With its stellar survival mechanics, The Long Dark makes for a brutal experience that requires patience and micromanaging to fully appreciate. However, it’s brought down by some bugs and a story mode that leaves much to be desired. It’s nonetheless a satisfying test of survival in a gorgeous setting – as long as you can brave the frigid cold.

Despite lackluster board design and side modes that can become repetitive, Super Mario Party is a fun group game that showcases a diverse collection of minigames.

Online play is as good as we’ve seen out of the genre on console, mostly because of the improved controls, but C&C 3’s reliance on hard counters, unit specials, and speedy expansion is a terrible fit for the limitations of the gamepad interface. Kane’s Wrath executes its mediocre ideas solidly, but that doesn’t make it any more fun to play.

If Call of Juarez skipped its forgettable multiplayer and adopted a sandbox world more like Oblivion with fleshed out areas to explore and side missions, it could have been the gunslinger I’ve been waiting for all these years. As it stands, it’s a respectable if unambitious title that should tide over Western fans until the holy grail of six shooters rides into town.

Like a 20-year-old combatant, Sifu comes out of the gate strong. Its core combat feels excellent, and the moment-to-moment action looks better than most Hollywood blockbusters. Sadly, as you progress, the action begins to show its teeth and eventually becomes a tiresome grind. Sifu deserves props for its incredible sense of style and tone, but it is also a great example of why growing old isn't always fun.

Frontlines does enough to entertain on the multiplayer end to make up for the woeful single-player experience. It’s a shame Kaos didn’t scrap the single-player altogether to focus completely on honing the online experience.

But the marginally 3d action battle system is an improvement over the recent "Tales of Legendia", and the plotline has enough political twists and betrayals to keep you playing even if the main character is another confused youth with amnesia. [Nov. 2006, p.134]

Endless Space is far from a disaster despite its bad AI and unfortunate micromanagement issues, with excellent online play making it one of the better multiplayer turn-based strategy games around. My decade-and-a-half wait for the space empire savior continues, though.

NCAA Basketball 09 may not offer the wealth of options or polished gameplay of its former competition, but it’s still a decent baller worthy of a look from hardcore college hoops fans.

Tiny Metal’s visual style pays homage to Intelligent Systems’ dormant Advance Wars series, but its under-baked action isn’t as cute. The battles never feel like a chore and I enjoyed basking in my easy victories, but Tiny Metal needs a few more tools in its arsenal if it wants to take on the legacy of Advance Wars.

The potential sweetness of participating in a globe-spanning conflict between thousands of players is huge. [July 2004, p.122]

Sticking to walls is entirely too easy and camera control on the d-pad isn't an optimal configuration. [May 2005, p.134]

Black Rock Shooter is competent at what it does and, for the most part, entertaining to play. However, it could use a bit more polish and imagination in its design. It doesn't turn the genre on its head, but with my guns blazing through the chaos, I found a more meaningful story than I expected.

The environments are huge, but they don't totally make up for Jonny's lack of multiplayer. [Apr 2002, p.77]

From a gameplay standpoint, this is probably more aptly called "Drakengard 1.5" rather than a full sequel, but the improvements make the series' tantalizing mix of big action and dragon airfights much more playable than the first. [Mar 2006, p.106]

It's a decent play, but it didn't steal my heart the way that I had hoped. [July 2004, p.113]

Add to that the slow pace at which both the gameplay and story move, and Folklore just doesn't work for me, despite its refreshing premise. [Dec 2007, p.148]

Manages to transcend its problems with clever platforming and some interesting level designs. [Jan 2006, p.138]

This game makes me yearn for "Ghost Recon," with its on-the-fly command structure and passable NPC intelligence. Rainbow Six 3 not only lacks these two very important features, but it also penalizes gamers who play by its own rules. [May 2003, p.93]

As far as handheld baseball games go, this one is probably the best I've seen. [Apr 2002, p.89]

As a racer, Pacific Rift hits all the gears – it just lacks that extra one to kick things into overdrive.

I suppose it’s fitting that Mercs 2, like most topics bearing the weight of political posturing, is ultimately flaccid. But that doesn’t stop me from expecting more.

In all honesty, there's not a single thing about this version that stands out as superior to "Wrath of Heaven" (PS2). [Apr 2004, p.105]

The co-op gameplay is a nice touch, but not enough to overcome the bland graphics and familiarity that permeates every second of gameplay. [June 2006, p.112]

4X fans should be able to extract plenty of entertainment from this Danish import.

The art direction, character design, and storytelling are all top notch. [Nov 2004, p.146]

I was hoping that 2K would build on last year’s foundation. Instead, the foundation has been altered to be more appealing to the masses. That’s difficult logic to argue with, but 2K’s approach is way off the mark.

With the improved presentation and lively college crowds, a couple pieces are in place to make NCAA Basketball 10 a destination hoops experience. If EA adds more game modes and rids itself of the legacy gameplay problems, perhaps a future class can rival the thrill of the NCAA Tournament.