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.

It features a strong female lead who happens to also be a scantily-clad idiot that characters disrespect with borderline sexual harassment. It plays like a brick at times, but there are few things as satisfying as bisecting a zombie, starting at the crotch. It's intensely brutal and violent, surrounded by rainbows and glitter sparkles. Following on that theme, it's a fascinatingly entertaining video game that just doesn't <I>play</I> very well.

You may love it, or you may be turned away by iffy gameplay, but you&#146;re nearly guaranteed to be creeped out.

Some games are easy to pick up, but hard to master; this game is hard to pick up, which in turn makes it hard to master. And it is a very short game, because all you do is fight bosses.

While a bit overblown and convoluted...The story is solid, the graphics are spectacular, and the action is fast-paced and frantic.

Shaolin Monks' replay value could use a jump-start or two from Raiden's fingertips. Despite an arcade port of Mortal Kombat II and a two-player versus mode, there's simply not enough "kontent" to justify a purchase for most.

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.

Though it’s not the dream collection fans hoped for, it’s still nice to be re-acquainted with these venerable fighters.

Even though its list of features, modes, and wrestlers outshines most, it lacks a solid gameplay engine to provide a firm foundation. Because of this, most players won't find enough here to compete with the more rewarding action found in THQ's WWE titles.

The main problem is that Ties That Bind doesn't live up to the once-promising pedigree of "The Suffering." While we got more of some things--more swearing, more gore, and more story--we actually ended up with less: less ammo, less creativity, and fewer thrills to keep you going.

The entire franchise starts off with a very clever notion that’s then buried under layers of boring, familiar ones.

Despite the emphasis on monthly events and a dynamic story, there is no real solution to the twin problems of weak role-playing and the somewhat generic quests... [yet] an enjoyable, addictive game.

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.

A good platformer buoyed by some interesting gameplay concepts and hindered by certain design flaws.

In the end, the cards were a good idea, but the dice wreck the curve by robbing the game of strategy. No matter how well you plan ahead, a bad roll of the dice can cripple you, sometimes for the rest of the match.

Though Voyage takes its concept from Jules Verne, the game itself lacks any real storyline or dialog, feeling like more of an excuse to take a lunar vacation than anything.

Stiff controls and lengthy load times hold it back from being as good as it could have been, but it proves that there's still some life left in massacring the undead.

May appeal to hardcore football fans looking for a more customizable game of pigskin on the Xbox, but most gamers will lose interest rather fast. Not only are there myriad problems with the overall presentation, but the gameplay also fails to feel as tight or well tuned as this season's other football titles.

Hard-core hobbyists may appreciate the title's extreme challenge level, esoteric presentation, and pioneering play mechanics. On the other hand, confusing campaigns and a mind-boggling mission structure guarantee casual enthusiasts just won't get the picture.

The level design is mostly uninspired, but there are some great dogfight stages and one-on-one boss battles.

While the rev of the bike engines is dead on, the music is just awful. The same bad grunge rock song (or at least, all the songs seem to sound the same) plays over and over. Unless you can phase the noise out, turning the music off will be your only recourse.

Any of the game's flaws are somewhat balanced by the ability to stab someone in the face, or burn them alive in an incinerator. Well, if you're into that sort of thing, anyway.

Gamers interested in dabbling in a little card battling should give the game a spin or at least seek professional help.

Yes, the collision is iffy, and yes, the platform elements are vicious at times, but the end result is still better than, say, the majority of games based on, ahem, that other Matt Groening license.

Your enjoyment of Midway Arcade Treasures 2 will certainly hinge upon your weakness for nostalgia.

They might want to cut down on the load times, too. Or at least come up with a few more pretty pictures to admire while we wait.

Totally middle-of-the-road. A nice idea that's a bit overdone, and never really takes off the way it should.

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.