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.

The gameplay is easy to grasp, but while good for some short-term fun, it ultimately falls short.

The Fable faithful might love the look of this adorable take on the franchise, but those who favor gameplay depth over a fan-pleasing presentation, won't find more than thumb-blistering brawling beneath its charming exterior.

A mixed bag. Those who don't mind some badly written jRPG tropes will find quite a bit to love in combat, but the game is generally too linear and plodding to earn anything above the praise of "decent."

For a game with a name that screams “party”, Bust-a-Move Bash! Doesn't offer much to keep the gang occupied.

Actually, the increased difficulty isn't such bad news. If you're a loyal player who has stuck with the series this far, your character is a considerably buffed presence by now. Indeed, one of the cooler aspects of the game is that some of your missions involve helping newer, greener players.

A short, stupid, bite-sized treat. Like a bag of Funyuns, it's good for a while, but you can only take so much. The game's biggest shortfall is the fact that it rings up at a whopping $15, which is probably about $10 more than I would be willing to pay for the quality it delivers.

Drawn to Life is perfect for younger or novice gamers who enjoy the artistic aspects the game offers and prefer their action lightweight. It’s a great concept and overall, done well, but once you get over the stylus drawing and coloring pad gimmick.

In terms of performance, the game fares better than the PS2 version, with a fairly consistent frame rate that conveys a decent sense of speed. The game occasionally slows down, but only when the screen is overpopulated with racers.

The reliance on old school game mechanics does make the game dated. It’s a bit like playing a clone of the original Doom after you’ve finished Half-Life 2.

The Vendetta Online community, though small, is fantastically helpful and supportive. The VO forums are not filled with whiners. The game is not filled with jerks.

Had the missions were more expansive, and the multiplayer broader, this would have been a must-buy—especially on the PS3. As it is, Armored Core 4 is the best in the series, and a decent action game.

A solid, fun addition to the extreme water sports genre. Borrowing liberally from "SSX's" winning bag of tricks, the game proves entertaining, if not innovative.

With smartly designed levels and a variety of tasks, there are much worse ways to spend a weekend. Don't expect the trimmings of a big-budget title, but it's a bloody, twisted good time to those who are neither squeamish nor easily offended.

Casual hockey fans should give this series the cold shoulder until the developers take better advantage of the new platform, something that will likely happen with "NHL 2K7."

But the interface provides the real horror show, with cryptic icons, buttons that have mysterious functions, and information displayed in a way that's difficult to understand.

Future Tactics makes a few blunders, but simple and intuitive rules, dynamic and destructible battlefields, and a few great ideas make for a fight worth fighting in the end.

Without a doubt Pokémon Emerald is the best Pokémon RPG to date, but if you've played Ruby and Sapphire and didn't care enough to catch them all and memorize all of their cute little names, then there probably isn't much here for you.

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.

What began as a simple tale of a dog and the flower he loves has become a farcical, overblown imitation of a cheesy action movie with little challenge or replay value. As unfortunate as it is for gamers to be let down so early in the new year, it must be said that PaRappa 2 is the first disappointment of 2002.

The short completion time means you'll always walk away having accomplished something, and the random maps mean you'll always be in for a surprise. But it likely won't be as surprising as just how fun Nosferatu is.

The graphics are fine and the gameplay is adequate, but mundane level objectives and a lack of refinement keep it buried in the middle of the extreme sports pack.

The overhead camera feels constrained. We simply want an isometric view to get a better perspective.

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.

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

If you were hoping that the Need for Speed series would ditch the underground in favor of some sunshine, Ford Racing 3 is your type of game. The outdoor environments are fun and memorable, and the events grow increasingly competitive as you rise in rank from an amateur to a pro.

Understand going in to this game that you're going to die a lot. And you're going to have to replay the same scenes over many times before you get past them. And if you see Cthulhu, give him our best.

It's a gifted, but often-troubled arcade game that forsakes depth for good old-fashioned death and debauchery.

The biggest problem is that despite the large number of tracks, the racing starts to feel the same after a while. The races are exercises in cutting off your opponents, grabbing the turbo power-ups at the right time, and learning to take curves properly.

There is a feeling of respect for the source material present in the Xbox Fellowship that is lacking in the PS2 version. Still, the heavily flawed combat drags this title down to a great degree, effectively making about half the game into more a chore than anything else.

If you’re a stat-maxing, power-leveling, anime-watching RPG fan, this game was made for you. Expect a couple of hundred hours of entertainment.

More characters and multiplayer modes would have improved it a great deal, but as it is, there’s plenty of levels and engaging mutant action.

A fairly simple game that offers little challenge once you understand the basics. Yet it’s still charming in its own right.

A good platformer buoyed by some interesting gameplay concepts and hindered by certain design flaws.

There's little variation among the GameCube, PlayStation 2, and Xbox versions of Cars, and each hits the mark in terms of racing game basics such as framerate and sense of speed. Rainbow Studios has performed admirably here.

Overall Kane & Lynch is an interesting -- if overly violent -- take on the “buddy” game. The tag-team setup adds something to what would already be a solid action game and makes it that much better.

Where UEFA Euro 2004 falters is in its scope.

Trying to take dirty pictures with a bondage queen has its place, but shouldn't improving the basic-as-tomato-soup gameplay be first on the to-do list?

This game is about jumping puzzles, timing puzzles, and exploration -- all very simple and not at all challenging.

Children will have no trouble getting into the groove of the action, and their parents will be able to play along and have a good time too. Playing with a dance pad is highly recommended.

The story and characterization are better than in most console RPGs. But we were left wondering why these rookie mistakes are in a game with so much promise.

While it’s hard to recommend this strange adventure to hardcore gamers, Neopets Petpet Adventure manages to take familiar action and role-playing elements, wrap it around a bizarrely cute exterior, and end up with a very playable quest.

The addition of perspective and emotional content comes out of left field, but is amazingly well done. It’s the rare button masher that can play on a person’s sympathies, and Nights proves it has both heart and brains to go with its mindless exterior.

While not the most complicated game of the year, does deliver a small serving of fun. At the least it's the sort of title that forces players to work up a bit of the old hand-eye coordination.

The most ambitious and complicated real-time strategy game ever made. This will make it a joy to devout fans of the genre, but an overwhelming mess to everyone else.

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

Isn't really a sequel no matter what it says on the box. It's an expansion pack. Gamers who already own "IL-2 Sturmovik" may balk at the price, as there's simply not enough new here to justify the purchase.

Wii Play may sound like some kinky German fetish video (our last Wii pun, we promise!), but it's actually good, clean fun overall -- aimed at those who either A) are in diapers, B) list Pac-Man as the last video game they played, or C) a twisted combo of both. It also caters to lazy bastards, with its ability to be played from a sitting position.

The competition isn't super hot, however, especially once players get the hang of the controls. It's not that the AI isn't realistic, just that it doesn't push very hard against a reasonably capable player.

Dungeon Lords had a lot of potential. The world is sparse and hard to navigate through, but at the same time feels oddly warm and interesting.

The catch-up AI quickly turns potential blowouts into nail biting and controller slamming affairs, the loading times are still way too long, and the visuals aren't much of an upgrade.

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.

Scores several points for the innovative control scheme that's destined to replace button mashing as the fighting tool of choice. But it doesn't have the interactivity or variety to back up the chop-socky skills, making for play that's tasty, but about as filling as a trip to a Chinese joint at your local strip mall.

The bar has been set higher by "ESPN NHL 2K5," whose presentation, sense of realism, and play modes simply outclass, outshine, and outperform those found in NHL 2005.

Has all of the right ingredients for a successful hockey title, but it falters where it matters most: solid gameplay. The graphics and camera angles don't help draw you into the rink as much as the excellent sound and atmosphere, and the action seems to cater more to hockey newbies rather than hardcore veterans.

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.

A cut above your average jilted-samurai-seeks-revenge-against-the-demonic-hordes-who-wronged-him game.

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.

Competent but unimpressive.

Nothing terribly new and exciting, just another solid entry into Konami's dancing series.

The graphical improvements are not terribly impressive, and the extra content is more of the same.

If The Guild 2 gets the patches it deserves, there’s a worthwhile simulation in here somewhere for niche-hybrid lovers. Else it’s just a glorious mess of ideas stumbling around in a soup of unrealized possibilities.

Blazin' Trails needs more user-friendly control and a graphical overhaul--we're talking almost original PlayStation visuals here--but at the end of the day it's still a really enjoyable game.

Typically, the gameplay here is cheap and full of unsatisfying ways to die.

Jet Set Radio's modern upgrade isn't a robust one, but it's certainly suitable for the asking price. Unfortunately, the game found beneath all of that aesthetic bliss has aged poorly in parts, and the result is that this important and influential experience is much better seen and heard today, rather than actually played.

A very solid tactical action game that's hampered by some very demanding controls.

Some stuff in Gangland, like building up your crime family, works great. Other parts, like the pace of combat, unhelpful camera angles, and useless vehicles will make you wonder if the developers should have radically rethought all the squad-based stuff.

Lacks several qualities found in the best of the genre, but its value in relation to its price makes this title a heavenly purchase for any shooter fan looking for the latest fix.

Online mode is fine if you can find the players. It’s compatible with EyeToy and the USB headset, and matches are easy enough to set up and play. But for all that hassle, why not just get a deck of card and have some friends over?

Exactly what a kid’s game should be. It combines an array of genres and re-works them so that gaming newcomers will be able to get the hang of the action in a non-threatening environment.

There are glimpses of genius here for sure -- the landshark gun, the topsy-turvy mine, and some of the level design and humor come to mind -- but it doesn't add up to a complete game.

The game gets by purely on the appeal of its characters, and ends up being a reasonably entertaining game for kids.

The only real downside here is the presentation – the updated art and menus are garish and much of the writing feels dashed off. Good thing Adol isn’t exactly the chatty type.

By no means a bad game, but the sad truth is that it's about the best the DS will have in the way of semi-realistic racers. The hardware just isn't conducive to them.

On paper, it's got the potential to be more than a match for "San Andreas"; in practice, it's nowhere near it.

Fans of classic sprite design will love some of the graphics, and there's at least 25 hours of gameplay here for those who dig into it.

Balancing loyalties and uncovering a large-scale mystery (even though it’s poorly handled) go a long way towards creating a great sense of scope and immersion. Unfortunately, numerous technical issues, narrative missteps and unbalanced gameplay elements keep the game from being something truly special.

If the game offered anything beyond a gimmick that grew stale three games ago, we'd have something to recommend. But with nothing more than generic button mashing and a sorry excuse for a career mode, Bloody Roar 4 is for die-hard fans of the series and furries only.

The alien infestation system is a great concept that suffers in its implementation. Conversely, the space marine controls are quite functional, but the story makes little use of the "Aliens" license. And the predator story is more of a "that would be cool" afterthought than a smart addition.

A near-complete package. There's a good variety of moves, challenges, and features to keep the average extreme sports fan coming back.

Features an excellent control scheme and upgraded graphics but it still feels shallow. The AI mode definitely could have been deeper and the addition of more extra features would have been a plus.

The same old Samurai Warriors game with a bit of strategy pasted between battles. The new features are not enough to draw strategy fans into the fold, but they might just be what longtime fans of the series need to keep going with the genre.

This is not going to be everybody’s perfect Worms, but the odd controls and odder mini-games definitely set it apart from the rest of the series. As the subtitle suggests, Space Oddity is unique.

Once you know all the jokes in Outlaw Golf, it starts to lose its appeal. If you take away all of the game's "Smackdown" humor and attitude, all you're left with is a decent golf title.

Fulfills bare minimum expectations of the typical fighting game sequel. It delivers more of the same with slight tweaks in the character roster.

While the computer AI, stat tracking, control, and sound are not in the same league as "Madden NFL 2003" or "NFL 2K3," audiences normally intimidated by professional football games no longer have to wish upon a star for a game designed to their tastes.

The gameplay experience is a little too ho-hum, even with the many different mini-games. It’s a nice effort, but a fairly average experience.

A mostly average button masher that has the good luck of being associated with the hottest kids' property to come along in years.

The races behave in unique, meaningful ways and we really appreciate the attempt to minimize the strategic tedium. That’s why it’s so strange to see a game that is clearly trying hard to attract new players to the genre come up with an interface that is at time incredibly hostile.

It's more successful than any other surfing game that's come before it, but its seemingly random waves and amazing physics don't entirely overcome its repetitive nature or lack of difficulty.

A decent execution of an ill-conceived idea. If you're not a fan of the WWE, steer clear of this game. Its gameplay isn't strong enough to stand on its own.

While the touch-screen interface is a downer, the amount of play options in Picross DS is uplifting.

And if the thought of cleaning up virtual garbage and keeping your sim familiar with the toilet isn't your idea of fun, steer clear. Love it or hate it, this is still "The Sims."

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.

If there’s anything to complain about in Beautiful Katamari, it’s that vets will likely tear through the game in a matter of hours. Still, there’ll always be the online multiplayer aspect to keep them going.

There are moments of painful slowdown, and you may very well have done something very similar before, but take it from your oath brothers at X-Play, Dynasty Warriors: Empires is an easy game to enjoy and an easy game to recommend.

An engaging card battle game wrapped up in a solidly mediocre story.

It's an improvement over the first one, but is there enough of a difference to warrant buying it? Only if you're a fan of the series and plan to spend a lot of time collecting.