Interactive storytelling is rarely this good, and there are few game endings that make you sit back and think, “Man, what if I did this instead?” like this one does. For its amazing narrative and believability of characters, and the twisted joys that come from being a slave of a demon, The Darkness will keep you enthralled, even when the gameplay lags a little behind.

Interactive storytelling is rarely this good, and there are few game endings that make you sit back and think, “Man, what if I did this instead?” like this one does. For its amazing narrative and believability of characters, and the twisted joys that come from being a slave of a demon, The Darkness will keep you enthralled, even when the gameplay lags a little behind.

The Bigs delivers engrossing arcade-styled gameplay, but there's little here that you can really wrap your mitt around. [July 2007, p.96]

The Bigs delivers engrossing arcade-styled gameplay, but there's little here that you can really wrap your mitt around. [July 2007, p.96]

Sure, Pokétopia might sound a lot like the trips you took to Pokémon Stadium 1&2 or that weekend at Pokémon Colosseum. That’s because this is the same trip, we’ve just repainted the signs and moved to a different system.

If the single-player campaign isn’t painful enough, Hour of Victory offers a multiplayer component so poorly constructed that just trying to shoot another person makes you feel as stupid and incompetent as the game’s AI. At the very most, Hour of Victory is deserving of Worst Game of the Year honors.

Out of all of the books, games, and movies, it allows you to get closer to the school than ever before – all at the expense of actually enjoying your stay. It’s boring and tedious, just like a real school is. However, it’s also a place where your Harry Potter knowledge can bloom. On this note, only hardcore Harry Potter nuts should enroll.

Out of all of the books, games, and movies, it allows you to get closer to the school than ever before – all at the expense of actually enjoying your stay. It’s boring and tedious, just like a real school is. However, it’s also a place where your Harry Potter knowledge can bloom. On this note, only hardcore Harry Potter nuts should enroll.

Harry Potter’s latest adventure may be light on action, but it does replicate the Hogwartian life better than any game before it. Out of all of the books, games, and movies, it allows you to get closer to the school than ever before – all at the expense of actually enjoying your stay. It’s boring and tedious, just like a real school is. However, it’s also a place where your Harry Potter knowledge can bloom.

It’s too bad that the game feels so bad. Literally, this hurts to play. The controls are a mess. My hand cramped shooting with L and aiming with a stylus.

Another example where the game gets caught in the middle is with online. True to rally racing, you don’t race against others, only their times. I can’t imagine most online players want to play this way.

I hope some developer takes the gaffe that is Raw Danger, extracts the great idea at its center, and creates the blockbuster experience it has the potential to be. [June 2007, p.110]

Though SimCity DS isn’t perfect, it liberally taps that latent SimCity addiction found in everyone’s brain.

Dungeon Maker has some cool features, but not enough to cross that threshold of having been “done right,” and the title winds up as a simple variation on the level grind we’ve been playing for years.

As improved as the Resident Evil 4 controls were compared to the tank-like schemes of its predecessors, they still aren’t ideal. The final version of the game would have been the perfect time for Capcom to polish the controls with new features that nearly every game now takes for granted – like strafing and being able to shoot your gun while moving. Unfortunately, Leon still isn’t capable of performing these basic moves.

What this game lacks in charm, it makes up for in numbers. [Apr 2007, p.111]

The only saving grace that this game has is its combat mechanic. By no means is it good, but it’s competent, and successful in making you feel like you clocked someone pretty hard. If you have some friends over, you can delve into four-player co-op. However, like a friend who picks out a crappy movie, there’s a good chance that your buddies will mock you for this spirit-crushing game for the remainder of your days.

The only saving grace that this game has is its combat mechanic. By no means is it good, but it’s competent, and successful in making you feel like you clocked someone pretty hard. If you have some friends over, you can delve into four-player co-op.

It's well worth a look, but go into it knowing that it offers some problems that you thought that developers destroyed years ago. [June 2007, p.114]

Tenchu also needs a serious upgrade to its enemy AI. It’s hard to imagine that a developer would release a game in this day and age where if you climb up to a rooftop or crawl under a building while an enemy is taking a swing at you, he completely loses track of you. Ninjas deserve better.

Time Ace picks up a little bit after the first few levels, but never quite flies high enough for me. [June 2007, p.119]

Even if it doesn’t make you smarter, you won’t feel completely stupid for buying this puzzler.

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.

The touch-screen functionality (which allows you to slide blocks with the stylus) fits perfectly, and Wi-Fi play means that you can take your skills online.

This is the first licensed game I've played that is actually shorter than its movie. [Aug 2007, p.93]

Halo 2 on Vista is a solid port that brings the Master Chief’s heroism to more gamers, and that’s indisputably a good thing. If it’s additional content or a new experience you’re looking for, though, this direct translation to Windows Vista will feel like $50 wasted.

This is the first licensed game I’ve played that is actually shorter than its movie. I’m not exaggerating; in a little over an hour I had received trophies in all of the main surf events.

This is the first licensed game I’ve played that is actually shorter than its movie. I’m not exaggerating; in a little over an hour I had received trophies in all of the main surf events.