Origins is better than it has any right to be, considering the PSP's history, its troubled development, and its new team. It's not perfect, but it does make me want to see what Climax would do with another game in the series, which is far, far more than I ever expected.

An almost success that lacks staying power, worth checking out if you’re big into Koei’s other franchises or at the very least not put off by a lot of repetition.

GoW lacks the sort of awe that I found in Bioshock, and it doesn’t really immerse you in the plot the way that Half-Life did, and it’s not so completely out-of-the-box like Portal, but it has a certain visceral Doom-ish quality that many of the more intellectual FPS games don’t.

The sum total is a pretty decent value, and a no-brainer for anyone who enjoyed the original F.E.A.R., though that’s about as far as its appeal likely extends.

No battlefield is ever the same, because the permutations of capabilities across all the players in a given game are just astronomical, and making choices that fit your play style is crucial.

Seldom do games combine top notch single player and multiplayer experiences, but truly Call of Duty 4 has done just that.

Seldom do games combine top notch single player and multiplayer experiences, but truly Call of Duty 4 has done just that.

No part of it worked for me -- the graphics, sound, puzzles and story were all sub-par -- and it actually manages to go to the bottom of the heap of the mystery adventures that I’ve played this year, which is difficult to do given that mystery adventures by and large haven’t been all that good. So avoid this one unless you’re truly desperate.

The scenery is dull and repetitious, and the monsters are slow and stupid, coming at you a few at a time to be dispatched easily when a serious bull rush might actually cause you some trouble.

So if you’re looking for a dark and moody role-playing game that is different than everything else out there, and if you have a reasonably powerful computer that can handle the engine, and if you don’t mind adult themes that are more than a little male-centric, then the Witcher is certainly a game to consider.

TimeShift is perfectly adequate for killing a few hours, as a rental perhaps, it never elevates itself from merely okay, and if you only buy one shooter for the holidays you can do much better than this.

While TimeShift is perfectly adequate for killing a few hours, as a rental perhaps, it never elevates itself from merely okay, and if you only buy one shooter for the holidays you can do much better than this.

Overall, I’d say that Virtua Fighter 5 Online is a remarkable game with a few missteps, but no fatal flaws. The intricate gameplay is better than ever, while the addition of online play adds an incredible amount of replay value to the game, even if it does need some improvement.

Taken as a whole, Stranglehold is a well-made, but short and shallow gaming experience that ends up being best suited for a rental and not worth its asking price for anyone expecting a game with a lot of depth to it.

Neversoft played it pretty safe with Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock. It doesn’t break new ground and it didn’t need to. The existing formula has made the franchise a huge success. They did add a local co-op Career Mode, boss battles to the solo Career Mode, and a multiplayer Battle Mode. They also focused on improving the look and feel of the game with tremendous results.

Neversoft played it pretty safe with Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock. It doesn’t break new ground and it didn’t need to. The existing formula has made the franchise a huge success. They did add a local co-op Career Mode, boss battles to the solo Career Mode, and a multiplayer Battle Mode. They also focused on improving the look and feel of the game with tremendous results.

All said, Conan the game, like the titular barbarian himself, is very one dimensional. It’s great for getting in a little much needed smashing time, and maybe for checking out some computer generated boobage, but after a run through or three of the story mode it’s pretty much spent.

All said, Conan the game, like the titular barbarian himself, is very one dimensional. It’s great for getting in a little much needed smashing time, and maybe for checking out some computer generated boobage, but after a run through or three of the story mode it’s pretty much spent.

TOD is a gorgeous, compelling and exciting title that seems to do everything right and does so with the style and grace seen very rarely these days.

Also, the production values for the game are excellent. All of the voice actors do a terrific job with their lines, which is a good thing considering how much dialogue there is, and the visuals, while not spectacular, get the job done.

Some ideas, such as the skill advancement and cover system, are underdeveloped while others, like the targeting system and overall mission design, are poorly executed. In the end, Target Liberty is more frustrating than engaging, more tedious than fun. That’s never a good thing.

For people new to the series, download the demo and see if the gameplay clicks with you. If it does, then you’ll probably get your money’s worth out of a purchase.

The controls are functional, but they don’t nearly take full advantage of the Wii’s motion sensing technology, and without online multiplayer the shortcomings of the single player game are that much more evident.

The missions are challenging, you get lots of options for how to play through them, and the 10-mission campaign takes about 20-30 hours to complete, which, all-in-all makes Death to Spies a pretty worthwhile purchase at its $30 suggested retail price.

Believe me, Seven Kingdoms Conquest is a wreck you want to avoid.

As has already been pointed out in many other places by many other people, The Orange Box may be the single greatest value in gaming history.

As has already been pointed out in many other places by many other people, The Orange Box may be the single greatest value in gaming history.

The crazy thing is you’ll undoubtedly spend more time playing Puzzle Quest than most of the $60-70 games in your collection. It’s fun, addictive and easily ranks among the very best offerings on Xbox Live Arcade.