If you’re a stat-maxing, power-leveling, anime-watching RPG fan, this game was made for you. Expect a couple of hundred hours of entertainment.

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.

A fairly simple game that offers little challenge once you understand the basics. Yet it’s still charming in its own right.

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

There's little variation among the GameCube, PlayStation 2, and Xbox versions of Cars, and each hits the mark in terms of racing game basics such as framerate and sense of speed. Rainbow Studios has performed admirably here.

Overall Kane & Lynch is an interesting -- if overly violent -- take on the “buddy” game. The tag-team setup adds something to what would already be a solid action game and makes it that much better.

Where UEFA Euro 2004 falters is in its scope.

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?

This game is about jumping puzzles, timing puzzles, and exploration -- all very simple and not at all challenging.

Children will have no trouble getting into the groove of the action, and their parents will be able to play along and have a good time too. Playing with a dance pad is highly recommended.

The story and characterization are better than in most console RPGs. But we were left wondering why these rookie mistakes are in a game with so much promise.

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.

The addition of perspective and emotional content comes out of left field, but is amazingly well done. It’s the rare button masher that can play on a person’s sympathies, and Nights proves it has both heart and brains to go with its mindless exterior.

While not the most complicated game of the year, does deliver a small serving of fun. At the least it's the sort of title that forces players to work up a bit of the old hand-eye coordination.

The most ambitious and complicated real-time strategy game ever made. This will make it a joy to devout fans of the genre, but an overwhelming mess to everyone else.

If you already own "Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance" for the Game Boy Advance, then consider this the strictly optional, backwards-compatible 2.0 version.

Isn't really a sequel no matter what it says on the box. It's an expansion pack. Gamers who already own "IL-2 Sturmovik" may balk at the price, as there's simply not enough new here to justify the purchase.

Wii Play may sound like some kinky German fetish video (our last Wii pun, we promise!), but it's actually good, clean fun overall -- aimed at those who either A) are in diapers, B) list Pac-Man as the last video game they played, or C) a twisted combo of both. It also caters to lazy bastards, with its ability to be played from a sitting position.

The competition isn't super hot, however, especially once players get the hang of the controls. It's not that the AI isn't realistic, just that it doesn't push very hard against a reasonably capable player.

Dungeon Lords had a lot of potential. The world is sparse and hard to navigate through, but at the same time feels oddly warm and interesting.

The catch-up AI quickly turns potential blowouts into nail biting and controller slamming affairs, the loading times are still way too long, and the visuals aren't much of an upgrade.

This is clearly a port in the wrong direction. The PSP visuals that looked great on the small screen now look terrible, and visual glitches and shortcomings flood the screen.

Scores several points for the innovative control scheme that's destined to replace button mashing as the fighting tool of choice. But it doesn't have the interactivity or variety to back up the chop-socky skills, making for play that's tasty, but about as filling as a trip to a Chinese joint at your local strip mall.

The bar has been set higher by "ESPN NHL 2K5," whose presentation, sense of realism, and play modes simply outclass, outshine, and outperform those found in NHL 2005.

Has all of the right ingredients for a successful hockey title, but it falters where it matters most: solid gameplay. The graphics and camera angles don't help draw you into the rink as much as the excellent sound and atmosphere, and the action seems to cater more to hockey newbies rather than hardcore veterans.

For every impressive animation on the field or cool detail such as dirt staying on uniforms after a slide, there seems to be a negative aspect, from the frame rate suddenly taking a hit as a runner sprints toward first to an unflattering camera view that detracts more than it adds.

A cut above your average jilted-samurai-seeks-revenge-against-the-demonic-hordes-who-wronged-him game.

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.