The PSP's inability to match the functionality of the PlayStation 2's Dual Shock controller causes some problems and the degree of control accomplished by developer Kojima Productions under the circumstances speaks volumes of their expertise, but the results aren't perfect.

While the Xbox 360's Bayonetta runs smoothly at (mostly) 60 frames per second, Sony's version constantly chugs with slowdown and load times. Even if you're in the middle of a fight, the game will pause for a couple of seconds playing catch-up. For those of you who own Sony's machine, this isn't the end of the world, but it's a shame Sega couldn't get the game to perform the same on both platforms. The Xbox 360 is the obvious choice.

Options like the hotseat multiplayer turn out being a massive waste of time. Lastly, the expansion doesn't integrate very well with Medieval II, with each campaign operating like a stand-alone, multi-part, Total War scenario.

Looks a lot more exciting than it actually is. Nintendo fans will revel in the 2-D-meets-3-D world of Mario and company, and the recent drought of good Wii games makes this a welcome addition to any library. Yet, Nintendo drowns players in boring dialogue, and the ability to switch the 2-D world to 3-D makes the game too easy.

Each game session plays out very quickly, which is part of the charm and challenge.

The new Dervish and Paragon professions add a lot of flavor to both role playing and PvP. Yet, the game's story takes a long while to pick up, and some design issues from previous games still exist.

For its budget $20 price, this is a great introduction for those who missed the glory days of gaming or a pleasant welcome back to those who loved the original.

What could've been a five-star prospect quickly became a solid backup. Unless you're a college football fanatic, we suggest waiting for Madden NFL 10.

Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII is a cinematic masterpiece, an orgy of exquisite full motion video sequences, beautiful music and quality vocal performances. As such, it's not a movie. It's a video game, and as a game, Crisis Core is good, not great.

Darksiders has an engaging story, beautiful visuals and plenty of badass characters, but THQ/Vigil Games' reliance on tired concepts prevent it from being a must buy.

Ultimately, its poor music and one note gameplay mar the experience, but players in search of something off the wall will probably dig Rhythm Heaven's imaginative design.

Unfortunately, it also requires a lot of battling to keep characters learning new abilities, and the frequent encounters are often tedious in their simplicity.

It just about looks, sounds and plays as it did before, solidly but without anything "wow"-worthy to justify your $60 purchase.

Unfortunately, co-op multiplayer and the Zombie Mode didn't make the cut. World At War on the Wii ends up a distant second to the PS3 and 360 versions, but it's still a fun shooter.

Rock Band for the PlayStation 2 is like seeing a cover band over the original performers -- you'll have a good time but you'll notice something is missing.

Darksiders has an engaging story, beautiful visuals and plenty of badass characters, but THQ/Vigil Games' reliance on tired concepts prevent it from being a must buy.

Not a fast-paced shooter, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. appeals to a deeper sense of survival, in which players scrounge for valuables and information in a world gone twisted.

Even for $5, we expected more creatures to blast, rooms to explore and weapons to fire. Those glaring omissions make Lost in Nightmares a good, but not great journey into the world of survival horror. Good luck.

The game provides a decent alternative to average hack'n-slash role-playing games, but it doesn't take long before it becomes tiresome and boring.

Overlord offers players a chance to let their imp armies run amok, looting and destroying the countryside. However, the gimmick grows stale and its charm gets lost with the buggy controls and the boredom of wandering around in circles.

It just about looks, sounds and plays as it did before, solidly but without anything "wow"-worthy to justify your $60 purchase.

Developer Yukes deserves nine Stone Cold Stunners for the game's lack of polish. Yet despite its flaws, SmackDown successfully retains its wrestling championship, thanks to its 67-superstar roster, 20 plus match types, deep General Manager and Season modes, gorgeous visuals, and finally, four person online play that's easy to set up and difficult to put down.

What could've been a five-star prospect quickly became a solid backup. Unless you're a college football fanatic, we suggest waiting for Madden NFL 10.

As always, Tiger's a fun game but the 08 version comes up short of earning green jacket status.

Instead of reinventing the franchise, THQ merely tacked on some additions to the formula. That's not enough to wrestle away our $59.99.

Even for $5, we expected more creatures to blast, rooms to explore and weapons to fire. Those glaring omissions make Lost in Nightmares a good, but not great journey into the world of survival horror. Good luck.

Hardcore gamers who grew to love grand adventure games from a decade ago will have a blast. The game mechanics are tired, but there's nostalgic value to it. Fans of the series will also enjoy learning more about the characters. None of this negates the fact, however, that a fresh coat of high definition paint can't mask the fact that the Yakuza series needs to end or change with the times.

The customization shop is one of the game's biggest features, letting you create cars and planes any way you see fit. The gameplay is quite entertaining, even though the steering controls aren't as tight as we expectedare loose.

The game has plenty of quality moments, ranging from battles with humongous aliens to beautiful scenery and animation. Unfortunately, sloppy controls and a boring multiplayer mode keep Lost Planet from dominating the Xbox 360.

Although 1701 A.D. doesn't feature any new gameplay concepts, it remains a solid economic strategy game that's easy enough for most players to pick up and get sucked into.

Though they may lack the depth and complexity of the modern games they inspired, Final Fantasy 1 & 2 are still quite enjoyable, and definitely worth playing if you're a fan of RPGs.

Thanks to excessive fog and pop up, we struggled locating collectibles. As for the upgrade system, there's so much to level up/moves to acquire that we quickly became overwhelmed and abandoned it. In addition, missions eventually grow repetitive, the story failed to hold our interests and cheap computer opponents killed us more times than we care to admit.

Dodging bullets and narrowly escaping capture (as well as an addictive Time Trial mode) make Mirror's Edge worth playing if you have the patience to survive its concrete jungle. Yet Faith's limited punches and kicks result in tedious combat, linear routes make the city surprisingly small and accidental deaths force you to restart numerous times.

The introduction of hooks and slices results in shots that veer off too easily to the left or right, even for the steadiest hand. That's too bad, because the rest of the game lines up nicely.

If you haven't played the latest Guitar Hero or are looking for something that all ages of players can get into, it's a respectable choice. However, its mostly flat song list and almost complete lack of anything significantly new may have you feeling a sense of deja vu that can't be shaken.

Here's what you will recognize: a convoluted plot involving a missing daughter and rampant, depraved ghosts; frequent switching between the "real" world and a ghastly nightmare realm; and many locked doors with craftily hidden keys.

Dodging bullets and narrowly escaping capture (as well as an addictive Time Trial mode) make Mirror's Edge worth playing if you have the patience to survive its concrete jungle. Yet Faith's limited punches and kicks result in tedious combat, linear routes make the city surprisingly small and accidental deaths force you to restart numerous times.

Thanks to a gripping story, furious gunplay and cool multiplayer, Call of Juarez makes for a smart rental.

Once you discover the game's deeply flawed combat system and bland storyline, you'll question if it's a journey worth taking.

No matter how delightful main character Parin and her amusing dialog, dull combat amounts to little more than frequent taps of X and most gamers will breeze through the simple puzzles.

Thanks to excessive fog and pop up, we struggled locating collectibles. As for the upgrade system, there's so much to level up/moves to acquire that we quickly became overwhelmed and abandoned it. In addition, missions eventually grow repetitive, the story failed to hold our interests and cheap computer opponents killed us more times than we care to admit.

The extensive create-a-player mode, online play, and deep Career Mode that offers countless challenges and tournaments will likely keep players occupied until Tiger 08. However, putting is as frustrating as ever, a problem compounded by the PSP's analog nub, which takes some time getting used to.

The visuals still look great a year and a half later, but the controls are still sluggish and the campaign is over too quickly.

Instead of reinventing the franchise, THQ merely tacked on some additions to the formula. That's not enough to wrestle away our $59.99.

Slowdown and ugly bit mapping occur (especially during cut-scenes) and the game doesn't really feel exceptionally different from last year's. Nevertheless, MotoGP '07 is a fun and addictive racing game.

To some, SingStar 80's is pure nostalgic bliss, but it needs more content.

The game has long loading times, collision detection and some displaced momentum. But the end result hits with all the authority of a steel chair to the face.

Not much has changed in the gameplay, outside of enhancements to the Hit Stick and the distribution of "weapons".

For the dedicated, it can provide several hours of fun, but its unbridled quirkiness may turn off others.

The game's 40 cars look disappointingly familiar. However, this game successfully brings arcade racing home, fully loaded with fast rides, excellent drifting, the ability to customize vehicles, and 14 person online play.

We dig the Career and Tournament modes, and the ability to create your player from the ground up and play online tournaments is cool, but Top Spin 3's inaccessible and sloppy controls killed our high expectations.

Thanks to a gripping story, furious gunplay and cool multiplayer, Call of Juarez makes for a smart rental.

Universe at War: Earth Assault has what it takes to be a great RTS game, but sadly, it doesn't come together in a fulfilling way.

Here's what you will recognize: a convoluted plot involving a missing daughter and rampant, depraved ghosts; frequent switching between the "real" world and a ghastly nightmare realm; and many locked doors with craftily hidden keys.

Know this: if you're not a fan of simulation games, you won't care any more for this n00b-friendly train empire manager than you would any other sim-type game.

With no clue as to when Lumines Live! will actually contain all of the features listed in its menu, nor how much it will cost to get them there, it's tough to recommend until these details are made available.

This is great, but expect repetitive block smashing and item collecting that, in this third LEGO game, has overstayed its welcome.

We don't like the story, save for the talking banana aliens (fo fanana), and the whole peg grabbing stuff doesn't light our fire, but Jungle Climber is a cute, simplistic adventure game that anyone can get into, and the addition of four person multiplayer adds to its banana eating appeal.

Although the real-time strategy isn't for everyone, due to a lack of hands-on controls and tedious pacing, EndWar is well executed and fun.

If you're a first-person shooter fanatic that's not into micromanagement and just wants to kill things, this is definitely not your game. However, if you're looking for something in the genre that digs a little deeper, this one demands exploration.

This is great, but expect repetitive block smashing and item collecting that, in this third LEGO game, has overstayed its welcome.

Despite the improved visuals, MLB sports a few nagging glitches, and although the game's fun, it doesn't feel like a huge step up from its predecessor.

The game's technical shortcomings are too noticeable. The slowdown is horrendous, especially in multiplayer, there's zero Wi-Fi multiplayer action, some of the non-functional camera angles suck and in-game artificial intelligence becomes sporadically idiotic. It's a fun little portable RPG, but these Rings could've used resizing.

The game plays well, but hasn't changed that much from last year's edition, outside of some ridiculous diving moves and artificial intelligence that's too attentive for its own good. The graphics still appear several notches below current-gen standards and the online play constantly slows down.

The artificial intelligence becomes a little questionable at times, requiring some extra babysitting to keep teammates alive, but players willing to deal with these quirks will definitely find some extremely challenging gameplay in line with the GRAW tradition.

If you haven't played the latest Guitar Hero or are looking for something that all ages of players can get into, it's a respectable choice. However, its mostly flat song list and almost complete lack of anything significantly new may have you feeling a sense of deja vu that can't be shaken.

The thrill of downhill racing works, whether going at it solo or with friends in multiplayer. The trick system is more limited due to the nature of the game, and some graphical bugs do get in the way.

Although the game doesn't go the extra mile like other current-generation versions on store shelves, Madden NFL 08 still provides a solid game of football.

Your guys occasionally act stupid, the final stage is lackluster and multiplayer is your standard squad versus squad affair, but Hell's Highway is the most cinematic WWII game on the market and worth the 10-15 hours to complete.

As it stands, Modern Warfare Reflex is merely average. The multiplayer is addictive and the control options are varied, but the watered-down graphics and relentless frame rate problems keep it from being a power player. This game has seen better days, two years ago, in fact.

For the first time since taking over publishing duties for the series, Electronic Arts has released a Burnout racing game that fails to achieve must buy status.

Few World War II video games are as gripping and brutal as Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway.

Nevertheless, like any good ride, Precipice of Darkness is fun while it lasts.

This is worth picking up even if you're not attractive.

Copying enemy abilities and working alongside helper characters is cool, and we dig the imaginative environments, but there's not enough to keep us hooked.

MAG is a tough game to review. There's so much keeping it from being a must-own (lack of single-player campaign, visual problems), and yet the multiplayer is really engaging after it opens up the first couple of hours. If you need a combat fix and can't wait for Bad Company 2, this is definitely worth renting.

The punishing artificial intelligence makes Chocobo's Dungeon more annoying than fun.

There's just a crazy amount of things to do, though the game isn't overly thrilling. It lacks a good sensation of speed, the controls could've been tighter, and the graphics aren't so hot.

If you haven't played the latest Guitar Hero or are looking for something that all ages of players can get into, it's a respectable choice. However, its mostly flat song list and almost complete lack of anything significantly new may have you feeling a sense of deja vu that can't be shaken.

The multiplayer modes aren't bad, but you have to unlock most of them and they're strictly off-line.

Although the real-time strategy isn't for everyone, due to a lack of hands-on controls and tedious pacing, EndWar is well executed and fun.

The game lacks a hardcore presentation to go with the theme, but that's only a small issue, since this is definitely the best SingStar to date.

A few painfully lame game choices hold the game back from being a full success.

Some of the games aren't so hot, and the loading is too long. Plus, the decision that forces players to earn unlockable goodies via chance isn't cool at all. Nevertheless, Reloaded earns merit for many of its games, which are perfectly emulated.

Despite a horrendously nonsensical title and some time consuming level exploration, Square Enix's Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker has everything a monster battling role-playing fan could want, including sassy accented text and tons of monsters to recruit and battle.

So while this latest Resident Evil offers up some mindless fun (especially with co-op play), don't expect a full-fledged adventure, especially with the absence of the second and fourth installment, as well as Code Veronica.

The game still holds up well, with a solid (if not entirely amazing) presentation and fun gameplay. The new defensive play touches are nice, particularly when it comes to directing a lead blocker into the thick of traffic.

Even worse, the game gets boring quickly. It offers decent fun, especially with four players, but Buzz could've used more organization, spontaneity and humor to liven things up.

The card battle system is still very good, and the game has a better emphasis on character design and storyline. However, some of it feels like it's borrowed from the first game, including various play mechanics and several locations.

Darkside Chronicles has plenty of teeth-gnashing moments, both out of fear and frustration from missing your shots. However, it's well constructed and fun to play with a friend. If you're tired of Extraction and House of the Dead: Overkill and need fresh meat to blast through, put this at the top of your list. Otherwise, stick with Resident Evil 4.

This expansion plays largely like the main game, with only a handful of minor changes and improvements. The story opens up some very interesting plot points and unanswered questions, but none of them are resolved, making the adventure very unsatisfying.

Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands feels like a slight step backwards from the ambitious tale told a year and a half ago. While it does return to what made the series so strong to begin with, problems with the game's combat and replay value keep it from being the stuff of legend.

The artificial intelligence is a beast, scoring lots of points and reading offensive and defensive plays like a prodigal genius.

It offers online play through Wi-Fi Connection, but it's strictly limited to ruled nine-hole match play. With the exception of amateur golfers, this Love simply doesn't last.

Madden NFL 08 for the PSP feels like the black sheep of the family, a game that wants to fit in so badly with the rest of the football clan but comes up short way too often to get there. Maybe next year we'll see a game with better timing throughout its presentation, a functional multiplayer set-up and more modes.

Since official wedding items have been in hot demand, most players won't mind the premium price. Besides, everyone loves a good party.

You'll be hard pressed to find a better looking Naruto game, however, with amazing cel-shaded characters (25 in all), vistas and gigantic bosses that make trudging through the adventure worthwhile. A lot could be improved in a future iteration, but the game should please most fans.

The presentation is also given a surprising amount of attention, with impressive lighting effects, swift animation, and solid (although far from perfect) level design. Having Jack Black on board to voice Po is a smart move, too.