A highly polished, very original, and extremely fun strategy title.

Fans will appreciate the classic versus bombfests and the multitude of modes and maps, but the lack of online play means many solo players will be stuck competing against lame bots.

With a little more polish BigBig might have had a good series on its hand, but it's not quite there yet. [Feb 2008, p.102]

What's here is nothing short of amazing, but I can't help but wonder what could have been. [Feb 2008, p.94]

What's here is nothing short of amazing, but I can't help but wonder what could have been. [Feb 2008, p.94]

It’s a unique take on open world play, and its almost nihilistic fixation on violence for the sake of violence has a satirical and darkly comedic edge. Unfortunately, the repetition and lack of substance behind the flash left me cold.

With an excellent soundtrack and a simple concept, Endless Ocean succeeds in its goal of being a relaxing, educational experience. However, it fails miserably when it comes to feeling like a game. [Jan 2008, p.95]

The addition of online multiplayer via Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection will be a great boon for some, but the core single-player experience feels like a small step back from the brilliance of Dual Strike. Still, this is a standout in the DS lineup and a sequel that shouldn’t disappoint the series’ many fans.

Melee attacks in light gun games always suck. It’s too hard to judge the effective distance of your weapon, and much of the fun of melee combat as a concept is tied to the use of space and the tactics involved in controlling the flow of the fight. Unfortunately for Samurai Warriors: Katana, it’s basically a light gun game with melee weapons.

Sure it’s got remote tilt steering, liberal boosts, and plenty of jumps, but the core control is so fundamentally sloppy it verges on unplayable.

Circle of Doom’s problems all seem so frustratingly obvious the first time you see them that it makes you wonder why they were never changed.

EA should be ashamed that it’s trying to bilk some kid out of $50 while offering so little in return. I can understand simplifying the controller in an otherwise button-heavy sport, but that doesn’t mean the gameplay itself has to become uninspiring and so lacking.

EA should be ashamed that it’s trying to bilk some kid out of $50 while offering so little in return. I can understand simplifying the controller in an otherwise button-heavy sport, but that doesn’t mean the gameplay itself has to become uninspiring and so lacking. [Feb 2008, p.96]

If you’re already a fan of Harvey and the craziness that surrounds him, you’ll love how this game nails the feeling of the series. If you’re just a regular gamer looking for a solid legal adventure, other attorneys will represent your interests better.

You have a GameCube controller handy, Zero Gravity is very nearly mediocre.

Fans have been holding their breath for this sequel for 11 years, yet Sega answered their dreams with a game that feels like a Sega Saturn expansion. Only approach this game if you still love playing the original, otherwise your fond memories of this series will likely be tarnished.

What it may lack in revolutionary features it makes up for on the tracks where speed, skill, and surprises are not in short supply.

What it may lack in revolutionary features it makes up for on the tracks where speed, skill, and surprises are not in short supply.

Looking very similar, both of these versions certainly don't pack the graphical punch as the next-gen versions, and the sense of speed and some of the racing thrills suffer because of it. [Jan 2008, p.89]

Getting that “Flak Master!” award never gets old, and it’s no less satisfying to crush the enemy from your couch than it is from your desk in the end.

Half-Life 2 delivers stunning action and fantastic storytelling, while dramatically changing the tone of the gameplay at regular intervals, and its subsequent episodes only add to that formula.

Basketball fans who want more arcade-like action than the sim-heavy "College Hoops 2K8" may find some fun in March Madness, but serious hoops fans should stick with 2K.

Basketball fans who want more arcade-like action than the sim-heavy "College Hoops 2K8" may find some fun in March Madness, but serious hoops fans should stick with 2K.

Despite all the half-assed games on the Wii, this one does not sacrifice gameplay for charm.

It’s an evolution, for sure, but not an entirely exciting one.

I can see FPS fans having fun with BlackSite since it provides all the standard FPS rollercoaster thrills, but most of us have been up and down those hills a few too many times.

Playing through the single-player story-driven campaign or fighting a real-time global campaign is fun. Multiplayer is somewhat bare-bones, but the matches themselves are entertaining enough.

Whatever strange, mirror universe insanity might lead you to play a video game version of Jenga rather than the real thing, you are unlikely to advance past the first few games.

The motion controls are complete slop. [Dec 2007, p.146]

It pains me to say this, but turn off your TV and just read the book or head to your local theater. This is a story everyone must experience, just don’t try interacting with it.

It pains me to say this, but turn off your TV and just read the book or head to your local theater. This is a story everyone must experience, just don’t try interacting with it.

It pains me to say this, but turn off your TV and just read the book or head to your local theater. This is a story everyone must experience, just don’t try interacting with it.

The controls are responsive and the anime-styled graphics are crisp, but the campaign is short - even with multiple characters to select - and the combat is far too shallow to hold everything in Draglade together. [Feb 2008, p.102]

You absolutely need at least four people to play this game, which means it’s useless if you don’t have friends around.

In the end, I think all Left Brain, Right Brain reliably tests is patience. [Feb 2008, p.102]

Even though the game pulls back the curtain on some fundamental elements of performing magic, it’s still fun and even head-scratching at times.

It's an adventure that is so captivating that you'll be counting the days for the sequel. It takes interactive storytelling to new heights, and brings the player closer to content than ever before. It's easily one of the year's best titles and one of the most impressive games to date. [Nov 2007, p.151]

Rock Band is the best music game ever made... It’s immensely fun and consistently rewarding. Nearly endless replay is bolstered by the promise of a musical catalogue that will have already dramatically expanded by the time you read this.

Rock Band is the best music game ever made... It’s immensely fun and consistently rewarding. Nearly endless replay is bolstered by the promise of a musical catalogue that will have already dramatically expanded by the time you read this.

The amount of content is a bit disappointing. Three levels just aren’t enough nowadays, despite a handful of variations on each. The fact that they play out exactly the same way every time doesn’t help, either. Playing through solo or with a buddy is definitely worth an afternoon, though, regardless of the game’s relatively short legs.

Soulcalibur Legends is a trap, luring in gullible gamers with the promise of two-player co-op and a cast of characters from the series. Once you take the bait, the whole rusty contraption snaps shut – and you will carry the scars of playing it for the rest of your life.

Even though Revenant Wings isn’t an outstanding title, it still manages to do something remarkable: It’s a playable and fun handheld RTS – and probably the first of its kind.

Like "Tetris," Galaxies’ gameplay is so unbelievably fun that you can’t put it down.

Even ignoring the ludicrous plot, what really matters here should be the shooting mechanic, which just isn’t much fun. The strangely designed cover system has you popping up and down like a hyperactive rabbit, so you never really get a full view of the action. And get this: in the cooperative multiplayer, you play in split screen – in letterbox format! What were they thinking? I don’t know what else I can tell you to discourage you away from this complete disaster.

The title’s gameplay is fun and the coordination between the Wii remote and nunchuk enables you to act quickly when it comes to using surgical tools.

Leave this one stranded on Ceti Alpha V – it’s of no use to you or the cause of the Federation. [Feb 2008, p.96]

Leave this one stranded on Ceti Alpha V – it’s of no use to you or the cause of the Federation.

The game excels at everything from simple deathmatching to complex objective-driven campaigns. [Dec 2007, p.154]

This may be the only game that college fans need to care about, but College Hoops 2K needs to step up its game next year to avoid leaving the court with a towel over its head instead of a basketball net.

This may be the only game that college fans need to care about, but College Hoops 2K needs to step up its game next year to avoid leaving the court with a towel over its head instead of a basketball net.

Mario Party DS does a better job at retreading the core concept, however tired it may be, than last summer’s Mario Party 8. Barring a complete shakeup of the series, this seems to be the most we can hope for at this point.

What you are really buying when you pick up this bundle is a fun minigame that comes with a packed-in controller novelty. [Feb 2008, p.99]

It’s a fun, fast, and memorable thrill ride, and perhaps the closest video games have come yet to approximating the experience of an interactive summer blockbuster.

It's a very addicting puzler that rewards you for strategy as well as your vocabulary. [Dec 2007, p.157]

Several dozen unlockable outfits can be mixed and matched at your leisure to create the silliest looking avatar imaginable, and the longer arcade shooters from the first game return as brief alternatives to the more frantic minigames.

The one undoubtedly cool thing that ProStreet brings to the table is its online play (except on Wii), where you can create your own race days and invite friends to compete them. The race day will keep a persistent leaderboard of everyone’s progress, so you can always go back and knock off your buddy.

The sandbox gameplay is among the best in the genre, and its lengthy single-player campaign largely makes up for some questionable multiplayer.

Its stunning visual style, high concept story, and wildly open level design are like nothing else, even if too much repetition begins to frustrate in the later hours. It’s a game people will still be talking about five years from now.

There’s certainly a lot here to love, and a lot more that you want to love, but most of your time in Kane & Lynch is spent shaking or scratching your head. The problems are just too visible for it to be taken seriously as a gritty thriller.

Its stunning visual style, high concept story, and wildly open level design are like nothing else, even if too much repetition begins to frustrate in the later hours. It’s a game people will still be talking about five years from now.

The eight new fighting styles for each wrestler in the game are a nice addition that provide some great diversity in the characters, but they destroy the game’s balance.

The eight new fighting styles for each wrestler in the game are a nice addition that provide some great diversity in the characters, but they destroy the game’s balance.

This is a surprisingly big and challenging release, and not one to be overlooked as just another simplistic rail shooter. It may not be the next big release in the franchise, but Umbrella Chronicles deserves its place right beside the other games in this venerable series.

There’s certainly a lot here to love, and a lot more that you want to love, but most of your time in Kane & Lynch is spent shaking or scratching your head. The problems are just too visible for it to be taken seriously as a gritty thriller.

The one undoubtedly cool thing that ProStreet brings to the table is its online play (except on Wii), where you can create your own race days and invite friends to compete them. The race day will keep a persistent leaderboard of everyone’s progress, so you can always go back and knock off your buddy.

Apart from looking like an ugly baby conceived in the back of a broken-down El Camino by a couple of illeterates, tilting the Wii remote translates to your car surprisingly well. [Dec 2007, p.137]

SimCity Societies is ultimately a step down from its predecessors, but it doesn’t fall so far to be considered a blunder. You may not sink as much time into this installment, but the reinvention of the gameplay mechanics results in an inventive array of new problems to solve.

This is both the ultimate Contra experience and one of the best action games in years. Do not let Contra 4 get lost in the holiday rush.

Smarty Pants is fun. It doesn’t pretend to be anything more, nor does it need to. I will say that it’s not quite at the addictive level as the much-missed You Don’t Know Jack series (it’s missing the catty humor), but it’s certainly successful in accomplishing its modest goals.

There is a reason many of the RPG game mechanics this game uses are no longer found in other RPGs – they suck. You may be better off making up your own fantasy game with RPG Maker.

But at least the game supports multiplayer; though the offerings hardly compete with the big boys, Wii owners finally get a taste of just how addictive these matches can be.

In this day and age, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that a game based on a movie fares poorly, but for a character who has survived since 700AD, he deserves better treatment than this.

In this day and age, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that a game based on a movie fares poorly, but for a character who has survived since 700AD, he deserves better treatment than this.

In this day and age, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that a game based on a movie fares poorly, but for a character who has survived since 700AD, he deserves better treatment than this.

This is worth a look for Cooking Mama noobs, but veterans might find it a little stale.

Activision is far too good of a publisher to unleash a game this poor onto the unsuspecting public. Fans of the series should skip this horrid excuse for a shooter and keep their glowing memories of previous Soldier of Fortune battles intact.

Added maps and online features make the multiplayer aspect of the game noticeably improved, but if you're more into single-player sneaking approach this with caution. [Dec 2007, p.159]

Once that nostalgic music rings out and Mario leaps into the air, all your complaints instantly vanish. This is, in my opinion, the best Mario game since the NES classic, Super Mario Bros. It innovates in a genre that we had thought we had seen everything from, and in doing so delivers some of the most entertaining gameplay to date.

I can see FPS fans having fun with BlackSite since it provides all the standard FPS rollercoaster thrills, but most of us have been up and down those hills a few too many times.

I can see FPS fans having fun with BlackSite since it provides all the standard FPS rollercoaster thrills, but most of us have been up and down those hills a few too many times.

Its turn-based tactical squad battles are a pleasure to master, even if they tend to be a bit short and shallow.

This game will interest people who are into the series, especially with its story that unravels new details about the Silent Hill mythos...Unfortunately, the game has fallen into something like a rut in most other areas and less fanatical gamers won’t be as forgiving of its faults.

It may not have the built-in fanbase of Pokémon, but in terms of gameplay and visuals, Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker puts up a good fight.

Empire Earth III’s handful of units per tech tier, problematic unit AI and pathfinding, and lackluster factional differences between the West, East, and Middle East types do little to give RTS players anything they haven’t seen before.

This game had the chance to go in a different direction on the Wii and do something interesting with the Olympics, but unfortunately merely substitutes remote-shaking for button-mashing rather than offering genuinely fun activities.

Outside of the OR, however, LifeSigns’ bedside manner is far from pleasant.

Despite all of these cool minor additions, the core gameplay feels mostly like one big retread. With all of the great new games coming out this holiday, it’s hard to justify replaying this series. For diehard fans, however, this is the definitive LEGO Star Wars game.

Despite all of these cool minor additions, the core gameplay feels mostly like one big retread. With all of the great new games coming out this holiday, it’s hard to justify replaying this series. For diehard fans, however, this is the definitive LEGO Star Wars game.

Despite all of these cool minor additions, the core gameplay feels mostly like one big retread. With all of the great new games coming out this holiday, it’s hard to justify replaying this series. For diehard fans, however, this is the definitive LEGO Star Wars game.

This first expansion to "Supreme Commander" is an excellent add-on to an already outstanding game. [Dec 2007, p.155]

This is the first SOCOM in a while that I've felt comfortable recommending to anyone. [Dec 2007, p.159]

Unless you feel that the (somewhat disappointing) fight against the Brumak or a minor splash of new single-player content is worth $50, the only gamers that should be thinking about purchasing this are 360-impaired PC owners that never got into the fun last year – especially considering the multitude of superior multiplayer options in the PC action sector.

A nice side effect from playing Scene It is that it makes you want to go back and watch a movie you haven’t seen in a long time or even check out an older film you had never heard of before. (Caveman is going straight into my Netflix queue, btw).

Extraction Point is somewhat better than the newer Perseus Mandate, but even so it’s too short to be truly noteworthy. There are moments here and there that make the experience decent, but the overall package is lacking. Do yourself a favor and wait for Project Origin rather than picking this up.

Little effort has gone into crafting a game that belongs on the Wii – very few upgrades distinguish it from the graphical quality you’d see on that earlier system.

Start to finish, online or off, Call of Duty 4 is solid gold. Some might decry the single-player’s short length or that it’s more of the same, but its amazing quality and the Arcade mode...more than make up for it. Infinity Ward has delivered on every front, and there is no question in my mind that this is the best action shooter that I have ever played.

Start to finish, online or off, Call of Duty 4 is solid gold. Some might decry the single-player’s short length or that it’s more of the same, but its amazing quality and the Arcade mode...more than make up for it. Infinity Ward has delivered on every front, and there is no question in my mind that this is the best action shooter that I have ever played.

Start to finish, online or off, Call of Duty 4 is solid gold. Some might decry the single-player’s short length or that it’s more of the same, but its amazing quality and the Arcade mode...more than make up for it. Infinity Ward has delivered on every front, and there is no question in my mind that this is the best action shooter that I have ever played.