It's remarkable how skillfully so many different ideas are blended together into one game. It's equally impressive that it looks and sounds great, has no noticeable load time, tells a decent story, and doesn't saddle the player with restrictions on where to go and what to do.

Once you get a firm grasp on gameplay, you'll be playing a flexible and rewarding game. With its unobtrusive story and mission-based structure, Final Fantasy Tactics Advance is perfect for gaming on the go.

NCAA Football 06's refined approach seems to cater most to the hardcore college football fan rather than the casual sports enthusiast.

Dodgy track list aside, this is a consistently fun and often funny title that keeps the charm and oddity of the Japanese original intact. It's also one of those games that could only work this well on the Nintendo DS, and it's difficult to resist these Agents' combination of charm and dance prowess.

Firmly establishes Mario as an RPG force. The game is a stylish, accessible game for RPG veterans and newcomers of all ages, and shouldn't be missed by fans of Mario, RPGs, or just great games.

Even the most cynical gamers will have a hard time not being won over by its charms. In short, it's the type of game you bought a GameCube for in the first place and, thanks to its excellent multiplayer modes, has a lot of staying power.

Racing doesn't get much grittier than this. Here's mud in your eye!

The simplification of the gameplay also tends to make the game feel a bit repetitive, and it can be frustrating to repeatedly try to make the same jump to that last graffiti spot only to fall and be forced to climb all the way back up and try again...[yet] one of the best games on the Xbox.

Years from now, Bully will stand up on any ‘best of PS2 list’, Jimmy Hopkins will still reign as the coolest kid in school, and hopefully one day soon I will finally find all 76 hidden rubber bands.

Its only real flaw is that it becomes repetitious so quickly in multiplayer. Individual players' mileage may vary, but you can get just so much out of plain vanilla deathmatch before you crave something more.

The biggest drawback to the game is that it relies heavily on multiplayer. The single-player tasks are fun, if benign, but the AI is pretty rudimentary and your behavior has no real long-term effect on your relationship with other residents.

There’s a real sensation of extreme speed, and even with a large number of cars on-screen, there’s only rarely a hint of stuttering or slowdown.

Easily makes up for any shortcomings just by its sheer volume. The missions alone will take over twenty hours to complete. It's hard to argue with a release that features over 500 mini missions, a ton of unlockables, and a complete game that was one of last year's most acclaimed titles.

The owners and dynasty one-two could make MVP a must-have for detail-oriented fans, especially those without a PS2 who are locked out of "MLB 2006's" equally strong offering.

MLB The Show 12 continues the tradition of excellence in this installment of the yearly title. Beautifully realistic parks, Vita integration, and a myriad of control options expand on what was already the leading MLB experience.

A fine example of what video games do best. They give players a sense of time and place that is unmatched in any other medium. In United Offensive you are there. And even though it’s short, it’s a great ride.

The levels are fun, the gameplay is solid, and the puzzles and bosses require more than a bit of brain matter to figure out, resulting in a nice sense of accomplishment every time you reach a new milestone in Raz's adventure.

The PC version of Gears of War feels both more and less complete. While the new seamlessly slipped-in missions add more narrative and in a few cases, some exceptionally difficult and satisfying battles; they don’t add anything substantive to a story already at best worth half a buck and a bag of popcorn.

The extremely clean graphics, married to addictive, simple gameplay are enough to recommend this title.

It isn't for everyone though, the difficulty can be infuriatingly hard and means that some players won't ever make it to the later levels.

Resistance 2 is a major improvement over the original in every way. It is an awesome experience of seeing a team of developers at the top of their game and pulling out all the stops. There’s something magnificent in the campaign’s execution, a wholesale devotion to having a lot of fun.

Round 2 has the substance to back it up its sense of style. The analog control has been refined to the point where it's more responsive and more satisfying than mashing buttons and the new facial and body animations bring a level of authenticity to the ring that's simply never been accomplished before.

There's more than enough meat to the single-player component in Dark Crusade to justify a purchase.

Just about everything good about the original has improved. The repetitive dungeon crawling, however, will not appeal to everyone.

Many will balk at the game because it doesn’t offer a million different models of car. Those who do are missing the point. Grid is all about the fun and excitement of the race. It’s racing with a capital ‘R’ minus the frustration. You won’t find a more fun racing game this year.

It is the total package 2D fighter. Any fighting fan owes it to him or herself to snatch this one immediately.

Simply experiencing the old-school "Sonic" gameplay again after so many years of 3D titles makes the title a must-have for longtime "Sonic" fans.

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.