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.