A great chess program for helping and improving your chess game. This is not just a game to play chess with others or against a computer; it is a set of tools for teaching and improving your chess game.

The simple color-matching gameplay principles will test the younger kids and the complicated puzzles and tricky control will challenge their parents. Even if you never explore beyond the initial 100 levels you are guaranteed to get your money’s worth.

The gameplay is a bit primitive but still fun and challenging. My only regret is that the dual screen wasn’t used more prominently in the game. As it is, graphics not withstanding, this game could have been released for the GBA.

A fantastic and totally enjoyable trip down memory lane for any gamer over 40 and a valuable history lesson for anyone younger.

It’s slightly above average in almost every aspect and matches that with a low low price.

An extremely shallow game.

This is one of the few XBLA games that I’ve continued to play after the first week. But for most people, once you’ve figured out the patterns to win there isn’t a challenge.

Though the game is woefully short, the game does set a standard for RPG difficulty, which might breathe some challenge into the genre.

I was anticipating control issues due to the lack of a second analog stick but they weren’t as bad as I had imagined. In all, this is a fairly solid handheld port of the console version.

It fails to innovate as much as it promised. The courses are longer and there are more of them. The weapons are more advanced and so is the AI of the other racers, so winning will take strategy and skill.

Legion Arena is all about the combat, no deciding what crops to raise or whether to feed your troops or the starving peasants.

RTX combines some unique gameplay elements to enhance a traditional third-personal action game, and while it might not be the best game out there, it does offer a certain charm.

A fun little romp with plenty of gratuitous violence, witty one-liners, and hilarious cutscenes.

I haven’t been able to get my hands on a copy of "Wario Ware: Touched" for DS. It’s actually kind of hard to find these days. This game offered a pretty enjoyable experience that sadly may be about as close as I will ever get to Touched.

The slow pace and ridiculously formal dialogue will certainly repel some players, even patient ones – but the rest of us will find a detailed, suspenseful story brought to life by alluring graphics.

Traxxpad is an interesting application for creating songs or techno sounding beats. There is something here if you’re interested in creating music on your PSP but this is not for the quick and easy music buff.

While SpyHunter 2 is certainly a much more refined sequel it seems that there are just as many new problems as there are improvements.

It seems that the Smackdown vs. Raw series has really taken a step sideways with this year’s title. Instead of improving what they had, they tried to add a new feature that throws off the balance of the game.

Defenders of Ardania is a fairly enjoyable tower defense title that has its ups and downs. The core tower defense mechanics are awesome, easy to pick up on, despite game delaying tutorials from the Connery clone, and solid amongst the chaos. The addition of RTS offensive features however don't seem to fit into the grand scheme of things nearly as well as it could have. Neither the less Defenders of Ardania is fun and worth a try.

Definitely a major step in the right direction. But at the end of the day I can only recommend this game to Transformer fans. The solo play is interesting for a bit, but quickly gets repetitive.

Kung Fu Panda may not be a long lasting game but it adds some unique platforming with button mashing fighting and plenty of well done graphics and great audio. Kung Fu Panda for the PS2 is well worth the effort and even for a platformer and button masher well worth the cost.

It was a nice alternative to a lot of the other “mindless” games I play on the PSP and other game system, and I really believe it did sharpen my brain, at least from a mental awareness level, each day I played it. I don’t think it really improved my language or math skills, but that’s also not the purpose.

Personally, I think Frogger works better on a handheld, so Frogger: Helmet Chaos is easily my favorite version for this next-gen remake. You can bust out the classic 1981 game at a moments notice and relive your misspent youth, or dive into a substantial action-platform title that will challenge your reflexes and your brain.

Ys I & II Chronicles may not be the first release of this two part adventure it is without a doubt the best version.

There are some interesting differences in the controls, and considering that Origins is meant to be a prequel to the rest of the games, it's forgivable that the game doesn't try to revolutionize the entire series.

A pleasant surprise.

It will delight gamers of all ages and the more you play the better you get. It promotes observation, color and pattern recognition skills, but the random nature of the game boards is more about reflexes than problem solving.

The music is better if your turn it off and the tinny sound effects are a bit disappointing, but at its heart there is a fun and substantial gameplay experience to be had if you have the perseverance to tough it out.

I wasn't expecting Splatterhouse to scare me. That's what Alan Wake is for. Instead, I got an old-school beat-em-up with excessive gore, excessive violence, excessive foul language, and excessive load times – and only the latter is cause for alarm.

Once you look through the cel-shaded visuals, professional voice acting, and graphic novel presentation and effects, you are left with a pretty standard shooter that doesn’t really innovate or improve upon the genre.

Activision and DreamWorks have another solid movie-licensed game ready for fans of the upcoming film.

With a short single player mode, as well as no frills multiplayer, Project Snowblind won’t turn many heads.

Basically, if you’re into speed and blowing a lot of stuff up, you’ll enjoy this game. It also has enough ambiance and an interesting enough story to hold your interest for a while.

I stopped having "true fun" about halfway through X-Men: Destiny and sadly finished out of obligation and a curiosity to see how the story would unfold. Hopefully, if you're a bigger fan of the X-Men franchise than I am you'll have a better time. Casual gamers should probably skip – this is one for true X-Men aficionados.

I really like Tiger Woods PGA Tour 06 despite the troublesome controls. The graphics are gorgeous, especially on a widescreen HDTV in all their panoramic glory, which only makes you wish for more than the six included courses.

I stopped having "true fun" about halfway through X-Men: Destiny and sadly finished out of obligation and a curiosity to see how the story would unfold. Hopefully, if you're a bigger fan of the X-Men franchise than I am you'll have a better time. Casual gamers should probably skip – this is one for true X-Men aficionados.

The mix of action and stealth is just right and the puzzles are intuitive and even a bit challenging at times.

Older gamers will tire of the repetitive mini-games and missions, but younger kids will get a kick out of mastering the awkward controls.

I’m not embarrassed to say that I really liked Micro Machines V4. After playing all of the more serious games that come my way, this was a pleasantly mindless, yet challenging diversion that showed some real ingenuity, especially in the visionary track designs and great use of scale.

While Apprentice isn’t lacking in small challenges, the hardest part about getting through the game is having the patience to move through all the more boring sections, since it does get pretty repetitive after a while.

It does have charming graphics and sound, but the maddening grind really drives down the fun factor.

The only real complaint is that after more than a half dozen iterations, it’s about time that From Software stopped resting on its laurels with the game engine and upgrade the quality of the models with some visual panache.

There is a great feeling of wonder and magic in this latest Potter game, assuming you have the patience to discover it.

Rabbids: Alive & Kicking is definitely a unique approach to playing around with those mischievous critters. Much of the insanity and charm is back along with some new physical gameplay that might prove a bit too much for those, like myself, who come unprepared.

While some gamers will be turned off by a “watch helplessly” battle mode, many others will enjoy the intriguing and thoughtful combat design elements incorporated into Chariots of War.

While many might argue that their “free” golf game controls better, there is no denying it lacks the structure and gameplay modes that Tiger delivers in full.

The bright colors and cheery graphics design make this platform title as much fun to look at as it is to play.

Despite being sandwiched between two high-profile music games, Boom Boom Rocket offers a unique and vibrant gameplay experience that is really unmatched by anything else out there.

Playing this game is, overlooking a few control issues, just simply enjoyable. There is nothing too demanding in the way of strategy, it's just a matter of shooting everything.

Sonic is more suited to 3D platformers than racing, even if he is the fastest thing out there.

Shrek the Third takes a great 360 title and compacts it down into the palm of your hand while maintaining all the great gameplay at only a small cost in visuals.

I definitely recommend picking it up.

If you’re a console gamer intrigued by the Sims games but don’t own a PC, Sims 2 Pets for PS2 may be fun for you to try, especially if you also enjoy virtual pets. Otherwise, the PC version is definitely your better bet.

It’s a unique racing experience that isn’t quite arcade and certainly not simulation. As long as you know what to expect going in you won’t be disappointed and you might even be a bit surprised.

Certainly an improvement on its predecessor, but it still lacks the visual punch to offer any competition with the PC or Xbox games.

America's Army: Rise of a Soldier may lack the polish and panache of Ubisoft's other military shooters, but it does hit the marks where it counts – convincing gameplay.

Don’t be fooled by the charming graphics. There is a fairly complex boxing model and elaborate combo system that requires timing, reflexes, and intuition if you ever hope to complete this lengthy and comprehensive boxing game.

The mix of spells, weapons, and melee is great and presents an ongoing challenge throughout the levels with the various demons and boss fights.

Some of the mini-games are just impossible (for me) and it usually seemed to be those games that were on the squares I needed to make the required line(s) to graduate.

As I said before, it may not be perfect, but it's a step in the right direction for the genre. It'll be interesting to see what improvements come to the game as the minor bugs are ironed out. And even more interesting will be where we go next, now that Nuclear Dawn has shown us what a game is capable of doing.

I’ve passed this game around to people who have never even held a PSP before and they have picked up on the gameplay in less than ten minutes and have enjoyed it just as much as I have.

Earth 2160 is pretty much a game by RTS experts for RTS experts. This game is not novice friendly by any stretch of the imagination.

With a little more work, this game could have been exceptional, but unfortunately, it stops its ascent to greatness with simply average.

I loved Spider-Man: Friend or Foe on the console and the DS version offers a fun and challenging smaller scale version of that same game with some clever touchscreen puzzle elements thrown into the mix.

It’s long, and it’s deep with ample replay potential for those of you that enjoy such games. Otherwise, it’s very hard to recommend to someone new to the genre. Once you get the hang of it, SAW is very well researched and quite challenging.

This is simply an underground fighter that is more of a diversion and a guilty pleasure for those who like brutal street fighting with a bit of martial arts elegance.

In summary, Darkspore, while unexpectedly dissimilar to Spore and not without its flaws, is an enjoyable hack-and-slash action RPG.

Sadly, Crash of the Titans is just more of the same in a new wrapper.

To go along with all those retro graphics is one awesome soundtrack ripped right from the days of Japanese-inspired coin-ops.

A unique but somewhat shallow approach to the complicated scenarios of establishing a relationship or simply nailing your roommate. It’s a bit predictable since there are firm rules in place and you have instant access to the results of your efforts.

If you have a twisted sense of humor, if you hate cats and enjoy South Park, Beavis and Butthead, Jackass or any of those other guilty pleasures then you will certainly find plenty to smile about while exploring Paradise.

Microsoft keeps inserting small innovations when what is really needed is a major overhaul to the entire game engine.

Trials to Glory can be a fun, and addictive strategy game for those willing to read the game's manual, are already familiar with this Gameboy Advance series, or are extremely hardcore Yu-Gi-Oh fans.

It won't win any awards for originality, but with quality visuals, outstanding voice acting, and challenging gameplay, Over the Hedge is guaranteed to entertain and delight young and old alike, and should make the perfect companion piece to the upcoming film.

Some of the features may feel like a throwback to the original Operation Flashpoint, and many of the mechanics may overwhelm more casual shooter players, the sheer amount of extra content and military accuracy make ArmA: Combat Operations difficult to not recommend to a military enthusiast or fan of the Flashpoint series.

A good game that could have been a great game if there had simply been more of it.

It’s undeniably charming, fun despite its problems, and laugh out loud funny at times.

A virtual mech wonderland, full of potential for experimentation, both in configuration and strategy. It will have a certain appeal for its target audience, but everyone else might want to take their Wanzer for a test drive before dropping $50 to put one in their PS2 garage permanently.

If you enjoy colorful puzzles games with a bit of arcade shooting action thrown in, and you haven’t already played Luxor 2, then you’ll definitely want to check out this latest version of Luxor for the PSP.

While the game isn’t exactly deep, it’s a fun diversion for a chunk of time, especially if you have a friend to play with, in person or on Xbox Live. As far as the old classic games go, this is better than most offerings.

I loved PlayStation Move Heroes for what it is – not what everyone was hoping or expecting it to be. This is a fun and challenging collection of party games enjoyable for one or two players that puts Sony's unique motion control system to great use. And the fact that Sony decided to put six of their most famous characters into the game doesn't sell those franchises short. It merely reignites and fuels an interest in those characters and their stories so we can start looking forward to their next-gen sequels. Heroes is a great party game for young and old, family and friends.

I also really liked the way that the developers changed up the gameplay dynamics. I’ve never really been a fan of constant resource gathering in games overall but Tiberian Twilight’s new dynamics made it much more enjoyable.

I think it is going to take a next-gen system to boost this game out of the pits, and if we can't get it on the 360, maybe we can look to the PS3 for a true NASCAR experience.

Total Destruction's gameplay is not only a great homage to the original, it improves on it with more monsters and a greater variety of moves, plus a massive collection of unlockable content that will keep you playing for months to come.

The game could have been so much better with a more balanced AI, or at least a more gradual progression. Hitting that AI “brick wall” about halfway through the tour may have less-dedicated gamers hitting the showers.

Had it had an online feature or the split-screen action of Budokai 3, the verdict would have been different.

MLB 2K9 is improving. It seems to be a best fit for someone who is a casual fan.

It helps to be a History Channel fanatic to really love this game. Fans of the board game who have never played RTS will no doubt be very unhappy.

It won't change the way adventure games are designed, like Myst did, but it is gripping and well-crafted.

At the end of the day…the 40th Day, Army of Two offers enough fun and action and cinematic set pieces to earn a solid recommendation as a rental.

Looks fantastic and has some truly inventive and original gameplay, which only makes it that much more disappointing when the ride is over just a bit too quickly.

This is old-school gaming at its very best and I couldn’t be happier for the trip down memory lane.

I can’t even imagine why EA removed half the stuff they did. They had a rare opportunity to capture the hearts of a new generation of gamers, but serious basketball gamers will likely head over to the 2K Sports camp, at least this year.

If you like 3D games in the same vein as Mercury Meltdown then you'll find plenty of challenging gameplay, strategy, and even a touch of reflexive action lurking in Cube, a game that proves it truly is hip to be square.

A good game that could have been a great FPS title for the PC if just a little effort had gone into porting this over from the consoles.

If you love strategy RPGs and a good horror story and don't mind dealing with a few bugs then you should check out the universal app, Call of Cthulhu: The Wasted Land for iPhone and iPad.

The controls are cramped, the AI questionable, and the pacing and gameplay seems more geared toward an action-shooter than a stealthy military sim.

I literally had to force myself to play this game, grumbling throughout the first 2-3 stages, but eventually the Castlevania-style gameplay and unique stylized graphics overcame my shattered expectations and I started to appreciate the game for what it is – a kick-ass, old-school platformer that will deliver hours of challenging fun regardless of its title.