An amusing and often times funny diversion with a lot of cool ideas, but ultimately falls flat as a game. It’s a pretty bold experiment coming from the increasingly-staid House that Sonic built, but one that leaves us feeling passionless.

The Belkin War lives up to the entertainment legacy of the Ace Combat series by subtracting much of what didn't work and adding valuable new elements.

The game looks and feels dated. The colors are drab, and the world lacks character. Nothing here looks state of the art, yet the system requirements are quite high.

Children of the Nile isn’t an excellent game merely because it’s innovative. It’s an excellent game because those innovations make for a more compelling, and generally less frustrating experience for the player.

Elebits is fun, but manages to feel more like a technical demonstration than a complete game.

Those hoping for a strong single-player campaign should consider Frontlines a rental at best, as the entire experience is over within six hours. Yet if your Xbox Live itch hasn't been scratched by either Call of Duty 4 or Halo 3, consider moving Frontlines to the top of your soldier's shopping list.

Dark Age is easily one of the best massively multiplayer online RPGs available today, and Trials of Atlantis is a solid addition to the experience.

The Euro-flavored plot and grounded situations help set it apart, and though the gameplay hasn't been watered-down in order to appeal to the casual gamer, it's still accessible enough to make it a worthwhile entry point for those less familiar with the genre.

Mercury demands a lot, and doesn’t offer many ways for deficient players to build their skills for later levels.

The lack of variety in the levels was a major factor. But even more so was the constant loading and unnatural, abrupt transitions.

There's a good deal of trial and error involved with The Lost Vikings, an aspect of the game that may seem tedious to some people. But there is a suitably addictive challenge awaiting gamers the first time through.

While the new camera is a big step forward, in almost every other visual aspect, ASB '05 is behind the times.

The simplicity of Culdcept hides an incredibly deep system, but one that almost everyone will grasp immediately.

They might want to cut down on the load times, too. Or at least come up with a few more pretty pictures to admire while we wait.

While it doesn't have the depth or complexity of the PC version, The Sims 2 brings a unique and engaging game experience to the Xbox.

Though it has numerous pros, courts, and options - including a player creation section that would make World Of Warcraft jealous - and looks as good as Wimbledon on NBC, it is ultimately undone by the most obvious of gaming mistakes: bad controls.

An enjoyable, mindless, action game and generally plays well on the 360. But the performance issues are going to rob this one of a point. Especially when we know this console should be able to handle a game like this without breaking a sweat.

Should be a fun diversion for fans of the genre, though it pales in comparison to the best handheld platformers on the market.

The biggest draw in DarkWatch is the setting. It's just different enough to remain interesting the whole way through.

It takes a little effort, maybe, but you can make a game for kids that doesn’t bore a more experienced player.

There’s certainly room for improvement, but Transformers has a lot to offer any fan of interactive destruction.

While there’s a lot of action here, traditional real-time strategy gamers might be thrown off by its complexity.

This is clearly a port in the wrong direction. The PSP visuals that looked great on the small screen now look terrible, and visual glitches and shortcomings flood the screen.

Could've been a great game, but focuses more on being funny and irreverent than being a solid action/RPG and ends up being pretty average.

It may seem like a laidback, go-as-you-wish experience, but with the constant time limits imposed on the player it fails as both a relaxing and fully rewarding game.

The lame dialog and acting shatters any real delusions of drama, as do the irritating glitches and the surprise ending, reminding you that this is just a game after all.

The boss fights are supremely challenging and satisfying, and you’ll earn totally bitchin’ sets of armor as you accumulate bloody victories. There’s even a very enjoyable chariot race section.

Your appreciation of Tak 2 largely depends on the number of 3D platform games you've seen over the years. The more you've experienced, the less impressive Tak 2 is to play, which means younger audiences will love it.

An otherwise solid playing game that comes up short in the control and play modes, especially when compared to "NBA Street V3," which is clearly the better option for those new to the arcade b-ball franchise.

For newcomers to the series, this is a great introduction, not only to real-time strategy games, but to console RTS's in general.

The missions are more engaging, the environments more detailed, and the graphics substantially improved. Sadly, the interface has become unnecessarily complicated, and the few bugs that exist upset the game's flow.

If you already own "Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance" for the Game Boy Advance, then consider this the strictly optional, backwards-compatible 2.0 version.

For mindless, violent action, the title reigns second to none. However, we've played the same game four times over, and it's high time the franchise had a face-lift.

A good game with a number of good qualities, but its emphasis on some of the less exciting aspects of strategy games and the horrible voice acting hold it back from greatness.

In particular, it's disappointing to see that extra processing power hasn't gone to make the horses feel more responsive and real.

But since the web, which plays such an important role in solving many of the puzzles, makes it easy to cheat, only pick it up if you’re certain you can resist temptation.

This game is quirky and cool, but just isn't substantial enough to make an explosive impact. For the best of both worlds, buy Lumines II and play the included Every Extend Extra demo.

Chili Con Carnage is short-lived, but incredibly fun. The complete focus on crazy, stupid gunplay, tons of enemies, and decent graphics and environment make it a guilty pleasure.

It's no stunner visually and the background music will drive you up the wall, but there's just something about its deceptively simple gameplay and excellent head-to-head mode that will keep you coming back again and again.

The game may be stylized, but it looks and plays spectacularly in high-definition.

A game that aspires to be big, loud, obnoxious, and fun, and it succeeds. Much like the original, there’s virtually no depth here, but the focus on pure, unadulterated explosions is the perfect alternative to the heavy-handed, dramatic shooters we’ve seen lately.

The deeper toolbox and more varied rogue's gallery are welcome additions, but the stronger story and improved sense of character that New York Zero has been imbued with are the big saving graces in Prototype 2.

Delivers a fluid and challenging (if thinly plotted) single-player experience and shell-shock multiplayer that makes this new Xbox recruit easily worth the war debt of the game's price tag.

There’s a lot to like here, and the game does a nice job of blending mindless destruction with equal parts stupid- and well-thought out humor.

It seems like the slightly retarded love child of Meteos and Tetris DS – a clunky excuse to use the stylus more than a fun experience. Both of those games – despite their own flaws – are miles better than Pokemon Trozei!

For a relatively inexpensive game available on Steam, Shadowgrounds makes for a nice diversion, especially if you have some buddies over and a few controllers to use. It’s fun solo too, but it gets repetitive quickly and even freshly upgraded weapons won’t keep your interest for long.

While the production values are pretty good, the gameplay is pretty shallow. If you’re into action games, this is worth playing once.

While the level of exploration and interaction is nowhere near the quality of later games in "The Legend of Zelda" series, Radiata Stories offers several genuinely humorous moments, a colorful world, and a cast of characters that stick with you long after you’ve powered down the PS2.

While a new game with new characters and gameplay would of course have been preferable to a port, Darkstalkers Chronicles is still a solid and satisfying old-school portable fighting experience, with just the right amount of depth and all of the necessary features.

Army of Two is a dream come true for co-op enthusiasts. It doesn’t hit every note perfectly, but the campaign and team-based multiplayer modes are the perfect reasons to pester your old "Gears of War" buddy into picking it up.

The music and visuals are excellent. And you know what? So is the core play of the game. There's a lot of innovation here in SpellForce. Although parts of it are rough around the edges, there's too much good gameplay here to pass up.

The absurd amount of sneaking around at the end of the game becomes overly tedious and a poor replacement for more exciting gun battles.

It just fails to reach the bar set by the best racers on the system, not to mention it doesn't come close to enjoying the level of polish or fun present in the console iterations of Underground.

Excerpt forthcoming.

Those who enjoyed "Tennis 2K2" or "Top Spin" probably won’t appreciate Smash Court Tennis as much, since the game isn’t nearly as accessible. Yet if you felt these titles were lacking in realism and challenge, Smash Court will easily satisfy your inner Roddick or Williams.

The players to whom that would really be a problem have probably already done something about it, though. To regular humans who don't know about imports and don't care that there might be a better version on another continent, Clash of Ninja 2 is the best Naruto game on the market.

The tweaking and decent gameplay salvages things, but the caps the game's developers put on things leaves you struggling to have fun instead of it coming naturally.

The game can at times be a repetitive, dreary experience in any case. Ostensibly distilled down to lure console gamers, EverQuest Online Adventures is less about lofty quests than about repeated bouts of monster-hunting, loot-grabbing, and leveling up.

If the core battle system was more robust and there was more to do than just fight and draw, Magic Pengel: The Quest for Color could have been a landmark title.

If this one had gameplay to match its story and visuals, we'd be looking at a Game of the Year candidate.

Binary Domain is Japan's answer to Gears of War, with exciting, energetic third-person shooting. The multiplayer is lackluster, and the optionally voiced squad tactics are largely inconsequential, but the campaign's sharp shooting and smart story make for a vision splendid romp through Japan's future.

Makes destroying humans fun with an original setting, enjoyable alien arsenal, and cleverly designed missions. Its sense of humor may falter once in a while, and content freaks will definitely find the game on the short side.

For more literate-minded gamers who want a different sort of experience, this is a distinct and interesting attempt to broaden the adventure game genre.

Dungeon Siege lovers, however, might appreciate the accurate look and feel of Throne of Agony, but won’t appreciate how the core RPG elements like in depth character creation and party-based exploration have been discarded.

It offers the perfect style of gameplay makes for those who want to jump online and play an hour or so, then get back to their life.

Even with the short running time, however, Genji is so well-constructed that anyone partial to sword combat should pay attention.

It's not far out to score Big Brain Academy slightly higher than its predecessor, mostly because the game contains none of the maddening verbal and writing input issues.

It’s disappointing that the multiplayer doesn’t take advantage of the opportunities established by the rest of the game’s design, but the four-player co-op is a very welcomed addition.

Sufficient gameplay of third-person shooting, stealth, and a hefty load of campy newscasting that fortunately can be skipped.

It would have been nice if the developer and Microsoft could have come up with some way to play via e-mail (or some other delayed method), but considering the price, there isn't much to complain about in Dai Senryaku VII.

For every impressive animation on the field or cool detail such as dirt staying on uniforms after a slide, there seems to be a negative aspect, from the frame rate suddenly taking a hit as a runner sprints toward first to an unflattering camera view that detracts more than it adds.

Whether it's the charming, funny dialogue (which, apart from the clumsy song lyrics, is translated well), the pretty landscapes, the fact that even if you lose most of the Trotmobile fights the game keeps going... there's always a reason to pick it back up and push on.

A true gem. It's a breezy, easy-to-play game that will leave you wondering where the hours went. With such a beautifully refined title now under its belt, it's hard to see how Sunflower will top it.

The jalopy of the group. Gamers who go gaga for drifting will still show up in droves, but the majority of you will be much better off with "Project Gotham 3's" melding of replay and realism or "Need For Speed: Most Wanted's" frantic cop chases and customization.

Between the race and freestyle career modes, there's simply a ton of gameplay.

Mild annoyances in the interface, a design mode without anything to design, and some questionable racing physics keep the game from the top of the podium. With that said, Apex is an enjoyable and mildly addictive title with plenty of arcade action for racing fans.

Stormreach very skillfully brings the classic game to the internet and captures the feel of the offline experience. However, it all feels a little constricted, and while it’s problems are much more limited than those seen in other MMO’s, it’s still not quite a perfect gameplay experience.

Your enjoyment of Midway Arcade Treasures 2 will certainly hinge upon your weakness for nostalgia.

The scenario editor and coaster designer are nice, but don't expect an experience that looks or feels at all different from the first game because you won't find it here.

The questionable control layout makes actually enjoying the good points harder than it should be.

Our beef is more with the choice of porting it to the PSP and then skimping on multiplayer. Without easy multiplayer match-ups, the game just doesn’t have legs.

The short length and repetitive sequences make it more of a rental for non-believers, but overall, excellent gameplay, a great presentation, and familiar characters make this the best superhero-based game since, well, "Spider-Man 2."

There's a lot to like here, and the game does a nice job of blending mindless destruction with equal parts stupid- and well-thought out humor.

The Secret World has too many problems to function...After playing the game for over a month I haven't seen any serious signs of improvement. Quests remain buggy, graphics suffer and the core of the game is still as obnoxious as ever.

It would have been a pretty good RPG without a bunch of famous characters in it, but the characters add plenty of visual charm and personality to the game.

The battle system makes up for the mediocre production values, as does the many incentives to play this title over and over again.

But if you've never played "Ultima Online," this expansion pack won't give you much of a reason to give it a go. You're better off saving your hard-earned gold on an MMORPG that doesn't look and play like it was created in the century it's set in.

It keeps most of the basic gameplay elements intact, but a little bit of polish (along with a few additional features) could have made this a spectacular title, rather than a merely solid one.

Some may find the real-time combat to be quite a bit more frustrating and less rewarding than the earlier turn-based stuff, but it’s far from a deal-breaker.

It’s a testament to the game that despite all of these problems, Sacred is still fun to play. No really, it is!... But there’s still no excuse for releasing a game in such shoddy condition.

Chief among the defects of Rocky is that despite the game's well-conceived interplay of jabs, uppercuts, blocks, power-punches and what have you, it's too easy to cheap-shot your way to victory.

One of those rare titles that benefit from being played loud. All the background noise (or lack thereof) will play with your mind to the point that you'll be taking frequent breaks to collect yourself.

It sure does look done, but once you slice it open you realize it's only half-baked.

The gameplay is still the best out there but Konami needs to step up their game. The changes were very minor and the new AI is not as sharp as advertised. This would have been a solid first game, but this is pretty much an exact replica from last year’s version with a revamped AI and the same old online issues.

Star Ocean: First Departure doesn’t get everything right, but it gets enough right to make it an addictive adventure, and one of the better RPGs on the PSP this fall.

All told, Sam & Max fans have plenty to celebrate with three top notch (albeit brief) episodes.

The controls are responsive and the ride is smooth. Add to that an impressive sense of speed and plenty of content (including head-to-head link battles) and you have a very attractive model on your hands.

One area that the game is really lacking in, however, is its soundtrack.