Sure, a few of you may balk at this “sacrilegious” abbreviation of your favorite old school franchise, but you’ll be missing the point: this may just be how adventure gaming survives. Let’s hope so.

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.

With tons of secrets to uncover, and a surprising array of different gameplay options, Mortal Kombat: Deception is a surprisingly fun package.

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

Based on features alone, NBA 2K6 is the slam-dunk choice for Xbox 360 basketball. The player graphics are beautiful, with or without an HDTV, and the controls have slightly improved since the game’s appearance on the original Xbox (players can now enter into a defensive crouch by tapping on the left trigger button).

From a strange glitch that causes dead enemies to bounce around the environments like a Super Ball inside a blender, to the anemic implementation of vehicles into the multiplayer, another six months would have served it well.

With "Winning Eleven" on the market you just expect more, and you get it. FIFA may have high-priced Premiereship licenses and a killer career mode, but at the end of the day, it’s just not as much fun as the competition.

A substantial leap was made in multiplayer support. The classic Free For All and Duel matches are back, but the new star of the online show is the objective-based Siege mode, which pits Rebel and Imperial forces against each other in re-creations of several classic "Star Wars" battles.

The quality of the action and the intuitive controls will not disappoint wrestling fans.

If you’re a Ninja Gaiden fan, or even just someone who loves action games, don’t let the camera woes scare you off. This is still one of the most expertly designed combat systems around, and gamers looking for a true challenge in this era of games designed to be beaten by anyone with enough time on their hands will appreciate Ninja Gaiden II for what it is – One of the last games around that values skill over perseverance.

It's hard to recommend a game that ultimately turns into running in circles while attempting to unload your weapons faster than the next guy.

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

With more options and extensive play modes (such as a fantasy draft or minor league system), fewer restrictions placed on defense, and the added ability to tweak computer AI, this series can help set a new benchmark.

The multiple ways to approach TOCA 2 are undeniably fun. And it’s really very impressive that Codemasters was able to pack so many different kinds of racing into one game.

With "Winning Eleven" on the market you just expect more, and you get it. FIFA may have high-priced Premiereship licenses and a killer career mode, but at the end of the day, it’s just not as much fun as the competition.

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.

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

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.

MLB 2006 places such a huge emphasis on the cat-and-mouse battle between pitcher and batter that it will delight those looking for the subtle strategies in each at-bat and will likely annoy those who just want to hack away.

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

One of the most creative and enjoyable games to come around in a long time. Its mixture of creativity, solid gameplay, and sense of humor make it a game to die for.

Smart, different, and engaging, it gives action gamers something new to test their mettle with, both on and off-line.

As a multiplayer sports game it's fast, furious, and fun, but gamers running plays out of the single-back set might want to kick this one around as a rental before calling an all-out blitz.

Deserves a look. Not only because the control scheme is something completely new and surprisingly effective, but because the game wrapped around the gimmick is the type of quality stuff we've come to expect from Nintendo's best games.

The lack of a true career mode or create-a-player feature is also a letdown, as is the inability to acquire additional special moves or to put points into improving a character's core abilities.

You'll find everyone from inspired role-players to hardcore number crunchers, transplants from both WoW and LOTRO, in this game. How long they'll stay is anyone's guess, but it seems like Age of Conan has plenty of room to grow.

You'll still find AI that makes terrible decisions, or find yourself waiting forever while the game ponders through the turns for the other civilizations. But the addition of several new scenarios and tons of new units can help you overlook that fact until Civilization VI inevitably comes out.

The game looks and sounds fantastic, and offers an impressive level of control and combat refinement that fans have come to expect from the series.