It’s hard enough to time your swings offline, but nearly impossible in online matches with their shifting latencies.

There's a lot to appreciate hidden behind Maelstrom's ugly exterior. With any luck, KDV Games will be greenlit for a sequel and will have the opportunity to polish up the aesthetics to match the good gameplay.

It overwhelmingly asks the question: “Why fight?” It can’t be for the rewards, which are boring. It can’t be for the story, which is non-existent. And it really can’t be for pride, since without any online multiplayer, you are confined to fighting only people who probably have never played before and who might not enjoy coming over to your apartment solely to get their ass kicked.

I’d like to get past my seeming bias for the Old Days, but every mistake and death reminds me of some comfortable feature from yesterday’s Sonics that didn’t make it into Sonic and the Secret Rings. Sonic is just too fast for his own good.

While Crackdown isn’t long on story or particularly original, it is as fun and addictive as the first syllable in its name implies. It may not be the biggest sandbox on the playground, but I sure had fun playing in it.

The gameplay becomes repetitive quickly and the campaign is over without much fuss. In the end, this fast-paced game falls victim to its own velocity.

While heavy on the system requirements, Supreme Commander is simply a terrific, well designed game.

It won’t change the way you look at platformers, and it won’t inspire a generation of young gamers. But it’s a well-done, good-looking, and most of all fun game, and it really shows off what the PSP is capable of.

They did a great job with the sound and voices. The key is that they used enough voice to evoke the right feeling, but not so much that you could hear the always-crappy acting and repeated use of the same five people.

Its tone is a perfect balance—not cutesy and not over-serious. The characters may be stereotypical, but there’s a real sense of self-awareness and satirical humor in them as well.

It's great filler if you need a change of scenery, but still a distant second behind "Mario Kart DS."

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.

So, the plot is a little dry and chewy, but the surrounding game is juicy and sweet. With a fairly lengthy, if substandard, main storyline crammed with lots of action and neat extra tidbits, Rogue Galaxy is a taste of the holidays, with none of the hassle.

Hotel Dusk: Room 215 is a hell of a tale, even if by day it masquerades as a mediocre adventure game. If you have a strong memory and a high threshold for aimless exploration, this is a case worth solving.

While it’s not flawless, Pirates! still delivers a lot of replay value and a lot of fun. And for my money, that’s a baarrrrrgain. Ahem.

The selection of modes is weak. In the 360 game, you can only play through the dynasty mode or a single game or tournament. There is no single-season option or practice options. No mini-games either.

Sure, you get a new continent, ten levels to gain, and hundreds of quests, but compared to "EVE Online’s" upcoming free expansion (which includes a total graphical overhaul) it’s easy to be a bit under-whelmed, and feel a bit overcharged.

You can’t forgive the absurd health meter, the retarded save system, the completely rehashed gameplay, or the misleading “clues”, but you’ll never forget the charming characters, witty dialog, and bizarre sexual conundrums.

All of what makes the game exciting—the gorgeous environments, the giant VS suits, the epic boss battles, and the neat anchor tool—adds up to a magical action game, immersive in its environment, challenging in its furious fighting, and wide in its balance of both human-sized and giant-sized strategies. The weak, inconsequential story and clumsy, lethargic control are the only blemishes on this impressive and original effort.

I was happy that The Shield made great use of its police officer premise, but the game really wore me down. It probably doesn’t deserve a critical thrashing, but the gameplay and story can’t compete on today’s shelves.

Solid, deep, and full of clever surprises and tricks. Unfortunately, it’s saddled with a song list playing, right now, in waiting rooms all across our nation’s dental and pediatric offices.

The cheeseball presentation doesn’t really do the series justice, but Anthology rocks at delivering Metal Slug games. The arcade-faithful translation should delight fans and purists, putting up a good time and a lot of laughs for you and a friend.

In terms of variety there are deathmatch games, and a cooperative mode in which all players have to tough out waves of never-ending foes for as long as humanly possible… and then, that’s about that. The lack of any split-screen options is also a lamentable oversight.

It might look childishly simple, but Super Swing Golf has great control and a ton of courses and content to offer. So many launch titles offer interesting controls and minimal longevity, but this is a club you can swing well into next year.

Legacy looks great and sounds great, it has a few good hooks and a solid story to tell, but it fails on most levels to be a compelling experience.

A must have, and the latest in a strong 2006 lineup for the PSP. If you see this snake in the wild, by all means, pick it up.

Fight Night Round 3 may not have a spotless career, but with such hard hitting graphics and intense Vs. action, we're willing to forgive its foibles and trumpet its unparalleled successes.

Kirby manages to star in yet another passable game for a Nintendo system. No, Kirby Squeak Squad isn’t ground-breaking by any means, but hey, you could do a lot worse.