If you don’t care too much about precise game play, Chosen One is a good, brainless time. Otherwise, the game just becomes infuriating.

Playing through 18 holes takes way too long. Because you have to wait while everyone takes a turn, you’ll spend too much time doing absolutely nothing during these multiplayer rounds.

The one shining moment through all this is the decent online multiplayer mode included. It’s pretty vanilla, but it runs great. Plus it’s possible to turn into a nightwalker should you be a bit too slow on the draw. It’s a very cool feature.

The Infinitrax track generation system is interesting. By making use of six user-defined inputs such as curvature, hilliness, and track width, Infinitrax generates new courses on the fly.

To be breezily blunt, it’s possible to be Over G Fighters after a few hours’ worth of play.

A broken expansion pack for now, but even if everything worked it would still be a meager addition to such a large game.

Tedious and frustrating. The emphasis on repeating each mission until you figure out the puzzle is exactly what strategy gamers don't want.

Unlike the sublime, budget-friendly "Katamari Damacy," this game sells for full price. It may be worth a rental, but Under the Skin proves that being simple, weird, and quirky just isn’t good enough on its own.

The lackluster presentation combined with the clunky and often frustrating gameplay makes Fellowship of the Ring more of a chore to play than anything else.

The story mode is boring and full of repetition, the controls are overly simplistic.

Though the Wayne vs. Wayne mode is an interesting, if not disturbing, idea, it’s not enough to justify a purchase for most hockey fans.

Long on promise and short on delivery. Had the developers opted for a real-time combat engine, strategic 3D battlefields, or some other interesting twists, MS Saga could have been worth a look.

What ultimately makes or breaks NBA Jam is its computer AI, which is every bit as nasty and unfair as previous games.

What should have been a fast-paced, movie-fueled action fest is bogged down by overly sluggish controls, Vaseline-smeared graphics, and a general lack of polish.

Consider Spy vs. Spy a third-person parody of the genre that doesn't add much to the equation.

New players are likely to feel totally lost in a sea of hostile troops and jittery unresponsive allies who can walk through walls but not fire through hedges. Not a game for the uninitiated.

Dynasty Warriors has a rabid fan base, and so it stands to reason that Koei doesn’t want to mess with the formula too much. It’s disappointing that seven years and endless games later, this latest iteration feels like such a miniscule step forward in the series.

Deserves kudos for being such a meticulous translation of the card game. Unfortunately, there is little else to attract anyone other than the hard core fan base.

Although it's good that the game tries to stay true to its '80s roots, the unnecessarily complicated controls, distracting plot, and bland visuals keep it from being much fun.

Instead of saving anywhere, you’ll have to – that’s right – use a spell to teleport to the inn, where Tao can record his progress. In most DS games this isn’t a problem, since closing the DS will pause play. But not here – the game just keeps running even with the system closed.

Its erratic jumping controls and annoying camera issues will ensure that even the little ones will become frustrated.

Falls into the same sequel trap that many other games tumble into, where the emphasis in development is placed more on improving visual aspects rather than addressing flaws in the gameplay.

The biggest problem with this game is that it emphasizes the weaknesses of the original's gameplay, and tones down or eliminates many of the strengths.

Battle of the Bands simply has no legs. Once you’ve learned the basics of the game, there’s nowhere else to go.

The camera is even worse than in the main mode -- odd, when it could've just taken a zoomed-in version of the isometric view that games like Baldur's Gate have used for eons.

The gameplay is limited in scope and the maps are repetitive in theme, if not design. The visuals are decent enough, but definitely not up to the standards of most modern releases.

I was looking forward to it, but left very disappointed. It’s completely playable. Being about 7 hours long helps but I spent the entire game waiting for it to get good, to make sense, to make a case for all the incongruous elements of design, gameplay and story, and then it ended.

An unfinished, bug-ridden game. Blame Core for being too ambitious. Blame Eidos for shipping it too soon. But don't blame us if you buy it.