The ten or so new missions aren’t anything special, and playing them on your PS2 might prove a painful experience.

Koei should stop feeding its fans new gameplay through an intravenous drip, especially if they expect them to pay for their games.

Scurge: Hive isn’t a bad investment if a player is seeking fast paced pick up and play action, but players who appreciate more depth in their titles should probably shy away.

It is absolutely impossible to recommend this game to anyone, and indeed adherents to the Sims franchise will probably like it less than the average joe for its cavalier disregard for franchise staples.

The Outfit, while it presents an interesting spin on the traditional take for a game of its sort, falls short of not only of its own developmental aspirations, but also of the rigorous standards of console gamers.

It’s not entirely engaging or original, but it is fun. It’s attractive, sounds nice, and the story—for all its faults—can be ignored safely with no detrimental effects.

The game is also quite easy. Baku is able to practically heal on demand, so even boss fights basically go on until you win.

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.

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.

While not a horrible game; due to camera issues, a problematic story and dated graphics, Tenchu strikes in at average.

It is the game’s endearing story and characters, coupled with an intriguing adventure that help to make Trace Memory succeed in being truly memorable, pardon the pun.

The ideas are well thought out, but implemented poorly, and nothing can excuse the total lack of speed in a racing game.

The use of physics brings a genuine uniqueness to the title, but it ends up feeling more like a gimmick than anything else. Without these physics, FlatOut would fail on all fronts to be memorable. With them, it only succeeds in being only slightly above average.

Beyond the P.E.C. mode and faster gameplay, not a whole lot has changed since Black Arrow, which disappoints even the most meager expectations for change.

While the Bomberman franchise is chock full of potential, Bomberman Jetters squanders the good things it has going for it in order to serve up another dish of reprocessed mediocrity.

The devilish tracks and quick, pick-up-and-play nature of the mission structure result in a game that is perfectly suited for the PSP console, and gamers looking for something a little different could certainly do a lot worse.

With crisp visuals, pleasant audio and lots of content, it will likely find an audience, but those looking for the next great Donkey Kong game aren't going to find it here.

While the "Power Stone"-esque gameplay would probably appeal to most people, an overwhelming portion of the experience seems to require at least a passing interest in the anime. Still, it's a great package for what it is and I genuinely enjoyed my time with it.

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.

Looks and sounds the part of a goofy adventure game, and for the 10 or so hours it takes to complete players will be sure to enjoy its charms. It is far from a masterpiece, but it is the current highlight to the series.

The racing in Cars is fun and accessible for children, and the story is appropriate for all ages, but frustrating mini-games and lack of direction at key points in a children's game are both unforgivable oversights.

With three race varieties available, grand prix, time trial, and one on one boss races, and unlockable racers and paint jobs, Cars offers a fair bit of replay value.

If you are indeed intrigued then it's that sense of inquisitiveness that will, at the end of the day, carry you right through the slightly slapdash puzzles, past the occasionally repetitive combat, right through the final cutscene and, if you're anything like me, onto endless debate about the game's ending.

It seems as if those at Midway decided that the “hook” they would use in the game would be the good Doctor’s ability to change into various inane things, such as a spider or squirrel. The whole game in fact is based around this concept, and it is easily one of the most contrived, useless gimmicks I have seen in a game to date.

Its impact is muted rather significantly by the age of the engine, but it still succeeds in being rather unlike anything else released this year.

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.

I think the game may pose a greater challenge for adults than the young, but both will find the game frantic. Oddly, I never found the game frustrating, even after losing countless times.

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.