Whether it’s because we all expect more from our games now, or whether it’s because there’s just no way Blue Dragon could possibly live up to the hype it received due to its famous designers, the game just isn’t that impressive. Fun, but nothing special.

It's just familiar content. The developers clearly played it safe with Freedom 2, all too eager to stay on target when they should have been aiming higher.

Novelty is a little harder to come by. Dynasty Warriors Gundam doesn't aim to revolutionize either series, but it does represent a single, rocket-fueled step in the right direction.

Carnival Games is ok in short bursts, but much like the real-world games they are based on, they really aren’t that much fun to play more than once or twice. Wii Sports has more depth.

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.

The art direction is outstanding; mixing art deco architecture, classic 1950’s graphic design and tons of great old music from the early jazz era that adds a musty creepiness to the overall atmosphere of the game. It’s definitely not your typical Space Marine fare, and that’s a very good thing.

The art direction is outstanding; mixing art deco architecture, classic 1950’s graphic design and tons of great old music from the early jazz era that adds a musty creepiness to the overall atmosphere of the game. It’s definitely not your typical Space Marine fare, and that’s a very good thing.

While Jeanne D'Arc lacks an in-depth job system found in titles like Final Fantasy Tactics, the pre-defined characters can be outfitted with four types of skill stones; granting your warriors with new spells, attacks, and more.

If a game can make you smarter, or at the very least make you feel like you're getting smarter, maybe our detractors will get with Dr. Kawashima's program and opt for making change and sketching mathematical symbols over tallying curse words and counting sexual acts.

There’s just not enough of anything here, except combat, combat, and more combat. On a system as thick with RPGs as the PSP is these days, there are plenty of games with more to do, plus interesting stories and more visual flair besides. Unless combat’s all you want, give something else a look instead.

Persona 3's daily structure is both a blessing and a curse. A benefit of the system is that you genuinely look forward to seeing what new characters or events are revealed the next day. Yet having to visit a single dungeon, even one with hundreds of floors, is not always appealing.

The lack of character customization is another issue, with fixed classes and no input allowed on individual skills, attributes, or spells other than purchasing armor, weapons, and accessories each time you visit town.

As mentioned before, the grid-based battlefield is a big part of the problem.

The new elements all mesh perfectly to provide a more well-rounded farming RPG experience, and, as odd as that sounds to non-fans, this is an excellent DS adventure.

Maybe next year will bring us that much closer to having a Madden game like never before. It’s still a good game, slightly above average, but not as great as it should be.

There’s potential here, but Capcom needs to put more varied action in this action-RPG.

I think Boogie is a horrible game. It’s so bad; I’m nearly offended that I even had to play it. Sure it’s aimed squarely at the casual market, but casual gamers aren’t necessarily stupid gamers.

If you enjoy 2D gameplay, Glory Days 2 is certain to appeal. The mix of action and strategy is exceptional, and although the presentation certainly looks and feels 16-bit, the gameplay more than makes up for it.

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.

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

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

The addition of character development is a nice touch, but was handled poorly, and the visuals are almost depressing.

Final Fantasy II is the first to truly deliver that experience of being transported to a world filled with fluffy yellow birds and medieval flying machines.

With the ridiculous amount of eccentric music that was considered “mainstream” back in the decade of decadence, it’s a shame Rocks the 80s sticks so closely to one main genre. Even more disappointing, though, is that the whole thing feels like a total cash-in; like the yearly iteration of a sports game that no one put any major effort into.

We like Beyond the Sword because it makes the vastness of Civilization 4 just a little bit bigger. Getting to play the Dutch and Portuguese is worth a lot, but we wish all the expansions could have the cunning to make us look at the game in a new way without losing the rich complexity that make us love it in the first place.

It’s a bit too easy to get bored thanks to an overload of boring tasks.

All that being said, Hot Shots Tennis is still a decent game, but only if you’re going to be taking advantage of the multiplayer options. Unfortunately, there is no online setup. In the end what we’ve got is a slightly low-budget spin-off.

A compellingly good MMO at an amazingly attractive price.

Game Arts still knows how to draw neat-looking spaceships. When it comes to making them interact in a real 3D space, though, that’s where they still have a whole lot to learn.

Ninja Gaiden Sigma's creator Tomonobu Itagaki has stated publicly that he wanted his game to be difficult. That's fine, but there's a difference between challenge and cheapness. Frequently Ninja Gaiden Sigma feels like it's giving you a wedgie for no other reason but to hear you scream.

The one shining moment through all this is the decent online multiplayer mode included. It’s pretty vanilla, but it runs great. Plus it’s possible to turn into a nightwalker should you be a bit too slow on the draw. It’s a very cool feature.

Strictly fans-only.

A great play. It’s got a great sense of humor and style. In these summer months when there’s often not a lot to play, it’s a real treat to get a game that effortlessly mixes style, challenge, and fun.

Characters, levels and even the game's menus are beautifully and tastefully designed. Grim Grimoire is a complete package, offering layered strategy play with an eye-popping art style and a cleverly told story.

Ratatouille doesn’t do anything to avoid the curse of licensed games, and the Xbox 360 version feels especially unfinished thanks to the horrible hit detection issues.

I was looking forward to it, but left very disappointed. It’s completely playable. Being about 7 hours long helps but I spent the entire game waiting for it to get good, to make sense, to make a case for all the incongruous elements of design, gameplay and story, and then it ended.

I was looking forward to it, but left very disappointed. It’s completely playable. Being about 7 hours long helps but I spent the entire game waiting for it to get good, to make sense, to make a case for all the incongruous elements of design, gameplay and story, and then it ended.

The Wii version is graphically inferior to the 360 and PS3; Ron and Hermione have a nasty way of blocking your path in tight quarters; and there are the aforementioned, seemingly endless fetch-quests. Even with all that, this is easily the best Harry Potter game to date, and it’s simply one of the most entertaining movie tie-ins on the market.

The Wii version is graphically inferior to the 360 and PS3; Ron and Hermione have a nasty way of blocking your path in tight quarters; and there are the aforementioned, seemingly endless fetch-quests. Even with all that, this is easily the best Harry Potter game to date, and it’s simply one of the most entertaining movie tie-ins on the market.

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

Along with the huge single-player campaign and the various online modes mixed with the sheer variety of the racing on hand makes for one awesome racing game. And when you mix all that with the now-standard Colin McRae level of excellence, you have a game racing fans shouldn’t pass up.

Where SimCity DS starts to crumble is in its pedestrian presentation, with buildings as vibrant as a wet newspaper and animation bordering on non-existent.

Weird Al would be very, very proud.

Resident Evil 4 remains one of the best horror games around, and while there’s no new content here, the budget price makes the Wii Edition a scary ride worth taking again.

Hot Brain's biggest disappointment is the way it squanders an opportunity to treat with IQ-themed mini-game genre with Wario Ware-style irreverence.

Worse than the usual mediocre movie spinoffs, which is saying something. Youngsters might have the attention span to find completing the game entertaining, but everyone is better off playing Ultimate Alliance—a vastly superior game.

Worse than the usual mediocre movie spinoffs, which is saying something. Youngsters might have the attention span to find completing the game entertaining, but everyone is better off playing Ultimate Alliance—a vastly superior game.

This is a simply another lame attempt to attract young fans and unknowing parents to buy something based on the license. Rise of the Silver Surfer has all the gameplay value of a bad Streets of Rage clone.

Although exploration is the core of the game—and like every game in this series, the best part—combat happens frequently and will likely be the main cause of frustration. Still, if you can stick it out through the hard bits, Prince of Persia Classic is definitely a worthwhile download. It’s a welcome walk down memory lane—when it’s not causing shouts of pain and anguish.

There’s a multiplayer mode to be had, but it’s hard to recommend Juarez solely based on the fact that you can share the misery with friends.

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

If you are a fan, you’ll find this a lot more impressive than last year’s Ultimate Ninja. It’s a better job of making a fighting game and a better job of bringing the TV show to life, with more characters, better graphics, and a deeper single-player game.

Tenchu’s been chugging along as a slightly-above-average series for quite a while now. And it’s disappointing that such a great concept has once again fallen victim to poor game design and crappy presentation. Even if the online co-op mode ran better, it doesn’t help the product feel any more fun.

For the hardcore action fans that really need a fix, I suppose Time Ace might be worth a look. There are multiple difficulty levels, plenty of planes and power-ups to collect, and multiplayer battles for you and all your friends who also bought a copy of the game. But really, your money is probably better spent on a game that’s at least trying to be fun.

But you know what? Big deal. We already know the Wii can do this. This console has been out long enough to warrant something that takes better advantage of its strengths. Frankly, these “Wii-makes” are really starting to wear thin.

There's no question that Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree will be divisive among gamers. The hardcore will balk at its lightweight mini-games and family-friendly vibe.

It’s easy to make fun of a game series entirely focused at hitting the seemingly elusive teen and pre-teen girl demographic, yet games like Nancy Drew: the White Wolf of Icicle Creek pull most of the right strings.

It takes everything that made the original game so compelling and makes it feel fresh and relevant all over again. It’s simple. It’s elegant. It is Pac-Man reborn.

A fantastic throwback to those heady days, and hopefully a lot of other game developers will study what Crystal Dynamics has done here long and hard before sitting down to design their next platformer.

It’s better than DBZ games used to be – back when nobody, fan or otherwise, could possibly stomach them – but Atari and Bandai still have a ways to go.

Attack veterans likely already have it -- newer puzzle fans should give it a look for another addictive twist on moving stacks of blocks around.

In addition to the amazingly detailed level of car customization you can do under the hood to affect car performance, Forza’s popular painting tools are back, with even more stencils and paint layers from which to craft amazing looking graphics.

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

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

It’s safe to say that we’re all getting a little sick of mini-games on the Wii, but Mario Party 8 delivers a pretty good batch wrapped up in some interesting board designs. Perhaps they’ll work out the rest of the kinks in time for Mario Party 9.

An ill-conceived mess. The board game is lifeless. The mini-games barely qualify as games. This is easily one of the worst titles for the Nintendo Wii.

This, then, is a game to experience. It’s a game to point to, and champion, as an innovator in what it presents to players. It’s one of the most novel games ever made. In bite-sized portions, it really should be played.

It has an undeniable, nostalgic charm to it. While nothing here is creative or original, it’s still a mostly fun little adventure.

None of the quirks and flaws in the game would have been quite so damning if it weren’t for UbiSoft’s insane decision to release WarTech at the full $60 price tag.

Diner Dash is addictive enough that you’ll still want to bash through those crazy tough levels. When you’re willing to stick with a game through its flaws, that’s usually a pretty good sign.

Brooktown High reinforces all the worst ideas about popularity and teenage love. The game's broad digs at school cliques don't say anything new.

Perhaps the biggest news is that the game's language has been toned down.

The problem with Marvel Trading Card Game isn’t the gameplay. Once you’ve figured everything out, it does a decent job mimicking the real thing. But it requires a lot of patience to get comfortable with the game and you’ll be fighting the interface every step of the way.

Ultimately this is a game that only the hardcore are likely to enjoy. Even if it isn’t a successful design at heart, it’s a good-looking tribute to the characters they love, and that’s a step up from what anime-licensed games usually used to be.

One issue that only seems to get worse throughout Odin Sphere is the endless amount of inventory management.

The presentation is gorgeous and the gameplay has enough fun elements to make it worthwhile. Though not as deep or complex as it could have been, this is certainly one of the best movies-turned-games we’ve seen lately.

It moves really slowly through some of the most boring levels in the history of the genre, and constantly drops new enemies into the scene completely out of nowhere. It’s just not fun at all.

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

Be forewarned. Etrian Odyssey is tough.

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

With the Xbox 360 version, you can gawk at Jennifer Morrison on your TV instead of on your computer monitor. And that’ll make you look slightly less loserish. Right?

Driver ’76 offers a number of fun missions playable through an entertaining driving engine that will make you want to set up some heavy duty police chases and go tearing through the city. Unfortunately the miniscule police presence really puts a damper on the fun, and the tired out graphics engine just can’t cope.

A decent dungeon-crawl at heart. Once you’ve escaped the very first couple of hours, which have some of the longest and worst talking-heads bits, the game leaves ample room to ignore the plot in favor of hacking around the random levels.

Fans of the character and the action sequences will likely find plenty to enjoy, but anyone expecting something more will be disappointed.

Fans of the character and the action sequences will likely find plenty to enjoy, but anyone expecting something more will be disappointed.

The game fails on every level. The controls are a mess, the camera is terrible, and the presentation is offensively bad.

Far better than the Wii iteration, this is an engaging and good looking action game with classic gameplay and innovative controls. For Spidey fans on the go, it’s good stuff.

A top notch conversion of a great board game. A good match generally takes less than an hour and there’s no clean up after you’re done. Well worth 10 bucks.

Heatseeker is a very fun game to play; it’s just not one that you’ll want to play for long. The simple gameplay and tight controls feel spot on but everything else built around them fails to live up.

Someday, the Wii may host its own quality 3D fighter. If it does, though, it’ll be something like Super Smash Brothers Brawl – something built from the ground up for this console. Otherwise, maybe you just can’t teach a new dog old tricks.

Its launch was technically sound, its production values are top-notch, and its focus on narrative is refreshing.

Ancient Wars: Sparta just isn’t an enjoyable game. The only reason it’s not getting one star is because technically, the game is very proficient and quite polished.

There might be a competent game hidden somewhere in Aedis Eclipse. But between the byzantine interface, frequent load times, dull battles, and boring story, why bother?

If you’re not a fan of the original, or indeed, haven’t played the original, you’ll be completely lost. And even if you are into this series, any complaints you had about the last game have not been addressed in this sequel.

The game is too short, and doesn’t sport enough play options to keep it fresh past a few hours of play.

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

Valhalla’s a well-meaning blend of old and new, but most of us have come to expect a little more from an RPG.

Basically, Drift 2 feels like a repackaging of the original Drift, with almost nothing done to improve on the myriad problems of the prequel.