It may not contain the addictive "party" element of Nintendo's Wii Sports, but this Playground isn't a bad place for kids and their parents to hang out.

With thousands of questions across six categories, and the option to purchase downloadable packs on the cheap, this version of Trivial Pursuit won't get old anytime soon. You'll love the game's format, thanks to a multiple-choice set-up, jumping player pieces and single and multiplayer modes.

Most of the game's content has been ported over to the bigger console, with very little improvements to the design and only a few new puzzles and challenges added.

A very average game. Square Enix should take the quality interface and build off that to produce a much more enjoyable experience.

Controlling characters is a snap with the Nunchuk's analog stick, and the graphics and sound are as delightful as ever. Mario Power Tennis is mildly enjoyable (especially with three friends), but it needed more love to ace the competition.

It's a decent puck slapper, but hardly a Stanley Cup contender.

The single-player missions don't take long to beat and the game's multiplayer lacks depth. Armored Core 4 should keep robot lovers busy, but it failed to improve nearly as much as expected.

Its role-playing elements prove uninteresting, with an unbalanced upgrade system and no major differences between the five available classes. Its fighting is stale, with loose multi-directional melee combat and horribly broken long-range targeting. Finally, the presentation falls short, with unpolished visuals and bothersome glitches.

Most of the gameplay consists of weak slashing attacks, some of which don't read clearly in the heat of combat. The lack of exploration and a solid storyline hurt as well. These Swords dull way too quickly.

A boring action RPG that desperately wishes it was released in 1995.

Some glitches (particularly during the crocodile battle) mar an otherwise satisfying experience, but the designers made up for that with all of the easy achievements and trophies.

Nothing has really been added to signify the arcade experience, aside from a few easily unlockable achievements and a live leaderboard. The upside? The game is still a delightful romp, filled with puzzling scenarios and a simplistic, colorful design.

With new characters, maps and modes, along with the ability to play against players who still play the original, there is plenty to enjoy assuming you like the first game.

The luscious graphics do bring out the finer qualities of the anime, complete with striking water-brushed backdrops and fluid animation. It's a shame the camera constantly needs to be adjusted, though.

The too short campaigns, coupled with the average multiplayer makes it the type of game that you'll play for about a week, sell and then forget about. Had Rebellion tweaked the A.I., added much-needed extras and fleshed out each character's story (with different scenery), this could have been the greatest AVP of all time. For now, we'll have to settle for it being superior to the lackluster films.

Multiplayer isn't bad, but it lacks depth, so while Quantum provides some exciting moments, its developers failed to catapult it to greatness.

It's a solid effort that may not bring a lot of ingenuity to the fantasy RPG genre, but still provides countless hours of entertainment.

The good news is that the gameplay is more delectable than usual movie-licensed fluff, with hours of racing fun for one or two players and a fun presentation that fans of the movie will adore.

The graphics and sound are bland and lack party atmosphere; the shooting and dancing mini-games are lame; and even the spinner fails to function properly.

Merely average, but worth a look for Sega fanboys and girls.

It's a fun single player adventure with an equally entertaining multiplayer mode full of 16 player death matches. Although its graphics look dated, monotony quickly sets in as shooting the same bad guys and completing similar missions gets old. That said, The Godfather II makes for an ideal weekend rental.

The voice acting and comic book sequences sound and look decent, although the dialogue gets cheesy and annoying. HOAE offers just enough to keep people interested, but doesn't leave a lasting impression.

Viking's a decent game, thanks to over the top combat moves and a sprawling fantasy world, but its lack of drama and a few design issues make it inferior to Sony's exquisite "God of War" franchise.

Artificial intelligence problems are present throughout, with squad mates continuously running in the line of fire. Furthermore, the promising co-op mode isn't available online, only locally through cramped split-screen.

"Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo," with its various modes and options, makes this well worth the $30. Challenging a friend in AdHoc never gets old, whether shooting bubbles into nothingness or dropping mad block combos to clear the screen in a devastating manner.

It's just like last year's game, but with very few changes.

NASCAR 09 doesn't change the pace of the popular motor sport racing series. However, EA Sports deserves praise for the inclusion of two handling styles, Pro and Normal, which make the game more playable than previous releases.

The luscious graphics do bring out the finer qualities of the anime, complete with striking water-brushed backdrops and fluid animation. It's a shame the camera constantly needs to be adjusted, though.

The result is a game that looks great, ends well, but at times, leans too heavily on formulaic game mechanics.

Multiplayer isn't bad, but it lacks depth, so while Quantum provides some exciting moments, its developers failed to catapult it to greatness.

Regardless of its shortcomings, Barnyard's mini-games and activities on the farm make it worth at least a rental. Just accept the fact that bovines ride bikes and mix drinks.

Overdose gives the original 2004 game a new paint job along with new settings, but it's essentially the same game, which made extensive use of physics technology. Except, games since then matched and surpassed it, making it monotonous.

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.

The way the story and relationships change depending on your choices will keep you hooked, and warrants at least two play-throughs to see what might have been. However, just be aware that you'll have to put up with some problems.

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.

There's also a challenging award system to work through, with over fifty unlockable Atari 2600 games once you earn them all.

While EA did a poor job fleshing out the story, some of the sound-alikes aren't nearly as good as the film's cast (Snape doesn't even sound close) and a few facial animations look bizarre, but for the most part, Half-Blood Prince is one of the best Harry Potter games we've played.

While it may not offer series vets much in the way of innovation, Wii owners hankering for a new game could do worse.

This one doesn't break new ground, but Sega did nice work bringing its addictive RPG to the portable arena.

The too short campaigns, coupled with the average multiplayer makes it the type of game that you'll play for about a week, sell and then forget about. Had Rebellion tweaked the A.I., added much-needed extras and fleshed out each character's story (with different scenery), this could have been the greatest AVP of all time. For now, we'll have to settle for it being superior to the lackluster films.

This compilation has some graphical issues, particularly with lighter details and loads of pop-ups. However, the gameplay still works wonderfully, both with single-player and the new multiplayer games.

So when Level 5 takes these cumbersome elements and drops them into a single game, we end up playing something that feels half-hearted.

Forced switching between two playable characters proves annoying due to their differing abilities, the fixed camera restricts the player's view and the voice samples of party members still repeat with infuriating frequency.

Although it has slim pickings, Pop's enjoyable for a little while. With that said, repeatedly pressing A gets old real quick, and after a while, the thought of being number one in the world loses its luster.

It's hard to say who the game was meant for. Maybe the game just shouldn't be played at all.

You'll double-tap to roll him under things, tap along walls to jump, draw a slash mark in the middle of objects to slice them and so on. While novel, it makes precision jumps nearly impossible. This results in a lot of trial and error, and if you beat the game, there's little reason to play it again.

Hardcore hockey fans might find NHL Arcade too simple, with its lack of official teams, arenas or any kind of tournament mode. However, it's loads of fun against friends, online or off.

Legacy features tedious controls and frustrating missions. The multiplayer and skirmish modes do little to make these space battles better.

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

Star Soldier R could've been so much more, with at least five or six more levels, a difficulty curve and two-player interactivity. As it stands, though, it's surprisingly fun.

While the multiplayer mode limits the action to AdHoc sessions, the single player campaign feels just as robust as the console games. The controls feel great, and the presentation shows outstanding potential.

Packed with high-speed chases, car combat (you can bump rivals into walls) and ridiculous explosions, the game's still far from perfect. Sloppy looking characters, excessive loading and average on-foot shooting keep it several steps behind the competition. As a rental, however, Wheelman offers some decent thrills.

Although MLB 2K9 offers entertaining base-rounding thrills for both Xbox 360 and PS3, these issues prevent it from topping Sony's higher-quality MLB 09: The Show.

With the superior Burnout Paradise still making the rounds, Undercover won't rev everyone's engine. If you liked Most Wanted or the Hot Pursuit games, however, you'll want to climb behind this wheel.

On paper, expanding upon each aspect of the well-received Phantasy Star Online appears attractive, yet a shoddy execution lacks the finely-tuned balance the game was known for.

At its best during four player matches, where everyone runs around the ring, bounces off the ropes and delivers bone-rattling special moves. Outside of its enjoyable multiplayer, however, the game isn't much fun.

The graphics don't look bad and the music is a well-chosen, energetic mix of EA Trax. However, the game feels more like a rehash than a full-blown sequel, with little improvement in the controls and not much to explore outside of decent online play and unexpectedly short modes.

The way the story and relationships change depending on your choices will keep you hooked, and warrants at least two play-throughs to see what might have been. However, just be aware that you'll have to put up with some problems.

Some problems still exist, particularly with the SIXAXIS controls, the stunted flow of the game and a few ugly player models.

Avatar: The Last Airbender fails to live up to the creativity of the show it's based upon.

The graphics don't look bad and the music is a well-chosen, energetic mix of EA Trax. However, the game feels more like a rehash than a full-blown sequel, with little improvement in the controls and not much to explore outside of decent online play and unexpectedly short modes.

Unfortunately, you'll finish solo tour mode within a couple of hours, there's no online multiplayer and the original master tracks aren't available.

Pointless minigames failed to hold our interest, while a horrid MIDI-based soundtrack, comprised of "hits" like Happy Birthday and Jingle Bell Rock, had us reaching for Guitar Hero.

The game just has a smooth, arcade flow that I really appreciate. The action's fast paced, it's really easy to score, but at the same time, the defense is smart enough to pick off bad passes and swat horrible shots.

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.

Despite an arsenal of moves, the process of switching between weapons is labored and will most certainly result in your demise. The lack of a dedicated single player campaign mode hurts as well. Worst of all, Confrontation includes a ridiculous amount of technical bugs.

Publisher Codemasters didn't complement Barker's original story with an enjoyable video game.

While not a deep or especially polished adventure, it'll keep you entertained for a weekend.

Contra deserves more than one play-through, but the bugs make it one of Xbox Live Arcade's black sheep. Hopefully, Konami will pull out all the stops for a version of "Super Contra."

One of the best horror games to come out this fall, with horrifically imaginative creatures and dark, blood-covered environments.

Game Night is definitely the way to go if you don't own the original games, or if you're too lazy to drag them out of the closet.

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.

Although the game contains an interesting tactical set-up and numerous races to choose from (Klingons included), the game just isn't fun to play. Not only is it unnecessarily complicated, but also slow and sloppy.

Gearbox has once again delivered a superb presentation with Mad Moxxi.

The whole collection theme grows tiring, with players having to repeat races to find items to proceed. The DS-exclusive enhancements don't help either, and end up being pointless.

NBA 07's offensively charged gameplay makes it one of the PlayStation 3's best launch games. Instead of relying on playbooks, Sony San Diego focused on sick dunks and dazzling off balance jump shots.

As it stands, it's just another fighter that tries – and fails – to knock Street Fighter IV off its mighty throne.

You'll be able to solve all five cases and locate all the "secret movies" within a matter of hours. Fans should check it out; others might want to rent it.

It all amounts to a game that'll keep you busy for a few hours, but only because you want to unlock bonus content or score achievement points/trophies. If you're into disposable content and transforming robots, Revenge is a decent rental.

Unfortunately, the enemies lack anything resembling intelligence, something that is poorly remedied up by the common solution to such an issue -- adding more enemies. At least the multiplayer is interesting.

Fans of the franchise will be drawn to the game's authentic anime stylings, but might soon be turned off by repetitive missions, brainless AI and problems with saving and restarting missions.

The combat grows repetitive, but the various power-ups, including fire and electricity, are awesome.

Its skill tree, with powers dependent on the levels of other abilities, provides an innovative approach even though it can be viewed as limiting from a certain perspective.

At its best during four player matches, where everyone runs around the ring, bounces off the ropes and delivers bone-rattling special moves. Outside of its enjoyable multiplayer, however, the game isn't much fun.

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.

First and foremost, it has just as much charm as id's classic Doom, with hilariously bad pre-rendered enemies, a fresh feeling of exploration and multiplayer options galore, both off-line and through Xbox Live. The second is a rapid frame rate that induces motion sickness.

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.

The in-game graphics are screwed up by constant glitches, a bothersome camera system and unpolished environments. Furthermore, the multiplayer options are weighed down with several flaws and a lack of online competition.

While adult gamers might find a bee's life a bit on the tame side, children will no doubt love Barry's escapades, and with the somewhat charming wit of Jerry Seinfeld, the sickly sweet voiceovers won't make you nauseous.

No, it won't topple EA's Madden franchise, but this Blitz is worth playing if you want a smash mouth football game with mature issues.

Straightforward intensity and manic action keep Heatseeker from burning out.

A decent shooter, jam-packed with targetable Black Ops soldiers and aliens aplenty and showing moderately good production values, despite a few hitches. However, it's lightweight fluff compared to Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and The Orange Box, especially when it comes to the slapped-together multiplayer and lack of story depth.

Unfortunately, the enemies lack anything resembling intelligence, something that is poorly remedied up by the common solution to such an issue -- adding more enemies.

Sure, uploading tokens to one's Pogo.com account is a great idea, and wireless competition against friends will keep people busy, the product feels disappointingly limited. Good for rabid Pogo fans, but everyone else should stick to meatier products, most notably Nintendo's "Clubhouse Games."

A moderately engaging shooter with some interesting power-ups and lots of enemies to shoot at. The bad news is that the creativity is muted by underdevelopment.

Unfortunately, the new enemies aren't that much different from the original ones, and the additional weapons don't add much to the game. Veteran players will have a persistent "been there, done that" feeling throughout the adventure, while newcomers may feel a little lost, since Perseus Mandate makes so many direct references to the previous games.

Unfortunately, perfecting one's craft requires much trial and error, thanks to the game's shoddy motion controls. Things work ok most of the time, but like the DS version, every once and a while the game fails to register the simplest of actions.

Some glitches (particularly during the crocodile battle) mar an otherwise satisfying experience, but the designers made up for that with all of the easy achievements and trophies.