Picross DS is one of the best puzzle games for the system, and therefore, a must play.

Mario Strikers Charged features enough modes to keep players entertained, as well as a top-notch presentation that really shows off what the Wii can do.

The gameplay works decently enough but it lacks any depth. The battle card system feels unimportant, and you'll blaze through the game in a day. Time to bury this dynasty in the history books.

The graphics look bland and the gameplay fails to perk up, as players simply clear out rooms without receiving any reason to keep pressing forward. The nearly inoperable item management system frustrates as well.

Alien Syndrome for the PSP stands out over its Wii counterpart, thanks to a less inept control scheme and a somewhat improved presentation. However, the game suffers from a host of issues.

The battle system wears thin quicker than expected and the story comes across as a little flimsy, especially when compared to more current Final Fantasy games. Nevertheless, it offers hours of enjoyment.

Not only does "Guitar Hero II" feature ten more songs, but Encore copies off its predecessor, retaining its venues, characters (they feature 80s style) and the loading screen. For $49.99, we expected more than just a simple expansion pack.

NASCAR 08 feels like a huge step backward. Total Team Control has gone AWOL, with no traces of a career mode, only a half-hearted season mode, a modest set of tutorial challenges and decent online play. Even worse, the graphics and sound fail to bring out the best in the Xbox 360.

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.

NCAA Football 08 does for EA's vaunted franchise what Carson Palmer did for USC a few years ago -- it ushers in a return to glory.

The game doesn't boast a lot of depth, and it does not contain the same flair that its sister games have, but it still presents polished gameplay and plenty of replay value, so long as friends want to join in for some multiplayer sessions.

Sadly, that sums up all the new content. Players can beat it within an hour and never play it again.

The bad news? Nothing in the game has really changed from the previous game and online play continues to be missing. The good news? It still plays just like the real sport and looks excellent to boot.

All Pro Football 2K8 doesn't quite reach championship status, what with its lack of modes and other small items. However, it turns out to be an excellent start for 2K Sports' newest football legacy. Can't wait to see what comes around next year.

This game offers a beautiful, highly stylized, world to explore, but sacrifices meaningful interaction.

It is without question one of the most intense experiences on a console. However, its faults (poor design choices, really) keep it from being triple A.

Even with the multiplayer options and the touch-screen gameplay, it fails to provide much enjoyment. Fans of the original game and patient kids probably won't mind digging in. Everyone else, on the other hand, should pass this one by.

Its visuals, gameplay and intricacy make it the best downloadable shooter available since "Geometry Wars: Evolved" – end of story.

The lack of rumble and Xbox specific achievements blows, but overall, PS3 owners will have fun with this intense and attractive shooter.

The lack of diverse missions, along with the insipid gameplay and taxing camera system results in a watered-down experience -- not quite "more than meets the eye".

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.

But if shooter enthusiasts own a powerful gaming rig, they will not be disappointed, with a $39.99 price tag (a full $20 cheaper then the X360 version) thrown in for good measure.

If it wanted to make an impact, the company should've re-mastered the game, similar to what it did with Final Fantasy III on the DS, removing the 2-D visuals in exchange for 3-D graphics. With that being said, this Final Fantasy offers an overpriced but enjoyable experience. The lower the gamer's expectations, the better.

Ratatouille won't astound those looking for something more original. On the other hand, it still gets by with a healthy portion of fine content, enough to be worth a rent – or a purchase to those with young kids. This rat hasn't quite produced a prime rib, but at least the meal didn't stink.

A marvelous addition to the PSP library. Gamers with an overflow of talent but a lack of funds and musical equipment should pick it up immediately and get to work.

A couple of flaws cheapen the single player experience and the shallow eight person multiplayer modes don't extend the replay value more than a few hours, but The Darkness does an excellent job at making players feel good about doing horrible things. To that we say, bravo.

The game looks gorgeous, featuring dark, seedy locales and superb special effects. The gallons of blood. The tentacle detail. The characters. It's without question one of the best looking video games...That notwithstanding, it's not the deepest of adventures.

With a fun Career Mode, online play and an incredibly addictive mini game (Homerun Pinball) round out this enjoyable package that, although it cannot compete against the much deeper MLB 2K franchise, deserves some playtime, if for nothing else than to rob someone of a game winning grand slam.

With a fun Career Mode, online play and an incredibly addictive mini game (Homerun Pinball) round out this enjoyable package that, although it cannot compete against the much deeper MLB 2K franchise, deserves some playtime, if for nothing else than to rob someone of a game winning grand slam.

Playing online is, without question, Revolution's biggest feature, and one of the most disappointing. Challenge other trainers to a battle by logging on the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, using a pre-set friend list or jump into a random battle with players all over the world. The idea sounds right, but shoddy connectivity and the lack of leaderboards, medals or any type of tournament set-up doesn't do any favors for the online play.

It suffers from a couple glitches, but this is without question EA's greatest Harry Potter, as well as one of its best movie-based games.

It'd be great to see a sequel with better multiplayer options and a few more single-player goodies. These war stories deserve a read – and definitely an expansion.

The stylish menus and helpful narration give way to eye melting graphics featuring realistic tracks and cars with sick damage modeling.

Its graphics don't look nearly as good as they did two years ago, but that shouldn't stop players from plunking down the $29.99 to experience the series' best game.

Hot Brain manages to stand out in an overcrowded genre due to its charm.

The presentation may not come alive, but the genius gameplay more than makes up for it.

Suffers from monotonous gameplay and a terrible presentation. Everything, from poor narration to Jessica Alba's awful looking character model will disappoint fans and gamers alike.

The presentation, plentiful modes and mostly pleasant fighting engine should keep fans of the comic and anime show happily content throughout the summer. Those in search of something more involving, however, will find an Ultimate rush elsewhere.

An outstanding game for Xbox and PS2 last year, but the Wii version shines even brighter. The controls work great, with players able to shoot specific body parts or wave a chainsaw around by maneuvering the Wii remote.

With a little more work, Tenchu Z could've been a big hit, right up there with Team Ninja's more vigorous Ninja Gaiden games. The stealth kill system, customization options and co-op sessions give the game more weight than expected. Nevertheless, the game doesn't deliver a quality ninja experience.

It needed more minigames and a livelier presentation, but gamers will enjoy the multiplayer options and gameplay innovations.

Call of Juarez resembles an archaeological dig -- in order to locate treasure, players must dig through lots of crap.

The stylish graphics look fabulous and gamers will enjoy posting scores to the online leader boards.

Tomb Raider Anniversary offers some nice, solid gameplay for both newcomers to the series and experienced players. Grand, complex, puzzles brings great challenges and adventure.

The gameplay works great, although gamers will be more comfortable with the traditional control scheme rather than using the stylus. Everyone needs to join this League.

Although the game received a significant facelift with high-resolution textures to provide a sharper look, the graphical progression of more recent shooters leaves this improved Halo 2 feeling like a 2004 game.

The game appeals to kids, thanks to its colorful characters, but adults will find it too easy. The tricks lack complexity and the game can be beaten in a couple of sittings.

Developer Turn 10 focused on making the cars handling as realistic as possible, an admirable effort, but the result makes the game a little boring.

It comes up dreadfully short in content, with no single-player campaign and only a handful of maps.

This bland online shooter (no single player element exists) offers only a handful of maps and no map editor. While the game's is based upon an entrenched role-playing game, not a single role-playing element exists.

Despite these complaints, Mario Party 8's motion controls, fresh new options and accessible bonus content make it a party that shouldn't be missed -- not even by those who thought that the series' best days were already long gone.

The game's presentation couldn't be better and the story provides some extra weight along with doses of humor.

Even though it lacks an abundance of new content, its Wii-sensitive control set-up and additional content do enough to keep the blood pumping -- fighting fans will find bloody satisfaction with Mortal Kombat: Armageddon.

The graphics and sound don't do much presentation-wise, but the game play rewards gamers nonetheless. Sadly, the lack of four-player shoot-outs positions WarTech primarily as a rental -- until it reaches the more reasonable $20-$40 range.

With the touch screen issue notwithstanding, Diner Dash: Sizzle & Serve should keep DS owners happy, providing they don't loathe waiting tables. After all, video games should help people escape reality instead of sending them to work the tables for tips.

Longer levels, more involving gameplay, Game Sharing and more attention to the general presentation would have really sky-rocketed its appeal.

Atlus plucked another gem from Japan and brought it to the U.S.

At World's End is better than most movie-based games, but that only makes its shortcomings more disappointing.

Playing through the best parts of At World's End and its prequel provide minimal enjoyment, but the sloppy controls make the game nastier than one of Davy Jones' henchmen.

The zoom-in/zoom out effect distracts easily and might even create a few headaches among sensitive gamers. Some of the character designs look laughably bad, most notably in Art of Fighting 3.

The two-player mode feels tacked on and the presentation has its hitches, but Touch the Dead still provides enough bloody joy to warrant a recommendation.

Freestyle Street Basketball's low cost makes it an appealing option for people who crave easy, fast-paced competition. In addition, it lacks the complex controls found in more expensive sports games, and costs just $19.99.

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.

Shrek the Third disappoints in every single category.

The ogre's latest looks better but plays worse on the Wii.

The PS2 version is the worst of the bunch, with incredibly lackluster visuals and gameplay seemingly stolen straight from God of War. In addition, numerous glitches plague the game, further ruining the experience. Everyone should stay away.

The big green ogre saves his best outing for the Nintendo DS.

Fortunately, the game's slick cel-shaded presentation shines with delightful looking animations, particularly with the prisoners. They scamper about with a vaudeville-like appearance and pack lots of attitude -- even while being flung in the air.

The game's numerous quirks and weak voice acting might turn a few people off, but the non-stop action, superb graphics and excellent physics makes it worth playing through at least once.

Electronic Arts applies the control scheme from its previous PC to console real time strategy game, "The Lord of the Rings: The Battle of Middle-earth II" with excellent results, offering gamers a user-friendly scheme that makes controlling units and building structures simple.

The controls require some getting used to, but the game's biggest problem comes from the fact that it only has LAN multiplayer, and lacks any kind of online player match-up capabilities.

It plays well, but instead of creating an innovative product, developer Sumo Digital followed the Grand Theft Auto template, relying on a list of familiar and boring jobs including escort and carjacking missions. In addition, the game looks dated.

Downhill Jam could've been so much more than a quickie port with just a few key ingredients, such as more tracks and online play. This downhill run may be fun for a little bit, but the uphill climb that follows is too much to bear.

Despite spectacular graphics and strong attention to simulating real-life combat weaponry, ArmA: Combat Operations falls victim to some major bugs, one of which causes those graphics to fall apart. Additionally, the weight of its complicated menu system slows down the game's pace.

Spider-Man 3 might dominate the box office, but its glitchy video game counterpart totally tanks...Shoddy graphics, poorly configured character models way-too-easy or too-hard difficulty levels and strange lag times -- on the ultra powerful PS3 no less.

With downright ugly graphics, minimalist music, an underwhelming use of voice acting and some of the sloppiest controls ever, keeping this last-generation version of the game in one's collection can only be justified if they lose the receipt.

Spider-Man 3 on Xbox 360 stands out as the best version, thanks to slightly improved graphics and numerous achievements to unlock. Unfortunately, the awful camera, frustrating combat, bad character models and cheesy voice acting make it less than stellar.

The graphics never rise above abysmal, with disappearing textures tag-teamed and an uneven frame rate. The controls, however, ruin the experience. While web swinging offers a few fleeting moments of joy, the tedious combat and horrific camera controls (even worse than the other versions) kill the fun, causing achy wrists.

Straightforward intensity and manic action keep Heatseeker from burning out.

An innovative traits and title system, unique social-networking -- like an in-game music system and player-driven Wiki -- and the rich storylines and subplots that stay true to the source material easily make this name-brand role-player a hot contender for PC game of the year.

The atmospheric first-person shooter retains all of its tension, along with the neat slow-down option that lets players pull off some brutally imaginative kills. However, the graphics look like they've been reworked for a PlayStation 2 version instead of for the PS3. Furthermore, the weak response time of the SIXAXIS pad ruins the experience and the game takes too long to load.

The game can grow repetitive over time, but being able to use three multitalented superheroes helps the game significantly -- especially with two players working together. In addition, the graphics and sound excel, and at only $20, it's an essential purchase.

Despite the differing game play, at least one element remains shared between the various situations and scenarios of Eureka Seven Vol. 2: boredom. With no real skill required to complete the simple challenges, most gamers will breeze through the dull segments given enough time and button mashing, leaving them to question the point in repeating those same bits of play over and over again.

Although the single-player quests might invoke a sense of deja vu, Pokemon enthusiasts will love the brand new story and other small tweaks added to the game. The new online battles, however, make this a Pokemon essential for anyone's -- fanboy or not -- DS collection.

Although the single-player quests might invoke a sense of deja vu, Pokemon enthusiasts will love the brand new story and other small tweaks added to the game. The new online battles, however, make this a Pokemon essential for anyone's -- fanboy or not -- DS collection.

Players will find tiring game play that doesn't make proper use of the PSP's digital pad, while putting up with some of the lamest opponents imaginable. Worse yet, the ball physics waver all over the place and the artificial intelligence attempts shots that would get it laughed out of a real pool hall.

True, the graphics and music feel aged and the game could've used online play, but even with these flaws, it achieves what it sets out to do, deliver "destroy everything"-themed action for the somewhat moderate price of $29.99.

Several ideas don't work well, particularly the lame light-gun bubble shooting mode and multiplayer. Having eight players in a game can be entertaining, but it relies more on blind luck instead of skill.

A barebones rhythm game that focuses more on visuals than it does on outstanding music, which should always come first in this genre. Downloadable content in the future will help, but unless it offers better music or a significantly different game mode, only the diehard rhythm gamers will care.

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.

The DS version retains some of the original game's addictiveness, thrusting gamers into tense situations in which they must multitask in order to please impatient customers. At the same time, they must contend with wonky touch screen controls.

The graphics look very good on the PSP, particularly with the enormous level layouts and smooth animations of the Prince and his dark side. However, the game has bugs, the most notable being flickering and poor looking textures. The audio has its problems as well.

The lack of an online multiplayer experience and wireless controller were slightly disappointing, but it's hard to complain when new content, online leaderboards and enhanced visuals add so much to an already vivid gaming experience.

The game does grate on the nerves, simply because its characters have plenty of corny lines. However, those willing to look past and embrace its presentation will discover a wonderful adventure.

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

A generic and boring DS game where the concept of challenge gets squashed by moronic trial and error.

The game shows a great deal of polish, considering the odds stacked against it.

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