While the game lacks the feature depth of other Battlefield titles, 1943 is a fairly priced, solid core to build around with more downloadable content. If EA introduces weapon packs and additional maps from the franchise’s storied past, I’ll be playing right up to the release of Bad Company 2.

If you’re willing to play the game of “try, try again,” you can have fun with The Bigs 2’s career mode. However, if you’re looking for a multiplayer game or an experience based on skill, the unbalanced run scoring and Big Slam will drive you crazy.

If you’re willing to play the game of “try, try again,” you can have fun with The Bigs 2’s career mode. However, if you’re looking for a multiplayer game or an experience based on skill, the unbalanced run scoring and Big Slam will drive you crazy.

Concocting potions and humiliating dark wizards is fun for a while, but once the novelty is gone, Hogwarts loses all of its magic.

Concocting potions and humiliating dark wizards is fun for a while, but once the novelty is gone, Hogwarts loses all of its magic.

Concocting potions and humiliating dark wizards is fun for a while, but once the novelty is gone, Hogwarts loses all of its magic.

While it is one of the better looking first-person games to come out this year, it isn’t the most technically savvy. The gameplay isn’t perfectly honed, but an ever-changing mix of clever ideas, evocative locations, and engaging characters tap the best traditions of the Western genre.

While it is one of the better looking first-person games to come out this year, it isn’t the most technically savvy. The gameplay isn’t perfectly honed, but an ever-changing mix of clever ideas, evocative locations, and engaging characters tap the best traditions of the Western genre.

I was left wanting more, and wondering why solid gameplay sections were only used once.

I was left wanting more, and wondering why solid gameplay sections were only used once.

I was left wanting more, and wondering why solid gameplay sections were only used once.

In the hands of an expert fighter this game is stunning, but joystick jockeys who are out of shape might want to start an intense training regimen. [July 2009, p.83]

In the hands of an expert fighter this game is stunning, but joystick jockeys who are out of shape might want to start an intense training regimen. [July 2009, p.83]

It’s hard to reinvent a sport that’s…well, already a sport. But, developer EA Canada has done a marvelous job with bringing a focus to the fighting that brings out the sweet science.

It’s hard to reinvent a sport that’s…well, already a sport. But, developer EA Canada has done a marvelous job with bringing a focus to the fighting that brings out the sweet science.

There’s not much to hate about The Conduit outside of some lamentably uninspired design decisions. There isn’t much to love, either. It feels like a 10-year-old game at times, albeit a reasonably polished one. It’s on Wii, though, and that will be enough for some people.

A clever blend of tactics and RPG conventions. [July 2009, p.90]

The game is more enjoyable than the movie, but only if you intend to put your skills to the test in the competitive arena.

The game is more enjoyable than the movie, but only if you intend to put your skills to the test in the competitive arena.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is a gameplay disaster filled with one-dimensional characters that lacks many of the impressive ILM effects from the film. Yet somehow its story is still better than the ­movie’s.

It’s far too repetitive and laborious for a game with such a light, user-friendly tone.

It just doesn’t play well. The controls are clunky, the pacing is unsatisfying, and the multiplayer feels tacked-on. While the original Overlord was a compelling game at heart, Overlord II just feels like an unpolished retread of ­familiar ground.

It just doesn’t play well. The controls are clunky, the pacing is unsatisfying, and the multiplayer feels tacked-on. While the original Overlord was a compelling game at heart, Overlord II just feels like an unpolished retread of ­familiar ground.

Mowing down wave after wave of comatose fodder kills any chance of this game’s strategies having any meaning. An overhaul on the battlefield is sorely needed.

Mowing down wave after wave of comatose fodder kills any chance of this game’s strategies having any meaning. An overhaul on the battlefield is sorely needed.

The game’s design is overly simplistic, perhaps as an attempted nod to younger players. It hurts the experience, since it feels like you’ve won every fight before you even begin, even against bosses. It’s rare that any puzzle or battle requires more than the mildest attention. Even knowing that, Dark Legend benefits from its clever premise – one that certainly stands apart from the rest of the Wii ­catalog.

The real meat of the game is getting to play through the Ghostbusters experience we've always dreamed about as kids - a story that could have easily been "Ghostbusters III." [July 2009, p.81]

The camera lock-on and Wii-exclusive split screen co-op are nice additions, but the simplified combat and truncated levels ultimately leave this game a little flat. [July 2009, p.81]