If playing Jaws Unleashed has taught me one thing about game design, it's that if you're going to put a single fun thing in a game it's best to put it right up front where people can see it, and hopefully trick them into thinking that the entire game is fun.

This is a game whose execution outweighs its ambition with consummate ease, until it becomes a benchmark of sorts for a generation of underwhelming third-person shooters. Wringing the very best out of its simple and solid core mechanics, Rogue Trooper is more accomplished and enjoyable than anyone had a right to expect.

Is HOMMV a good game? Absolutely. Is it essentially the exact same game as HOMMIV was? Oh yes.

Humor and unusual storytelling can't save it from stiff controls and an awkward camera.

The gameplay transcends mere functionality and accessibility to be an actual pleasure to play, barring a few handling hiccups caused by the game's undoubtedly rushed release schedule.

I can talk about why the game is fun, but I can't lie and say the game is brilliant. Mario isn't what he used to be. There are glimmers and flickers of greatness in this game - moments where I felt the magic might almost be back. But it's not. Not yet.

Nostalgia and style are weak currencies to a mass market obsessed with content, and OutRun's primary commercial frailties are its simplicity, its repetition and its lack of long-term structure.

While a good effort is made, nothing in the game can match the inspired lunacy of Metal Saga's opening minutes.

Parts of LostMagic are brilliant. But that brilliance gets bogged down in physical awkwardness and bad artificial intelligence.

The inclusion of the power-ups severely cheapens the game, changing it from a competitive fighting game into a wannabe party title.

It's just not fun yet. Sure, playing against people is a mild diversion, and it has a small amount of nostalgic appeal, but if they want to come up with something that's sold entirely on the basis of the fun of destruction, destruction has to be more fun than this.

While by no means a terrible game, and not even a bad one, this is a game designed to increase the overall amount of sadness in the world, and for that reason alone, and despite its many high points, I can't recommend that anyone play it. Ever.

Entirely competent in all technical respects, Commandos is a passable FPS, but absolutely nothing more.

It's hard to deny that from its humble beginnings to the spectacular finale, Kingdom Hearts II is absolutely what the first game should have been. Its production values are still amazingly high, but the mechanics and tactile experience of play are now equals.

The Warrior's Code is a long slog that's guaranteed to kill some free time—and may even entertain newcomers to the genre—but there isn't anything rewarding or enjoyable about it.

It's not like I need to be barraged by bells and whistles or the world's slickest design, but Rumble Roses XX comes off as cheap and patched-together. Konami should have put more work into making things (besides the women) appealing.

Blazing Angels would be a perfect place for someone who's never played a dogfighting game to start. For someone who's played a dozen, though, it's just more of the same. It's extremely well-executed sameness, but sameness nonetheless.

The variety of games is far better this time around that it was on their first PSP collection, Reloaded, and the overall quality of the selections is quite high.

Were it just another faceless GTA free-roaming clone I'd say EA did a pretty good job, despite a few minor shortcomings. But as it is, The Godfather has a hard time living up to the standard set by its license.

At first glance, Suikoden V looks like just another turn-based RPG in which good and evil face off and destiny conquers all. But in a subtle, subversive way, it shows that we can't take our own goodness for granted. Learning that there is no absolute good in war is an important, and powerful, lesson.

To make an embarrassing story short, Splinter Cell: Essentials is a mess. For a series that leads the stealth genre and has worked hard to make itself more accessible and more polished with each successive sequel, an entry like this—even on a portable— can only be seen as a miserable failure.

Oblivion is a game people will still be calling a classic a decade from now—and in the fickle world of gaming, that's high praise indeed.

Oblivion is a game people will still be calling a classic a decade from now—and in the fickle world of gaming, that's high praise indeed.

If nothing else, Hunters establishes itself as a solid and important entry into the Metroid canon with new elements like peripheral characters and a revamped game structure packaged in a more streamlined, enjoyable adventure than its immediate predecessor. For that alone it deserves respect.

Everything about the game is top-quality. The artificial intelligence provides plenty of interesting moments, the save points are frequent, the story is more accessible than Splinter Cell's dry politi-babble, the voice work and graphics are the best I've seen on the PSP, and the entire game drips with polish and care delivered by people who know what they're doing.

Every aspect of Daxter screams quality, and Ready At Dawn studios deserve an ovation for putting together such a masterful platforming experience.

This is still a very good game, and the volumes of supplemental material have kept me form lowering the score any farther than I have, but it has too many flaws to overlook. Critical flaws that keep it from being anywhere near the perfect game that many were hoping for, and continue to expect from Kojima.

It's shame that the ending is so inadvisably abrupt, opting for a limp 'shock' finale rather than a satisfying closure that would have sat so much better with the game's slow-burning narrative.