For all its shortcomings, Rogue Trooper is still worth a playthrough for fans of the heavy-firepower, run-and-gun action genre. The spit and polish in the presentation makes it an entertaining ride from start to finish, even if you're not a fan of the comic series. But the lack of lasting depth and challenge keeps it from being more than a quick fix.

Good looks and tactical high jinks aside, it's tough to recommend HoMM5 with a mere ten skirmish maps, no map editor (for shame!), and a barrel of bugs, e.g. random desktop crashes, missions that "break" if you perform certain tasks out of order, heroes that attack through castle walls, incorrect initiative bar tallies in battle, etc.

Freedom's slower pace, lack of story, and frustrating camera do little to warm the cockles of an action fan's heart, but those brave enough to slog through its rough spots will find the game improves with time.

The tactical gameplay is refined and intelligent, yet easy to grasp, and the mix of a fun single player modes, and exceptionally in-depth multiplayer makes Field Commander not simply the best strategy game on the PSP, but one of the best on any system.

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.

Either way, Jaws Unleashed is best thrown to the sharks. Having your actual torso bitten off by an actual great white might actually be preferable to this.

Thanks to next-gen graphical flair, elegant controls, and a sparkling sheen of packaging polish, Rockstar Presents Table Tennis manages a near miracle.

The whole thing feels exactly like what it is: tacked-on product placement.

A middling action/adventure, The DaVinci Code has some interesting elements and puzzles, but tries too hard to be a jack of all trades. The presentation is mediocre, the combat extraneous and out of place, and the levels uninspired. The puzzles and teamwork elements are the high point, but overall, this is yet another forgettable attempt to cash in on a popular franchise.

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.

New Super Mario Bros. definitely doesn’t live up to the standards set by the games it apes, but there’s still no better sidescroller to be found on the DS.

Rise of Legends is a very different sort of RTS game that genre fans will be able to pick up and play but yet will find themselves drawn into thanks to its very different look and feel.

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.

The game isn’t particularly original, creative, or inspired, but for fans of the movie and parents looking for an entertaining, if harmless division for their kids, this is a good choice.

The game isn't particularly original, creative, or inspired, but for fans of the movie and parents looking for an entertaining, if harmless division for their kids, this is a good choice.

The game isn't particularly original, creative, or inspired, but for fans of the movie and parents looking for an entertaining, if harmless division for their kids, this is a good choice.

While others have hinted at RPG and RTS crossover, or have tried and not quite succeeded, SpellForce 2: Shadow Wars delivers.

Without a sound tactical game, Desperados 2 is only fun so long as you enjoy trying to guess what the hell the developers were thinking.

Beautiful, for the most part, but it’s lacking substance. The plot’s slow burn and the incredibly limiting interface will have you struggling to continue playing after only a little while.

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

Owners of both Prophecies and Factions will eat up the Asian-themed landscapes and ability to travel between both games. For new kids, if MMOs freaked you out because of their overwhelming commitment, Factions will reward for your hard hours quickly.

Despite being a good pool game, the fact that you have to live with the horribly conceived setting and sloppy controls makes The Hustle: Detroit Streets a play out like a missed opportunity.

As impressive as a racer like "PGR3" can be, the learning curve and time investment aren't for everyone. OutRun 2 is just as entertaining, and almost as challenging, no matter what sort of digital driver you happen to be.

Metal Saga won’t go down in history as one of the greatest RPGs ever made, but it’s a decent time-waster while you wait for something like, say, Final Fantasy XII.

Lost Magic for the Nintendo DS combines all the fun of drawing letters, trying to remember arcane symbols, dying repeatedly, cursing like a sailor at having died repeatedly, and getting carpal tunnel syndrome repeatedly tapping a stylus against a touch screen in order to fast-forward through a series of conversations that manage to be simultaneously inane and overlong.

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.

Mana and magic system aside, the game’s primary selling point is the same as so many other RPGs: a couple dozen hours of content. And if merely killing time is the goal, then it could fill the bill.

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.

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.

Two years later, this doesn't look any better than Cavia's earlier efforts -- its visuals are marred by aliasing that's unforgivable at this stage, and the animation blending is so primitive that you can't even reload while moving -- while its design doesn't try very hard at much of anything.

Two years later, this doesn't look any better than Cavia's earlier efforts -- its visuals are marred by aliasing that's unforgivable at this stage, and the animation blending is so primitive that you can't even reload while moving -- while its design doesn't try very hard at much of anything.

Sadly there’s no traditional one-on-one mode, so players aren’t given the chance to inflict heaps of damage on one another.

For the second time in under a year, EA fails to impress with a next-gen football game. 2006 FIFA World Cup comes off as a quick cash-in to make a fast buck before the big event in Germany this June.

This one’s an easy case of “if you liked the original you’ll love the expansion”, but it won’t be wooing over any newcomers.

It's a budget title plain and simple, and as such it slacks on nearly every aspect. With about three million PS2 racing games and counting -- including Gran Turismo 4 as a $20 Greatest Hit title -- TXR Drift is about as essential as a two-foot high spoiler on the back of your mom's minivan.

It’s not a game for everyone by any means, and just about everyone will hate the combat sections, but it’s definitely a game that adventure fans will appreciate.

Although Brain Training asks you to figure out increasingly intricate problems in a short amount of time, there's something quite relaxing about the whole thing. Not worth full price, since there are only nine different games to play here, but definitely a fun time-waster. [JPN Import]

Just don’t expect something radically different from what we’ve all be playing for the past 8 years or so.

From the thin level design to the promising but ultimately limited combo system, Sidetracked seems more like a proof of concept than a final product. It does break out into some very cool moves once in a while, but most of them can be had for free, simply by tuning into "Adult Swim."

Odama's craziness is not for everyone. And even the people who like it won't find it to be more than a brief diversion.

Emergency 3 isn’t so much a bad game as it is a disappointing one. It’s a title that has lots of promise and potential, but steadfastly refuses to deliver. You’d think by the third game, they’d get it right.

While Strike Force is not without its share of interesting features, they are lost in substandard visuals, controls, and level design.

The inclusion of some rather uninspired telekinetic abilities does nothing to distance this game from the hundreds of other, more original and more entertaining games out there.

Top Spin 2 shares a lot of traits with its predecessor, but they’re overshadowed a bit by the maddening difficulty and A.I. fluctuations and graphics that don’t really scream “next gen.”

It is a little disheartening to think that adding two-on-two matches and throwing in a few rhythm games can be considered by the publisher to be innovative, but Phenom's free-roaming aspect has potential if it is fleshed out even further in future installments.

The biggest sticking point is that Untold Legends has been “told” before, several different times in several different guises. While improved from its predecessor, Warrior’s Code is not quite up to the level of a Diablo, Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance, or similar hack-and-slash titles.

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?

It’s not a terrible game, just a terribly underwhelming one.

Steer clear of this occasionally interesting but unfortunately flawed title.

A relatively simple game with a silly name that manages to be fairly fun.

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

It’s certainly no Crimson Skies, but still manages to give fans of aerial combat an overall decent online and single player experience with a variety of gaming modes and planes.

But the game runs clean and looks nice enough in action. For a budget price, you could do worse. Yeah, it’s not a ringing endorsement, nor is it meant to be.

The game isn’t completely without merit, just seriously lacking in fun.

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

But with only 35 songs, unless you’re the ultimate country music fanboy, there will only be a handful of songs you’ll want to sing.

It’s taken all the best bits of the first game, dressed them up, and created a game that both rookies and veterans will enjoy.

Instead of saving anywhere, you’ll have to – that’s right – use a spell to teleport to the inn, where Tao can record his progress. In most DS games this isn’t a problem, since closing the DS will pause play. But not here – the game just keeps running even with the system closed.

The game creates a distinctive, unflattering view of criminal life in the 40's, and the huge virtual city the Godfather offers is rife with missions and opportunities.

For those used to linear, Japanese-style role-playing games, Oblivion will seem like a revelation. All the games in this series have been known for their sheer vastness and freedom of choice, but the Elder Scrolls IV takes that concept and runs with it.

It was hard to get excited about another version of Tetris, but with the new play modes, and the excellent multiplayer capabilities of the DS, Nintendo has indeed taught an old dog some new tricks.

This feels like yet another genre shoehorned poorly onto hardware that just isn’t equipped to handle it.

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.

If you love the show and have loved the other CSI titles there’s no reason you won’t love this one. However, there’s absolutely nothing here that will woo non-fans, and so most should choose to avoid it.

Despite the difficult control scheme, Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror is a gripping title. There’s a lot to do both online and off with this handheld game. And it handles both single and multiplayer gaming masterfully.

How badly do you want to play another GTA rip-off? Driver: Parallel Lines is better than most, but it still can't hold a candle to Rockstar's flagship series.

This is a full-on game that delivers a rich, beautiful, detailed gaming experience on a small, portable screen, which all makes sense when you consider some of the key development staff are former Naughty Dog employees.

That’s a lot of content for less than a used copy of Snake Eater. And on one hand, it’s difficult to excuse Konami for charging even that much for what amounts to a much-needed and very welcome patch. But the additions are so well-conceived that we’re willing to let them get away with it this last time.

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.

Though the core game is obscenely short by modern standards, Capcom packed this title with a lot of extra content. And unlike so many retro-revamps, everything here is well worth your time.

If effort counts, then Red Orchestra is not a bad game, and it might even be a very good one. But playing games is about having experiences, and the experience of playing Red Orchestra will leave 95% of the gaming community out in the cold. That other 5% will have the time of their lives though.

How badly do you want to play another GTA rip-off? Driver: Parallel Lines is better than most, but it still can't hold a candle to Rockstar's flagship series.

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.

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.

The single-player game has a few rough spots, but multiplayer is flat-out fantastic. And let’s face it; the incredible graphics don’t hurt either.

What starts out as a fantastic concept -- even though you have to slog through endless diaries to figure out what the heck is going on – never gathers steam.

Weird, wacky, and engaging, the game can go head to head with any of Square’s best—as long as you have a healthy sense of humor.

The player models look more plastic-like than the cast of Desperate Housewives, and there are no new game modes or significant features to warrant the price increase.

Though the poor handling doesn’t drag down every mission, the lousy feel did make us put down more than a couple missions in frustration.

A good jumping-off point for a whole new story line in the vein of the original series, and offers just enough new mechanics to make it worth a play for both fans of the series and Onimusha virgins alike.

The other issue introduced into the game thanks to the PSP hardware is a downright horrible camera.

A short diversion at best -- not something you should spend your hard-earned cash on.

What we have here is the most basic and elementary of fighting games. It's nothing to look at, listen to, or play.

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!

Overall Battle for Middle Earth II is not a drastically improved game when compared to the first, but it does deliver more high-budget and engrossing RTS gameplay.

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.

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.

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.

The camera is even worse than in the main mode -- odd, when it could've just taken a zoomed-in version of the isometric view that games like Baldur's Gate have used for eons.

Unfortunately, the biggest flaw in the game is easily the loading time.

By no means a completely wasted effort, just one that fails to live up to its alluring potential.

The loading times are annoying, there’s a ridiculous maze of menus to wade through to get to the races, and, when you do hit the road, the controls are poor and the racing system is just bizarre.

Far from a frivolous extra, Open for Business delivers as much fresh gameplay as many “complete” games.

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.

The camera is even worse than in the main mode -- odd, when it could've just taken a zoomed-in version of the isometric view that games like Baldur's Gate have used for eons.

Galactic Civilizations II doesn’t quite share the spit and polish of its terrestrial alternative, but it more than makes up for it with endless customizability and brilliant gameplay.

It’s just not a terribly compelling game in any way.

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.