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.