As good funny and entertaining as Whiplash is off the bat, I don’t feel I grew as a result of having played it, and might have even shrunk a little four hours in.

I've played so many "Warcraft III" clones recently that it's really refreshing to cover a game that's actually doing something innovative. However, it's the online and VS games that really flesh out Battlegrounds, since the single-player experience is pretty flat.

There’s just no reason to draft this underachiever when some big dogs are still up for grabs.

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 biggest problem with my new game is the cinematography. I don't know what schmuck hired these camera guys, but they should have their pinkies cut off or something. Sometimes entire fight scenes are obscured by a curtain.

Online play could have done wonders for some of the repetition. But if you stick it out, you may be too drunk off the inebriating style and intense action to notice your 20th play-through. Metal Arms: Glitch in the System does what it does very well.

An uneven mixture of gorgeous graphics, upgradeable street racing vehicles, variety of race modes, unique customization, lack of opposition, repetitive tracks, and no law enforcement presence... Involving and fun, although not quite as engrossing as "NFS:HP2."

An uneven mixture of gorgeous graphics, upgradeable street racing vehicles, variety of race modes, unique customization, lack of opposition, repetitive tracks, and no law enforcement presence... Involving and fun, although not quite as engrossing as "NFS:HP2."

More attention to the graphics and gameplay issues would secure its place as the preeminent college basketball game. Right now, though, it’s still on the bubble.

An uneven mixture of gorgeous graphics, upgradeable street racing vehicles, variety of race modes, unique customization, lack of opposition, repetitive tracks, and no law enforcement presence... Involving and fun, although not quite as engrossing as "NFS:HP2."

More attention to the graphics and gameplay issues would secure its place as the preeminent college basketball game. Right now, though, it’s still on the bubble.

Recaptures the simple magic that made the original a hit, but doesn't make much of an effort beyond that. The inclusion of two-seater karts is a nice touch and the multiplayer game continues to shine, but the single-player lacks substance and the track design is generally pretty bland.

An uneven mixture of gorgeous graphics, upgradeable street racing vehicles, variety of race modes, unique customization, lack of opposition, repetitive tracks, and no law enforcement presence... Involving and fun, although not quite as engrossing as "NFS:HP2."

It isn’t a perfect game by any stretch due to some glaring issues with the rebounding and control, but ESPN College Hoops is still the best NCAA game out there right now. It looks better than "March Madness" and the great Legacy mode is unrivaled.

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.

It isn’t a perfect game by any stretch due to some glaring issues with the rebounding and control, but ESPN College Hoops is still the best NCAA game out there right now. It looks better than "March Madness" and the great Legacy mode is unrivaled.

It straddles the line between little kid game and hard platformer in such a way that I don’t think anyone will like it. I guess The Hobbit makes these strange concessions to game-play to make it a friendlier game, but it’s still frustrating as hell.

Legends of Aranna’s best selling point might be how much of a bargain it is, at least if you never bought the original game. Since it’s priced as an expansion at $30 but actually has two full games, it's one of the best PC deals this year.

But the saddest part has to be the staggering number of people who worked on this thing, including some well-respected developers. Just check the credits from the manual. I’m not counting them all, but that’s about 400 names.

I also have to wonder what part of the world Uncle Sam dug up my own squad mates. They could often be seen running in circles and constantly blocking my line of fire. At least they were resilient; one of the guys was turned into Swiss cheese by an enemy bayonet and shrugged it off like nothing happened. Tough guys…tough guys.

Improves on nearly every facet of the original. I consistently enjoyed it, even in those frustrating moments up against entire gauntlets of robots or some enormous boss, and the RPG elements kept me coming back for more.

Whoever is coming up with ideas like the two Career modes and the ability to set practice schedules should get promoted. Then, they should go work for a series with more potential. Either that, or Sony should hire people who are serious about gameplay, because NCAA Final Four 2004 clearly is not.

But the saddest part has to be the staggering number of people who worked on this thing, including some well-respected developers. Just check the credits from the manual. I’m not counting them all, but that’s about 400 names.

Its online play is unique to the genre on the Xbox and the gameplay itself is decent. But the lack of compelling game modes, the underwhelming Career and the somewhat bland delivery make this old classic just look old.

I also have to wonder what part of the world Uncle Sam dug up my own squad mates. They could often be seen running in circles and constantly blocking my line of fire. At least they were resilient; one of the guys was turned into Swiss cheese by an enemy bayonet and shrugged it off like nothing happened. Tough guys…tough guys.

It straddles the line between little kid game and hard platformer in such a way that I don’t think anyone will like it. I guess The Hobbit makes these strange concessions to game-play to make it a friendlier game, but it’s still frustrating as hell.

I also have to wonder what part of the world Uncle Sam dug up my own squad mates. They could often be seen running in circles and constantly blocking my line of fire. At least they were resilient; one of the guys was turned into Swiss cheese by an enemy bayonet and shrugged it off like nothing happened. Tough guys…tough guys.

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.