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.

In a world of generic RPGs with cookie cutter plots and characters, Persona 3 is like a breath of fresh air—a game that marches to a different drummer and is worth playing because of it.

Heroes of Mana feels like Dawn of Mana, take two. It's gorgeous and somewhat interesting, but undermined by basic flaws in its ability to let players see what's going on. Here's hoping there's no take three in the works.

It doesn't re-invent the wheel, but it does provide a solid football experience.

The concept of a game that joins dancing and karaoke sounds intriguing on paper, and if Boogie had managed to capitalize on its strange mix of gameplay ideas it might have been pretty enjoyable in practice.

It may sound strange, but the developers of Brave Story: New Traveler have created an above-average experience by taking a perfectly average formula and making absolutely no errors in its execution.

But for those of us who play games with the controllers that came with the system, NASCAR 08 is just too flawed to be worth playing.

So Transformers: The Game is just a complete mess, a game that succeeds in almost nothing that it sets out to do.

Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition is one of the best games available for the Wii. Period.

And the final word must go to that pesky puzzle hook that just won't let your stubborn brain accept defeat.

WarTech: Senko no Ronde is a trite piece of airy piffle with nothing meaty to recommend it.

Plunder-by-panic and slippery experience points are intriguing, but these innovations fall flat without solid, bug-free foundations to support them.

This slowdown often results in accidental death and having to start over, but not before sitting through the game’s load screen, which consists of the now-seared-into-my-brain image of the words “now loading” slowly revolving around an open book.

It's too bad that by over-complicating everything, Touch the Dead gets this simple formula so very wrong.

It's a short and mildly engrossing action romp that, while probably not worth the price of a full game, will make a nice time killer for those long Saturday afternoons when the big game of the month hasn't hit shelves yet

Although enhanced graphics and special effects would have improved the game cosmetically, there's no denying that the mechanics are dialed-in and the developers have some damned good heads on their shoulders. Add in the fact that it retails for a rock-bottom $20 brand-new, and The Red Star and becomes the next surprise hit that's on every B-list hound's radar.

It's well presented and Brave's misshapen but personable face and tape-like hair make him an oddly likeable hero (that one wouldn't necessarily mind seeing again), but for the most part his showcase adventure ranks as an inescapably hollow and forgettable experience.

The finest game yet released for the Wii, as well as my early pick for game of the year.

So Medal of Honor: Vanguard is just a waste of time and money. A tedious plodding waste suitable only for those absolutely desperate for another first-person shooter to play on their Wii.

It's an incredibly rich, unique and innovative take on first-person shooters-yet it's also a flawed game, suffering from a few minor scripting bugs and some rough edges in the gameplay that occasionally interfere with what is, for the most part, an exceptionally engaging experience. But despite its imperfections, it is a truly groundbreaking game, captivating in its complexity, its mystery, and its vividly realized world that stands as a milestone in both imagination and engineering.

All in all, Shining Force EXA is a solid game that doesn't quite compare to its predecessor.