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.

While there is a lot to enjoy about the game, the lower production values, simple gameplay, and campy story will put off people looking for a gripping adventure.

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.

In practice, it’s a forgettable game that offers less than its competition. Instead of taking an evolutionary step up from last year’s version of The Life, the game is content to shovel out more of the same.

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 limited interaction with the environment gets to be frustrating. Glass windows crack and crumble magnificently, but not always. Bodies fall into walls and disappear. Saving is unreliable.

While the combat is not as novel as it first seems, what really hurts the game is the occasional forced backtracking. If you liked the first Legend of Heroes, this is a no-brainer to pick up, but JRPG critics or gamers looking for a breath of fresh air should pass it by.

There are still some minor control issues, and the game is still incredibly inconsistent in terms of visual acuity, but in spite of this Red Steel is still an unquestionably fun game to play.

Nothing can save Pac-Man World 3 from feeling simply average, and that extends to the game’s presentation as well. This is not helped by some crippling technical issues, which are highlighted by an unmanageable and nearly-broken camera.

It may not inspire players to sing praises of its innovation or unparalleled gameplay, but it is nonetheless an entertaining foray into the world of monster collection.

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.

It can be really hard at times, but this difficult really does add to the atmosphere in this game, almost to the point where you will feel the flames licking at you.

At a mere twenty dollars, the game may just be worth the frustrating elements and rather awkward beginnings just to get to the juicy core of the game. And with a bevy of features, the game does offer quite a lot for its price.

Bottom line, one can conceivably see a platform on which Fantastic 4 is a solid 3D beat-‘em-up, but the PC is not it. Players who feel they must spend their hard-earned gaming dollars on a Fantastic 4 game are urged to get a console version, not the PC’s rushed-together heap.

The game is mindless, shooting mayhem that is extremely evocative of sprite based shooting games of yesteryear.

Curse: The Eye of Isis does do an admiral job of pulling off drama, thanks in part to a very well done camera. Much like the camera systems in "Alone in the Dark" and "Resident Evil," Curse utilizes a fixed placement camera that captures the action from just the right angle in each location.

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

Sure, it's a bit slow compared to Mario Kart, and yes the lion's share of the tracks are fairly forgettable, but the potential is there. However, there is just so much extra flotsam that the game forces you to navigate through to get at even the marginally fun bits that it hardly seems worth it.

Space Hack brings the hack-and-slash genre back to its roots. There is never a dull moment as the character hacks, slashes, and shoots his way through alien hordes while trying to save the colonists living on the ship.

Far from perfect and a mere shadow of its potential, Drakengard gives players only fleeting glimpses of brilliance and these are spread far to thin for this game to carry with it any real merit.

At no more than 7 hours from start to finish, I’m sure most players can spare an evening.

If you’re as attracted to the prospect of a Western shooter as I was, don’t let the ho-hum score detract you. Just don’t come crying to me when you’ve beaten it in a weekend, can’t stand the multiplayer, and have since found other uses for that $40.

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

Not only did EA fail to put in any significant new features; not only did they serve up a plate of castrated game features; not only has the core gameplay taken several measurable steps backwards for the genre, but the graphics, conceivably the most basic measure of the game’s prospective success, are not only unimpressive, but buggy, distorted, and ugly. Color me shocked.

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.

A pleasant surprise. Whilst not without it’s flaws, (some features, or lack thereof, give away the game’s obviously low production values) Wings provides a decent-looking arcade flight sim which, if sampled for small periods at regular intervals, can actually prove very enjoyable.

It's painfully obvious Monster House was a cheap, easy cash-in attempt on the movie, and while other platforms might not fare so poorly, buying Monster House for the Nintendo DS can't be seen as anything other than a mistake.

Its engaging mixture of game types and interesting graphics combine to create a fun ride, but one that is sadly over too soon.