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]