Throw in a GBA-Gamecube linkup that allows you to load your portable Urbz into the bigger version, and you have a game large enough to keep your interest so long as you're willing. But once the gameplay starts to feel repetitive-and after a few hours, cracks in the façade will begin to show-then you're in trouble.

An enjoyable experience worthy of the Ratchet name...even if we're hoping the next iteration of the series pushes the envelope instead of merely experimenting.

Above average- it's just far from amazing.

Plenty of variety and a wild sense of speed combined with tight control equals fun for the whole family.

Guilty Gear Isuka does a lot of new things. They just aren't fun things.

San Andreas is a true epic, but no game should be this frustrating.

Though the game may have its frustrating moments, the amount of assistance the computer gives the player is ridiculous. For example, one "ghost shot" is allowed per hole. What this does is show you exactly how far and where the ball would land (and subsequently bounce) if you got a perfect shot. This is a HUGE help (and very cheap) help with chipping.

It's got all the bad hair and pretty boys, but none of the fighting soul.

The difficulty and audio make the price of entry a bit high, but the story and scale are worth it if you're looking for something a bit different.

These treasures are glass jewels in tin settings.

This game is smooth and polished enough to feel like it has years of work behind it. Design issues aside, Tin Soldiers: Alexander the Great is staying on this psuedo-grognard's hard drive for a while to come.

If Gamenikki scored games with singers instead of numbers, Get On Da Mic would be Milli Vanilli.

One of the strongest titles to be released in 2004. The gripping story, maddening puzzles, and style of the game remains a stark contrast to the Half-Life's and Doom's typically residing on store shelfs.

Where the series goes from here (Please, a cross over with the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" series?), it will have a mighty legacy to live up to.

The environments are expansive and varied, and you can interact (read: destroy) virtually anything you come across. The cel-shading effect is put to good use here.

The simplicity and fairly low challenge bely shockingly addictive gameplay. While big-name, big-budget sequels may dominate this year's holiday season, Katamari Damacy is a quiet, almost invisible candidate for Game of the Year. This is not a game to be missed, especially since it's only $20.

There are better shooters around, but if you’ve long hankered for vehicular Star Wars mayhem, Battlefront was made for you.

Occasional jankiness is made up for by a ridiculously low price and copious shooter goodness.

A game sequel done right, with only the blatant and unabashed commercialism working against it...or for it, depending on how you look at the game.

With lackluster sound, generic, objective-based (and painfully straightforward) gameplay, and graphics being the only saving grace (and only half the time at that), it’s difficult to recommend Shellshock as anything more than a rental for fans of the genre.

Takes a winning formula and makes it better. Gamers looking for a good multiplayer title, or who just don't cant stand another round of "Doom3" should be sure to look up United Offensive.

The sense of freedom ultimately serves to highlight the inevitable limitations.

To put it simply, it's nearly impossible to enjoy Bad Boys: Miami Takedown without being completely naive. The presentation, game play, and voice acting are all about 10 years behind, it's a sad state of affairs.

Innovates itself into a corner. Tactical RPG fans are going to dig on the creative character development but they'll be the only ones interested in putting up with the awkward controls and even more awkward gridless combat.

The Guy Game doesn't shoot high with its premise: a trivia game as a vehicle for softcore porn. Little things sour this deal, like the fixed order of questions, the annoying announcer, the moron asking the women the questions, and the lack of anything interesting to unlock, but these are nothing compared to the core problems: the softcore porn is exceedingly difficult to unlock and the trivia game is godawful.

They don't make action games any tighter than this one; Viewtiful Joe on the PS2 is like a ray of light peering through a dark cloud of cookie-cutter titles.

Treasure will make you believe that robots are your friends.

Worth a play if you didn’t snag the last one. Otherwise, how valuable is online play to you?