The actual strategy aspect is drastically limited, thanks to the small arenas and abbreviated unit types. With only two short campaigns that interest will quickly turn to boredom.

Racing is the primary focus here and the game does a good job at translating the complexities that go into maneuvering a horse through a tense race.

A reasonably engaging, yet perfectly average experience--much like most summer blockbusters.

While both games show their age and are over very quickly, shooting gallery games are somewhat timeless in their simplicity. They're solid examples of the genre, and shooting zombies in the head is really its own reward.

FIFA 07 will still please enthusiasts with its enhanced ball control and realistic play, but it’s hard to validate this game as "the season" when it would have benefited from more seasoning.

A decent dungeon-crawl at heart. Once you’ve escaped the very first couple of hours, which have some of the longest and worst talking-heads bits, the game leaves ample room to ignore the plot in favor of hacking around the random levels.

For RPG genre fans willing to overlook some technical flaws, Risen 2 may very well be a treat and a refreshing change of pace. For the rest of us, this is a game that will never quite rise to the occasion.

Natsume's "mulligan" to address some of the shortcomings found in the original. It offers the same graphics, same controls, and an identical cast of characters apart from the female protagonist.

The game is addictive, fun, and quite lengthy, but these half-fledged console outings are wearing thin, if only because the franchise has the potential to be something great.

The occasional high difficulty will alienate most players, though for those who can take the heat, Dropship is a great buy.

This game will make you want to spend your entire life at sea, watching the flowing waves, dodging water spouts, dueling with enemy ships, and plundering booty. The rest of the game, sadly, feels more like a chore than an adventure.

Fans of the series expecting innovation will be disappointed, but newbies will now be able to see what Dreamcast owners have been secretly enjoying for years.

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.

A reasonably engaging, yet perfectly average experience--much like most summer blockbusters.

It's a different style of game than previous versions, one that dumps some of the innovations from earlier titles in favor of crowd-pleasing simplicity.

An enjoyable, mindless, action game and generally plays well on the 360. But the performance issues are going to rob this one of a point. Especially when we know this console should be able to handle a game like this without breaking a sweat.

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.

King Kong is short... really short. The average player will finish the game in about six hours, and for $60, that’s not exactly a great value.

The magic element makes for good fun, and shooting hoops with Mickey and the gang turns out to be both challenging and entertaining.

While it can't match the other versions of the game in terms of scope or graphics, and it is a bit repetitive, Dynasty Warriors Advance is a surprisingly comprehensive package that is simple, fun, and offers plenty of action.

A cute idea with limited appeal thanks to the spotty quality of the minigames and the watered down multiplayer.

The downside to the game's ambitious design is that the individual parts don't fare nearly as well alone as they do being part of a larger experience.

Should be a fun diversion for fans of the genre, though it pales in comparison to the best handheld platformers on the market.

You know what would be a perfect fit? Tetris on Xbox Live Arcade. It’s really hard to understand why THQ didn’t take that route for this game.

Hard-core fans of old-school gaming will want to pick it up, but most gamers will find that the gameplay issues keep this set from being more than an occasional trip down memory lane.

Mario Strikers Charged still has a ways to go before being considered an arcade-sports champion.

The threadbare story can barely support the game’s 20 hours of gameplay and the brothers don’t have enough moves to keep the puzzle-solving fresh.

Truly stunning visuals, excellent, non-linear map design, hours of playtime, and an innovative magic system help bring it up a notch above the competition. Unfortunately, the control problems, a few technical glitches, a slow start, and a lousy camera hamper the experience.