The racing is now roaring with excitement, but unfortunately, the game has gone flat in another way. The newly implemented arena battles resemble Twisted Metal in design, but play so poorly that it feels like someone is dragging your face across the pavement at 100mph. The dunce enemy AI, frustrating targeting system, and annoying level designs will make you dread these stages when they pop up in your career.

There’s certainly a lot to love, yet equally as much to shake your fist and scream obscenities at in Lethal Alliance.

Putting two characters in the player’s hands proves to be an ingenious way of expanding on Castlevania’s bread-and-butter action. It’s been done before, but Portrait of Ruin’s system is particularly smooth in execution.

One of the best games ever made for the PSP. The single-player ties flawlessly into the multiplayer, where you can test your loyal soldiers against up to five other people via ad hoc, infrastructure, and even game sharing.

Whether you are defending the colony from a hornet invasion by manning goo cannons, racing an obstacle course with a team of ants, or foraging for food, the game keeps things fresh. Too bad none of it is exciting.

Skin textures on the in-game character models are among the most realistic in all of video gaming. The 360 fighters may have looked really good, but these guys look damn good.

Thankfully, the difficulty and complexity of the level design improves as the game wears on. Kirby’s ability to endlessly eat and absorb the powers of what he digests is not only enviable, but pretty darn fun in practice.

War of the Ring mode offers more persistence for units and greater movement allowance, and with the addition of the Thrall Masters and other useful evil units, this is a good expansion pack that does more than just hold the fort.

This collection offers up a wide range of brawlers and shooters from days long gone, but sadly, not many of these are all that memorable.

This collection offers up a wide range of brawlers and shooters from days long gone, but sadly, not many of these are all that memorable.

FTB’s saving grace is its multiplayer, the only real reason to play this game. A lot of the single player problems evaporate when you go online and sample any of the eight multiplayer modes FTB 2 has to offer.

Probably doesn't have the depth to give it the long legs of other titles in the genre. [Dec 2006, p.130]

The best strategy games are able to transform you into a tactical powerhouse as you maneuver your units to victory. Yggdra Union manages to tap into this feeling occasionally with some innovative strategy mechanics, but more often it made me feel like a spectator rather than a commander.

Probably doesn't have the depth to give it the long legs of other titles in the genre. [Dec 2006, p.130]

Look up into the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s another crappy Superman game!

As a co-op experience and as a tactical shooter, Rainbow Six Vegas sets a new benchmark for the gaming industry.

But for fans of college basketball, these faults are drastically outweighed by the deep Legacy mode, solid gameplay, and immersive campus atmosphere College Hoops 2K7 has to offer.

Most of Red Steel’s faults lie with the game’s presentation. Enemies shout annoying obscenities in your direction during every firefight, the cheesy score is bad enough to incite chuckles, and the jaggy graphics look worse than many Xbox and PlayStation 2 games.

As monumental as each entry has been, nothing, and I repeat, nothing can prepare you for the adventure that unfolds in Twilight Princess. The debate that has waged for decades over which Zelda game should stand as the series’ best will at long last come to a satisfying conclusion, as this is unquestionably the greatest Zelda yet.

As undeniably fun as this game is, its downfall is its lack of depth. You can burn through the initial difficulty setting in the career mode in a couple hours.

None of these sports are fully fleshed out, and they simply represent a range of motions to perform with the controller.

The critical path is incredibly long and is joined by bonus comic missions for most of the characters. The teammate AI is very impressive, often getting to baddies before you even see them, but once again, Raven has designed a game that is better through cooperative play.

If you like the Tony Hawk titles like I do, you will find Project 8 to be both a challening and entertaining addition to the series. [Jan 2007, p.99]

A worthy puzzle game. [Dec 2006, p.157]

A worthy puzzle game. [Dec 2006, p.157]

If you’re going to get one of these, go for the faster-paced Beta Wave, but watch out for that nasty addition game. [Feb. 2007, p.111]

If you’re going to get one of these, go for the faster-paced Beta Wave, but watch out for that nasty addition game.

Horrible balancing in the single-player game and a decades-old multiplayer frontend further accelerate Heroes of Annihilated Empires on its quick trip to the bargain bin.