If you are really into farming, and don’t mind the repetitive tendencies of the series, then Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility is a solid entry and definitely worth your time.

A little refinement would have made this game feel like a breath of fresh air. Instead I feel like I'm breathing in secondhand smoke. Good for a rental and nothing more.

The short missions, limited battle area, and muted visuals may turn some people off, but most will be satisfied with the swift, intuitive gameplay, the online versus, and the simple fact that they are controlling a giant mechanized robot.

Lots of new recipes and activities are beefed up by the widest set of modes and features yet. A lot of re-hash material but it's a pretty big sampling of stuff to do.

A bit too repetitive for its own good, but the unique controls and the online co-op are quite nice indeed.

Although this is not a hardcore RTS by any stretch of the imagination, the cute LEGO storylines as well as the large maps and customizable free play options make this one lots of fun, and you may be surprised by how much you keep coming back.

With plenty of modes and some nifty customization options, this is a fitness game that it is easy to stick with.

Its great story, wonderful voice acting, and some pretty awesome Wii-mote gameplay make this a pretty good bet for the casual gamer, and who knows, maybe even a hardcore gamer or two as long as they don't mind the simple nature of the game.

It's not bad for a $15 game, but it does next to nothing to advance the FPS genre. You're better off getting a used copy of Call of Duty 4.

FIFA Soccer 08 on the Wii is not for everyone. In fact, there are a lot of people who will find this title quite dull.

Despite some great innovations such as online gaming and voice recognition, NFL GameDay 2004 is still a bit of a stinker as far as gameplay is concerned.

About as average a motocross game as one could expect. It's not bad but it sure lacks magic of any kind.

Up to this point, it appears Insecticide is a reasonably good game unnecessarily sliced in twain.

Custom Robo makes a great rental. Keep in mind that the longer you spend with it, the less you'll probably like it.

The gameplay that was established in 1982 is archaic, but it’s as addictive as it ever was and will keep many players busy trying to top their friends on the Leaderboards. That’s the only place they can compete with one another unfortunately since there is absolutely no multiplayer to go along with a disappointing lack of additional content.

While Portable Ops Plus doesn't offer an incredible amount of new things, it does do an exceptional job at recapturing the elements we loved in the first title.

There isn't much to the game's career mode, but this game will certainly be a sure-fire winner at parties.

Giving you a multi-genre gaming experience in one title is innovative, and Atari really shines with the progressive steps they have taken to improve upon the tried and true formula of platform games.

Overcoming the initial intimidation of the vast arrays of stats and finding your footing in the battlefield are certainly challenges worth celebrating when victorious. However, if you're looking for an engaging campaign, measured and concise tactics, and stunning graphics beyond the mechs, From Software's latest entry will leave you severely disappointed.

The simple action may get tiresome for those that don't put the time into learning the controls. Also, the game is quite short. Nevertheless, I had a blast cutting my way through, and have made this game part of my personal collection!

One can't help but notice that the franchise has seen better days.

The game looks great and runs fairly smoothly. It's not very long, but then again neither are kids' attention spans.

On the one hand it's great to revisit this classic game in it's new form while on the other, the hamfisted translation pushes the game into high camp territory which got on my nerves.

Remains true to the character's roots and is aimed exclusively at youngsters that don't realize that Kermit sounded a little different a decade ago.

A fine level of polish was heaped on MillionHeir, yet the framework of the adventure falls short of providing a cohesive gameplay experience. The object hunting puzzles are excellent, but they don't always feel connected to the story or the characters.

Multiplayer modes are limited, though the dogfights and team battles for up to 16 players are still quite fun. It's satisfying taking down an enemy plane when you know there's a human cursing you out from his burning cockpit on the other end.

Overall, I was pretty happy with all the improvements that Island of Happiness made to the traditional Harvest Moon formula. However, I had serious issues controlling the game, and it was always a battle to get my character to do what I wanted.

Fun, fast and refreshing. It's open to everyone that just wants to get involved with a game that isn't any more difficult to learn than Monopoly.

Legacy is fairly linear and only takes a few hours, but has some nice loot and a few side quests to tackle.

DDR Universe 3 is the best entry in the series so far. It has managed to take a fairly run-of-the-mill arcade-style dancing game and has breathed new life into it.

This is a mediocre effort in every sense of the word.

It's nice to see that The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy is so comfortable being a videogame when so many games based on cartoon shows turn out to be horrible examples of projects that can’t survive crossing mediums.

Overall, I really loved playing Elements of Destruction. Destroying things using the weather is a delightful concept and makes for some seriously destructive fun.

The characters are colorful and capture the feel of the film eloquently.

Virtua Tennis 4, however, seems to take about a dozen steps backward, with few redeeming features able to keep your interest. Hopefully, they take a long hard look at their flaws and serve up a better product the next time around. Until then, where's my Wii Sports?

The Sims 2: Pets may not be a new title for us to devote our Sims loving selves to, but it is at least a nice addition to hold us over until the Wii exclusive MySims comes out.

Quantum of Solace won't be up for any "game of the year" awards, but it is a solid title that offers a satisfying, though elementary, single-player campaign and a strong, but perhaps niche, multiplayer experience. It's not a total return to form for the Bond franchise, but it seems to be headed in the right direction.

Code Veronica was an incredible game with stellar visuals, a tense atmosphere, and meaty campaign to keep you busy for a very long time. But now that it's been reanimated for the Xbox 360 and PS3, it's obvious how poorly the last eleven years have treated it.

Compared to last year's CSI game, Dark Motives is a definite improvement in every sense of the word. While many skilled gamers may find this game too easy it should be a real treat for fans of the TV that don't do much, if any, game playing.

Compared to the PS2 version, this one is sharper, cleaner and overall more polished but not really to any astounding degree.

It's addicting, it's difficult, and it updates the best parts of the original while staying true to its classic gameplay.

That rant out of the way, Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 for the Nintendo DS is a fun game that has the most to offer when played cooperatively. The biggest flaw, beyond the minor aforementioned annoyances and distractions, is when you boil it all down this is a game intended for the consoles and that is where it excels.

Super Dodgeball Brawlers is little more than a nostalgia trip, but it's a short trip, so there's no reason to pack your bags.

Rationalizing the cost versus the content is a tough one, but I can say this will not hold you over till the release of Mass Effect 3.

It comes on a little slow, but if you put some genuine time and effort into this game, you can come away with a fun experience.

Cheating makes for a strong improvement on an already solid card game.

But for fans, seeing Domon Kasshu beat the ever loving piss out of those pansies from Gundam Seed is just plain awesome.

There's a lot to Two Worlds that will take you an eternity to complete. This is probably the biggest draw to the game that I can mention. It is one of those games that you can put down, wait a while, come back to it, and rekindle the enjoyment you had the first time around.

The humor and style of the film translate well here and are helpful in filling the gaps where the simplistic gameplay and rushed mini-game mode fall short.

The human A.I. aren't all that intelligent, but what they lack in brains they make up for in resilience.

I find it vexxing (love that word) when I play a game and I can't stop thinking about all of the things that are missing, rather than what is present... Batman Begins is rife with missed opportunities and it's a much lesser game because of it.

The PvE-only aspect is a nice touch, and it’s refreshing in a world where so many games like to focus on pitting player against player. The problem is that the enemies are rarely more than bullet fodder, and you don’t need to be much of a team in order to take them down. Still, Anthem is rife with potential and we’ve seen games transform into something amazing post-launch. I am hoping that will be the case for Anthem.

I've already admitted I'm not the biggest Star Wars fan and I found Bounty Hunter dripping with entertainment value.

If you are familiar with the PC Mafia there isn't a lot here for you except a drop in graphics, resolution, frequent gameplay interruptions and longer load times. WIth that out of the way, PS2 owners who haven't already got a taste of the Cosa Nostra way of life might certainly enjoy this.

Unfortunately there is nothing memorable about this game. The characters are one-dimensional and the story runs its course in about five hours - but the game just keeps going and going and going. The title of the game should be changed to Escape From the Center of this Game.

Don't confuse this Onimusha Blade Warriors a sequel to Onimusha 2 or 3. This is just a fighting game and has only a little bit more in common with the series than a kart racer.

If you like the occasional boxing game but aren't a huge fan of Rocky then you can't go wrong renting it. The lack of an online mode reduces the replay value significantly.

Younger players who aren't up to snuff on the somewhat difficult controls of the console version will get more out of this than the average console player.

At times moves at speeds that will have you saying “Wow” and delivers a great game.

Compared to "Deer Hunt," the animals in Big Game display a more fluid animation style. The environments suffer from poor textures. More often than not it feels like you're in a bad museum display rather than in the great outdoors.

Baseball Mogul 2009 is not for everyone. Baseball fans should be warned that this is the sports equivalent of Dungeons and Dragons.

Smarty Pants is a decent activity to do with your loved ones once in a while, but it's not more than a simple pastime.

For a budget title, Operation: Vietnam is a pleasant surprise.

Sure, it isn't as good as Mario Tennis, and occasionally the game feels a bit too linear, but ultimately you get what you pay for. With niche titles like this you were either excited about this from the start or never cared to begin with; let that be your guide.

It's really difficult to connect with a song first time through if you're not familiar with it even though you're reading the arrows correctly. You may have to listen to the track a number of times to get the feeling down.

With 50+ hours of gameplay, an epilogue mode, and plenty of replay value, Phantom Brave has tons to offer those who pick it up. That is, if you haven't already.

Kill Team is a short-lived game. You can blow through it in a mere five hours, and forget it shortly thereafter.

A plentiful amount of technical bugs and lazy development for the platform make for a frustrating experience despite there being a fun game buried beneath.

A good game that players will both enjoy and find tedious. Hopefully, the franchise will progress with a third iteration, as sticking to a more complex, strategic-based formula would do wonders for the series. As it stands now, you'll have fun but wish for a whole lot more!

I can't get over the load times and freeze-ups. Even as good as the graphics are I would take a blue screen background if the damn game would just play for fifteen minutes without a hiccup.

Though nothing truly remarkable, it does provide a great follow up to an already good game. Fans of the PSP and of DBZ should already be on their way to the game store now to pick up this latest installment that will keep you busy for hours.

An extremely uncomplicated title that has its fair share of fun due to the hilariously brutal combat animations.

The gameplay is simply not good enough to compete with the production values. The developers were unable to match Burton's creativity.

It's bigger than before and looks great as Don is back at the graphical helm but there are some elements which are obviously out of his control such as the collision detection system, framerate slowdown and poor camera angles.

You may want to make the comparison to "Devil May Cry" but Chaos Legion is not in the same league. Think of it as a poor man's version.

In the end, it seems like Baja: Edge of Control was trying to please everybody and, in doing so, managed to create an experience that isn't ideal for anyone.

Since the market is flooded with games that are mainly focused on a specific age demographic, it is nice to see and play a game that could easily be called a family game.

In terms of controls, fun, and general wackiness, Rango reminded me of the old Spyro the Dragon games, except not as refined. It's a sub-Spyro game, but again, for a game that was based off a movie, it is quite good.

Electrified ninja swords, stealth armor, and a new gauss rifle are only a few of the goodies awaiting players. The vignette is an entertaining diversion, but the rewards for completing it are what make it truly worthwhile.

Kane and Lynch reeks of an undercooked effort that should've baked a few more months in the development oven. If the care and polish that went into the wonderfully cinematic level presentation had also been applied to the writing and gameplay, it could've been a bar-raising effort for the third-person shooter genre.

So if you're looking for a fast-paced, fuel-injected bit of fun with no strings attached, there's really no good reason not to at least rent Need for Speed 2015. In my opinion, it easily beats out juggernauts like Forza for the top spot of racer of the year.

For every negative aspect of the game that inspires burning frustration to spew forth from your lips, there are plenty of things to like about Opoona.

It has captured everything we love about fighting games in a mere two buttons. Simply put, it’s genius. This is no joke.

Game show fans will easily get a kick out of the quirky gameplay, and it's definitely worth playing with a group of people who share an appreciation for the genre.

Only those trying to elicit an emotional attachment to these games are likely to get anything out of all them.

I consider this title a must-have for all nostalgic people that love puzzle games and like to take them on-the-go. Just don't buy it for Block Block.

Flock! has a few quirks that some players may not fully appreciate, but this is the type of high-caliber title we'd like to see more of on PC.

Dead Aim while not perfect manages to combine the feel and game play of the RE series and add the light-gun in and it works well.

Pure console fare; it's going to lower the bar on the PC's status as a more sophisticated gaming machine for sure. It's pure mindless fun for the most part, and at other times it's just pure mindless.

Rivals does have one aspect I like and that is the online play. A chance for 10 on 10 is a video hockey fans dream come true. It plays smooth and seems better online and not by mistake.

Combines some of the best elements of past games but still fails to deliver what should be a near-perfect gaming experience. It's like a stew that just doesn't blend.

Wii Party U definitely has the diversity to be enjoyed by anyone, and racing a zebra, a rhino, and a giraffe while inebriated could turn out to be the stuff of legend.

I think we have to just admit to ourselves that Spore and Darkspore are really not the grandiose sim-everything games Maxis wanted. They are just fun little wastes of time, and there's nothing wrong with that.

A worthwhile title and a steal at only 500 points. Fans of games like PixelJunk Monsters will be drawn to its "defend the tower" style gameplay, and it is also fun for those who enjoy a quick pick-up-and-play experience.

It’s almost a good game. For some of you that will be enough. It’s a neat little diversion and it’s fun in spurts, and maybe that’s all you are looking for. However, there are many other better RPGs to play out there with better stories, and better systems.

It's the kind of game that doesn't need to change a great deal between versions, and its designers have wisely stuck to the basics while adding some entertaining twists to the gameplay with Operation L.

The short missions, limited battle area, and muted visuals may turn some people off, but most will be satisfied with the swift, intuitive gameplay, the online versus, and the simple fact that they are controlling a giant mechanized robot.

It has plenty of star power and lots of different ways to play. However, it doesn't really have much in the way of innovative automotive gameplay, which really hinders it from being a must-own title.