decent replay value, Black falls flat.

Overall, the actual game itself is pretty fun. The magic and tech abilities are good fun and, while the weapons don't have much variety, they are at least balanced. However, the lack of variety when it comes to game modes and maps is what makes this game a mere shadow of what it could have possibly been.

This game could have been much better with a more rounded out story and a little polish, but what we get here is a good amount of raw fun and plenty of survival-horror nostalgia.

This game is made entirely for people who are already fans.

The Godfather has a few real strengths: the movie scene tie-ins, the overall 40s mob atmosphere, and the whole mechanic of extorting businesses to work with the Corleone family all make this game unique and much more than just a GTA clone.

GUN Showdown is a great game that just doesn't quite fit onto the tiny PSP platform.

I really don't understand why so much effort went into making Gran Turismo such a fantastic racer while you're behind the wheel, but so little went into extending that experience when you're not.

Best played in short bursts. The game is nowhere near as deep as what many have grown accustomed to and is over in a few hours if you just sit down and chew through each of the cooking challenges.

The somewhat disappointing result of all this is that F.E.A.R. 2 isn't different enough from the first game to surprise us, and with such a lack of innovation, even this polished horror shooter just won't get the rise out of players that the original did.

Despite some boring missions, the customization and online fights were great fun, to say the least.

Despite the game's problems, Battlefield 2: Modern Combat is still fun if you play online and don't need any real depth in your first person shooters.

It's definitely a flawed experience, but one that shows a surprising amount of potential and promise for possible sequels.

The fun vehicle levels, tons of weapons, gun emplacements to use, and scripted, cinematic gameplay all show just how short the single player mode is, even if it's generally really good stuff.

Combine fictional missions with an unrealized paratrooper advantage, and Medal of Honor: Airborne simply doesn't deliver.

With a completion time of under eight hours and a few half-decent extras, one has to wonder if Batman Begins was essentially targeted directly as a rental game.

Get this one for its online action, which moves quickly and rewards those who have the skill and knowledge to play to the strengths of the many weapons and vehicles.

Sure, Kung Fu Panda won't be much to those hardcore gamers who have been dicing people up in the Ninja Gaiden series or wound up finishing Assassin's Creed for the story, but for kids this one's pretty solid.

More focus on the side-scrolling and less on the adventuring would have made the experience better overall.

The game's biggest flaw is that the gameplay, despite the multi-character approach, feels dated.

If you're just after a quick rental, though, this can be worth checking out. And if you're a parent with a kid who likes Code Lyoko, put the 40 bucks down and grab this game -- they're sure to get a kick out of it.

What's the one thing that could hose an otherwise awesome action game? Aside from removing all the weapons, it's bad performance.

Even though it is more of an enhancement to Darwinia than a new game, Multiwinia is a worthwhile purchase if you enjoyed Darwinia and were left wanting more with the same theme.

Overall, NiGHTS is not a bad game. Flying around is still as fun as it was the first time around on the Sega Saturn, though this time it is more because of the quality of world design as opposed to the tight controls of the last edition of this game.

As a top-tier shooter, QoS doesn’t make the cut, especially in light of the many better games raising the bar this season.

It's quick to pick up, has considerable replayability and is a much-needed dose of mature content for the Wii. However, it's extremely short, the bosses are a cake-walk and the writing is obnoxious.

With that said, though, Lumines Live is still a fun game. It has something none of the other versions will have in the expandability. However, the wrong direction has been taken by forcing you to “buy” the extra modes.

There are a lot of interesting things about Dante's Inferno. Unfortunately, these positive elements are somewhat undermined by a sketchy camera, an unintuitive right thumbstick control, an excess of unnecessary falling deaths, a series of frustrating timed puzzles, and a default difficulty level that's higher than it probably should be.

While much care was taken to create a complex story and extensive artwork to support it, repetitive combat mechanics, tedious level design and exclusionary side quests undermine story and aesthetics, resulting in an uneven RPG experience.

A fun game. While it is often incredibly difficult, you’ll eventually get through the dungeons.

Crime Scene is an interesting game undermined by frequent bouts of poor interactivity.

I recommend this one only for fans of the movie—and only after the price is cut in half.

Overall, Code Lyoko is one of the better cartoon-based games I've played lately.

I'd definitely recommend that you play Super Princess Peach. You're very likely to enjoy it if you are a fan of sidescrollers.

The Art of Murder: Cards of Destiny is a flawed, but entertaining adventure game.

If you've got the controllers already bought and the friends sitting around that are willing to play at least half of these songs either for the first time or in the new, updated way, then by all means go for it. If any of those conditions fail, though, you might want to wait three months for the next major iteration in Guitar Hero.

Simple as it is, Age of Booty is a great way for all kinds of gamers to learn the basics of RTS gameplay.

Combat frustrations, silly switch hunts, and a barebones multiplayer all combine to make this one somewhat disappointing to play.

While there's definitely fun to be had in the new game, everything—the story, the environments, the level design, the enemies—feels recycled. Ultimately, even though the new Wolfie is polished, professionally done and has some interesting new elements, it fails to deliver any surprises.

Still, the art, design, and action go at least some of the way towards making this game worth your money, so if you've blasted your way through all of those and are yearning for more, then you should definitely check out the Shank demo on XBLA or PSN.