It's as if the balanced half-action, half-RPG formula of the Network Series was just tossed into the classic Mega Man action mold, creating an unbalanced partial-RPG with a merely satisfactory mix of action.

Just like they did with "Def Jam: Fight for NY," EA Big ignored NFL Street’s fundamental issues and instead added more flash and one or two new moves. While undeniably fun, EA Big has no right to call NFL Street 2 a sequel.

As a rental for a night with friends, Fuzion Frenzy rocks.

A fresh look, but this prizefighting animal is still a few hairballs away from becoming a champion.

Despite its interesting strategy mechanic, The Outfit winds up feeling pretty typical. Its lacking single-player campaign is saved in part by its genuinely frantic, yet derivative multiplayer.

Underneath the bubbly aesthetics of frolicking animals, pan flute music, and dolphin-mask souvenirs lies an intricate strategy game of careful planning and decisive action.

If the graphics are merely mediocre, the sound pretty much stinks. All your hear during play are announcements over the stadium PA, skating noises and some occasional organ music. Yup - no commentary at all.

As much as we love those menus, though, it bothers us that Madden 06 for the PSP, I mean Xbox 360, is missing so much content.

Don't let the staggeringly dull, generic name fool you: C-12 has mood, challenge and even something of a personality, but with the dated gameplay and visuals, it just takes some time to see it...perhaps longer than many gamers will be willing to wait.

I spend so much time criticizing this game only because the core mechanics are so good.

In the end, this race is barely a race at all. The 360 is the winner by a mile, and for the price of those wheels, no doubt it should be. The Xbox comes in a distant second with fewer cars and none of the cool online modes. And trailing way behind that is the PS2, a run-down jalopy that probably shouldn't even be on the road.

It's a shame that some poor game design choices mar an otherwise pretty game, one with potential and one that they clearly spent a lot of time on.

This game's single-player campaign is a decent diversion and serves up a relatively well-produced version of the PC series. Unfortunately, what it lacks in replay value and online play leads to a solider a bit too thin for his britches. Will this war never end?

Mysterious Dungeon is the anti-Zelda doppleganger, cute and unthreatening in its top-down stylings, but as potentially punishing and old-school as lurking demons come. Once again, the question is begged: Do you feel lucky?

Nintendogs captures the essence of puppydom in its adorable stars and genuine charm, but focuses so much on being a cutie that it forgets to be a game. DS owners thirsting for companionship will certainly find some here, although it’s really just a virtual pet without enough interesting gameplay enhancements.

The DS version is a fun game, but it doesn’t improve on the original enough to break it out of the museum and into your collection.

Spectrobes: Origins is fun if it's your first foray into the collect-a-thon genre, but otherwise, it's a pixelated case of follow the leader.

Everything you've seen before.

Although there's no small amount of ambition on display, It's readily apparent that limited production values and adherence to tried-and-true methods cause Order of War to fall short of its target.

And despite its groovy style, XIII isn’t much more than a run-of-the-mill game. Its presentation is definitely worthy of a look (particularly if you own an Xbox) but its gameplay is about as straightforward - and in some cases boring - as it gets for an FPS.

The game’s sound is as mediocre as its gameplay. Wacky, overdone effects, plenty of cheap voice-acting, some themes that sound like cheap imitations of Indiana Jones tracks, and then the occasional latin-sounding pipes for a touch of authenticity comprise the bulk of the audio.

The monotonous gameplay, unrealistic economy and slow leveling keep it from ultimately adding much to this ever-crowding genre.

Look, if you’re the type that needs to download every song for Guitar Hero, nab a godly Top 1000 slot on yet another Guitar Hero leaderboard, or fawn over the Aerosmith poster double-sided-taped onto your wall, then you’re probably not going to listen to what anyone says about picking up a copy.

Its story concept and great visuals give it a nice boost, but its lack of options and frustrating AI add some unnecessary weight.

This is not one of those casual puzzles games that you absently play while you’re yakking on the phone with your friends or otherwise multitasking—this one takes all your attention and all your reflexes for short, intense bursts of time.

Great looking zombie-splattering will have the girls and other casual observers fighting for control of your lightgun, but real gamers will chew quickly through this light zombie snack.

Vanguard: Saga of Heroes might be a far better game in a few months time, but coming from the company that questionably destroyed one of its most popular MMOs ("Star Wars Galaxies"), nothing is guaranteed.

Brings a fresh look to the party game scene with its unique brand of strategy and absence of plumbers, but it doesn’t have much of a life span. At $20, though, the frog, pig, chickens and things are better than you think.