Oh, how many restless nights have I spent yearning for a Koei game that would combine the worst parts of "Dynasty Warriors" with those of "Samurai Warriors"! [Oct 2007, p.113]

Oh, how many restless nights have I spent yearning for a Koei game that would combine the worst parts of "Dynasty Warriors" with those of "Samurai Warriors"! [Oct 2007, p.113]

It may not be pushing the genre forward in terms of plot, but Eternal Sonata's other components come together with such harmony that it will have you calling for an encore. [Sept 2007, p.118]

I find Project Gotham tracks have done better in giving player bite-sized, drift happy courses, but overall this game is the burst of speed that this genre needs.

This game earns its stripes by letting players have more of a hand in creating their own style of mayhem to spice up a scene, and trust me, you’ll take every opportunity you can get.

These controls feel great, and they really need to since the game isn’t in the slightest bit forgiving. When you go for a grind, you won’t magically be transported onto the rail. You have to line it up and pray that you time your jump and adjoining trick correctly.

The amazing cutscenes (with some of the best facial animations I’ve ever seen), a cool cast of characters, and the stirring musical score complement the gameplay to create an incredibly cinematic experience. It may invite comparisons to other action titles, but I can safely say that Heavenly Sword is a unique and captivating adventure with a style all its own.

I was a bit worried that moving toward a slower, sim-based game would hurt the experience, but I found that it’s just as intense.

Despite its limited focus, Dirt’s single-minded pursuit of racing serves the game well and creates a strong foundation for the future. I guess I can’t blame it for tuning out the rest of the world while it whips around dusty tracks at scary speeds. As we know, getting dialed into the zone is everything.

Minus the crazy physics, Fatal Inertia really doesn’t advance the genre in any meaningful ways. I like the game, but moreso because it reminds me of other games I enjoy than because I love it in its own right.

Bad games are sometimes described as “trash,” but even that doesn’t seem vile enough for this grievous affront. Kengo is a tall glass of garbage water – the viscous, beige fluid that collects at the bottom of trash bins...the refuse of waste.

Accent Core is the latest of these, and it provides a fresh wave of balance tweaks, new mechanics, and two additional playable characters (ABA and Holy Order Sol). The changes are solid, but there isn’t anything that radically alters the landscape of the combat.

I was a bit worried that moving toward a slower, sim-based game would hurt the experience, but I found that it’s just as intense.

It takes more than just a neat idea to be a truly compelling piece of software. With no scoring system, backing music and vocals, or career mode, this isn’t really a game in any sense. And, honestly, strumming and singing to yourself gets old after about 15 minutes. Stick to Guitar Hero.

Challenge mode offers a few uninspired minigames like banana catching and log hopping.

However, your illustrative prowess doesn't affect gameplay, so in the end you're a little more than a window dresser for what is otherwise a familiar retread. [Oct 2007, p.127]

It may not deliver the entire package this year, but NHL 2K8 is a fun game that offers a fast-paced arcade feel.

It may not deliver the entire package this year, but NHL 2K8 is a fun game that offers a fast-paced arcade feel.

Stranglehold is not a disaster. If you desire nothing more than to kill criminals on a massive scale, turn nightclubs into a war zone, and look cool doing it – this is your game.

Medal of Honor: Airborne sprinkles minor moments of brilliance though a minefield of questionable game design. Fans of the series will experience some memorable gunfights, but if you’re a casual gamer looking for a great World War II title, stick with Call of Duty.

Medal of Honor: Airborne sprinkles minor moments of brilliance though a minefield of questionable game design. Fans of the series will experience some memorable gunfights, but if you’re a casual gamer looking for a great World War II title, stick with Call of Duty.

The Campaign mode offers a little variety with slightly varied missions and even some boss battles, but if you’ve never liked Worms’ brand of zany, artillery-heavy 2D action, well, not much has changed.

Without a workable control scheme (standard analog movement is not an option), I fear most people will find themselves flustered beyond belief with the game like I was.

Beating up enemies and stealing their heads works, but is rarely compelling. Navigating bite-sized environments is easy to do, but almost never offers a sense of exploration or accomplishment.

At its best, Warhawk delivers constant thrills through exciting team-based action that'll have you coming back for more if only to rank up to the next level in your leaderboard standings. At its worst, Warhawk will disappoint because you'll never really get a good context or sense of the world around you, since there really aren't any plot or characters to deliver those elements.

From its astounding visuals to the constantly compelling gameplay, this experience will make role-playing veterans recall the good old days, and give newcomers the opportunity to start creating some memories.

Missions are fairly repetitive and directionless, and the load times are a little too long. MHF is, at times, so slow it might put you to sleep if you’re not careful.

THQ and Paradigm have taken an already white-knuckle ride and added the features that were conspicuously absent the first time around. However, this game earns its stripes by letting players have more of a hand in creating their own style of mayhem to spice up a scene, and trust me, you’ll take every opportunity you can get.

Only a diehard Wild Arms fan will be able to take these physics, and much of the game, seriously.

The Kingdoms expansion adds an unprecedented amount of new content to an already deep turn-based strategy game.

The wireless multiplayer is a nice inclusion (especially since only one player needs to have the game), but anyone who wants a fighter with any depth should look further than this portable fan service.

Please, just don’t play this.

Please, just don’t play this.

Just like a real carnival, you’ll feel cheated more that once playing these virtual simulations, but the real carny scam might be trying to sell this “discount” title for $40.

Sometimes when you’re golfing you nail a hole because you bail yourself out with a superb putt, chip, or tee shot. But this game is instead like masterfully shot hole, where each stroke feels just right.

Sometimes when you’re golfing you nail a hole because you bail yourself out with a superb putt, chip, or tee shot. But this game is instead like masterfully shot hole, where each stroke feels just right.

The best Tiger in years just appeared on the Xbox 360 and PS3, but this game just doesn’t feel the same in comparison. Of course, with the Wii controller it shouldn’t – but it also shouldn’t leave me guessing half the time as to where my ball is going.

Here’s a tip, kids: You can play a better game at home with just a pen. Here’s how: start drawing circles on a sheet of paper. Yeah! You did it! Now your mom has something to put on the fridge.

Corruption isn’t just the best-looking Wii game to date; it’s the best Metroid Prime game period. This is due in large part to the fluid controls. The highly debated, stubborn lock-on aiming system has been replaced with something far better. You can finally look around while moving by aiming the Wii remote.

GRAW games are all about multiplayer, and this version doesn’t disappoint. PS3 owners will receive 14 additional maps, most of which are just variations on the Xbox 360 maps and a few classic ones from Ghost Recon past, and two new co-op modes that task you with locating POWs and evading enemy forces.

There is one and only one good thing to say about Two Worlds: the game truly gives you the freedom to align with any faction and change the gameworld by your choices. Everything else – and I mean everything else – sucks.

There is one and only one good thing to say about Two Worlds: the game truly gives you the freedom to align with any faction and change the gameworld by your choices. Everything else – and I mean everything else – sucks.

It’s ingenious, enthralling, and a masterpiece of the most epic proportions. So without further delay, would you kindly enter Rapture so that you too can experience the best that video games have to offer?

Level 5 hardly reinvents the wheel of strategic, turn-based grid combat, but instead offers a well-thought out title stuffed with combat and character options – and what Level 5 game would be complete without the chance to combine items to create new, more powerful objects?

A relatively simple RPG made moderately unbearable by its slow pace and confused menus. It doesn’t help that the game world is so generic, from the cookie-cutter story to the drab and overly familiar fantasy-themed environments.

Brain Age 2 uses the same formula from the first game with some different variables thrown in. Your opinion of the original Brain Age will have to sort out whether that’s a good or bad thing.

I felt completely confined by the rigid rules, limited skill opportunities, and a between-battle interface that's more complicated than figuring out the rules for grappling. [Aug 2007, p.103]

Persona 3 holds its themes together with solid gameplay and cool characters, and thoroughly rewards you for the time you invest. [Aug 2007, p.96]

The characters never once defy players’ expectations, the story is poorly paced, and the combat offers no meaningful twists on the formula we’ve been playing for years. I can’t imagine anyone but hard-line genre devotees will get their money’s worth out of Luminous Arc.

Even if you consider yourself a fan of the series, don’t waste your time here. There was a time when the Mana name meant something, but this is a disappointing entry that drags the franchise through the mud.

Just way more trouble than it’s worth.

There is undoubtedly work still left to be done before the series can match the glories of the past, but this is a noticeably better game the moment you pick up the controller.

If all this year’s Madden did was restore its feature set, then that alone would hardly be cause for hope. However, by improving the gameplay, it makes it so I’m much more apt to actually play more than one season before putting my controller down. This series isn’t out of the woods just yet, but this year lets it be known that Madden’s best days aren’t behind it.

After having a year to settle into the Wii's brand of pro football, this branch of the Madden franchise is certainly less alien, but at the same time it's not necessarily more comfortable to deal with. [Oct 2007, p.122]

Unfortunately, these new features don’t overcome the horrible driving controls, laughable braking, poor draw distances, and the complementary pop up. Only die hard fans of the Dreamcast series should give this game a look.

Leave your stuffy music and game sensibilities at the door – Boogie has a more plebeian appeal.

The turn-based battles are stylish, and even feature team attacks and recharging magic points. There is also a collection sidequest involving goalfinch battles, which are basically cuter and less gruesome cockfights.

Like Sudoku or crossword puzzles, this is one of those endlessly replayable games. The solution is always there, right in front of you. It’s just a matter of using logic and careful planning to place the block correctly.

The problem is – despite everything mentioned above – the game isn’t that fun. While Charged is an improvement over the original, it still piles on so much craziness that it buries itself with simplistic gameplay.

However, Dynasty's old faults--poor AI and monotonous battling--are readily apparent. [July 2007, p.107]

The levels are rote and tedious, offering no real surprise or sense of design. Adding to this sense of half-hearted execution are the graphics and storytelling, which are both sub-par even for the Wii.

Now that these two games have been separated, it is all too plain why this substandard adventure has never been able to stand on its own legs. [Aug 2007, p.103]

Yes, this fresh batch of tunes will help with the wait until the holiday rush of "Guitar Hero III" and "Rock Band." Those who are hoping for a new load of unlockables to shoot for are out of luck. [Aug 2007, p.97]

Tweaks are needed in the AI to better replicate competitors' actions and racing lines, and I'd like to see some long-overdue additions (like user-controlled pit stops), but this game has got the feel of a stock car down pretty good – especially with about a billion ways to setup your car. It's a mix of the new and familiar that shakes out to be a pretty fast restart.

Tweaks are needed in the AI to better replicate competitors’ actions and racing lines, and I’d like to see some long-overdue additions (like user-controlled pit stops), but this game has got the feel of a stock car down pretty good – especially with about a billion ways to setup your car. It’s a mix of the new and familiar that shakes out to be a pretty fast restart.

Beyond the Sword is unquestionably one of the best expansion packs I’ve ever played, and not just because the original release is so strong. The amount of content it adds, and the quality of those additions, is top-notch. This kind of massive depth, smooth polish, and unending replayability is what PC gaming is all about.

For all that it does right, perhaps it’s telling that this series has improved its presentation off of the field, while still lacking some of it on the field. It’s these kind of intangibles (and those above) that need to be addressed to unify all of NCAA’s elements – as well as some of them are done – to create the ultimate college football experience.

For all that it does right, perhaps it’s telling that this series has improved its presentation off of the field, while still lacking some of it on the field. It’s these kind of intangibles (and those above) that need to be addressed to unify all of NCAA’s elements – as well as some of them are done – to create the ultimate college football experience.

From action-style combat scenes to cutesy animal sidekicks to world-saving dilemmas, this is a Tales game through and through. I’m pretty sure that’s not a compliment anymore.

The gameplay mechanic itself is ultra smooth and simple, yet satisfying even after hours of play. [July 2007, p.99]

This is a classic in my book, and I'd love to rate it higher than I am. However, time marches on, and by today's standards PaRappa isn't the top dog anymore. [July 2007, p.106]

With no franchise mode, Crib, or many amenities apart from nice stadiums, it’s the lack of connection with the league itself, not the fact that the NFL is missing, that is a letdown. Bolster this aspect and make some gameplay tweaks, and All-Pro Football will threaten Madden’s NFL more than the XFL ever did.

I wanted to know more about the game’s league, but this title doesn’t deliver. With no franchise mode, Crib, or many amenities apart from nice stadiums, it’s the lack of connection with the league itself, not the fact that the NFL is missing, that is a letdown. Bolster this aspect and make some gameplay tweaks, and All-Pro Football will threaten Madden’s NFL more than the XFL ever did.

A very solid contender that will give PSP tennis fans more than their fill of racket action.

Few remember the old Silpheed games, and few will remember their slightly respelled 360 sequel – but those who do will do so with fondness.

Even three years after its initial release, Ninja Gaiden still has the moves that inspire awe. [July 2007, p.97]

Speaking of lack of combat, the first boss battle doesn’t even kick in until level nine – and it sucks!

The main single-player mode remains way too clunky for me to award this game high marks. That said, the great parts of this game are really something to experience.

While the game still looks like a next-generation title, it lacks many of the subtle points of refinement the Xbox 360 version offers. Environments are noticeably muddier and jaggier, as if Ubisoft forgot to use anti-aliasing...Despite these minor flaws, Rainbow Six Vegas offers a fantastic FPS experience that rivals anything else on the PlayStation 3. If you haven’t played the game on the 360 already, this is a must-buy for any self-respecting fragger.

If you only buy one sudoku game this year, maybe you should reconsider and buy zero. [June 2007, p.118]

In the end, Transformers delivers over-the-top action with wild abandon, and leaves most of the more complex elements of good gameplay behind coughing from the dust kicked up by a giant transforming war machine.

In the end, Transformers delivers over-the-top action with wild abandon, and leaves most of the more complex elements of good gameplay behind coughing from the dust kicked up by a giant transforming war machine. [Sept 2007, p.114]

An exciting, wild ride of explosions, falling buildings, and cars tumbling end-over-end through the air. But, behind all the noise and confusion, it’s a shallow, short, and simplistic game.

Observing the little beasts gleefully swarm, destroy, and stab every creature and object in sight is one of the most entertaining things I’ve ever seen in a video game. The problem is that Overlord only shines this brightly when you’re just watching it. When it comes to managing your minions and directing them through the puzzles, the game is just as frustrating as it is humorous.

This is the best version of this game out there, and every RPG fan should experience the original "Final Fantasy" at least once. [July 2007, p.107]

Somewhat shallow combat and clumsy controls keep GrimGrimoire’s gameplay from shining. Its novelty value and clever plot are worth checking out, though, if you’re willing to forgive some mediocre battles.

If you go into it knowing that stretches of it can be aggravating, either because they push your skills to the test or make you question the gameplay, it should do the same for you.

Pretty uninspiring stuff, but I guess if you’re a parent looking for a (relatively) harmless game to pick up for a small child it might do the trick. I’d like to think your kids deserve better.

Pretty uninspiring stuff, but I guess if you’re a parent looking for a (relatively) harmless game to pick up for a small child it might do the trick. I’d like to think your kids deserve better.

Pretty uninspiring stuff, but I guess if you're a parent looking for a (relatively) harmless game to pick up for a small child it might do the trick. I'd like to think your kids deserve better.

Interactive storytelling is rarely this good, and there are few game endings that make you sit back and think, “Man, what if I did this instead?” like this one does. For its amazing narrative and believability of characters, and the twisted joys that come from being a slave of a demon, The Darkness will keep you enthralled, even when the gameplay lags a little behind.

Interactive storytelling is rarely this good, and there are few game endings that make you sit back and think, “Man, what if I did this instead?” like this one does. For its amazing narrative and believability of characters, and the twisted joys that come from being a slave of a demon, The Darkness will keep you enthralled, even when the gameplay lags a little behind.

The Bigs delivers engrossing arcade-styled gameplay, but there's little here that you can really wrap your mitt around. [July 2007, p.96]

The Bigs delivers engrossing arcade-styled gameplay, but there's little here that you can really wrap your mitt around. [July 2007, p.96]

Sure, Pokétopia might sound a lot like the trips you took to Pokémon Stadium 1&2 or that weekend at Pokémon Colosseum. That’s because this is the same trip, we’ve just repainted the signs and moved to a different system.

If the single-player campaign isn’t painful enough, Hour of Victory offers a multiplayer component so poorly constructed that just trying to shoot another person makes you feel as stupid and incompetent as the game’s AI. At the very most, Hour of Victory is deserving of Worst Game of the Year honors.

Out of all of the books, games, and movies, it allows you to get closer to the school than ever before – all at the expense of actually enjoying your stay. It’s boring and tedious, just like a real school is. However, it’s also a place where your Harry Potter knowledge can bloom. On this note, only hardcore Harry Potter nuts should enroll.

Out of all of the books, games, and movies, it allows you to get closer to the school than ever before – all at the expense of actually enjoying your stay. It’s boring and tedious, just like a real school is. However, it’s also a place where your Harry Potter knowledge can bloom. On this note, only hardcore Harry Potter nuts should enroll.