Empire proves no different: It's a game that has great potential and with some extra tweaking, could have proven itself an excellent title. For now, Empire: Total War is a fine game, but one that has a heap of problems that need resolving before its worth any more of my time.

It's straightforward, hack-n-slash combat online or off. But you must jump online, however, to get the full experience of what the Dreamcast is capable of doing.

You'll likely beat the game in a matter of hours, and while there are some cool unlockable modes to explore afterwards, the low challenge factor is really kinda disappointing if you're a diehard fan of the series.

I'd like to see new control options in an update, but otherwise this is a great platformer.

For the gamer that likes to live double or triple lives, or for an original Animal Crossing fan, this is a game to pick up. However, for the gamer that demands fast-paced action, storyline, and an imperative need for an ending, this may not be the best game to play.

Disappointing gameplay will plague anyone who has ever experienced previous Rainbow Six games. On the other hand, if you’re new to first-person tactical shooting, this game is a perfect starter.

Okay, so maybe a re-release/upgrade of racing games from five years ago isn't something to cheer about -- but it sure is a slick retrospective, and a fun one at that. Daytona USA is an arcade classic, perfectly preserved.

A sloppy single-player campaign met with matchless multiplayer makes for an unbalanced first-person shooter experience.

You'll either immerse yourself in truly mastering one of the world's most powerful sports cars, or you'll find this about as much fun as taking your driver's test.

Peggle on-the-go means you might end up accomplishing more while you're actually at your desk-a perk-but if that seems like small consolation, then you're better off sticking to the classic version. Plus, you'll save $9.99.

As much as I've come to re-love Beyond Good & Evil, the niggling issues stand out as possible evidence that Ubisoft might not be willing to invest more time in Jade than is strictly necessary. It's a shame, and I hope that's not really the case, because this is a yesteryear project that deserves the trilogy it never got.

A relentlessly slow plot, plodding dialogue, and the unfortunate fumble of the robot interfaces's potential keeps Xenogears out of that stratosphere enjoyed by its far superior cousin, "Final Fantasy VII."

Still, aficionados of the Megami Tensei universe will undoubtedly get a kick out of the game's intriguing story and colorful cast while fans of turn-based combat might just find an addicting and innovative adventure - just don't expect an RPG that'll re-invent the wheel.

A sloppy single-player campaign met with matchless multiplayer makes for an unbalanced first-person shooter experience.

Overall this is a great puzzle game with both an entertaining story and mind-bending puzzles. The numerous locations are both a burden on the art style and a blessing for the expanded scope of the game.

Despite its now trademark addictive gameplay, THPS2 just doesn’t cut it anymore—on an aged system Tony just looks and sounds awful, and there aren’t any new features to redeem it.

Given its challenging gameplay, emphasis on techniques, and required replayability, Rocket Bunnies has the potential to offer hours of fun while turning away the casual audience.

This unconventional handheld port of Capcom's flagship fighting franchise works surprisingly well with the iPhone and iPod Touch's control schemes, but suffers largely due to a lack of online wi-fi.

It does offer some interesting variations on a tried and true shooter formula, but I can't recommend this to anyone looking for a deep and compelling experience. If all you want is an adrenaline rush or to feel like a total badass for short, explosive bursts, however, then it's something worth considering.

Hardcore wrestling fans will find the deepest reservoir of variety ever available, and may even forgive the feeble fighting system long enough to enjoy some theatrics.

The four-player action makes this tennis game an absolute blast.

Real talent produced this technology and artwork. So much of LocoRoco is so clever and original that it's almost perplexing when it stops being any fun. The fun does run out, though, long before the game is over -- in that sense, the experiment has to be called a failure.

The game uses an on-screen d-pad to control movement, but it seems like a slight reworking of the game could've allowed tilt control, which would've really help clean up the screen, which can get pretty cluttered once you start picking up weapons.

Despite their distinctive art style, Madfinger makes amateur mistakes with Samurai II that show they're not quite ready for the jump from mobile to the big leagues.

While it's insane stunts and action-packed firefights ooze their own brand of explosive charm, Just Cause 2 falls victim to an unwieldy mission structure and unfortunate lack of variety. [April 2010, p.86]

It's a good little title that's enjoyable but ultimately of limited appeal. [Sep 2007, p.80]

That said, Lords of Shadow, when weighed against both the Castlevania legacy and the games it tries so hard to emulate, doesn't add up.

The idea behind the franchise has enough merit that it deserves a better effort and it's lamentable that they didn't realize that from the very beginning.

The missions are unimaginative (even compared to the original), navigation issues prevent you from ever attaining a movement rhythm, and the various narratives are a mess. But worse still, the combat isn't as tight as it could be and the world itself just seems less polished than its predecessor. Yet, for those moments when the game shines, it shines brightly.

Digital déjà vu. Your brain knows that it’s a brand-new game…but you never quite shake the feeling that you’ve played it all before.

A very, very, very old-school platformer that doesn’t have enough standout new features to keep it fresh in this day and age.

Valkyria Chronicles 2 isn't at all a bad game, but it is frustrating, both for newcomers that need to master the combat system and for fans that have to unlearn habits formed around the first game.

For something called The Book of Unwritten Tales, it treads awfully familiar ground; yet it does so with moxie and high production values. It's generally knowing and polished enough that it can be forgiven for not innovating a great deal. The Book of Unwritten Tales feels like a great cover of what's come before, even if it can't quite capture its forebear's magic.

RR64 has all the bouncing, sliding, and action of the original classic, which is all just old hat. The new cars, new tracks, and somewhat improved graphics can't get this game beyond its quirky and outdated controls.

All told, this is a game that meets expectations and does absolutely nothing to surpass them.

This game is very fun once you get the hang of it, but it takes a die hard sim fan to give this game a very long life.

The single player campaign does a good job of gradually introducing new gameplay concepts and putting them to use. Unfortunately, the great gameplay is saddled with a ludicrous story (complete with overacted FMV cut scenes and techno-fascist iconography).

The 2nd Runner is also easy as hell, and if you're willing to skip through the cut-scenes, you'll button-mash your way through the sucker within six hours.

Unreal Tournament III's game style is still too tied to the PC's mouse-and-keyboard interface to be easily playable on a console controller (and believe me, I tried). Had Epic dialed down the speed, simplified the interface, and re-tuned the weapons to leverage the strengths of the Xbox 360's input device, Unreal Tournament III might've found a niche on Xbox Live.

It's a decent football sim thanks to its excellent Dynasty Mode; and the new tackling physics, custom playbooks, and other features are sorely needed additions. But we're deep into this generation, and expectations have been raised for sports games (and pretty much everything else). So why does it feel like I'm playing a game that should have come out in 2008?

Despite slow and repetitive gameplay and the lack of a compelling story, the premise is cool and the low-tech mech shootouts are tense. Ring of Red will be hypnotically fun to some and sleep-inducing to others; rent first.

It will be remembered for being REALLY FREAKING HARD.

A great version of DDR, but in the end it is DDR - love it or hate it.

Despite the great visual and sound package, Sega GT's gameplay isn't tuned for a fun ride: Competitions can be won only through buying the best parts - and not through your driving.

Unfortunately its new innovations and features aren’t worth the sticker price. The game’s hardly a lemon, but it can’t quite make it off the test drive rental lot.

Sonic Rush certainly isn't revolutionary, and it only barely makes use of the touchscreen, but it is a decent distillation of what's kept a sprite-based Sonic alive in the age of textured polygons, as long as you're fine with more of the same.

Though the Genesis played second fiddle to the Super Nintendo, it had some awesome titles and thankfully, there are enough of them on this disc to merit a look.

While N+ is a polished game, I am fine leaving N as a nice Internet distraction, even if the controls aren't quite as tight as when you play these handheld versions.

Packed with a bevy of features, TimeSplitters Future Perfect is a cornucopia of candy-coated goodness for any FPS fan. If you start now, you just might be able to unlock everything by the time "Halo 3" ships to stores.

It's a thoroughly middle-of-the-road entry that drips with potential but fails thanks to some deepseeded faults.

While ATV and offroad junkies will delight in Fury's deep, challenging action, its appeal isn't mainstream enough to reel in the average racing fan.

It's a decent football sim thanks to its excellent Dynasty Mode; and the new tackling physics, custom playbooks, and other features are sorely needed additions. But we're deep into this generation, and expectations have been raised for sports games (and pretty much everything else). So why does it feel like I'm playing a game that should have come out in 2008?

The most charming part of the game is how the music you hear while you play is tied directly to your art project. Each "mood" is a base groove, that starts off pretty slow and lacking in energy, but as you add color to the environment things get pretty jammin'.

Harvest Moon isn't for the impatient gamer, but those who stick with it long enough will discover its rustic charm.

Our first run through the game clocked in at little over four hours, which was quite disappointing. The game does have a ton of collectibles to find, including some cool Xbox 360 Achievement Awards, but just don't expect an epic 20-hour experience.

Battleheart is beautiful, well-designed, and does a great job of scratching my RPG itch. The repetitive grind offered by the battles is unfortunate, but even with a lack of variety it's a great, fairly-priced game.

In the end, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 is a solid golf game that should keep you interested for hours. [Nov. 2006, p.103]

There are over 400 missions, which is insanely impressive and the depth of the weapon and armor customization is ridiculously. But in the end, all that content feels kind of wasted due to the horrible camera and lackluster combat.

The game's difficulty curve is a bit too sharp, but it's fun to experiment in the environment, even if it takes a while to get a puzzle right.

Saint's Row 2 deserves props for its phenomenal customization and inventive multiplayer modes-including drop in and out cooperative play-but it's derivative design lacks polish and panache. It's entertaining, but it's also outclassed by its competitors.

World Cup–level graphics and realism have to struggle to make up for controls that keep getting yellow cards.

The story is laughably bad, and McKane has to be one of the most unlikable protagonists ever. Even worse, the racing gameplay just isn’t that exciting, largely due to lackluster handling and A.I. competition.

While it's insane stunts and action-packed firefights ooze their own brand of explosive charm, Just Cause 2 falls victim to an unwieldy mission structure and unfortunate lack of variety.

It's hard not to draw the comparison between Fragger and Angry Birds, but the similarities are obvious. Fragger has arguably better level design than Angry Birds, but Angry Birds has a bit more variety because of its different types of birds, so the two coexist well and are certainly not clones.

While the PSP port plays almost exactly the same as the console version, it also suffers from minor graphical sloppiness, bipolar A.I., and extended load times, which are on par with many of the graphically heavy PSP titles.

You can't help but wonder if the game could have been even better if they had decided to slightly re-design the gameplay for 2D.

Its hair-raising visual creep-outs and deft handling of foreboding folklore are undermined by a steadfast reliance on survival/horror-genre trappings and boring gameplay execution.

Although Solomon's Boneyard does all the things that gamers have come to expect from an iDevice dual stick shooter, it never really sets itself apart from the wealth of similar App Store entries.

Deceptively engaging.

Though maddening at times, it's easy to see Another World's rigidly scripted cinematic nature as a precursor to modern linear blockbusters like Uncharted, making it a fascinating, albeit antiquated curio.

The further you get from the starting levels, the more you'll have to deal with smudged content. The voice acting will mysteriously disappear, along with the quests, the single-player story, and the engaging instances.

It's disappointing really because Bully offers incredibly entertaining gameplay that's worthwhile, but the improvements that should have come with the jump to the more powerful Xbox 360 hardware just don't pan out.

Gone is the non-linear design of each mission. Each objective is now clearly marked one after another, eliminating secondary (optional) objectives and different ways of approaching a target, which were key and exciting components in the original Ghost Recon game.

Takes as many steps back as it does forward, and ends up teetering precariously over the brink of being a disappointment.

Brace yourself and buckle your seatbelts kids, it's going to be a bumpy -- and destructive -- ride through the sky.

The same frustrating, albeit unique controls remain intact—resulting in the same inconsistent shot making that was felt last year.

At its core, this is the Assassin's Creed we've grown to love in recent years, and it still serves as a pretty good time sink -- plus, it's a necessary bridge to next year's already-announced follow-up. But obligation shouldn't be the primary reason to play something, and sadly, that's too often the case in this humdrum campaign.

At its core, this is the Assassin's Creed we've grown to love in recent years, and it still serves as a pretty good time sink -- plus, it's a necessary bridge to next year's already-announced follow-up. But obligation shouldn't be the primary reason to play something, and sadly, that's too often the case in this humdrum campaign.

You can't expect to be great at Spirit the first time you pick it up, but it's definitely a unique and well-crafted game that's worth a look.

If you're looking for a thoughtful, challenging RPG experience, this is a Strange Journey worth taking; those who take issue with the thematic elements, however, might want to go adventuring elsewhere. [March 2010, p.91]

Overly realistic controls are unforgiving, turning tiny slip-ups into disasters.

We give the nod to NBA 2K7 [over "NBA 07"] for its superior in-game management and franchise development mode.

If the satisfying melee combat was tied into a better game with a compelling story, I'd praise Red Steel 22 as the next step in the Wii's evolution. But the nonsensical narrative, the repetitive nature of the gameplay, and the poor pacing keeps it from being anything more than a promising glimpse at the future of FPS games on the Wii.

Don't get me wrong -- I really like this game; all of the varied power-ups do a fantastic job of keeping the levels (despite their large numbers) fresh, and as far as platformers on the iPhone go, this is definitely up there with the best.

It's only a buck, and I wouldn't hesitate to call it one of the most interesting puzzle-adventure games on the App Store. If you're tired of shallow arcade-style games and want a game with a good, interesting story, Infinight is more than worth its asking price.

Though Arno is very simple, its rate of fire isn't much better than Galaga and it has the flash game visual equivalent of soap opera-style lighting, it's a pretty slick production overall.

ChuChu Rocket! is a totally solid puzzle game, and it really does shine in multiplayer (especially if you can get four people gathered around an iPad for some same-device multiplayer). The game feels like it was always meant for a touch screen device, so I just hope that Sega can push out an update so everyone can enjoy this zany game for what it's meant to be.

The controls, while exhaustive in their scope, suffer from too much complexity, and skating and checking never quite feel right.

But the bottom line is that buying Retribution is just paying for a new faction and not much else. It's a great faction, to be sure, but beyond that, it's a damn shame that Relic squanders their energy on frippery like the silly campaign when important issues like the AI remain unresolved.

No two matches -- even between the same teams -- ever feel quite the same, and it's that element of surprise that just might, at least offline, make Pro Evolution my go-to soccer game this season.

You'll find your comrades oblivious to gunfire mere yards away; facing an enemy gunner, with their weapons conspicuously inert; and haplessly running into your line of fire. Getting penalized for losses incurred like this is annoying enough; having a mission terminate prematurely because of it is downright maddening.

When enemies appear in the same place and use the same simple attack patterns, the game becomes more monotonous than fun.

If you didn't buy SF4 the first time around the horn, you're getting the most value from the newer app.

Lufia: Curse of the Sinistrals does have a lot of fun elements, but it's also full of aggravations of varying sizes.

All of the levels are extremely short, but that seems to be well-suited to the design of this game, so that's not necessarily a bad thing. Kids seem to really latch onto this game, so if you've got a little one running around in your house, this might be worth the download to keep them entertained.

The whole game feels bloated, like it’s trying to do too many things at once, and the new character-oriented career mode is uninspired.

A great-looking game, but since a standard Monopoly board is so large and dense with information, it's often difficult to see certain elements on the board.

Learning how to navigate and apply the many different options and variables will take some time and practice, and while I'm not saying that putting in the effort isn't worth it in the end, I am saying that today's market seems less likely to embrace a title that has a learning curve as steep as Brett Michael's declining rock-credibility.