I came into this review with a lot of harsh thoughts based on what amounts to "You took my single player away from me." But after examining what was accomplished, and what was released at a decent price range ($19.99) for the package, I am kinda seeing the value in Insomniac's latest R&C experiment. I really hope we see a true single player sequel in the future, especially on next-gen equipment, but if this is what we have to deal with in the mean time, waiting might not be so bad.

There’s enough here for folks who have come this far to finish the journey, but it’s certainly no place to start, and a sad note to end on.

Despite some dubious gameplay design (failed mini-games can’t be replayed without restarting the whole sub-level) and problems with the fixed-camera position sometimes obscuring jumps, Super Lucky’s Tale is a solid platformer. It honors the tried and true genre clichés and for a mid-priced game, it doesn’t even need to present anything entirely new.

RymdResa eventually becomes a test of patience but its tone and the drama of Man’s desperate search for a new home is interesting and thought provoking.

When viewed against the other two games in the series, Darksiders III is a disappointment. While I feel the gameplay is harder than it needs to be, I’m more concerned that the product seems half-broken in a lot of places. This is an upsetting follow-up to a great series and it deserves better.

At its best, Spirit of the North Enhanced Edition is an atmospheric adventure set within an abandoned landscape that offers its fair share of challenges but little in the way of meaningful takeaways.

Samurai Riot is a flawed take on the beat 'em up genre. While the game may supply a few fun nights of mindless gameplay, especially if conquered with a friend, its combat lacks the depth needed to truly engage the players, despite its interesting narrative and characters. Given beat 'em ups' storied history, there are far better games deserving your time.

The shoehorned inclusion of microtransactions is kind of ugly because it’s limited to weapon and character skins and timed character boosts that serve no purpose other than to get you to spend money. I suppose it’s a small mercy that you don’t need premium currency for anything but at this point, why even bother? I try not to judge but anyone who buys gold bars to get skins and boosts is wasting their money. Skip this game and play The New Order and The New Colossus instead. You’ll have way more fun. Honest.

For younger players, 198X may not open up in the same way as to us old farts. However, it’s like a museum of a bygone era when the budding digital entertainment was honest and ripe, rendered in a beautiful pixel art and channeled through a marvelous soundscape. Oh, and the ending pays a nice homage to Golden Axe – without the chasing part.

A very mediocre Japanese RPG's, which unfortunately in this day and age that's just not good enough.

All in all, I enjoyed my time with Neon Chrome. It delivers the basics of why I like twin-stick shooters and adds its own mark with an emphasis on strategy and a cool cyberpunk theme. Granted, the game has a few shortcomings such as a non-existent story and sub-par graphics, as well as being rather short and having no online co-op, but if you're looking for something easy to pick up and play (especially with a friend) you could definitely do a lot worse!

EA tries to make soccer more edgy again, with an improved controls and fast-paced action. But surprisingly still no online play here.

This budget game serves up some basic and ordinary poker action, with decent Xbox Live support.

The visuals are bright, and despite their overly rich nature, the screens are easy to read. The character graphics can be awkward though, and the voice acting is sadly pretty ho-hum, with only a few voice actors doing a bit too many characters for their skill range. Nevertheless, the numerous cut scenes enrich the experience. In the end, Lost Grimoires: Stolen Kingdom is not quite like your typical Artifex Mundi game, for better or worse. While the story is intriguing and mostly succeeds in its ambiguity, the game itself is a tad too simple.

If you're a soccer fan you got to go out and try this game, it's actually quite entertaining especially if you play online or have some friends over.

Unless you are dying to check out The Life on NBA 09: The Inside you have better basketball choices this holiday season.

Though the idea of flying inside a spherical globe is cool, I’ve come to appreciate just how valuable a horizon is for collecting my navigational bearings (maps can sometimes be very confusing to look at). The lack of clear and defined objectives combined with a novel, yet disorienting, sense of place does make the adventure a little more confusing than it needs to be at times. When the flight controls, camera issues, and framerate drops become a problem (and they will), they are loudly disruptive to the meditative experience InnerSpace tries to cultivate.

If you weren’t won over by AC Chronicles: China, AC Chronicles: India probably won’t change your mind. But if you want a game with some solid stealth gameplay and a sizeable smattering of timed, platforming bits, you probably won’t be too disappointed (the low price of admission also helps).

It’s completely up to the players whether they want to invest in Amelia’s daily chore or not. Maybe the game should be perceived as something of a snack, taking it for a spin once in a while. After all, each flight is as short as you want it to be. Give it enough time and maybe one day you’ll catch the mythical sky whale. In doing so, Airheart tries to teach it’s not the goal that is the most important but rather the everyday life and work you make around while going for it.

NBA 08 is still a very deep and well rounded title, that if you really give it the chance can really make for an enjoyable experience. There is just so much more you can see coming from this game that it is hard to be completely satisfied with this outing.

It’s worth the price tag for the borderline ridiculous long-range shots you can pull off, but the campaign isn’t so good that I’d want to play through it a second time right away.

The quirky roll-a-monkey game debuts on the DS, which should provide hours of clean fun for gamers of all ages, if you can get past the frustrating controls.

There's only one question you should ask yourself: do you give up easily in games? If your answer is yes, steer clear of 8DAYS. But if you have a masochist bone somewhere in your body, then enroll in G.O.D by all means and face the challenge. There's nothing quite like that sweet feeling when you overcome the dangers the game throws at you, especially when you have a co-op partner to share joys and hardships with.

The satire of GUTS would be so much better if the gameplay stuck its landing. Sketchy and numb gameplay simply doesn’t cut it. As it is, GUTS is a mere curiosity. A quirky look at a gory game show with some genuinely good ideas, like a combat log after a fight (I would love it in Tekken!) and fighting not measured in habitual health and time. Even though GUTS doesn’t take it seriously, it’s done seriously. I can only hope that Flux Game Studio continues to develop their obvious labor of love further. Maybe by the time the game makes its way to the consoles next year, its gameplay will have evolved further.

Insane Robots is a neat little game. It's well-presented and easily-accessible, something for everyone but the simple, lite card battles will not keep most people entertained for long.

Needless to say, I found Power of Illusion to be an incredibly disappointing game. There's nothing fun about the experience and any warm, fuzzy feelings of nostalgia brought upon by the design, soundtrack and concept are ruined by clunky and infuriating gameplay. Instead of spending the money on this game, my advice is to go pick up a Sega Genesis from eBay and a copy of Castle of Illusion. You'll have a lot more fun.

In many ways, War in the North is a Gears of War version of Lord of the Rings. In fact, the game introduces an enemy type that looks and functions identically to the Ticker and there are wave-based Horde modes to play through. Like Gears of War, however, the game's saving grace is the three player co-op because it is much more fun to slay Orcs with friends.

Battle Princess Madelyn had all the makings of a charmer (there are never enough games featuring a warrior princess!) but it turned out to be a downer. Given ill-defined looks and sloppy level design, sprawling here and there for no other purpose than to pester you, the game is too committed to the gaming of bygone days. The best bet for retro-inclined developers would be fitting their games into modern conventions, and not fall into same old pitfalls that used to plague the genre. Even though your friend Frankie doesn’t realize it, there has been remarkable evolutionary steps in the gaming.