Although Zero Mission's overwhelming quality wins out in the end, the first play reveals a game that's just too slick for its own good, toeing the fine line between a fun, streamlined experience and a hollow, transient one.

Sure, the slowdown is an unfortunate negative, but the rest of the game is overwhelmingly solid. R-Type Final might not bring any new tricks to the table, but it certainly takes what it does best and enhances it ever-so-slightly for a new generation of gamers.

Put simply—the concept stays a little too comfortably within the basics of run, jump and slash. After seeing the credits roll, I was left with the feeling that Maximo vs Army of Zin is like a raw gemstone—precious and valued, but only a rough approximation of the full potential waiting within.

The repetitive hack-and-slash gameplay has nothing in common with the earlier incarnations of the series and will surely alienate the Fallout faithful. Meanwhile, the newcomers to the Fallout universe aren't likely to be sucked in by the uninteresting and flat characters nor the nonexistent story.

I think Sonic Team needs to focus on its core values and technical competencies, to deliver the sublime experience I believe it is capable of, especially when working with the prestigious Sonic IP.

As the central deficiencies (car physics, handling, lack of challenge) also become more and more prominent with each race, most players will simply tire of its blandness, and decide to save the time Namco wants them to spend tuning their cars for an altogether better racing game.

A refined, immersive, superbly scripted, and generally well-executed adventure. It's possibly the best example of sustained convergence yet experienced in a videogame.

An amazingly accessible and fun experience in a genre overfull with games that pride themselves on their depth and complexity.

Improves on the elements Spector himself felt most integral to the game and does away with much of the extraneous elements he felt detracted from the experience he was trying to create. The result is a game that is more focused than the original, and although it often overlooks fundamentals it is one of the most brilliantly crafted games of the year.

A fully realized game, utilizing the JADE engine which "Prince of Persia" borrows. But more importantly, it has partially realized characters that have more feeling than human characters in other games.

Spyhunter 2 isn't intolerably bad; it's merely average and uninspired.

It's a stale, ugly revisiting of a genre that should be put deep in the ground, with no story or aesthetic styling to redeem it, a hollow exploration of ground that's already been trodden flat.

As the subject of this review so deftly proves, a whipped-together concept by itself is not enough. I may spend a few minutes flipping through Lowrider magazine the next time I'm at the newsstand, but I'm not going to be spending any more time on the game.

The problem with workout mode is that there is no continuous play option, and the player will have to pause after each song to manipulate the menus and choose another song. Each song burns around fifteen calories.

You're one of the most satisfying, worthwhile, and excellent platformers I've ever met. Time spent with you was challenging but never frustrating, beautiful but never, ever shallow, and utterly captivating for every moment we were together.

But what baffles me most about Manhunt is that I'm not exactly sure how I'm supposed to feel about those executions. What do the game's producers want me to feel? Should I feel...vindicated? Exhilarated? Vengeful? Empowered? I'll tell you how I did feel: I felt evil, and queasy, and numb. Eventually, a strange kind of self-loathing set in, followed by a low-level depression.

Considering the great number of things Metal Arms: Glitch in the System gets right, it's a shame that the game is ultimately sullied by its gassy length (it doesn't seem to know when to end) and often sadistic difficulty (did anyone play-test it?).

Looking past the graphically pleasing surface, there was plenty of gritty gameplay to hold my attention. Building up my characters by learning new dressphere abilities was more enjoyable than leveling in recent RPGs, as was the earnest and lighthearted telling of Yuna's story.

"Then what's wrong with using TV to brainwash the masses?" It's a chill-inducing sentiment, but after playing both Space Channel 5 games, I could see it coming from Ulala just as easily as from the cackling Mr. Blank.

One of the most refined and most unique racers of the last few years. It's getting harder and harder for racing games to stand out, but Bizarre Creations succeeded in making Project Gotham Racing 2 a racing game unlike any other.

It's a shame that given such a potentially provocative issue as the premise of the game, Whiplash chooses to take it nowhere and instead falls back on ineffectual humor, cartoonish violence, and an unimaginative interface.

The game's aesthetic design choices are great, for the most part, but they can't entirely overcome the clunky control system and overly simplistic A.I.

Anyone going into it expecting the bells and whistles of a "Half-Life 2" is going to be sorely disappointed. Anyone going into it expecting it to play anything like the table-top strategy game will be even more letdown.

It's aesthetically fresh, filled with original creations, and presents a wholly unique mix of gameplay styles.

I hate Monster Rancher. No other series turns me into such a complete vegetable, helpless to do anything but sit in front of my PlayStation 2 devoting hours upon hours the way this one does.

This is simply a faster, tenser, more action-oriented Rainbow Six. In other words, it's better. It has none of the tedium of the PC games and more suspense and drama to keep players on the edge of their seats.

Far and away, Legacy of Kain: Defiance's most heinous offense is the way it shamelessly doles out its own sloppy seconds, thirds, and fourths in place of actually creating tasks and challenges that would be interesting or engaging.

It's the perfect example of the sort of game that seems to poised to make its mark on the world and then inexplicably proceeds to hang out at the local mall for its entire adult life.