The graphics are abhorrent. The models are ugly, simplistic, and repetitive.

Not a bad game by any means-it's simply one that tries to be many things to many different people and it doesn't quite succeed at any of them.

I have no hesitation in stating that this is without a doubt the best control system of its kind ever created. With impossible grace pulling off complex and fantastic maneuvers and never sacrificing the precision so crucial for true ease of play, this is how it should be done.

Average doesn't have to equate with mediocre or bad, though. Sphinx may not bring anything new to the table or anything gamers hadn't already seen in the Zelda series, but it is a fun game.

There's no denying the game creates one of the most intense and interesting war game experiences out there on a console. I'm personally more a "run and gun" guy than a "sneak around in the shadows" player, and I still found SOCOM II: U.S. Navy SEALs to be an engaging and engrossing gaming experience that immersed me in a world I'd not experience otherwise.

EyeToy feeds the average person's vanity by projecting themselves onto the television. As just about every reality show on the air proves, being on television remains an important status symbol in our culture.

What starts out as an interesting idea for a strategy role-playing game (RPG) soon crumbles under the weight of poor design decisions, unintuitive gameplay, and an aesthetic presentation that would have been more at home on the Nintendo Entertainment System than the powerful GameCube.

It's a tossed salad of good ideas and cliché concepts that veers wildly between extremely polished and inexcusably sloppy.

Those looking for existential ponderings, heavy characterization, or even minimal variety in gameplay should leave it alone, but people who want lighter fare might appreciate kill.switch as a small, zesty snack. After all, we all need a bit of comfort food once in a while.

A fine 2D platformer, but a rather undistinguished and disposable specimen.

An ambitious game that attempts to breathe new life into the genre. It's not entirely successful, but it is the best gladiator game I've played.

Truly a superlative game, offering unparalleled control, fine presentation and plenty of play modes to toy around with.

Since innovations in this series seem to come in microscopic increments, it's safe to assume each subsequent game will not only feature the elements that made the main game fun, but also the flaws that marred the experience as well.

Rejects spectacle in favour of the sort of satisfaction that results from a slow culmination of small triumphs—a video unlocked here, a trickbook completed there. In the end, though, it's because of this very process that Amped 2 fails to evoke the butterflies-in-the-stomach level of excitement that I get from playing the very best video games.

It represents somewhat of a mixed bag, a mass of good and bad ideas that vie for dominance as the experience alternates between genuine fun and genuine tedium.

Crimson Skies does so much to propel itself above mediocrity that it seems strange that, though it succeeds, it doesn't capture the robust energy of its larger-than-life story in its gameplay.

It can be oddly frustrating at times, yet it has enough merit to make it one of my favorite games this year. It doesn't necessarily refresh the nostalgia I had when it was SSX two releases ago, but it definitely re-introduces the fun lacking in the gaming slump I've experienced lately.

By the end of the first level, the player will have encountered every type of objective that the game has to offer, aside from the afore-mentioned "guard the thing" scenario. This depressing formula repeats itself throughout the game, with the "levels" distinguishing themselves solely through window-dressing and increasingly difficult enemies.

Unfortunately the game has poor layouts for the levels that even adults will have trouble navigating. The game certainly had a strong sense of personality and a well realized world. It's unfortunate that all players can do is run circles in such a nice environment.

Lacks the cohesion, pacing, and spirit the others possess. All else being equal, those missing qualities put Jak II squarely at the rear of the pack.

I enjoyed the game far more than I thought I would; enjoyed it far more than I probably should have.

It's an amalgamation of one-trick ponies (cel-shading, time bending, old school nostalgia tickling) to make a fulfilling, satisfying and jaw-dropping experience. Meet the new action game, better than the old action game.

Commanding soldiers works exceptionally well, the environments look fabulous, and the entire project is built on a concept I can appreciate, but because the game runs out of ways to use your squad so early in the adventure, it feels all dressed up with no place to go.

Its unique theme and dark humor make it well-suited to gamers (such as yours truly) who enjoy the mechanics of the genre but are aching for a more refreshing and mature thematic backdrop.

Developers looking to break into the platform genre these days have to go above and beyond the standard requirements while completely nailing the technical side at the same time, which is no easy feat. Billy Hatcher is a perfect example of a title that fails on both counts.

May get flack from the hardcore D&D crowd for simply being a "Diablo" clone set in the D&D universe, but it's still hard to deny the simple joy in teaming up with three friends to kick the crap out a Beholder.

Perhaps all of the limp comedy wouldn't be so offensive if the game did anything new in the gameplay department.

It exposes what a chronically under-explored medium portable gaming really is, and demonstrates the potential that exists when a creator is given some space to indulge his vision. Sure, it's unbalanced and at times inconvenient, but I'll take Boktai and games like it over Super Nintendo Entertainment System ports any day.