It's a great platformer with a lot of the strong, fun play mechanics that are simply missing from a lot of the PlayStation 2's platformers these days. However, if you played the first game, Ape Escape 2 won't be a shining gem but just a fond reminder of the first time you played this series.

In short, if you like FEAR, you will love FEAR 2. It may be too scary for some and the wobble of your character walking might induce a slight bit of motion sickness, but it’s a well constructed horror/action title.

One of the few ideal family games on the 360, Thrillville: Off the Rails is an impressive feat. The variety of fun mini-games mixed with an excellent roller coaster creation tool, and a surprisingly fun and light theme-park sim all add up to a good casual gamer romp.

Warhawk is an excellent example of a multiplayer-centric game that almost anyone can get into. There is nothing complicated or revolutionary in the design, but the mix of combat styles, large maps, great controls, and a ready supply of players more than make up for the lack of originality.

Every bit as good as the original. The campaigns are wonderfully crafted. There's a good challenging story with plenty of new gameplay.

While it’s basically just a more polished version of the first game with a few additions here and there, Skate 2 is easily the best skating game on the market. The city is massive, the trick system still feels like butter on wheels, there are endless challenges, events and places to discover, and the online features are plentiful.

Excite Truck is fun to play. It’s as simple as that.

If you can get past the terrible documentation and very steep learning curve, Galactic Civilizations will be not only enjoyable but also addictive.

Fantastic gameplay.

Despite the occasional dog in the roster, there is more than enough gold in Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection to justify the purchase at double the price. Older gamers looking for a shot of nostalgia will absolutely find it here, and younger gamers wondering what all the fuss was over that mysterious “16-bit era” they keep hearing about will find an excellent education in the digital classics.

The graphics, though pixilated, are well done and utilize the GBA hardware competently. The monsters still look as threatening as ever, and the action animation is solid.

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.

The game is more than the sum of its parts, offering a surprising amount of flexibility in how you accomplish your objectives, even if those objectives don't change much from level to level, in a series of memorable environments.

Offers bigger, more intricate levels than what was found in the original title, a cooperative element that makes you feel like you're part of a team, more intriguing characters that help expand the combat options, and an artistic merit that few games have achieved on PS2.

While Vegas 2 shows definite improvements over it predecessor, one cannot help but feel as though the title could have used another couple of months to get that Caesar Palace showgirl shine instead of coming out like a Caesar Palace cocktail waitress.

But compared to the last few games in the series, Mario Party 6 is definitely an improvement and hopefully is an indication of where this series will go in the future.

Certainly the most mature and well-balanced of Goodman's titles, and it succeeds more often than not.

As polished, sharp, and truly intense as Supreme Commander is, the heavy-duty hardware requirements and extreme difficulty level hinders the game’s ability to match the accessibility of its predecessor.

The game wouldn't make it on the PSP, or other more powerful machines, but you'll be hard pressed to find a better recent shooter on the DS.

The game is that well constructed, and when it's firing on all cylinders there' nothing out there that can beat it for sheer satisfaction.

Probably no other racing game this year will deliver as much heart-pounding fun.

As beat 'em ups go, this is an excellent one. Hulk fans rejoice. You finally have a game worthy of the lovable green lug.

Those who became addicted to either of the first two Advance Wars titles will surely be hooked by this one, too.

Other problems, such as pathfinding issues will be painfully familiar to die-hard Sims fans. If a Sim places something like a pizza box in a narrow hallway, everyone will get stuck for hours of game time because they can’t step over it.

It's half a step behind EA's "March Madness," but with a $20 price tag ESPN College Hoops 2K5 costs less than a hot dog at the Final Four.

Unless you love Monkey Ball more than Orangutans love Tang, you can safely pass this one up. But if you haven't played Monkey Ball before, you can't go really wrong with Deluxe.

Not only a great game, but also a terrific online RPG that is an ideal ambassador for the GameCube's online hardware.

Simply put, there are few launch releases that pack in so much content.