This game will make you want to spend your entire life at sea, watching the flowing waves, dodging water spouts, dueling with enemy ships, and plundering booty. The rest of the game, sadly, feels more like a chore than an adventure.

Fans of the series expecting innovation will be disappointed, but newbies will now be able to see what Dreamcast owners have been secretly enjoying for years.

As survivor horror games go, Cold Fear is lukewarm. The graphics attempt to mask a mediocre plot and flawed action, but it does succeed in making your skin crawl--in a good way.

A reasonably engaging, yet perfectly average experience--much like most summer blockbusters.

It's a different style of game than previous versions, one that dumps some of the innovations from earlier titles in favor of crowd-pleasing simplicity.

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.

There’s enough great gameplay here to make Web of Shadows recommendable for Spider-Man fans. The sheer level of glitches in the game, however, manages to take the fun factor down several notches.

King Kong is short... really short. The average player will finish the game in about six hours, and for $60, that’s not exactly a great value.

The magic element makes for good fun, and shooting hoops with Mickey and the gang turns out to be both challenging and entertaining.

While it can't match the other versions of the game in terms of scope or graphics, and it is a bit repetitive, Dynasty Warriors Advance is a surprisingly comprehensive package that is simple, fun, and offers plenty of action.

A cute idea with limited appeal thanks to the spotty quality of the minigames and the watered down multiplayer.

The downside to the game's ambitious design is that the individual parts don't fare nearly as well alone as they do being part of a larger experience.

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

You know what would be a perfect fit? Tetris on Xbox Live Arcade. It’s really hard to understand why THQ didn’t take that route for this game.

Hard-core fans of old-school gaming will want to pick it up, but most gamers will find that the gameplay issues keep this set from being more than an occasional trip down memory lane.

Mario Strikers Charged still has a ways to go before being considered an arcade-sports champion.

The threadbare story can barely support the game’s 20 hours of gameplay and the brothers don’t have enough moves to keep the puzzle-solving fresh.

Truly stunning visuals, excellent, non-linear map design, hours of playtime, and an innovative magic system help bring it up a notch above the competition. Unfortunately, the control problems, a few technical glitches, a slow start, and a lousy camera hamper the experience.

The more discerning gamer will find themselves assailed by Soul Nomad & The World Eaters' obnoxious characters and confounded by clumsy menus and insufficient in-game tutorials.

It would be nice if it were a little deeper or offered a few more ways to play, but we’d recommend anyone looking for some light and wacky sports action to look no further than Ribbit King.

Gamers are now faced with the prospect of realistically committing a generous chunk of change to a series over a period of time if they have any hope of experiencing the “complete story.” In our minds, the quality of SiN: Emergence in no way warrants a 20-dollar price tag.

It's a shame, because this game, while merely good, does hint at the possibility of a truly great RPG, given another development cycle or two.

The big problem when playing Doom II, however, is just trying to see it.

Veteran platformers will make it through with little challenge, but that detriment makes it perfect for less experienced, older, or much younger players looking for a cute diversion.

Although technically sufficient, the deliberate pacing and occasional trial-and-error nature may turn some players off.

The beefed-up single-player is nice, but when the main focus of the game comes up so short, it’s hard not to feel disappointed.

PoP is a group of interesting ideas searching for a stronger game to hold them all together.

It's often insanely hard, and just as insanely priced. So spread some salt over this slug until SNK wises up and offers it for a more reasonable fee.

Like many complex sim games, Gallop Racer can be as frustrating as it is rewarding.

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.

So it ain't pretty, and it's not going to be everyone's cup of tea. But Operation Flashpoint: Elite is still a fairly compelling military sim.

Not a terribly friendly game. It has a wicked learning curve that will cause casual gamers to contemplate walking the plank. But if you're tough and self-reliant enough -- RPG-nerd points count here -- there be treasure here.

Every cut scene makes reference to events or characters from previous titles, and newcomers will likely be lost as to their significance. Since the gameplay itself is subpar to the point of being at times unforgivably dull, those not here for the story will find little to hold their attention.

It's painfully obvious that Sony just took its PS2 game and jacked up a few stats here and there.

Though Lemmings lacks any multiplayer or customization options, it is still one of the best bargains on any online service.

More enjoyable the younger you are and the more enamored you are with the cast, Ice Age 2 will nonetheless provide any gamer with a few hours of enjoyment, along with a couple of laughs along the way.

It's definitely not what most players have in mind when it comes to the speeding rodent, but for multiplayer-centric GBA owners, it's worth a ride.

The slow pace works to the game's advantage by building tension over time. Add in the good production values and Post Mortem is a respectable entry in the genre.

It’s using the same technology, and there are no new gameplay elements to differentiate it from its predecessor in any clear way.

Even the graphics have remained relatively the same as the Dreamcast version.

If you’ve never played it before, you’ll find Blazing Angels a good, but not great game. It’s a perfectly acceptable time waster for a rainy Sunday afternoon.

Wireless warriors should snap this one up – despite some flaws, there are lots of new options for showing off your skills against other human opponents. Everyone else may as well pick up one of the earlier (and likely much cheaper) games instead.

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

With the exception of a couple of new features that do indeed enhance the game, Empire Earth II still feels like it was made with a cookie cutter, culling most of the basic design ideas from other games.

Its ties to its namesake feel tenuous at best, and despite some interesting play mechanics, it's not nearly as deep as some of the other games on the market right now.

The game is an intense shooting gallery, despite the repetition, yet the set-up, landscape, and gameplay feel so familiar at this point that it borders on boring.

It's kid-friendly and quirky at the same time, extending its appeal to pretty far reaches. Legacy of the Spirits may not be the king of GBA role-playing games, but it still deserves to hold court.

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.

Suiko IV’s stilted pace and dated RPG idiosyncrasies leave a whole lot of slack. Whether you’re willing to bend over to pick up this slack is entirely up to you.

More enjoyable the younger you are and the more enamored you are with the cast, Ice Age 2 will nonetheless provide any gamer with a few hours of enjoyment, along with a couple of laughs along the way.

If you’re willing work though the interface and aren’t opposed to saving and reloading over and over again, you’ll find that Soldiers has legs. What we’d like to see in a future release is a cleaner interface and a more clearly defined design.

We Ski doesn't feel like it's quite ready for prime time, which may be due to the publisher's need to schedule the game to coincide with Wii Fit.

We can't stress how outstanding Sonic CD is. It was one of the finest games around in its day and it still offers a fantastic time years later. This game alone makes Sonic Gems Collection a consideration at $30. The other featured titles don't add enough to the offering.

A highly flawed game. There’s a lot to do and see here, but the gameplay and mechanics can be frustrating and annoying, the story mode is pointless, and the voice acting is truly bad.

The social twist on urban planning is a welcome one. But there’s no escaping the mechanical, almost passionless way you need to play the game in order to be successful.

As simple and effective the control scheme is, other elements in the game are rough around the edges. It’s a little surprising that more ship types aren’t available in the game (less than a dozen). The visuals are nice, but not exactly jaw-dropping.

The question instead should be, "Is the price tag worth the day or two of campaigning I will get out of the moderately small amount of new action?" That will be left up to the individual soldier to answer.

The random battles, simple controls, and linear storyline may put off those hoping for a newfangled experience; but the high production values, engaging characters, and vibrant world will keep this Story from being shelved.

It's not quite the best of the best in its genre, but if you're interested in signing up, odds are you'll have an enjoyable tour of duty.

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

The camera issues simply ruin the whole experience, though. No matter how solid the control scheme or how shiny the graphics, when you can't see who you're fighting or what's down the next corridor, it's all moot.

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

The gun fighting and horse riding action is fun on the go, but the controls take a lot of time to get used to, and the overall game is still rather short.

Another problem...is its incredibly jumpy sense of physics...It's far too easy for your boat to get battered around in the waves.

The controls just feel flawed and the mission design is remarkably uninspired.

While those who distained the first for being too weird and having annoying floaty physics won't like this one, fans will love it. It's a solid action title, with wall-to-wall destruction all wrapped up in an artistic and impressive, very Japanese package.

Sadly, Strikers’ almost schizophrenic nature prevents it from greatness. Had the developers chosen to keep the game in the style of previous Gear titles, they would have done just fine.

An undeniably solid game... [but t]he lack of variety and the limited number of arenas make the premise wear prematurely thin.

The new courses, modes and features can't make us forget one simple fact: EA screwed with the gameplay. It's not our fault we were getting really damn good at your game. Don't send it back into the Stone Age with inaccurate swing mechanics and busted-up putting as punishment.

If you're the type of player who enjoys naval themes or even if you just like a lot of guns-blazing, shoot-'em-up action, it's well worth sinking your money into this title.

It's not great or inspired and almost everything in the game has been done many times before, but the action is engaging, the level design is impressive, and the weapons and aliens look good.

Despite frustrations and a tenancy towards the obtuse, Chulip manages to skate by on charm. The game is frequently funny and strange enough to keep players wondering what sort of nonsense the story will dish out next.

What does become frustrating at times is the wild camera during fights, which can swing into totally useless positions in small spaces. It’s rarely a game killer, but there are times when you’ll lose track of Jason entirely. Still, if you could handle the camerawork in "The Bourne Supremacy," you’ll be fine here.

It's not nearly as impressive now as it was way back then, but just the same, good dungeon crawls never go out of style.

The game is definitely over-priced. With that said, this is still one of the most engaging new multiplayer-only games out there.

The controls just aren't responsive. You'll never feel like your player is doing what you want, when you want.

If there's a criticism to be made here it's that, well, it's just another Metal Slug game. For fans, this is certainly a good thing. But when it's all said and done, there's nothing here you haven't experience dozens of times in the past.

Ship movements are heavily physics-based, which can make even simple movements near space stations or other ships problematic for anyone unused to this sort of gameplay. Docking is especially nightmarish for new players.

Why are so many missions so dull? Why is the combat-radio voice work so insipid? And which unemployed sports commentator and soccer mom did the tutorial and combat voices, respectively?

A great choice for gamers who enjoyed "NHL 2K3" but wanted something a little flashier in the audiovisual department. But it isn't as ambitious as "NHL 2004" in terms of control options or depth in franchise play. ESPN Hockey's biggest knock is its goalie AI, which isn't reflective of the sport and seems artificially enhanced in an attempt to create low-scoring games.

For the budget price, Shrine Circus Tycoon is certainly worth a look, especially if you’re jonesing for a lighthearted management sim. It’s not the greatest show on earth, but it ain’t half bad either.

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

The lack of multiplayer action combined with the rather unrefined combat, annoying save game functionality (or lack thereof), and frustrating jumping problems all take their toll on the overall play value.

An hour a day will probably give any shooter fan a thrill, but prolonged and involved play makes all the small flaws more apparent and all the pyrotechnics more numbing.

It's too bad that an underdeveloped social scene and tedious chores that require frustrating precision keep farm life from being more fun.

A good portable game is one that excels in short bursts; boring you in a few minutes isn't the same thing.

The perfect rental, lasting only a few short hours and, like most adventure games, doesn’t have much value beyond that.

With such excellent production values, it's a shame that Blinx is brought down by its difficulty and camera issues.

With slightly better play control and improved vector-graphics information, the collection could be a definitive representation of videogames from the late '70s and early '80s, but as it stands, it's a fairly average look at gaming's early days.

It has everything the last version had, right down to the training and calorie-counting modes, and, aside from the EyeToy support and new songs, not much else. So, if you aren’t into watching yourself onscreen, the upgrades are minimal.

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.

The story line is in-depth and the development of the characters is well thought out. But the flaws hold this title back from being a top contender in the RPG genre.

The bonuses left us dissatisfied. Sure, new outfits and craft are cool, but they lose their novelty if they don't help your performance. You can earn enough points to buy a hot new ride, but the upgrade is purely cosmetic.

While not great, Monster Madness is generally fun with its mix of solid monster design and colorful, animated graphics.

The versatile character-creation system will, at the very least, allow you to end up with something reasonably close to what you had in mind. The problem is that your looks pretty much have no bearing on how your character will play.

Sonic Adventure DX is at its absolute best during the Sonic and Tails segments. Their levels are what you paid the admission price for. The rest are just leftovers.

The lack of guardrails leaves little room for error, and the camera often fails to let you know what's coming until you're already diving head first into a bottomless pit. That's the most common way to go.

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