Flower is a shock to the gamer's system because it reminds us that games aren't about fanboy allegiances, media hype, and quarterly earnings. Good games—like good art—can simply be food for the soul. Flower is the kind of soulful nourishment we need more of.

This isn't great art, but it's clear that the developers love the subject of their game and OneChanbara is worth playing for that reason.

I give them double credit for doing it on the Wii—to attempt something that so clearly stands out from the piles of waggle-tastic, brightly-colored shovelware was a bold move, indeed. Although Deadly Creatures might not be entirely successful, I would call it a success. Rat

It's recommended, but with a little more polish it could have been fantastic. As it stands, it's an interesting, yet slightly flawed effort.

With the whole formula on display in the first hour and no real surprises or variation to look forward to, the golden premise and clever situations can't save My World, My Way from being a shallow, incredibly repetitive experience that could have been much, much more.

Although players expecting a new cast of characters to interact with and another vast stretch of territory to explore may be disappointed, I found this focused revamp to be a welcome change of pace and a very interesting addition to a game already brimming with quality content.

It's quite refreshing to play something that feels like it wants you to play it.

With nothing to recommend it, I say toss this disc into the cracks of Mount Doom and be done with it.

Carried along by high adventure, interesting sidequests, and a cast of characters I was glad to spend time with, Rise of the Argonauts was an entertaining ride that I would recommend to people interested in the subject matter, or to players who crave an action-RPG that's a little on the lighter side.

Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 is a true gamer's game. Atlus has outdone themselves again and proved that they are at the leading edge of role-playing.

The game's core mechanics are all still there, neatly created and presented stunningly. But underneath this evident beauty, Prince of Persia fails to deliver on any sort of a challenge, and instead of carrying on the proud tradition of the series, deviates to a considerable and damaging extent because of its simple gameplay and excessive accessibility.

Although it needs a few tweaks here and there (like a way to quickly reorganize when every Kefling is employed, or some kind of shortcut when transferring goods from one shop to another) it was great to be able to sit back and relax with something without fear of being picked off by snipers or a constant need to manage my supply of health packs.

It's impossible to know for sure, but I can only imagine that if the initial version had been as finely-honed as Inferno, it would have received a much warmer welcome. Instead, thanks to all the negative word-of-mouth generated by the inferior 360 version, Inferno came and went with hardly anyone blinking an eye.

The experience is a give and take: you'll certainly take some enjoyment out of Lara's latest adventure, but the game will give you unnecessary grief almost every step of the way.

All in all, Luminous Arc 2 is a game that feels like it should've been a manga or anime instead.

Yes, shooting hordes of zombies is fun, even more so with three other friends. But the game doesn't have anything to offer beyond that simple activity, and it most likely stop being relevant the moment someone makes a zombie FPS with a little more depth.

Comic books are excessively violent. Mortal Kombat is excessively violent. Yet somehow the combination of the two has been watered-down to the point of irrelevance, all in the hopes of increasing the number of people who would play it.

Bursting with energy, enthusiasm, freshness, inexplicably bizarre random elements, and a clear love of the genre it builds upon, it's impossible not to crack a smile and just revel in the sheer amount of rightness Weapon of Choice can claim as its own.

In the end, Mirror’s Edge is a great set of core mechanics wrapped in a mediocre game. When everything is going smoothly, the experience can be exhilarating. Unfortunately, the flow is cut off too often by frustrating gameplay (e.g., dying 20 times in a row on the same jump).

There is inspiration underlying this game; it's just too bad the promising first thirty minutes wind up buried under hours and hours of mediocrity.

I very much enjoyed this game, and the good elements definitely outweigh the bad, but I sincerely hope that a sequel gets produced someday, because with a few changes and some better writing this could be among my all-time favorites.

While I doubt that Quantum of Solace is going to become a beloved classic the way GoldenEye did, it's a skilled first person shooter that easily takes the title of the best James Bond-themed FPS in a decade.

The production values are pretty abysmal, and it's far too unforgiving for anyone new to the genre, but Neverland Card Battles occupies a unique space as far as digital card games go.

A mixed bag that redeems itself just enough to be worth playing, Far Cry 2 serves as a valuable experiment in open-world first-person shooter game design, but one that is not quite up to par with what developers like Crytek and GSC have accomplished.

Patient racing fans will find things to enjoy, but everyone else should weigh both the game's pros and cons before making a final decision on whether or not this one is worthy of a purchase.

As it stands, there's not much to recommend it when a nearly-identical (and in some ways, better) experience can be had by picking up a copy of the first game instead.

Dead Space is completely competent action/horror.

It's not very deep or complex, but then again, I don't think that it's supposed to be. Taken for what it is, Princess Debut is a great first entry into a style of game I'd love to see more of

Simple graphics, simple control, complex gameplay; Orbient is nothing less than a masterpiece of minimalist design, and one of the most compelling examples presented for the case that video games are a new medium of art that must be recognized.

The song selection is a great change of pace from the standard rock fare found in Guitar Hero and Rock Band, but in the end the controls just don’t cut the mustard.

Lego Batman represents the first real misstep from developer Traveller's Tales in their moderately popular Lego franchise.

In short, I was satisfied with the game, but not overly impressed. The faint thrill of Jedi-dom was indeed there, but in the end it's just another action game in a vast, overflowing ocean of them.

Warhead expands on the forward-thinking ideas presented in Crysis and truly takes them to the next level.

Line Rider 2: Unbound is a cute idea, but in my opinion it doesn't have the chops or the longevity to become a successful handheld title.

But Clear Sky takes everything that I loved about Chernobyl—the mature storyline, the nerve-wracking underground laboratories and the rewarding combat—and muddies them with a litany of bugs and bad design to the point that it overwhelms its more redeeming qualities.

Zoids Assault, while not a complete disaster, is something altogether worse. It's completely unnecessary.

Yakuza 2 isn't perfect by a longshot, but it's one of the exceedingly few games that makes an effort to deliver legitimately mature content aimed at, and intended for adults like me who can appreciate something a little more substantial than killing terrorists, aliens, or zombies once in awhile.

It's not a terrible effort, but there are dozens of missed opportunities over the course of the game that could enhance the entire experience, and the fact that practically none of them were taken left me scratching my head.

Without the distraction that lovable licensed characters provide, I was faced with the inescapable conclusion that Mercenaries 2 was a mediocre title, suitable only for those who fantasize about using attack helicopters to slay entire countries.

If you hadn't figured it out for yourself already, allow me to reiterate—Tales of Vesperia is sort of like an RPG treadmill. For every step forward the game makes with its use of characters or social commentary, it follows up with a step back in the form of an over-reliance on genre clichés and a meandering narrative focus.

As a new music game, Helix sounded like a fun concept and I wanted to enjoy it more than I did. I just had a hard time staying with it. Taken on its own terms, the game definitely provides a challenge and some sweat—for the gamer that gets into the spirit and avoids cheating with mini-waggles.

Although it was a little too different for me, I recommend it to anyone tired of the brick rain-jewel swap dynasty.

If Treasure's name wasn't attached to this product, I seriously doubt that it would have ever found a publisher, let alone the warm reception most other review sites have given it.

I came into Strong Bad's expecting quality adventuring, the unique comedic stylings that make me feel like I'm a kid watching Rocko's Modern Life again, and some good old fashioned The Cheat kickin'. That's exactly what I got, and there was virtually nothing throughout the experience that annoyed or dissatisfied me.

My verdict is that Soul Calibur IV looks great, but isn't especially accessible to newcomers.

In the end, Spectral Force 3 is more disappointing than bad.

Being average isn't a bullet-point for the back of a box, and if someone's going to play a potentially punishing, definitely repetitive roguelike, I can't imagine that they'd want to put that kind of serious effort out for something that's just average, at best.

The audacious premise is incredibly fun all the way through, and right up until just before the last few missions the gameplay more than holds up its end. It's too bad the game gets so frustratingly difficult right at the end.

This shining example of old-school design infused with new-school wisdom completely destroyed my expectations and delivered a supremely polished and challenging adventure that only grew more rewarding the further I went.

It is an undeniable achievement: Hideo Kojima’s achievement. No other producer could have made this title, for better or for worse

Soul Bubbles is filled with unexpectedly sophisticated sequences like that, and they are a true sign that the people behind it not only know exactly what they're doing, but they also know what constitutes excellent game design.

Beyond its successes as a light, accessible fighting game, Burst Limit's greatest achievement as a DBZ fighting game is finally presenting the story and characters in all of their utterly ludicrous glory.

Even as I was enjoying the game's top-notch action, I couldn't help but be disappointed that the developers weren't doing more with the franchise's dramatic possibilities.

Ultimately Ninja Gaiden II retains everything from the original, for better or for worse, and makes a few small but very noticeable improvements.

Lego Indiana Jones is so successful because it reimagines the films it’s based on without reproducing them.

Although the mechanics are nothing revolutionary, I will say that I appreciated the graphics for their old-school flavor and intense pan-Asian iconography.

LostWinds isn't something that will impress friends or provide hours of replay, but it's an enjoyable and enjoyably discrete experience that made me glad I downloaded it.

It may not have been a direct hit, but ­R-Type Command's mission was certainly accomplished.

Perhaps the most frustrating mistake the game makes is in the car combat. When this works, it's one of the game's bright points, as passengers blast away at other cars, shredding metal, blowing out wheels, and slaughtering the occupants, but when it fails, the game is crippled by that failure.

The great level design, intense combat setpieces, and the incredibly depressing design aesthetic are all top-notch. It's a prime example of great execution elevating a tired premise.

If the words "the death of Aeris" don't bring a tear to your eye, then dropping $40 on Crisis Core certainly will.

For a trip back to the well, R6: Vegas 2 proves an unusually excellent cash-in. I'd be lying, though, if I said that my two favorite levels weren't the prologue and epilogue, which both forgo the Vegas setting for a trip to an exotic locale.

If the first game was a chillingly-black horror to be feared, Bloodshot's a pretender in a goofy rubber mask, making funny noises and stumbling over its own feet.

Much like the original Bully, Scholarship Edition is entertaining enough at times, but it never rises above being merely good.

It's inherited all the original game's problems—a major feat, since it's developed by a whole new company—and lost some of its charm in the process.

The Club's greatest flaw is that it thinks it's a whole lot more revolutionary than it actually is. Despite the game's claims to the contrary, there's nothing new about any of this.

Fans of Dynasty Warriors 6 will know exactly why they like this game and no further understanding is needed.

Of all the games in this feature, Audiosurf is the one most reassuringly rich in innovation and potential, and proves beyond question that plastic instruments and pricey downloadable content are not the be-all and end-all of the rhythm action genre.

Culdcept Saga is a true breath of fresh air.

Given that they're already churning out over an hour of CGI each time, wouldn't their resources be better spent tacking on just a little more story and calling them films?

In the end, Paradise is both more and less than its predecessors. Not everything that made the previous Burnout games great has survived the transition to the new open world format.

If you squint past the explosions of blood, forget about being forced to earn money, and ignore the brainless enemies waiting their turn to be slaughtered, it's hard not to admire the cackle and curled lip of a creator who's got big ideas and isn't afraid to use them.

Despite the uncomfortable number of missed opportunities and graphics that fall short of current-generation standards, tooling around underwater and leisurely unfolding the central events in Endless Ocean remained unexpectedly delightful and engaging until the end—and even a few hours after.

Its charm and style engrossed me from the opening level and never let go, and I received an experience with lots of substance, challenge, and a little heart thrown in for good measure.

An incredible effort from any perspective, Mass Effect sets the new standard for story-driven games, and has unquestionably surpassed all others to become the preeminent science fiction franchise today.

Rock Band is admittedly a financial investment, but for the gamer with at least one friend who enjoys music, I think it's worth it.

Trauma Center's developers need some serious interventional design therapy before the series's prognosis degrades beyond hope of recovery.

A near-perfect melding of next-generation technology and interactive gameplay, Crysis is the pinnacle of the evolution of the first-person shooter and is the new standard against which all others will inevitably be compared.

Given the subject matter, Kane & Lynch never had a chance of being a fun game, but it had every chance of being a good one. It's not.

Everything except Altair's athletics feels underdeveloped and painfully shallow, making the end result an overhyped attempt to recoup the development costs for something that's little more than an extended tech demo.

When the game is at its old-school finest, Contra 4 is the anti-new game that we old schoolers eat for breakfast. (Really, pansy gamers need not apply; this game will beat you to next Tuesday.) At its worst, Contra 4 is everything that gaming has tried to move away from for the last twenty years. But every now and again, it’s nice to be reminded that games can be pure adrenaline-filled manfests.

I’m glad that after 20 years, Nintendo can still make something old feel new again.

With its polished cinematic presentation, well-paced action, and surprisingly emotional story, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare brilliantly captures the feel of a grand, epic game.

Virtua Fighter has been successful as long as it has by catering to an audience that could serve as the definition of the word hardcore.

Yes, it's an incredibly, borderline obscenely, brutal game, but within its own context it tells an interesting story and provides some great thrills for the player—or at least it would if it weren't so busy trying to give its players seizures.

Expect Guitar Hero to be around for awhile—and I'm cool with that, as long as they keep making fun and challenging games like Guitar Hero III.

Overall, this is a very fun and slightly quirky game, with a definite challenge to it.

The action here will completely satisfy anyone looking for the kind of lighthearted, kinetic run-and-gun that was mastered several iterations ago, and my grievances with it are more of the intellectual variety than anything else.

Despite its lackluster first act, Episode 2 ends up showing more of the kind of progressive gameplay I have been wanting to see from the series.

So Portal does its job within the Orange Box compilation, taking a brilliant left-field idea and successfully merging it with Valve's universe over an entertaining few hours of gaming.

The ads promise an epic tale of tragedy, sacrifice, and heroism that Halo 3 really had no hope in hell of ever delivering. More troubling, however, is the fact that after playing the game, I can suggest with some certainty that they promised a game that Bungie didn't even bother trying to produce.

The engaging battle system eventually turned into a tedious exercise, and the lighthearted and sentimental story grew increasingly sluggish and labored.

Between getting all the aesthetics right and offering stellar gameplay, NHL 08 has an awful lot going for it, and I'm sure it will please longtime fans of the series.

Although it might not have be an entirely enjoyable ride from start to finish, there's a definite sense of style and intelligence in the approach. In its current state, Dead Head Fred comes maddeningly close to what could be defined as a genius cult classic.

I was really hoping that Tiger 08 would satisfy my desire to have a polished and refined golfing experience that uses the Wii remote. With its frustrating and inconsistent gameplay, however, Tiger 08 is (much as I hate to say it) way under par.

Metroid Prime 3: Corruption is an expansion of its predecessors, and it builds on their legacy in every aspect.

So BioShock is not a revolutionary game, or even a particularly innovative one; by the time I reached the end, I felt as though I had played a rather standard and predictable first-person shooter.

It's the best SRPG I've played in years and crushes just about everything else on portables, straight up... if you don't get that PSP back and give it a shot, you're missing out, bro.