If you're one of those people who can tolerate slowdowns, stalls and stutters when you're doing your best to flank an enemy, then maybe you will love this game. Otherwise, it's just an exercise in frustration.

Units flow well and are easy to differentiate from one culture to another, but there’s something that keeps the quality a little below what most gamers are accustomed to with the more recent RTS titles, especially where character details are concerned.

I'm surprised and saddened that this was outdone by a two-year-old game. EA's trying some new things here, but they don't quite work yet.

Unless you're absolutely die-hard about hard rock and heavy metal, Brutal Legend is one game you can relegate to a rental.

The back-and-forth structure is tedious, and the narrative needed to be much more fleshed-out. Too bad great loading-screen treatments can't make up for overall shortcomings.

Unless you're absolutely die-hard about hard rock and heavy metal, Brutal Legend is one game you can relegate to a rental.

I'm surprised and saddened that this was outdone by a two-year-old game. EA's trying some new things here, but they don't quite work yet.

I'm surprised and saddened that this was outdone by a two-year-old game. EA's trying some new things here, but they don't quite work yet.

Feels like it should have been designed as a "Dynasty Warriors" clone. It would have done a wonderful job as such. The environments and character designs are beautiful accomplishments, and the sense of scale is an incredible feat. But the RTS aspects hurt the game badly.

I'm surprised and saddened that this was outdone by a two-year-old game. EA's trying some new things here, but they don't quite work yet.

It's still the same old Madden, emphasis on old. The mini-games are fun, but next time focus on fixing those bugs and giving us some more meat, OK guys?

If you're a fan of the series, then you'll enjoy this, though possibly feel like you've paid full price for what is basically an expansion pack introducing some new mini-games, online support and extra characters (like Ratchet and Clank.)

The game is chess, and at chess Fritz is good. It’s most everything else that I wasn’t happy about.

Unfortunately, the lack of any real depth to the gameplay, random game crashes and the poorly implemented Xbox Live features make it too hard to suggest as a purchase.

The back-and-forth structure is tedious, and the narrative needed to be much more fleshed-out. Too bad great loading-screen treatments can't make up for overall shortcomings.

Wii owners may want to play the once only-on-Xbox-360 franchise, but a combination of horrible controls and hard-to-follow multiplayer options manages to kill any fun that might otherwise be had.

The single-player game is short, plodding and has a poor story, but the online options keep you coming back for more.

Still, Hollywood likes things that go boom and look good doing so, much like Michael Bay's Transformers movies. The game industry operates much the same way, but the best games within it also introduce a fresh experience, something Transformers: Fall of Cybertron fails to do. Yes, Grimlock and the Combaticons are new, but for all practical purposes they're just multimedia window dressing on an otherwise evolutionary, not revolutionary, title.

The baseball portions are fun, but the game ironically doesn't focus much on hardball at all, and the other modes are tedious and confounding.

It starts out well enough, with great graphic stylings and some cool gameplay features, but turns into a gimmicky stylus-tapping festival of boredom within an hour.

It's really nothing more than a run-of-the-mill shooter with some serious balance issues. The story lacks any emotional impact, so you'll be constantly skipping the cut scenes, and rarely listening to any of the dialog, and that's just sad considering this game is set in the world of "Deus Ex."

If rhythm and trippy visuals are your thing then you'll find this bazaar shooter worthwhile.

The changes to Top Spin 3 are only good for hardcore tennis fans. For most gamers, the new animation-dependent learning curve will replace the fun gameplay elements with literal gameplay mechanics.

GeoDeformed ruts are cool, but when each like-classed car handles the same and there's no threat of driving off the road, the only "rut" that matters is the one you feel you're in when going from one race to the next.

If you own the prior games, don't bother. If you're new to the franchise, give it a rent.

One of those games that's good, but it suffers from being too niche to ensure it broad acceptance from gamers. Couple that with the fact that the Taiko Drum is yet another specialized controller that'll probably never see use again.

Buzz: Hollywood Quiz deftly straddles the line between budget and quality, and if you're hurting for a movie-based trivia game, you can hardly go wrong here.

Tilting the Wii Remote to control the table is intuitive and feels natural. Color matching can be frustrating at times, but adds to the overall challenge of the gameplay.

Sniping can be cool, but this game finds a way to make it much more boring than it should be.

Short of the opening music, which is awesome and sounds like a demonic mariachi band, I can't think of many redeeming qualities in Shadows of the Damned. It's not in the same craptastic league as Thor, which suffered from horrible gameplay and production values; it's just a waste of time.

All in all, Gradius Collection is a set of "fan's games," in that only someone who really loves the hyperactive side-scrolling action of the original can love this package.

The game misses the mark in several ways, but with the right programming and more analysis into whether toddlers are really the most appropriate target for this sort of product, we could be witnessing the birth of a whole new educational medium. It's just not there yet.

A whole lot of new content, but the gameplay feels the same as we've seen before.

Great multiplayer, boring single player. Needs wi-fi support to really fulfill its potential.

A decent first outing, but make sure you don't tire of repetitive racing games, because that's what you're getting here.

Technically there's nothing wrong with the game -- had it released in 2006. While it's great to have Visual Concepts back, they definitely left room for improvement for All-Pro Football 2K9, and improvement is certainly what's needed for this next generation of football games.

The changes to Top Spin 3 are only good for hardcore tennis fans. For most gamers, the new animation-dependent learning curve will replace the fun gameplay elements with literal gameplay mechanics.

One issue with Burning Horizon is the lack of online multiplayer. This severely limits the replay value of the game since once you have properly scouted a map and learned how to deal with a scenario there seems to be no reason to play it again. This is a crying shame as some of the greatest fun I had with the original was the online team combat.

What was once so amazing barely conjures excitement on PlayStation 2.

An intriguing plot tries to turn an action-oriented (and bloody) game on its ear, but the gameplay is too repetitive at its core to make you feel like you've really experienced something unique in the ever-growing world of sandbox games.

Play the earlier games, as this one's a huge letdown.

But even fantastic graphics can't elevate H.A.W.X. beyond a simple weekend rental.

It doesn't live up to the Gran Turismo creators' standards, and it doesn't even live up to the standards of the best motorcycle racing games on this generation of hardware.

Even faulted, the gameplay grows on you, but you probably won’t have the patience or desire to let it get to that point.

So much promise, yet it's all dashed on the ice due to sloppy,unresponsive and frustrating controls.

Even with the well-thought-out online options, the core gameplay is so basic, golf fans won't find this game interesting at all. If you're more the arcade sports player, on the other hand, you'll easily get your $20 worth from this.

Overall, PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale is mildly fun.

Not a bad game, but not a great one either. Online modes and the loaded dynasty mode are sure to keep players busy for another year. A solid soundtrack fills out the smooth animations to make for a pleasing presentation.

Technically there's nothing wrong with the game -- had it released in 2006. While it's great to have Visual Concepts back, they definitely left room for improvement for All-Pro Football 2K9, and improvement is certainly what's needed for this next generation of football games.

Too average to warrant purchasing at full price, but not a bad rental.

Frankly, the game components could’ve been stripped out and this would’ve scored better as an anime DVD, but as a game, it’s going to come off a very tiresome to the average gamer.

If you can make it past the horrendous "action" elements and sometimes overly simplified puzzles in Dreamfall, you just might enjoy the deep storyline and character interactions.

After hours of working with this game, unless you’re a history buff or ruler-in-training, you will likely find yourself overwhelmed and lost.

A fitting end to Clover Studios. Vaya Con Dios, lads; you will be missed.

The third time is definitely not a charm. Multiplayer is better in concept than practice, and the rest of the game just feels "tired." Even fans of the series will lose interest.

NBA Live 08 offers quick offensive gameplay, but the difficulty of implementing solid defensive maneuvers leads to high scoring games and frustrating moments.

It's hard to recommend this game to anyone other than the most diehard DBZ fans due to the bad camera angles, repetitive button mashing gameplay and the lack of online multiplayer. I suggest the developers start concentrating on quality over quantity.

Its "average-ness" makes it accessible to newcomers, but hardcore RTS or RPG fans will find there's not enough depth of either genre to keep them interested for more than a few hours.

But even fantastic graphics can't elevate H.A.W.X. beyond a simple weekend rental.

An average shooter in which the presentation and education are more compelling than the game itself.

If you take the package as a whole, especially taking into account the amazing cutscenes and environments, it's a game well worth playing.

So much effort went into replicating the glaive's flight and awe-inspiring kills that every other aspect of Dark Sector took a noticeable hit in quality and polish, save for the visuals. Remove the glaive, and this game's appeal drops below mediocrity into a rinse-and-repeat nightmare.

More a learning tool than a game, Endless Ocean will appeal best to anyone interested in marine wildlife or gamers who cannot resist "collecting them all."

Could've just as easily been a current-gen title. Average graphics, annoying story and too-easy gameplay make for a ho-hum game.

Cars and physics shine in this game, but the gameplay gets repetitive in an overlong career mode.

My recommendation: let Wolfenstein stay in the other dimension and away from your Xbox 360 or PS3. There are other shooters this fall that can scratch your FPS itch a heck of a lot better.

While the $20 price tag might seem like a great reason to pick up Sega GT Online, it’s not.

Not enough features or updates stand out to warrant this quickly released update to Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07. Outdated graphics, spotty controls, and lack of online support hinder an otherwise solid golf sim.

Technically, Goldeneye 007: Reloaded does nothing wrong, and in fact my hat's off to Activision for bringing a classic game to the modern era. The gameplay, though, in spite of its tweaks here and there, just doesn't have the impact as when Goldeneye was the one N64 game everyone owned.

Multiplayer is a nice addition, but it definitely takes some getting used to, and the updated graphics don't really do much for me other than give me a headache while trying to create clusters.

Looks pretty good, but it tends to get tiresome after a few hours.

So much effort went into replicating the glaive's flight and awe-inspiring kills that every other aspect of Dark Sector took a noticeable hit in quality and polish, save for the visuals. Remove the glaive, and this game's appeal drops below mediocrity into a rinse-and-repeat nightmare.

Too many nitpicky annoyances combined with not-quite-ready for prime time controls make this a good game only for the most forgiving player.

My recommendation: let Wolfenstein stay in the other dimension and away from your Xbox 360 or PS3. There are other shooters this fall that can scratch your FPS itch a heck of a lot better.

Nostalgia will inspire you to check this game out, but not even nostalgia can save this slow, brief and completely disappointing game.

The combat is good, the production values high and the promise incredible, but unless you’re a huge fan of the Forgotten Realms storyline, you’re better off renting Demon Stone.

Thanks to the weak combo system, and the sometimes confusing action onscreen, most adult gamers will simply be frustrated in playing this, unless it's used as a form of parent-child bonding, where it would work wonders.

It shows its age, and some titles are better then others, but all the cinemas are intact and some games never get boring.

Occasionally touchy controls and an inexplicable feeling of repetition undermine an otherwise creative tactical puzzle game.

Pretty average gaming action with a fun story. A good rental or discount buy.

Anyone who's played Tiger in the past, or even "Links 2004" for that matter, will find this an unnecessary addition to their library. It's not a bad game, it's just not a fantastic show-stopper of one either.

An enjoyable Xbox title that actually doesn't have a single gun in it.

Custom Events can be fun, and a few of the game's minor features are nice, but in the off-road racing landscape, MX vs. ATV Untamed just doesn't rev our engines.

A lackluster port with average graphics, a poor camera system and stupid AI.

With all that said, it's with heavy heart that we point anyone looking for a fun hockey game to NHL 09. We loathe to do this in light of NHL 2K9's impressive online features (tournaments and six-on-six with 11 other players), but the rest of the package just doesn't live up to expectations.

Buggy but not broken, generic but not ghastly, Killzone lacks anything beyond an average amount of appeal.

Nostalgia will inspire you to check this game out, but not even nostalgia can save this slow, brief and completely disappointing game.

A decent port job that adds enough to keep first time players entertained, but seasoned Godfather vets will probably stay away.

There's nothing we having seen here that wasn't done better almost eight years ago.

But pretty pictures and good audio don’t always make for a pretty good game, as gamers both old and young can tell you from personal experiences. The gameplay is what counts, and in that sense, Shark Tale doesn’t quite hit the mark.

Harry's fifth go-round is tailor-made for the Wii-Mote's ability to mimic a magic wand, but despite extensive efforts to bring Hogwart's to life, boring play and uninterruptible cut-scenes cast an ominous cloud.

Not a bad game by any means, but the slow initial pace combined with horrible voice work make for a game that most players won't want to make it past hour 5.

The Conduit is decent, but I wouldn't pay $50 for it; maybe $30. Between cheap enemies and not enough polish, The Conduit just falls short.

With all that said, it's with heavy heart that we point anyone looking for a fun hockey game to NHL 09. We loathe to do this in light of NHL 2K9's impressive online features (tournaments and six-on-six with 11 other players), but the rest of the package just doesn't live up to expectations.

But pretty pictures and good audio don’t always make for a pretty good game, as gamers both old and young can tell you from personal experiences. The gameplay is what counts, and in that sense, Shark Tale doesn’t quite hit the mark.

Serviceable but stale, the King of Fighters is quickly losing his reign.

If you do buy or rent the collection, don't bother with the light gun since it's too much work to get working properly and there aren't enough compatible games on the Xbox to support the purchase.

Even with the seeming laundry list of complaints I have about this game, I still kind of enjoyed it. There's a certain sense of accomplishment that comes from solving the tougher puzzles.