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.

After the completion of each level, the game further reveals its plot through storyboard-style cinemas that are usually very entertaining and funny. In fact, this is probably the game's strongest suit: it's brimming with personality.

But Moto GP 2006 is still one of the better racing games for the Xbox 360, sitting right alongside Project Gotham Racing 3 as a top-notch simulator. Enthusiasts, such as myself, will be pleased, and everyone else should still get on board and see what all the two-wheeled excitement is about.

With Wii Fit Plus, I won't be utilizing the calorie-counter or custom workouts--both are done better in EA Sports Active--but I will enjoy the many new, well-produced minigames.

It's one of those games that I shouldn't play on the toilet, because I wind up squatting on the throne for far longer than necessary. Yes, Donut Games, that is a compliment.

The game is just a straight arcade experience, but it also has enough depth to warrant returning to numerous times.

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.

Even if Freaking Inkies only included the default "shoot monsters" mode it'd be pretty fun, but the game's developers have decided to take things a step further and completely stuff the game with enough challenges and game types to keep players busy for much, much longer.

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.

This minimalist take on a Commodore classic impresses with its unique design and tense atmosphere, but suffers from some noticeable bugs in its initial release.

I started to get bored with everything but the game's music after a while, but a good number of crazy power-ups kept things moving later into the game.

Thanks to fresh physics challenges, ample combo lines, and trick-filled locales, Mat Hoffman’s Pro BMX is the game to get.

This title features surprisingly solid gameplay reminiscent of SNK’s "Metal Slug" series.

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.

The graphics in GT5: Prologue are even better than "Crysis."

Fable III is the better game when held up against the glitchy, twitchy gameplay of its predecessor, Fable II, but the heavy-handed moral of the game's story leaves a bad taste in your mouth.

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.

Quotation forthcoming. [Dec 2005]

If you own a PSP, there is no excuse for you to not own this title. [Nov 2007, p.95]

Battlefield, in its best moments, is one of the most perfect and pure online experiences around. It's too bad 2142 isn't a major evolution over the titles that came before it but it's entertaining enough, and as the old saying goes, you shouldn't look a gift hovertank in the mouth.

No one says that a game has to move fast to be entertaining, and those blemishes are easily made up for by the title's creative use of strategy when attempting to solve its numerous platforming-puzzles. This again is a credit to this game's ingenuity and is something it shares with the original A Boy and His Blob, whose legacy is only strengthened by this great title.

If you've ever had dreams of being a wartime tank commander, you just absolutely have to try it out.

While having its quirks and love-it-or-hate-it cliched nihilism, it's a game well worth checking out, especially for anyone who sucks up Vampire action movie flicks.

Smooth handling is complimented by solid physics, while the opponents boast A.I. that is much more balanced than Freekstyle’s rubber-band rivals.

The amazing create-a-wrestler feature easily exceeds most console titles: From appearance to specific moves, your mini-grappler can be made to order.

Though heinous sitting-duck A.I. keeps the single-player experience a bit wan, waging galactic civil war over the internet with real live people destroys, despite slight technical flaws and cumbersome aerial vehicle controls.

Has it all—Spider-Man not only looks, sounds, and plays remarkably well, but it also places you firmly in the comic-book world of its hero.

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.

Overall, Zen Pinball does it right and puts itself into a class of its own. Pinball machines are a very unique invention and to replicate the feel of one by using a gaming controller isn't easy. But with gorgeous graphics, fun sound effects and addictive featury gameplay, you'll gain faith in a game like this.

The game's intensely warm, orange-heavy environments and hundreds of glittery leaf-like particles that float along with the wind make Spirits feel like a walk through a forest on a late October evening, and it's hard not to become enamored with the game if you're a fan of Lemmings-style gameplay.

Bloated expectations aside, Virtua Tennis is a fan service treat from the moment you open the box, and setting down the controller without blowing hours on end requires considerable willpower, even if it all comes to feel like just a more refined, balanced version of what we already played to death on the Dreamcast.

This is the first in the series of Bit.Tip titles brought to you by Gaijin Games and they knock it out of the park with a great first title. Solid controls, four player co-op play, enjoyable music and old school visuals that will make anyone smile. This is a must download for the Wii.

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.

Cloning Clyde isn't the deepest puzzler in the world but at 800 Live points, it's a terrific bargain.

The control feels tight and fairly responsive on the analogue pad, making passing and scoring easy feats. Your teammate's friendly A.I. is also mostly reliable, save for the occasional hiccups that leave your buddies staring stupidly at rebounds and loose balls.

An outstandingly well-made game. Its technically impressive visuals, easy to learn but hard to master gameplay, and great selection of mini-games makes Virtua Tennis 3 an ace.

Those who loved the original should at least try the game to experience how having the Wii-mote has changed the feel of the operations.

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.

For every good aspect of the game there seems to be a bad one, and when you balance that out across the board (or ski), it just adds up to a game that tries to evolve a winning formula but falls prey to its own ambition.

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

The PS3 version's weaker graphics and moderately interesting Sixaxis controls come in second to the overall experience on the Xbox 360.

It’s a fun mixture of high-speed racing with a tight balance of racing and tricks.

Only two humans can play War at once and fight up to two CPU opponents. This is a distressing flaw—especially considering how repetitive the single-player adventure mode gets after a while.

For serious motorcycle-simulation fans only. If you’re not interested in the minutiae of the sport, go dust off "Road Rash" and read no further.

Battles never manage to become tedious, and while I most likely won't be doing a second playthrough, I'm glad I dropped the two dollars on PrincessFury -- the experience was well worth it.

An absolutely ridiculous game that's only good because it's so unique and bizarre, Incredible Crisis is best enjoyed with a group of friends watching, pointing, laughing, and furrowing their brow in confusion and horror.

There are some great innovations, like the lead pass from this year’s ESPN NBA game, that are sorely missed in the College version. This becomes a crucial factor considering rival March Madness bases its game engine on basically the same one as its newest NBA Live installment.

In terms of the batting cursor interface, the GameCube version offers the tightest joystick control in the batter’s box with the Xbox version being a little too stiff and the PS2 version a little too loose.

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

No doubt about it Tiger Woods 08 offers up an excellent round of 360 golf. The gameplay upgrades are right on and GamesNet promises unlimited potential for online action.

All in all, Awakenings is a must-buy for any Dragon Age fan. It's packed full of new adventures, side quests, cameos from old favorites, and an engrossing original storyline that will keep players busy for hours.

With such amazing aesthetics one would expect some other technical areas to take a few hits, notably the load-times and the sound. Yet neither is diminished, with load-times being fairly short and easily endured, and with a dramatic score that is well done and fitting.

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

Still, despite a few obvious limitations, it's still Rock Band, which means it's a fantastic gaming experience that's great played solo or with friends.

Its steep learning curve and the overly convoluted quest system makes it fall short of what could have been a first-rate title.

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.

Navigating through the twists and turns in such diverse environments is exhilarating.

The Dual Shock organizes controls logically and offers the sharp response, especially considering the cool Bullet Time and Shootdodge aspects, which slow down time for Matrix-style gunfights.

If you like first-person shooters with lots blood, fire fights, screaming and explosions… then you’ll rip through this – loving every minute of it.

In this captivating outing, 47 revisits the past while modernizing the nagging flaws of his previous games, making for his best trail of assassinations yet.

Two-player affairs expose weaknesses in the pitching portion of the matchup, but it’s forgivable since the majority of GBA owners will likely go at it alone.

While the first-person shooter levels are average, the third-person levels are substantially well balanced. The A.I. is very intelligent. [Apr 2004, p.86]

The newest Oddworlds feel rather canned, confined, repetitive, and contrived, and Munch and Abe control more stiffly than most characters put in similar situations.

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.

If you're considering purchasing NightFire, make sure you have at least three friends or you'll miss out on the lasting appeal of a Bond game that can actually stand up against its N64 predecessor.

It's solid proof that sometimes a game doesn't have to be overly complex and innovative to be great -- if it has solid fundamentals and executes them well, you'll still have an excellent product.

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.

The core game is a classic, time-tested RPG, and the visual overhaul is excellent, but technical caveats and arguable matters of personal preference prevent me from saying that Silver Star Harmony is now the definitive edition of Lunar to play.

It's incredible how much this feels like an actual Castlevania game. Everything from the weapon/armor customization and spells to the 32-bit art style makes this essentially a complete Castlevania game that just happens to have have a surprisingly fun puzzle-based battle system.

Despite some minor griping, Legendary Wars is a very good title with great longevity and a design that adapts equally well to both casual gaming and longer, more involved playing sessions.

The Live series makes a strong come back this year with NBA LIVE 10, so what if it took a decade on the pine watching 2K take home all the hardware? There's no shame in being the Sixth Man so long as you keep improving to a full fledged starter. With that said, I don't remember the last time I saw somebody go out and buy an Aaron McKie jersey.

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.

The Wii version of Geometry Wars is a great port and the developers overcame the one potential hurdle--the controls.

If you are a Wii fanatic or are just looking for to play a game that entertains as much as it innovates, then Wii Fit is right up your alley.

It takes you about three seconds to learn how to play it and it takes quite a few mistakes before you hit a game over, but this is a remarkably intense, challenging game.

Whether you pay $15 for the game itself or more than $30 for the title and its expanded content, you'll find a surprisingly fun and refreshingly original experience that rivals full-priced retail software in depth and scope. Just make sure that you give it a chance past its slow first hour. I'm glad I did.

All in all, Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection is an extremely solid assemblage of some of the Genesis' greatest hits, and with extras and achievements, hidden interviews and an entire museum of concept art thrown in for good measure, it's definitely worth a look from old school gamers looking to re-live the glory days when a hedgehog didn't need a lame Werehog gimmick to prove that he was the baddest mascot around. [Apr 2009, p.83]

Handsome and smoothly executed.

A spotty story and monotonous gameplay keep Dark Cloud from rising to new heights.

At once the best wrestling game in years, an awesome showcase for some damn good hip-hop, and an example of what can happen when a game company takes a chance.

Some lag issues and controller preferences are the only strikes against it.

It's also refreshing that, instead of a wilder arcade-like approach, the game portrays the sport more realistically; it’s a bit more work to pull off a dizzying spin or flip, as it would be in real life.

Maybe the option that tips the scales for you is Madness's all-mascot teams. [Jan 2005, p.106]

With a 10-12 hour story mode, an optional new-game+, and a fairly high difficulty curve to tie it all together, CRO is a robust - if not all that replayable - RPG.

It may not be the breath of fresh air that the original Skate was, but Skate 3 still offers up plenty of innovation in its robust skate park creation mechanic, engaging multiplayer feature, and expanded move list.

Get past the frustrating difficulty and you'll find a beautiful, rewarding game that is easily the best yet in the series.

Deserves attention because of its captivating feel and deep features.

Its excellent mix of driving techniques, fantasy physics, and gigantic cities will keep couch drivers burning onscreen rubber for some time.

The biggest issue in the Ocean is boring and repetitious town and dungeon designs...The battle system is out of this world - the rest of the game is a little more grounded. [Sept 2004, p.108]

HW:AR creates innovative and white-knuckled gameplay that will strain both your reflexes and your wits, not to mention your cool head.

If you have the patience to play a methodical strategy game wrapped around an action game facade then Acid 2 is for you. However, if you prefer direct control of your characters and disdain sorting through decks of cards then you're better off checking out the home console versions of the Metal Gear series.

Regardless of whether or not you like roguelikes, or even RPGs in general, this is a game that you're going to want to try out.

Even punters of the GameCube version will find a host of new options in this Xbox incarnation—most notably extra players and multiplayer games.

As a high-octane slay-a-thon, Otogi knows what it is and what it's supposed to do, and as long as you don't mind leaving your brain at the door, you'll probably dig it. Just be prepared to get bored after the first couple of hours.

A great game...But if you're looking for the best jet-skiing game this fall, keep an eye out for "Splashdown" for the PS2...it has the potential to smoke Blue Storm.

The whole experience feels more like a dedicated group of fans got hold of a level editor rather than a fully equipped second effort.