Maybe the only real progress that EA Canada has made this year is the college basketball atmosphere. However it doesn’t make up for the other overlooks.

In the end, Castlevania: Harmony of Despair winds up being greater than the sum of its parts. Despite having many flaws, it still winds up being an enjoyable experience online.

Purists of the comic should take heart, because the infamous sonic clap and ground smashing jump are included, along with a number of other moves that take advantage of his fury. In fact, attacking builds up a rage meter, which allows you to boost your damage or unleash a super-powerful attack towards your enemies.

As a companion to the movie, it certainly serves its purpose. But as a game that sparks new magic in the genre? That might need to wait for the next film.

Overall, Papo & Yo is an interesting game — especially visually — and it’s also a memorable game, but I don’t know that I’d call it a good game. The puzzles are largely easy, the story elements are largely missing, and the playing time isn’t large at all. Still, Papo & Yo is only priced at $15, so it might be worthwhile to pick up just to try something different.

Redeemer’s gameplay comes across as completely stale, which is a pity because this is most likely the last console game in the World of Darkness (White Wolf is stopping the series next year).

The best game in the series yet. But that isn’t saying a whole lot when you consider that the sequels have always felt more like continuations than they did actual sequels.

A pretty face may get you in the door, but interactive ignorance will get you thrown out the window.

But while AOK managed to hit every note just about right, Cossacks mixes together some harmony and cacophony (continuing the metaphor) and doesn't quite achieve the same elegance of gameplay.

A solid, but unmemorable game. The first stood out because it featured a unique premise and sharp humor, this lacks either of those, and ends up feeling like a mere add-on pack to the first instead of its own game.

Purists of the comic should take heart, because the infamous sonic clap and ground smashing jump are included, along with a number of other moves that take advantage of his fury. In fact, attacking builds up a rage meter, which allows you to boost your damage or unleash a super-powerful attack towards your enemies.

It isn't an outright revolutionary game but it has a lot of charm. The vibrant graphics and animations really spruced up the presentation of the title. Younger players will find the quaint story attractive.

Dungeon Siege III doesn't reinvent the wheel by any stretch of the imagination, but if you're into these sorts of D&D style, loot collecting, hack and slashers, then it's definitely worth a look. For me though, I ended up disappointed. While the game can be fun, the surprising linearity, terrible camera (both online and off), uninteresting (and seemingly uninterested) characters, and the lack of a New Game + mode made this dungeon crawler feel like a lost opportunity.

Dungeon Siege III doesn't reinvent the wheel by any stretch of the imagination, but if you're into these sorts of D&D style, loot collecting, hack and slashers, then it's definitely worth a look. For me though, I ended up disappointed. While the game can be fun, the surprising linearity, terrible camera (both online and off), uninteresting (and seemingly uninterested) characters, and the lack of a New Game + mode made this dungeon crawler feel like a lost opportunity.

The intriguing aspect of the game kept drawing me back, and there are far worse ways to spend $20.

It poses a relaxed mental challenge. Most of the obstacles are not time-sensitive meaning those in the younger crowd can take longer to figure out what they're supposed to do to get to the next area.

Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions is definitely a mixed bag. It's not a "bad" game per se despite having some poorly-executed parts to its gameplay, but it's also not as good as the franchise's best gaming entries either.

Shank 2 features tighter gameplay than the first, but also more glitches and slowdown, and graphics that have pretty much stayed the same with a soundtrack that isn't as good as the first. At $10, it isn't a terrible use of money and does offer a few hours of fun, but my gut tells me it's best to wait for a price drop - there will probably be one for both the PS3 and 360 versions at some point, and there will definitely be one for the PC/Steam version. If you didn't really love the first game, you can skip this one, but if you did, definitely give it a shot when it drops in price.

Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions is definitely a mixed bag. It's not a "bad" game per se despite having some poorly-executed parts to its gameplay, but it's also not as good as the franchise's best gaming entries either.

While it's good to see Musashi back on the screen again, it's unfortunate that his title is hampered by a short game experience, practically unused skills and technical glitches.

It’s good, simple fun. It’s just that it’s tough to be too upbeat about a game that you might finish in a single sitting.

I spent about 15 hours with Worms Revolution, and while I didn't especially enjoy it, I only played against computer opponents. I'm guessing that for the game to really shine, you have to play against similarly (in)competent human opponents. Given that it's so easy to miss with your attacks and accidentally blow up your own worms, Worms Revolution might generate a lot of good-natured heckling and work pretty well as a party game. Or not. But for only $15, if the premise sounds fun, then there's not much reason not to find out.

Even though I enjoyed the case more in Double or Nothing, I didn’t enjoy playing the game as much because I felt like I had done it all before.

Purists of the comic should take heart, because the infamous sonic clap and ground smashing jump are included, along with a number of other moves that take advantage of his fury. In fact, attacking builds up a rage meter, which allows you to boost your damage or unleash a super-powerful attack towards your enemies.

A brainteaser with some action thrown in, Prisoner of Azkaban is similar to games like "The Lost Vikings." Only this time it's 3D and the level of difficulty is a few notches lower to cater to a general audience.

The Game Boy Advance version scores 73%.

Despite its various shortcomings, including inconsistent gameplay, a lack of commentary and absent features, WWF Raw is a fun and challenging game.

NASCAR 2011: The Game lays an excellent foundation for future iterations in the series. The arcade-style racing is engaging and the sense of speed is executed beautifully. However, the all-too-simple Career mode and somewhat broken online play hold the game back from what could have been, and what hopefully will be in the near future. I can recommend this game to NASCAR and racing fans that follow the sport. For casual racing fans, rent or borrow it first to see if you've got to have it.