By adopting a laissez faire attitude to player discretion, Ubisoft has crafted a brilliant follow-up.

By adopting a laissez faire attitude to player discretion, Ubisoft has crafted a brilliant follow-up.

Going into Star Ocean: First Departure with the expectation of finding an adventure that's in line with current generation RPG fare is going to result in disappointment, but the strong genre mechanics are all here, well-oiled, and mostly in good working order.

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.

For an RPG, Eternal Sonata isn't particularly long -- it clocks in at around 30 hours -- but it's a deep, rewarding, and completely entertaining experience while it lasts.

A kid who loves the TV show might find Transformers Animated: The Game amusing for a little while, and some adults might enjoy the more challenging puzzles. However, most players who aren't blinded by love for Transformers will probably find this title a bit boring. There are better games like this out there.

The actual gaming portion of this package is painfully unintuitive and fails to deliver any sort of experience of lasting worth. A food analogy properly sums it up. Pizza, salad, and cake are all good on their own, but haphazardly mash the three together results in an unpalatable mess. Sadly, such is the case with What’s Cooking.

Sure, it doesn't have the grandeur and scope of the Gran Turismo series, or the freewheeling mayhem of Burnout, but it does bring a style all it's own to the genre. With plenty of rides, modes, and personality to spare, this title is definitely worthy of having a spot on your automotive mantle, as long as you're up to the challenge!

Sure, it doesn't have the grandeur and scope of the Gran Turismo series, or the freewheeling mayhem of Burnout, but it does bring a style all it's own to the genre. With plenty of rides, modes, and personality to spare, this title is definitely worthy of having a spot on your automotive mantle, as long as you're up to the challenge!

While the graphics and hole designs are inviting, the frustrations caused by the controls and Barker himself successfully put a damper on the entire experience.

Midnight Club: LA Remix delivers an extremely proficient racing experience. However, potential boons for the game – like the open world and RPG-like leveling system for your car – are its biggest problems.

It’s a calculated, strategic exercise that requires ample time and patience. The Wii version gracefully combines the classic gameplay with new variations in a format that’s visually pleasing, entertaining to play, and a very strong representation of the Monopoly experience on a gaming console.

If you believe games are non-competitive ways to express yourself and where not much effort is required, then you will probably love Wii Music. However, if you believe games are all about skill, scores, and hard work, then you probably won’t enjoy this title at all.

With such an expansive and ambitious space-faring adventure it would have been easy for the development team to bite off more than it can chew, but Egosoft has much to be proud of in its accomplishments here.

It’s a good package of short and amusing episodes for new players to dig into. Series vets may want to stick with the PC version.

Story mode is long enough to keep you engaged, and the online mode is amusing for a few rounds. However, I can’t imagine getting more than seven or eight hours of playtime out of this title.

It is quite unfortunate that the company that essentially invented the music genre has produced such a poor title, but Rock Revolution just doesn’t have any redeeming qualities. From the poor music selection to the bad visuals, this game doesn’t stand well on its own, and can’t even be considered good as a supplement to current music titles.

The best way to describe Rock Revolution is like a Xerox copy of fine art. Sure, it looks like the real deal, but there is nothing unique about it and in the end it’s just a cheap imitation of something that truly is revolutionary.

The problem comes when you stare too long: there are constant screen tearing and randomly dropped frames.

It's a hack-and-slash, so there isn't any compelling depth lurking under the surface. The extra modes – Challenge and Trials of Tyris – are just extended hack and slash sessions. Where's the two-player support?

SOCOM has always catered to the hardcore and Confrontation is no different in this regard. Slant Six has done an admirable job updating the formula of past games, but the decision to wipe the single-player slate clean and the copious amounts of bugs are standout problems.

This game is little more than a lowbrow, yet humorous, thug-life simulator.

This game is little more than a lowbrow, yet humorous, thug-life simulator.

But this game is definitely unique among its peers, and although it is not quite the best of both worlds, it is definitely worth checking out if you are a party game or RPG enthusiast.

But this game is definitely unique among its peers, and although it is not quite the best of both worlds, it is definitely worth checking out if you are a party game or RPG enthusiast.

A masterful title that is sure to scare the crap out of you. Plus, there are three modes of difficulty, so this is an experience that casual and hardcore gamers alike simply cannot miss. This is a highly polished and well-crafted title that transcends standard video gaming. Simply put, it is one of the best games I've ever played.

A masterful title that is sure to scare the crap out of you. Plus, there are three modes of difficulty, so this is an experience that casual and hardcore gamers alike simply cannot miss. This is a highly polished and well-crafted title that transcends standard video gaming. Simply put, it is one of the best games I've ever played.

A fun game that doesn’t take itself too seriously. Therefore, players shouldn’t take in-game action too seriously either, and if true-to-life football, play-calling, and tactics is your thing, Blitz is definitely not for you. At the most, this is an arcade intended for a good time, though the fun can tend to be short-lived.