Stages are sterile clones of much livelier settings found in competing titles.

The empire-building gameplay is surprisingly compelling and fast-paced, while the battles themselves give you a taste of, well, glory. Hugo be damned; this empire building is fun stuff.

SingStar is a great time if you’ve got a bunch of mates getting knackered in your flat (whoa, got British there for a second, sorry), but it’s not as much of a "game" as Karaoke Revolution is.

A very addictive game that continues to surprise and delight the more you play. For the money, there's plenty to do, and best of all it lets you focus on what you find fun.

Sloppy combat controls hamper the fun, and the lack of online play really limits the multiplayer appeal on the Xbox. Just the same, it's a great-looking, enjoyable take on a classic.

It’s as fast and frantic a shooter as you’ll find anywhere.

A solid follow-up to "Massive Assault" and "Massive Assault Network," featuring a huge amount of new offline content and gameplay options that will keep fans busy for weeks.

It is disappointing that only two people can play simultaneously, especially when so many other games feature online support. The camera is also far from perfect--you’ll routinely have your view blocked by troops--and enemy AI has evolved little from previous versions.

The reliance on old school game mechanics does make the game dated. It’s a bit like playing a clone of the original Doom after you’ve finished Half-Life 2.

Beenox's previous Spider-Man titles were pedestrian at best, but The Amazing Spider-Man is a stellar installment that gives me hope for future games.

It's a capably constructed RPG, to be sure, but it's hard to explicitly recommend Mega Man X: Command Mission to anyone who isn't already a fan of Mega Man or RPGs. If you're a little bit of both, chances are you'll dig it immensely.

An original game with a well-developed theme and a lot to do. If the fighting and voice acting had received a little more attention, this would surely be a five-star game. As it is, some gamers might have trouble taking the game seriously.

Basically, if looks aren’t important to you; if a great personality and big brain is your thing, this is the game for you.

It's definitely not what most players have in mind when it comes to the speeding rodent, but for multiplayer-centric GBA owners, it's worth a ride.

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

My Sims is a nice beginning for a potentially new game franchise. Right now, it has more in common with creativity software than a video game.

Innovation isn't the point here. It's just flat out fun (in a messy, bloody sort of way). This is a fantastic and enjoyable way to blow off some steam, shoot tons of baddies, and, ultimately, satisfy the bloodlust that strikes the best of us.

A mostly average button masher that has the good luck of being associated with the hottest kids' property to come along in years.

Even with the weak campaign, O.R.B.'s compelling and interestingly paced skirmish mode more than make up for it.

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 game is somewhat short however, and there are some frustratingly cheap places for the monkey king to blow it. Which, in turn, blows some of the games potential replay value.

Veteran platformers will make it through with little challenge, but that detriment makes it perfect for less experienced, older, or much younger players looking for a cute diversion.

Unfortunately, when the best part of a game is the absurdly vulgar audio, there's definitely a problem in the overall design.

As survivor horror games go, Cold Fear is lukewarm. The graphics attempt to mask a mediocre plot and flawed action, but it does succeed in making your skin crawl--in a good way.

The biggest attraction to most fans will be the staggering collection of licensed clubs. For fans of unpronounceable teams from Arabic lands, there's no other solution.

There’s enough great gameplay here to make Web of Shadows recommendable for Spider-Man fans. The sheer level of glitches in the game, however, manages to take the fun factor down several notches.

While the outdoor and indoor locales making up the game’s 15 stages are beautiful to behold, they are limiting in what you can and cannot do, which is disappointing.

Icon is serviceable, but it’s not something you’ll be spinning in your disc tray for very long.