The biggest folly, however, is that instead of building upon the establish lineage that fans have come to expect and enjoy, Wild Arms 4 breaks away and tries to be something wholly different, and in so doing succeed only in alienating existing fans.

While it features a deep involving story alongside some incredible art direction, the fact that the game is just so tedious to play kills the experience before it even gets a chance to begin.

While good company can and does overshadow some of what the game does wrong, it cannot mask the fact that Dungeon Lords, on the whole, isn't very fun.

More like a tech demo of how the touch screen could be used to play golf, rather than a completely fleshed out experience in its own right.

The crux of the gameplay lies in combat that is extremely tedious. There are other features within which to loose yourself, from item customization, to even a Pokemon style creature rearing and combat mini-game that is deep enough to almost be a game on its own. But these facets are made to accentuate the core game, not make up for its shortcomings, which as it turns out are considerable.

The biggest problems with CivCity: Rome, however, lie in its numerous bugs and terrible camera.

Considering other fighting games out on the market now, this game is as close to a barebones title as you can get. Versus, practice and online play – that's it.

The Godfather never feels like it has any real consequence to it, and interspersed with missions as it is, it commits the sin of slowing an action game down.

Mercury has tons of potential, but it doesn't realize much of it. A sequel that added an autosave feature, perfected the puzzle designs and smoothed out the uneven difficulty would be an utter blast.

Given a more robust fighting engine with more variety, coupled with visuals that didn’t make you want to turn away, this could have been a breakthrough game for the PSP. What it is instead is merely passable.

The Da Vinci Code isn't the worst game based on a movie, but its dependence on puzzles and unbalanced action make it hard to recommend to anyone but the the most devout fan of the source material or those who simply can't get enough of puzzle-based adventure games.

The Da Vinci Code isn’t the worst game based on a movie, but its dependence on puzzles and unbalanced action make it hard to recommend to anyone but the the most devout fan of the source material or those who simply can't get enough of puzzle-based adventure games.

Even the online mode feels lacking, supporting only one-on-one matches using either your custom character or an unlocked NBA star, rather than the two-on-two match ups available offline.

Bottom line: if you like adventure games, this one is okay—but you won’t be doing yourself any disservice by GameFAQing your way through it.

It might suck WWE die-hards in with its slick, true-to-form presentation, but they'll be quickly turned away by the clunky gameplay and repetitive nature of the game itself.

A solid and extensive compilation, though not without flaws and not without competition.

The lockdown stick is a terrific addition, and is a step in the right direction for future basketball games to include in making the defense more player-friendly. However, the slow tempo and the blurry graphics completely bring down the in-game experience, which are really the meat and potatoes of any sports game.

The lockdown stick is a terrific addition, and is a step in the right direction for future basketball games to include in making the defense more player-friendly. However, the slow tempo and the blurry graphics completely bring down the in-game experience, which are really the meat and potatoes of any sports game.

Even the online mode feels lacking, supporting only one-on-one matches using either your custom character or an unlocked NBA star, rather than the two-on-two match ups available offline.

Though the console versions had a diversion of saving innocent lives and collecting secret tokens, Spiderman 2 on the PSP seems to be nothing but a technical demonstration coupled with a mundane 3D platformer.

Those who have played the games up to now and are somehow not burnt out on the gameplay could have some fun with what Capcom has put together here.

The quintessential rental. It has enough substance to satisfy a gamer for a short while, but it isn’t long before the eyes begin to wander and the initial interest starts to fade.

Those who have played the games up to now and are somehow not burnt out on the gameplay could have some fun with what Capcom has put together here. Newcomers, on the other hand, might be better advised to pick up one of the earlier titles rather than jump into this newer release at full price.

While it delivers much of the same experiences as before it is its refusal to evolve past its original makeup that proves to be its biggest hurdle.

The bare bones for success are there. With a bit more polish and the intention to deliver the game as a game rather than what amounts to an interactive documentary when all is said and done, I am confident that the developers can pull off a better, more entertaining game in the future.

The four-player game is impossible to enjoy, and in this genre, that may be the most important aspect of all.

While it is still possible to enjoy the game on its merits, the player can expect to be frustrated by long hours of tedium thanks to the problems with the breeding system.

It’s a wonderful and unique experience that really shows a lot of polish.

A title that shows so much potential in its unique gameplay, but it is also a title that shows how technological shortcomings can ruin an otherwise interesting game and render it a frustrating mess.

The characters and environments are all but devoid of personality, and even fans of the television program will be left wondering what has been done to suck all of the life out of such a great series.

A mediocre game. Due to camera issues, a combat system that needs some tweaking, and various other flaws; I can't really recommend this to anyone.

A lackluster game with too many frustrations for such little fun. The short length and lack of real replay value make it not worth picking up.

Let's hope, for their sake, that the inevitable sequel to ER keeps the good ideas but injects a little fun into the formula.

As the game stands now, it’s just too mundane, slow and...well...gray (either literally and/or figuratively, depending on your palette preferences) to really merit much applause.

Offers a decent gameplay experience as an action title, but doesn't live up to the Contra name. It's short, easy, and far too sparse on epic boss fights.

Stripped of its license, Avatar would be easily dismissed as yet another run of the mill hack-and-slash action RPG, but given the game's at least competent portrayal of the series, this is certainly a game that fans of the television show could enjoy, gripes notwithstanding.

Magical Starsign is the role-playing equivalent to bubblegum. It's a fun diversion, but far from substantial, instead resigning itself to being an interesting holdover until something more worthwhile comes along.

Feels more like an elaborate tech demo for HD televisions than it does a complete gameplay experience. Lacking all the gameplay modes and tweaks that one would expect from a yearly release, this version of the game is incomplete.

One gets the feeling that the developers couldn't come to a decision as to which particular aspect should carry the most weight, be it pinball or strategy, and in the end Odama ends up feeling like a game without focus. The game can also be punishingly difficult

It's not completely without merit, especially if you are able to find a few friends online to play with.

It is by no means outstanding, and perhaps is begging to really show the problems of cramming this entire story into a pseudo-Sims experience on a portable console.

The action is too slow, the camera is poorly implemented, the gameplay is repetitive, and the story is clichéd. The only redeeming qualities are nifty “manga” shaded graphics and an interesting combo-learning system.

The game looks terrible, I'll just come right out and say it up front.

With a bit of polish, and a smoother targeting system closer to that in titles such as "God of War," Samurai Western could have been a joy to play. Unfortunately, Atlus provided a game which is a bug-ridden and frustrating experience.

Stripped of its license, Avatar would be easily dismissed as yet another run of the mill hack-and-slash action RPG, but given the game's at least competent portrayal of the series, this is certainly a game that fans of the television show could enjoy, gripes notwithstanding.

The characters and environments are all but devoid of personality, and even fans of the television program will be left wondering what has been done to suck all of the life out of such a great series.

While "Samba De Amigo" (the most similar thing to it) had graphical and stylistic touches that kept the gamer going, Donkey Konga feels languid, and lazy. While at first it is fun, you will find that any long experimentation with it will lead to boredom, or tears. Or both.

The quick changing of gameplay and many minigames should be highly entertaining for a young kid, and the simple puzzles are easy to complete, though the controls can be frustrating. But if you're looking for a quality platformer or puzzler, look elsewhere.

It won’t win any awards for the way it looks, plays or sounds. But, the devil really is in the details this time. A lot of work went into crafting a game that is considerably different in style than anything else on the market, even if the gameplay itself is stale.

Taken on its own, the game is not all that inspiring, and when compared with other RPGs, it is somewhat boring and tends to wear out its welcome long before the final confrontation.

It’s a barebones swashbuckling experience wrapped around a buggy and repetitive gameplay core that skirts the edges of the mundane.

Merely a mediocre licensed title with charm that falls flat after the tenth super is used in one fight. Its decent graphics and authentic voices from the show do little to improve its playability.

Old fans will certainly appreciate it, and it has enough charm to compel those looking for something new, but newcomers should certainly be warned that it’s an unusual taste. It is time-consuming, repetitive and dull, yet it is also relaxing and vaguely satisfying.

A repetitive game that is bound to bore a large majority of gamers after just a short time of playing. It reeks of old school gaming, but not in a good way, and in an age where innovation and longevity are all that keeps a game from falling into the bottomless pit of obscurity, Crimson Tears already seems doomed.

While considerably longer than the PC game of the same name, it is really not a lot of fun to play, whereas that game made me laugh out loud a handful of times.

The sheer amount of weapons helps make the game more interesting as does its sense of humor. Though, I must admit that while the game can be quite charming, a lot of the jokes tend to fall flat.

It's not completely without merit, especially if you are able to find a few friends online to play with.

The gameplay itself-though uninteresting-is still intuitive and responsive.

It’s too focused on tricks to be a good racer, yet not not enough to be a competent skating game either. As such, fans of either genre are advised to give this one a pass.

As far as available modes, the list is noticeably anemic.

The single player campaign is tedious, ugly, and loads like its on the PSP. The swan song of the Xbox this is not.

With all of the risks developers have been willing to take lately on properties like "Psychonauts" and "Killer 7," it's really painful when a product comes along and unabashedly cribs from other people's notes. Batman Begins doesn't have a genuine bone in its body.

Batman Begins doesn't have a genuine bone in its body.

If topless girls are your thing and you can ignore the flagrant bugs and lack of content, then go for it. Everyone else, go back to the Sims.

Happy Feet is sure to please kids, at least for a while, and in that sense the game is a success. Still, the game is fairly insubstantial and could have benefited from some platforming in between its minigames, a la "Rayman: Raving Rabbids."

While I applaud the developers for shedding the trappings of contemporary role-playing games that opt for style over substance, that does not excuse the fact that the actual gameplay is many times awkward and cumbersome.

What Bombastic offers is a new take on a classic puzzle game. Unfortunately this new take is far too complex for its own good as it attempts to build on an already terrific game.

Game play stutters and disappearing goons are more common than they should be in this title, and it might be time for Koei to plan the next title in this series to be for a next-gen system.

The only real complaint is that the game is perhaps a bit too shallow. Most likely to be left as a rental for the masses, the game is nonetheless a fun and very original gaming experience.

The game is insanely addictive, but it will only truly appeal to those with a modicum of patience.

It doesn't have much replay value aside from multiplayer battles, and the 28 arenas offered are uninspired and bland.

With "Brain Age" on the market already, which offers not only a large selection of puzzles, but also more variety of compelling content, there simply is nothing that makes Sudoku Gridmaster stand out as a worthwhile purchase.

Fun, and can be good for laughs, but just like the films it pokes fun at, the game is about as deep as a candy dish.

There are some bright points, such as an abundance of moves, and some interesting levels, but this is overshadowed by bland presentation and disjoined gameplay.

This is not the "Baldur's Gate" killer people were hoping for, and I fear that once "Dark Alliance II" hits retail, our four Heroes will become but a distant memory for another 150 years.

The control aspect is passable at times, and downright painful at others. Whoever wrote the code for this "nodes" system needs to be taken out in the road and ran over.

The on screen combat in Robotech: Battlecry can get a little hectic at times. This can lead to confusion and panic, as it can quickly become unclear as to what is going on with so much happening on the screen at one time.

Plugging terrorists is always fun, and the game is certainly worth a look if you don't own either the Xbox or PS2 versions, but the lack of online play makes the GameCube version the weakest of the three editions available.

While visually that game is unmatched, there just isn't enough game here to warrant anything other than a rental.

Decent, but it comes up short of ideal in just about every conceivable area.

If you can look beyond the technical issues, the game offers somewhat entertaining, if generic gameplay.

Given everything the game has going for it, the thing that makes the meat of any racing game - the races - are a huge letdown.

Blatant lack of innovation and anything particularly new.

Shinobi is, in a word, average. There are other adjectives I could throw at it, such a repetitive and frustrating, but I think average describes it best.

The final nitpick I will make is the load times. Dear god! They are easily over a minute. It's like the code for the game is being written on the fly between levels.

My excitement faded, however, as I repeatedly discovered the marquee games to be inferior versions of their PC progenitors.

It's frustrating, to say the least, when fights are often won by whichever player was able to mash the attack buttons the fastest during a power struggle, or when a powerful attack misses because the opponent randomly guessed the proper escape button.

Though the game is quite repetitive at times and the story is nearly nonexistent, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is still a refreshingly fun game for both children and adults.

There are a variety of attacks and moves that can be mastered for the Diskarmor, but sadly you will often find yourself simply using the most straightforward attacks as they are not only the easiest to execute, but also are less likely to leave Rygar open for attack by any one for the handful of different enemies in the game.

Provides a decent PC role-playing experience, but it is simply not as refined as the Fallout games that it is derived from.

A bland, generic first-person shooter that does very little to advance the genre, and is far from worth paying full price for at retail. The gameplay and graphics fail at being interesting, and the game's only high point is its sound design.

Should be one of the best racing games available, yet on the xBox it just comes off as slow and clunky.

A great visual stunner and full of action packed fighting sequences that will keep you going even if the pitfalls kill you more than your enemies do. Great for rental.

And that is perhaps this game's only saving grace: it is one damn fine looking game. Both arenas and the ladies are visualized exceptionally well.

It plays the role of an updated "Final Fight" clone quite well, but the lion’s share of today’s gamers demand a little more depth for their hard earned money.

Republic Commando feels malnourished, lacking in the fundamentals of both first-person shooting and squad-based command, and it is crippled by its simplicity and tactical hand-holding.

While somewhat interesting in parts, most players will be only marginally amused by the effort, while those who grew up on the source material will be more inclined to come away feeling sadly disappointed.

Ultimately, a sizeable portion of the game feels more like a 3D "Double Dragon" or "Final Fight" than it does "Ghosts ‘n’ Goblins." It’s solid gameplay in that vein, but it’s a misstep for this particular franchise.