Prizefighter definitely has its frustrating moments, but there was enough fight in it – in and out of the ring – to keep me from needing the smelling salts.

Despite the improvements made to this year’s title – including a noticeable bump in graphical quality – it still doesn’t have all the corners dialed in yet. AI cars take better racing lines than in 08, but they still don’t show near enough variety or smarts to pit at different times, take rim-riding race lines, or avoid plowing into each other during a caution.

Despite the improvements made to this year’s title – including a noticeable bump in graphical quality – it still doesn’t have all the corners dialed in yet. AI cars take better racing lines than in 08, but they still don’t show near enough variety or smarts to pit at different times, take rim-riding race lines, or avoid plowing into each other during a caution.

The word “good” should never be used when describing this game, but “entertaining” definitely fits it. Who doesn’t love smashing stuff? The Hulk does it better than anyone, and it’s captured quite well within this game.

The word “good” should never be used when describing this game, but “entertaining” definitely fits it. Who doesn’t love smashing stuff? The Hulk does it better than anyone, and it’s captured quite well within this game.

Though The Bourne Conspiracy is weighed down by broken gunplay mechanics, its thrilling hand-to-hand combat, slick presentation, and relatively short time commitment (eight hours) make it a perfect rental for fans of the films.

Though The Bourne Conspiracy is weighed down by broken gunplay mechanics, its thrilling hand-to-hand combat, slick presentation, and relatively short time commitment (eight hours) make it a perfect rental for fans of the films.

If there ever was a game developed for the attention deficient, this is it. Ninja Gaiden's action is so fast bullets would have trouble keeping up. But since it's is action game and not a round of golf, this intensity is pretty flippin' awesome.

Although the drift racing is too dependant on the hand brake and I’d like more emotional investment in the cars in my garage (some tweaking would be nice, as would more of a sense of pride in each car I own), Grid is a shining example of how to make a fresh racing game that captures that age-old, fundamental desire to go screaming down the asphalt like a rubber-shredding, hell-bent maniac.

Although the drift racing is too dependant on the hand brake and I’d like more emotional investment in the cars in my garage (some tweaking would be nice, as would more of a sense of pride in each car I own), Grid is a shining example of how to make a fresh racing game that captures that age-old, fundamental desire to go screaming down the asphalt like a rubber-shredding, hell-bent maniac.

From beginning to end, it’s an entertaining mix of bracing combat, polished platforming, and a good dollop of humor.

From beginning to end, it’s an entertaining mix of bracing combat, polished platforming, and a good dollop of humor.

While Kung Fu Panda certainly isn’t breaking new ground, it’s inspiring to know that studios are still capable of doing quality work in the well-worn platforming genre.

There are worse things out there than grinding levels, and Twin Age controls better than most DS games in the genre. [June 2008, p.101]

The magic just isn’t here. Repeating the success of Star Wars with a radically different license requires more than Star Wars as a foundation. It really never finds Indiana Jones’ pulse, and ends up being somewhat of a mess, albeit a moderately fun one.

The magic just isn’t here. Repeating the success of Star Wars with a radically different license requires more than Star Wars as a foundation. It really never finds Indiana Jones’ pulse, and ends up being somewhat of a mess, albeit a moderately fun one.

The magic just isn’t here. Repeating the success of Star Wars with a radically different license requires more than Star Wars as a foundation. It really never finds Indiana Jones’ pulse, and ends up being somewhat of a mess, albeit a moderately fun one.

The magic just isn’t here. Repeating the success of Star Wars with a radically different license requires more than Star Wars as a foundation. It really never finds Indiana Jones’ pulse, and ends up being somewhat of a mess, albeit a moderately fun one.

This game’s predictable ceiling is mitigated by the fact that it stands on solid ground. If I could find this much reliability in my real life golf game, I’d be in the same league as Tiger, too.

Congratulations, you just spent $20 on 10 minutes of gameplay! [Aug 2008, p.91]

Nearly every one of the many praises and criticisms of the console version can accurately be applied to this port, but I'd recommend this edition of Mass Effect to anyone with a good PC.

While it's not the next evolution of competitive FPS by any stretch of the imagination, a clean frontend with good party support and matchmaking at least lets those players who can forgive its faults an easy way to play the game the way it was meant to be.

While it's not the next evolution of competitive FPS by any stretch of the imagination, a clean frontend with good party support and matchmaking at least lets those players who can forgive its faults an easy way to play the game the way it was meant to be.

In the end, super fans and newbies should definitely give Colonies a look. [June 2008, p.97]

The great art style and smart writing sometimes mask the staid gameplay, but, in the end, the cookie cutter platforming buries the game's strengths.

Conan delivers the best action in the genre, presents an ­amazingly ­immersive world, and has a lot of room for emergent PvP gameplay at the level cap in the Borderlands. However, its heavily instanced design and lackluster PvE content offer little of note to more socially inclined players and PvP haters.

Haze’s saving grace is its co-op gameplay, which can be fun when you shoot a friend’s Nectar tank from behind to watch him freak out. But these short experiences do nothing to offset the major disappointment the rest of the game delivers.

SingStar’s karaoke action may be somewhat limited in an era that follows the release of Rock Band, where so many other ways of playing are available. However, for enthusiasts who aren’t looking for anything that complicated (or expensive), SingStar should deliver some amusing Friday nights with friends.