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.