I had a blast playing it for the first hour, and the next hour or two was still fun. But as time went on, it quickly dwindled into something stuck between a linear action title and a sandbox game, with neither of those done well.

The many multiplayer possibilities should buy you a lot of time with the title, but the single-player campaign is just entirely too short (while the tutorial is mind-numbingly long).

The most glaring problems with the game arise in human AI and weird graphical hiccups. Human AI, sorry to say, is dumb.

The controls and goals are decidedly simple, the story is definitely classic and non-violent, but that’s not to say it’s only for younger audiences. Just about anyone can have a good time with this game, at least for a while. The Wii version is well done, and the controls feel well implemented. It’s funny, it’s fun, and it’s just plain easy to enjoy.

I was most impressed with the look of Eets. You may have seen the older PC game, and if so then you know what to expect here. The only way I know how to describe the characters is as cutesy with a serious edge. The characters, especially Eets himself, looks like you could pet him but at any moment he might just bite your head off.

Tries to mix up the formula a bit too much, and the results aren’t perfect.

The game does get a little repetitive, though the increase in difficulty in later levels will keep you on your toes. Multiplayer is pretty much a joke that was better left untold. It's hollow, void of much point and has all the signs of something that was added at the last minute so the box could say “Multiplayer”.

In short, Assassin’s Creed is two hours of a really good video game repeated ad nauseum for many more hours. It’s fun, but can get very boring.

The area where the PS3 version of this game really impresses the most is in the amount of brand new content that’s been added here. There are nearly 30 new missions, 6 new vehicles, 7 new weapons and an impressive 25 new execution styles.

The online play is fairly impressive, with a field of up to 11 human competitors that’s rounded out by another 11 AI opponents. The only real problem with this game is that it’s just not fun.

The many multiplayer possibilities should buy you a lot of time with the title, but the single-player campaign is just entirely too short (while the tutorial is mind-numbingly long).

The new Weapons system is a fun addition, and actually manages to make the game a bit friendlier to new players. The gameplay itself is solid, but the overall presentation is still lacking. Here’s hoping to a more robust online mode and a better use of the ESPN license in the 09 iteration.

Hardcore players should probably stay away, but anyone looking for a laid-back and fun time can find at least a little of that here. This game is obviously made for kids, and while they’ll have more fun with it than an adult would, there’s a little something for everyone in this package.

Players who never experienced the RPGs of the 80s are bound to scratch their head and wonder where all the graphics went.

The easy learning curve is something that always made the series a good bet, but with games like Skate emerging onto the scene with a more intuitive control scheme, it may be time for old Tony to learn a new trick or two.

If you haven’t played this game before, chances are strong that you’ll have a good time with Beautiful Katamari. Newbies may be confused by the unique gameplay or bizarre story, but this series has a way of endearing itself to you rather quickly.

When it comes right down to it this game is perfect for the newbies out there that have only heard of Cooking Mama and have wanted to try it out. But for those of you that invested time in the original game, it may be best to stay with that one, as this offers nothing new for you.

While the controls help to show a continuing evolution of how we use the Wii’s motion sensor technology, it falls far short of excellence thanks to an annoying timing glitch. All in all, you’ll have a good time with either version of this game that you pick up, but the 360 will present a more robust, challenging and rewarding experience.

Technically very solid, with a well implemented control scheme and good enough graphics and sound, but the tedium of doing nothing more than grinding through the exact same thing over and over again really kills it.

But despite what this game has to offer it remains hard to recommend a purchase simply because of all the déjà-vu this will give you. There is almost nothing new here from the previous Tenkaichi titles, besides a ramped up character list and a couple shifts in the story mode.

What we’ve got here is a stripped down version of a great game. It’s nothing short of a complete re-hash, but in the case of Guitar Hero that’s not necessarily a huge problem.

Sudoku purists will be upset by a number of things in this game. All puzzles appear to be randomly generated, so there’s no way to track which ones you have or haven’t solved yet.

There is a lot here to like if you're willing to look past the redundant quests and better yet, Radiant Mythology is a good entry point for newcomers to the series.

If you like your puzzle games like Puzzle League or Meteos, then you'll want to stay clear of Picross DS. However, if crosswords or brain-benders like Sudoku is more your style, then you will love this version. It has a lot to offer and the ability to create and share puzzles ensures a long-life span.

A huge improvement over previous versions. It's obvious EA wanted to treat the DS platform as a unique entity and not a place to dump a half-assed port. While the graphics won't be winning any awards, it's at least passable now and won't make your eyes bleed.

Tony Hawk’s Downhill Jam gets an A for effort, but a C- for execution.

In the end, you can't help but feel that Jade Empire lost its focus in the design phase. No one element really works, no one element really stands out.

Tomb Raider’s puzzles remain just as challenging as before, and you’ll spend plenty of time just looking around rooms trying to figure out how to move on to the next area. Thankfully they never get boring.

High Treason is a great game all around, but will most likely not gain the attention of most gamers, due to Atari’s muted response Direct Action. Without more online players, and with other competing modern-warfare RTS’s, High Treason is likely to slip under the radar, never gaining the popularity it deserves.

This is a title definitely intended for children and gives them something to pass the time with after school gets out. Mothers out there should look to this game to give them some peace and quiet time from their kids.

Frankly, Tecmo's "Super Swing Golf" has Tiger beaten, something I'm sure irritates the hell out of EA...and myself. I want a realistic golf game, and the Wii is the gateway to that goal. Well, I guess there's always next year.

ZX Advent delivers a solid 2D platformer that is difficult to find elsewhere, forcing a players to rely pretty heavily on their skill to see them through. Mega Man fans will have their desire sated.

If you like to feel you're playing a platformer with punishing boss battles, then you just may love it. If you've grown up playing American or European shooters, then you are bound to be disappointed by most of the design decisions.

Basically what you have here is yet another port of a movie that just doesn’t deliver in the entertainment department.

But for the rest of us who don't want to make a career out of a game and preferred the new direction that "Company of Heroes" offered, Commander is bound to be a huge letdown.

Though it is more approachable than previous versions, Virtua Fighter 5 still takes a lot of work before it becomes fun, and sixty dollars aside, it may be too big an investment for most casual gamers.

For fans of Naruto who know what the Hidden Leaf Village is or are accustom to hearing about Trigram Palm Rotations, this game can provide a deep and challenging fight.

Liberation allows you to play co-op with another friend, heading out together on the same boring missions that comprise the campaign.

Stalker attempts to be many things, which is a lofty and worthy goal, but its inability to deliver is a huge disappointment. It wants to be an RPG, offering you an inventory and items with modifiers, and yet has no implementation of experience, skills or adjusting your attributes. It also wants to be a free-roam, huge world, Oblivion/GTA hybrid, but comes across as having bitten off more than it could chew.

It’s important to stress that this game is not going to replace Wii Play on your kegger nights. SSX Blur requires a good deal of time to become competent at, and will reward you well for doing so. If you need a game that’s easy to pick up and play, you won’t find it here. What you will find is a solid evolution of an established franchise that was in need of a change.

Much like an orchestra with a flat brass section, Eternal Sonata strings together a great battle system and beautiful presentation to the backdrop of an out-of-tune story and lacking character development.

Since the graphics aren’t anything special compared to the PS3 and 360 versions, the control scheme is obviously the star of this version of Call of Duty 3; and unfortunately things come out a little less supernova than we had hoped for.

Overall this game doesn’t take any chances and it suffers because of it.

The new Weapons system is a fun addition, and actually manages to make the game a bit friendlier to new players. The gameplay itself is solid, but the overall presentation is still lacking. Here’s hoping to a more robust online mode and a better use of the ESPN license in the 09 iteration.

Quite entertaining. It’s not going to be enough to draw in new fans to this type of gameplay. Let’s face it – this is a love it or hate it genre.

This game is definitely good for those of you who long for the carnival experience and can provide a really fun multiplayer experience as well. In the already very crowded Wii mini-game collection this one may not be the best, but it’s worth checking out.

When it comes right down to it, Sid Meier's Pirates for the PSP is a good game but a bad port.

The controls are solid enough, but there have been so many other stellar shooters over this holiday season, I can’t see why anybody would choose this game.

As a whole, however, this game wouldn’t necessarily warrant a purchase from anyone but hardcore fans of the Jackass franchise.

A few things need tweaking, mostly the funky camera which just zooms in way to close with no option to move it around. If you are looking for a fun game to pick up and play with your buddy, make sure he is a patient one and an experienced gamer.

So while this game puts up a valiant effort to inject some life into the sometimes mundane adventure genre, it falters with a complex interface and a certain sense of hatred you will develop for the female lead.

A nice homage to the days when you had to line quarters on the rim of a cabinet just to secure your spot in line.

A few things need tweaking, mostly the funky camera which just zooms in way to close with no option to move it around. If you are looking for a fun game to pick up and play with your buddy, make sure he is a patient one and an experienced gamer.

There were a few moments where I felt like Pirates could actually spark my interest, but I left bored in the long run.

The story won’t leave you in tears and the gameplay doesn’t break the mold in any way, but as the first epic Japanese RPG on the Xbox 360, Blue Dragon is adequate.

All in all, this is a great game that suffers a bit on the player-stumping side of things. But for fans of Agatha Christie? There’s no question, this is your game of choice.

I had never felt so frustrated in a wrestling game until I played this one.

If this title was offered up at a lower price or with more tables, it might be one of our favorite arcade games. As it stands, Pinball FX shook us a little bit, but not enough to TILT.

Dragoneer's Aria misses the mark in critical categories, especially in light of recent competition. You can do far worse than Dragoneer's, that's for sure...but with Brave Story out, you can now do far better.

There’s more of a focus on web-based combat that shows through nicely, but it just didn’t quite do it for us. Although you’ll unlock a good deal of moves eventually, the initial experience may not be compelling enough to make you want to play through enough to get there.

So if you think a very traditional RTS covered in mini-guns and mammoths, energy cannons and iguanodons sounds good, be all means, go buy Paraworld. However, if you were just excited by the peanut butter cup goodness of video games and dinosaurs, you are in for a lot more than you bargained for, and that may not be a good thing.

It's just missing that compulsive factor that separates a great puzzle game from all the rest. It doesn't have that “just one more time” sensation that keeps propelling you forward. And frankly, it gets so brutally tough that you'll be hard-pressed to keep at it, ultimately moving on to some other game.

Silent Hunter features countless bugs you'll find on every machine, and this is unforgivable. It's a betrayal to a loyal fanbase and a detriment to gaining new fans. Unfortunately, it's also an exact replay of what happened two years ago when Silent Hunter III shipped. Deja'vu all over again, as Yogi Berra once said.

Yet one more DS game that rises above minimal expectations. It’s not a must-have by any means, it doesn’t reinvent the genre and really doesn’t add anything new, but it doesn’t come across as a half-assed attempt to capitalize on a license.

When all is said and done, the only thing I'm left with is an insatiable desire to play Episode Two. With a bargain price of $20 Half-Life 2: Episode One is a requisite PC experience. I just wish they had pushed the envelope a little more like they did in Half-Life 2.

The presentation is fantastic and the multiplayer is surprisingly fun, but unfortunately Airborne’s new features feel like a desperate attempt to get one more iteration out of this aging series. Medal of Honor: Airborne just screams of a game with lots of interesting ideas that no one actually sat down to play and decide if they were fun.

Overall, as aeronautic enthusiasts, we were pretty happy with this game. Currently it serves as the only way to use the Sixaxis as a flight controller, even if it’ kind of lame.

Naruto may be a simple and confusing game, but one thing it’s sure to do is make fans of the license happy.

I appreciate the game for being an extension of the show and carrying the same humorous spirit, but I think that it could benefit with less attention to the show and more quality game craftsmanship.

If you can get past the frustrating gameplay mechanics, Medal of Honor: Airborne can be an enjoyable experience. The presentation is fantastic and the multiplayer is surprisingly fun, but unfortunately Airborne’s new features feel like a desperate attempt to get one more iteration out of this aging series.

The camera seems really buggy at times. While, for the most part, it does an acceptable job of keeping the action onscreen, there’s no way to easily re-center your view and so things get confusing at times.

There were a few moments where I felt like Pirates could actually spark my interest, but I left bored in the long run. There’s a decent amount of fun that can be had with this game, but you’ve got to be in the right mindset. Much like the movies, At World’s End is at best a popcorn game.

It’s an accessible and easy-to-master Wii game, providing simplistic gameplay and a neat art style. It’s certainly not "Call of Duty," but on the Wii that may be a good thing.

It offers a lot of options for your 800-points and 16-player team battles can be quite enjoyable, but there's just not enough meat on its bones to constitute a satisfying meal.

This is supposed to be the big racing title at launch, the game that should convince guys like me to buy this system, and it just plain doesn’t.

If you’re a fan of the Shrek movies, there is some fun to be had here. Granted, it’s forgettable and uninspired fun that fades pretty quickly, but it’s still fun for that short while.

If it weren't for the horrible way in which you have to find critical information, I'd happily recommend it to anyone with a passing interest in tactical combat games.

I simply found the game too age distinctive. Overall, it is a fantastic game for kids.

If you’re a fan of the Shrek movies, there is some fun to be had here. Granted, it’s forgettable and uninspired fun that fades pretty quickly, but it’s still fun for that short while.

While the gameplay is fairly easy, Starfox Command is a step back in the right direction for the franchise after the missteps during the Gamecube years.

If you’re looking for a portable Mario Party fix, minus the Party aspect, be sure to pick up Cooking Mama.

If goofy, over-the-top minigames are appealing, then Virtua Tennis is the only game in town. If you happen to take the sport of tennis seriously and want more of a simulation, then Smash Court Tennis 3 fills the bill well enough. The only problem I have with both of these games is their overall refusal to advance the genre beyond what we've seen countless times before.

Spider-Man: Friend or Foe is a good concept and can be fun in short bursts with friends, but it simply doesn’t have the staying power to keep any but the most dedicated of fans playing too far into the game alone.

It doesn't really raise the bar or set a new standard, doesn't offer anything I haven't seen before, and is unlikely to make any converts. Considering who made it, I guess we can all just be happy that it actually works.

Next Life could have been fantastic. It is by no means bad – just held back by some strange design oversights.

The more you know about football then the more you'll get out of this game. There are some superb play-calling aspects on offer, like the ability to change routes on the fly for your receivers, but again, this is something only the hardcore will make use of.

If you’re the type who can get behind some solid-yet-repetitive gameplay with plenty of fast paced action, EDF 2017 might be the game for you.

Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity’s problems keep it from being a consistent blast - but it has its moments.

So while this was a great opportunity to revamp an aging game and work out any flaws it had for a re-release, the company took the safe route and merely ported this over without fixing anything.

Ultimately, you can’t help but feel that there’s a fantastic game in Every Extend Extra just begging to be set free, but this current incarnation just wasn’t cooked enough to be worth eating.

Although Final Fantasy II isn't one of the better Final Fantasy games, it's an interesting cog in the 20-year history of the series, and shows how much the series has grown and evolved since its inception.

The real problem for Shrek lies in those controls and the remote and nunchuck sensitivity. It seems the slightest movement of either one will initiate one of your attacks.

The final part of the game, which I won’t give away here, should have been FULL of terrifying stuff hitting fans of every size and speed imaginable, and yet… nothing. More non-paranormal enemies. It is, quite simply, the most colossal anti-climax since Halo 2.

You’ll wonder why you bought this game when you could just be picking random numbers out of a hat. When you see this title on the shelf of your local retailer, if you’re smarter than a fifth grader your final answer will be “No Deal.”

Tony Hawk’s Downhill Jam gets an A for effort, but a D for execution.

Added abilities for the multiplayer add some needed depth.

Multiplayer is about as weak as the in-game humor.

Just like the empty vacuum that is outer space, Star Trek: Legacy pretty much just sucks. Set your phasers to “pass” on this one.