While all these improvements are welcome, they can’t totally obscure the fact that this is - at the end of the day - exactly the same Ridge Racer we’ve been playing for years.

A well-rounded game that offers rich offensive and defensive strategies, fluid animations and movement, and solid AI across the board. You really get a good sense for how your player’s weight affects their movements, and also how your teammates are going to react to certain situations.

The IsoMotion controls are still difficult to master, and the story-driven 24/7 mode still lacks decent team AI, but these faults pale in comparison to the amount of things Visual Concepts does right with this hoops title.

I have nothing positive to say about this game. I even hate the menu screen. Perhaps the best thing I can come up with is that this miserable piece of trash is so awful that it’s destined to be the worst-selling game of the PS3 launch.

Overall, it’s about what you expect from SpongeBob on Wii – just barely good enough for a younger kid that loves the show and made a little more interesting by the novel controls.

The characters – despite the level of depth that there is in the subtleties of gift giving and partnering up – aren’t really women at all. Aside from the obvious problems with presenting such unrealistic body images, there’s something disappointing about the way these hypersexualized characters are portrayed as childish, vacant, silly, and vain.

A good primer for kids and adults alike who aspire to explore the greater world of god games. It moves at a nice pace, it is never confusing, and it does a great job of holding your hand and showing you what to do next.

This is one of the best co-op games I have played, especially when you crank the difficulty past Casual and up into the Hardcore and Insane levels. Working with your buddy to flank and outwit the enemy is a blast.

Only those who thirst for that elusive mastery of the concept will be playing for weeks on end. Even so, this may be one of those cases where the remarkable interaction of different gameplay elements should make it worth a look. [Nov. 2006, p.141]

A legitimately good game that beats the pants off of plenty of products on the market this holiday season. There’s little to complain about outside of the lack of innovation. However, it pains me deeply to see this franchise, which has done so much to push the first-person shooter genre forward, moving down the dark path of mediocrity that Medal of Honor has been walking for the last several years.

The new Nail the Trick mode, which enables the player to control each foot’s movement with the analog sticks, adds yet another new move to Tony’s long list of techniques. I’m happy to report that it works well within the established arsenal of moves.

It’s not that Combined Assault is hard. It’s more like the game is very impolite, barely introducing itself to new players. The control and game interface are showing their age, too. They weren’t very good even back when the first SOCOM came out. It’s probably time to rethink the way this game plays.

The framerate chugs from time to time, and the controls feel looser than the strippers at the Bada Bing. Still, the story and dialogue had me laughing out loud a few times. If you are a big fan of the show it is worth a look, but don’t expect much.

I know everybody’s excited for downloading classic games on Nintendo’s Virtual Console, but if you’re looking for the best value for your old-school dollar the best choice is the Sega Genesis Collection. For the low price of $20, you get 28 of the best-loved (and in a few cases, least-loved) 16-bit games ever.

It’s so good, in fact, that there are few gamers I wouldn’t suggest this to, if only for how great of a tool it is to evangelize gaming to friends and family. The high cost of admission is most certainly worth it – this is a show you don’t want to miss.

I can only think of two kinds of gamers who should steer clear of Lumines II: those who categorically dislike puzzlers, and those who tried the first Lumines and weren’t impressed. Otherwise, everyone should see how the best block-dropper since Tetris is building on its foundation and moving forward.

Something always felt a little off when using the touch screen. I just don’t think this kind of touch interface is well suited to the rhythm game genre. After awhile I actually did start to enjoy myself a little, but Nintendo was never able to convince me that the game works well.

Without question, this is the best way to experience Final Fantasy V. However, if you're the kind of RPG fan who needs a strong story to keep you playing, even this definitive version won't be satisfying. On the other hand, if you usually skip through dialogue just to get to the next battle, you'll love this game's unique blend of character-building and combat.

The only big frustration is the eight directional shooting, which never seems to nail your target the way you'd like. [Nov. 2006, p.144]

Children of Mana is not the longest game in the world, but it sure is a fun ride while it lasts, especially if you have friends that are into it as well. [Nov. 2006, p.140]

Where this games shines the brightest is in the new path it blazes, not the traditions it revisits. [Nov. 2006, p.132]

A very entertaining, classic D&D tale that will provide dozens of hours of entertainment to RPG fans, as well as some mod tools with great potential. If the online scene takes off, though, you can expect many years of outstanding gaming out of this little package.

The action in Liberation is good, and at times intense, but it still seems to lack that visceral experience I like to have with my action games, first person or otherwise.

The load times can be annoying, but it's a small price to pay for Power Stone on the go. [Nov. 2006, p.144]

Offroad Fury 4 gives a wider selection of rides than just an ATV. However, this title misses Rainbow’s attention to detail.

The good easily outweighs the bad in this case, though, and plants Death Jr. 2 firmly in the upper echelon of PSP titles. [Nov. 2006, p.145]

As cool as the horror bits are, they are somewhat counterbalanced by the story, which adds nothing to the experience. Because these horror elements worked so well, I wished all the more that a compelling story were there to complement them.

There is definitely something unique going on here, but it doesn’t have that certain hook that a puzzle game needs to pull in the addicts.